comparing to Civ III from what you have seen already?
I am thinking the games in the similar field like TBS or similarly 'flat' games?
And what would you like to be improved? eg, cities that expand in size onece they go past certain size, could be interesting, or that you could see a small graphic of the world wonder built in the city from normal view.
I think the thing about TBS games is that it is nice to have good graphics, but not to the extent that they detract from the gameplay and make play awkward and slow. Although some little niceties here and there would be nice, but I would expect there will be a good number included within civ3 anyway...
It depends what you are looking for. Conquest of the New World had good 3d terrain and units with clearly identifiable country flags. Europa Universalis had better unit graphics (much newer game, so not surprising) and a fantastic regional map of the world but was not able to randomise the map. Plenty of RTS with excellent unit art these days which could all be used for inspiration.
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