#1: Running and stamina
I think there definitely needs to be a run/walk option. But the question we need to address is: can the player continue to run continuously, or do they have a limited amount of stamina? I think that we should either add a stamina meter in one of the screen corners, or find some other way to restrict the player from always running (ie enemies spawn faster while running or something). Some random thoughts about this:
- player should be allowed infinite stamina in 'safe' areas such as towns, where no battle occur, but limited stamina everywhere else
- stamina regenerates slowly while walking, and faster when standing still
- stamina should be static throughout the game (higher experience levels do not increase stamina amount or regeneration rate on maps)
- no 'potions' or other typical means available for quickly restoring stamina
- perhaps that if you encounter an enemy with a low stamina, the enemy party has a head start on you (ie they get the first attack), meaning that its not always wise to keep the stamina bar continuously drained in dungeon maps
#2: Running animations
I know that its not wise to further burden our art department, but I really feel that eventually, all main playable characters (and perhaps some more distinguished NPCs) should have running animations. The "turbo walking" just doesn't cut it.
#3: New dialogue icons
Refresher: all NPCs that have dialogue that the player has not yet read will have a small little icon appear above their head that indicates they have something new to say. This eliminates the need for constantly querying NPCs to see if they have any new information.
#4: Weapon use in puzzles
If you've ever played Lufia II, you'll know what I mean. Basically, you have different weapons available to you to try and solve puzzles. Swords can slash down brush and vines blocking your way. Arrows can hit distant targets to trigger switches. Fire arrows burn all that cross their path, etc.
I was thinking we could do something similar, only the weapon that is used depends on the active character sprite on the screen (which can be cycled through by pressing the swap key or something). So when Claudius is showing, he swings his sword. When Laila is showing, she can shoot arrows, etc.
#5: Weapon use against map enemies
Perhaps weapons can also be used to avoid encounters with enemies on the map. Maybe a sword slash will stun the foe that it hits for a second to allow the player to run away. Or maybe it allows the player to then encounter the enemy and give them first strike in battle or something.
If we do something like this, we'll have to have a limiter on how many times weapons can be used on maps (ie, only once every 2 seconds). Otherwise, the player can abuse the ability to make it through a dungeon without a single encounter.
I think that's a good list for starters. Basically, I want map exploration to be more than walking around and talking to people. I want the environment to be more interactive and "fun", because I find random dungeon crawling in most RPGs to be a bore.
Share your ideas here as well please! 
. If the player wants to sprint all day long and dodge every enemy in the dungeon, that's fine by me. He'll attempt the boss battle severely under-leveled, get his ass whooped, and realize that maybe he should fight a few battles.
. But we'll see what the art department has to say (and the other map mode coders).
Hmm I think turbo walking does cut it. I mean, yes, ideally, running animations would be very nice to have, but, given the circumstances, that's like saying a million dollars would also be nice to have.
In the past, there have been a very limited number of "people" in the game world, but you can interact with almost every one of them. In FFXII however, there were tons and tons of living, breathing NPCs, but you could only speak with a few of them (which was a good thing IMO, because talking is pretty boring and you don't want to give the player too many people to talk to).
We can make enemy sprite graphics which assume a treasure box form and sit and wait idly, but when the character comes to close it suddenly unfolds/uncamouflages itself and aggressively chases after the player. That's a lot more fun than walking up to a treasure chest, opening it, and having "Monsters!" displayed on your screen before you go into a battle. 
(This scheme is also implementable -right now- with our current code, so there's an extra bonus).