Right now, the galaxies are 2 dimensional with an X & Y axis'.  Interfaces that include a Z axis in this type of game (lets face it, that list mostly starts with homeworld & I think ends  with games in that seriesthere)... or it does what every  terrestrial/OtherPlanet based rts/tbs does & flattens the map with movement penalties.

well, the xml already have support for movement penalties in the form of gas/dust clouds, they just don't disperse in a way that would suggest a flattened Z axis.  If the dust could be tweaked to only provide a movement penalty when moving across  i.e. --> | <-- rather than with  --> === <-- ,  then it could do a pretty good job of it actually & add a potentially  interesting twist to the larger maps