I don't know how many posters here have ever played Star Control, the first of all sequels. Colornizing is NOT introduced in SC3, and 3D starmap IS in the original SC. I still remember how it was in mono display and PC speaker. It actually sounds better with the PC speaker than FM synthesizer card of the time (Adlib, or something like that).

Back to the topic. I actually am expecting to see it goes back to 3D interface on starmap. 3D control works well with both joypads and keyboard/mouse combination nowadays, and there are more keys on joypad today over 15 years ago. Why confine ourselves with 3 arrow keys (not even four) and two other control keys?

Melee will and should be in 2D, and it should be made so that one can play online melee with other players. AI will always be beaten by men, and men are unlimitedly cunning than anything else. The only question is that: should there be more than 2 players in a melee? The experiment of timewarp shows that it could be a success, or a complete failure. I personally suggest that there could be as much as 8 melee players battling each other with dynamic gravity traps (i.e. planets) orbiting around each other.

The rest problems are more like what type of game the single player mode will be. The first SC is a strategy game. Why can't TFB make a SC sequel as strategy again? MMORPG is another possibility which allows both offline and online play. Who would resist the temptation of being a Melnorme trader wondering over space, trading goods and information, while slowly, but continuously, executing the ultimate agenda of the Melnorme?

Possibility of utilizing 3D RTS as a game mode should not be discarded, too. It allows player to control a fleet consists of several dozens of starships and command them in a coherent (or chaotic but visually spledid) way during battle. For example, most people can't use Umgah drone well and it is widely deemed as a junk in the hands of human control. However, if you have 20 of these in 3D, they can be deployed in such a way that they can use as an array of antimatter cones to block enemy attack and cover other ships, such as players motherships, behind. 3D RTS provides some possibilities, though some people may not like it.