[Edi]

Boxed copies are not an option that has been much discussed. I expect that the low volume of demand and the costs of printing etc would at least double the price. You're more likely to get a much better deal of using some kind of print-on-demand service.

The manual is likely to be just as hefty as the Dominions 3 manual, if not more so. The modding manual is twice the length of the old one, with well over half of the extra pages being new stuff.

As far as further inquiries, I suggest keeping an eye on Desura and Dom3Mods. I don't come around here nearly as much anymore because of the lack of traffic since the switch to Desura.