[astrapol]

I'm a total newbie to this great game, so I won't suggest precise rule changes.

Many interesting things have been suggested in this thread, but I think developers should focus on making things simpler and nicer rather than deeper (which does not prevent them from adding new features).
Don't forget many suggestions on that forum come from experienced gamers.
Think about new users : try to stay simple and accessible without loosing the depth of this game.

I'msurprised few people talk about the graphics, while it's obviously the main weakness in Dom2. I 100% agree that the interest of this game is not in its graphics, but anyway, it would be relatively easy improve them, without making it a burdensome task.

Not necessarily by making tedious 3-D graphics but by giving more atmosphere to the game. Nice illustrations for units in their description, nicer (and more distinct) units in army setup screen ; illustrations accompanying messages such as magic site discovery, etc...
Why not try to have some different kind of graphics for each nation ? Chinese style paintings, medieval enluminure or renaissance frescoes...
Battle could be improved of course but not necessarily with realist 3-d graphics. I liked the 2-D, semirealistic approach of Heros of Might and M%agic II.
Dominions 2 cannot, and should not try to, compete on the visual aspect with big commercial games. But it could be much nicer and maybe more "poetic" than it is, and then attract many people who otherwise will not even try it.

The same with the instruction manual. It should include a tutorial and a few tips, and easier to use spell, unit and object lists.