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Originally Posted by CCIP
Well it's a different engine. I'm sure there's technical reasons behind the flat SHIV map. In the big scope of things, I honestly don't think some of the distance deviations matter all that much in the end. They can be an issue, but not a big one by any means.
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I think people are confusing the 2D map world and the the 3D environment world. They are two separate things. The 3D world is fine as flat. The most you can see is about 50nm (usually much less) and the curvature of the earth is not a big deal at that range. Hull-below-the-horizon effects can be achieved via "cheater" methods without the player really caring.
The 3D world is like a mobile stage that's rendered in the "bubble radius." The game only handles the rest of the world via very simple numerical methods until they get into the bubble and then they are simulated in much more detail.
Now the only thing really harder about tracking units outside the bubble is a few extra sines and cosines thrown in to step the statistical simulation and some special nav tools for plotting compound curved lines when greater than X distance when traveling great circle routes. Any programmer worth his salt would devise such a system inside of two weeks.