[elmokki]

Technically nothing prevents having 3d models and sprites side by side, expect it probably looking pretty weird. Depends on the models though. That said I do kind of doubt it'd be very feasible to make Dominions 3 battles really 3D. There are potentially like 10k units there anyway, and if the 3D models have to be simplified too much for that it'll just end looking like crap compared to well drawn sprites.

Sombre's sprite improvement project really makes sprites look well drawn too. So many Dominions 3 sprites are legacy stuff from the original Dominions that it's no wonder they don't look as good as some of the new stuff. Especially the illithids stick out when you compare them.

But yeah, regardless the biggest thing is that in general drawing sprites for Dominions 3 is very easy. I am no artist at all and yet I still dare to claim that Bubastis, Al-Nadim and UnitGen stuff all look at the very least decent.