I agree to nix the 3D map idea... it makes visualizing things much more difficult, because you MUST rotate the whole thing on all axes to get a better look at it. It's just not necessary. If it helps at all, pretend that it, like all maps on Earth, IS a 2D representation of a 3D universe, and your expert tactical engineers have designed it this way to simplify your grasp of the strategic situation, making it easier to see the important stuff.

I've read that supposedly astronomers have found the edge of the Universe. It IS a wall funny enough, sorta. A wall of super-intense radiation so powerful that NOTHING can pass through. So that answers that for you, the Universe has edges (and maybe corners too)

No, not really. You're talking about the cosmic microwave background, the earliest evidence we can see of the original Bang event.

The Big Bang had no "center." It didn't occur in some pre-existing space.... although from a local perspective it can look like there is a center. Think of raisins in a loaf of raisin bread, rising in the oven. As the bread rises, every raisin thinks all the other raisins are moving away from them, so they all think they're at the center of the loaf (from the local perspective). It's not a great analogy though, because the universe didn't expand "into" anything during the Big Bang event, or currently.

Just as there is no center, there is also no outer edge. The universe itself, created in the Big Bang event, defines spacetime. Space can't be expanding into a different space. There is an observational edge to the universe, in terms of what we can directly see, and that's limited by the speed of light.

Freaky concepts, but it's our best understanding of reality at the moment, based on the observational evidence and theory. More info here, if you want to dig into it:

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/cosmology.html
Edit: hmmm... forum code doesn't like that link for some reason, try using this manually:
imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/cosmology.html

Regarding 3D game maps, I like it in theory, but it isn't that practical on a 2D monitor. As someone else said, you're forced to rotate the map to get a sense of how things relate to each other. You can't just look at the map and quickly make decisions. When we have true 3D monitors (or cheap enough VR headsets), so you can get a direct 3D perception without rotating the map model around, then it starts to be practical for a strategy game.

Now, where are the cheap VR headsets!!?? Does everyone remember how, years ago, they told us that stuff was on the way? What happened? And I want the flying car they promised, also.

No kidding. Where is all the supposed VR they used to rave about? And we need the flying cars already! And we need them to run on no less than 80 miles per gallon too, please.

Seriously folks, if this game is potrayed even close to reality, even the Gigantic map is merely just an arm of the Galaxy. There's more out there, so havine to go from one edge and end up at the other end wouldn't really work. If you play the biggest map with tight cluster, you'll notice that some of the stars are just part of a much larger arm.

I see pretty much that at most, the playing field is only 15% of the galaxy. Wonder what's on the other side... More aliens for Galciv III i hope.

We are the simulated characters of a global game some cosmic kid is playing.

And He is Called God. Amen

Seriously folks, if this game is potrayed even close to reality, even the Gigantic map is merely just an arm of the Galaxy. There's more out there, so havine to go from one edge and end up at the other end wouldn't really work. If you play the biggest map with tight cluster, you'll notice that some of the stars are just part of a much larger arm.

I would LOVE to be able to... "expand" my game? (How to say that without seeming stupid?). When you reach a critical victory point (on a small or bigger map), your could have the option of generating in a random way 8 other sectors, all as big as the previous, but already colonized, and 1 race is just as powerful as you are (actually, it has "won" its game trough cultural/military/alliance) in your own little game.

Like, you begin on a small map, you conquer it.. then this all is superposed on a medium map, and you are forced to make Alliances. Then, when you win an Alliance victory on your map, the galaxy still expand, and meet an even bigger, with even more players... MWAHAHAHA!

That way, you have the feeling of beggining "small", and the bigger you get, the bigger your opponents. And for peoples not liking gigantic maps, you can always quit when you won Medium