I agree that 2000 was a cleaner overall design. Adding realism for the sake of it is a dead end. That said, there are a lot of games where the details of the s

I agree that 2000 was a cleaner overall design. Adding realism for the sake of it is a dead end. That said, there are a lot of games where the details of the simulation compound on themselves in interesting ways (Dwarf Fortress, Dominions, DC:Barbarossa, Shadow Empire, Paradox games). I enjoy those sorts of games, more minimalism and abstraction isn't always more fun.