I don't judge anyone's tastes, just wondering whether you liked this style of games
I understand better now, I think.
I don't dislike combat at all. I wouldn't be much of a CRPG fan if I did
What I don't particularly enjoy is trash fights in mostly empty overland areas - which is a big part of Kingmaker. It's exhausting to me - especially in turn-based mode.
I'm still not entirely sure which you're referring to, likely random encounters, or maybe some of the dungeons (but there aren't many of them)?. I found some of the combats somewhat repetitive and longer than necessary, but they were part of the story, like at Pitax or at the House at the End of Time, the end-of-game combats. But they're not in empty or generic areas, they're in "story" areas, so that's probably not what bothered you.
Sure, TB makes them far too long, this is a very enjoyable mode though
WotR have epic combats, some of them are quite long too. Now I'm using RTwP with a few exceptions and honestly, they were fine and entertaining, more than Kingmaker IMO.
There are as many random encounters, if that's what you disliked. You can select story mode though, or the number of enemies, so that should allow you to tune the experience somewhat.
The locations have improved a lot, even for random encounters.
With that said, I understand that Wrath of the Righteous WILL have more voice acting - just not as much as it could have.
Also, I've been led to believe that the developers have said it's not a design choice, but that it has to do with the budget involved. Not sure if that's true, but it makes sense.
They improved in quality and presentation, so I hope there will be more voice-acting because it's so well done (it was very good in Kingmaker too). That must be a huge budget indeed!
I didn't enjoy the way-over-the-top Larian approach to combat design much, though. I mean, I don't think a single fight ever went according to plan - because of the endless environmental hazards.
Yes, that's also my issue with them, even if I appreciate the overall, outstanding quality of the game. I learned to get over this part, just wished it was different. There will still be a little bit of that in Baldur's Gate 3 I'm afraid, but to a lesser extent.
Solasta is very interesting, do keep an eye on that one, especially if you like D&D 5E. But indeed, lighter on the story side, and the quality is a bit lower because it's a small studio. As you have probably seen, the dialogs are presented as cut scenes and the models are not the same quality as Baldur's Gate 3, or even D:OS.
The voices are fine and convincing, except one or two very minor roles, but again, not the outstanding quality of Owlcat Games or Larian Studios. The budget was the limitation factor, actually, because they wanted everything to be spoken. That's why the story isn't as deep, and why there aren't as many choices & consequences as Pathfinder.
The overall result is very good, except if you're looking for a heavy-storied game and long dialogues. It's more casual, fun and spontaneous.