Just Wanted To Say...

[Chaingun]

I don't buy this. There is no way adding a 3D-map to, say, Victoria would gain it wider market appeal than it currently has. The game world is two-dimensional no matter how it is rendered, it's more likely that 3D-maps are used due to ease of programming, ease of art-creating and ease of modding. 2D is a pain in the ass in many respects.

Ease of programming? Not really, classic 2D bitmaps are very convenient to program with compared to a modern 3D engine. Anyway, up until a certain point when you want to introduce various effects which require you to write custom software rendering routines... But graphics cards could have evolved to support 2D better had there been a demand for that.

Ease of modding/content creation is a valid point however.

Overall I liked the old 2D maps more but the reality is although I consider the game would look better with a true 2D map the majority of potential non-hardcore fan consumers do not think so. "2D = old" is an idea many gamers have.