1. As it's been said before, if you go at it MBA style you'll end up with a crap soul less design by commitee game.
2. DnD has a lot of brand power? The only thing related to DnD that I did was play some computer RPGs. The Infinity Engine games could have had any other RPG system in the background and they'd have been as much fun.
3. Getting Early Access wrong too. It got popular in early access because some people considered it good.
4. You may be right about Baldur's Gate nostalgia, that is probably the greatest driver behind this. Personally I will get the game because of said nostalgia, but I'll wait for enough reviews to have something to read between the lines and decide if the game is any good.