I was just thinking, that the MTW campaign itself should be really pretty easy to simulate, shouldn't it? Even graphically. I mean all you have is a 2D map with 2D icons, and the gameplay consists of completely trivial calculations. You could also build the engine step by step, starting out with something crude that just simulates the game mechanics without looking particularly good. Then add the capability to replicate MTW graphics and sound (probably using original MTW data files). And then maybe ultimately if the campaign is working so smoothly that people see the potential, finally add a module for 3D tactical battles.

Seeing as there are various fan projects around for various other games that seem much harder (TA Spring comes to mind) and MTW community has been pretty productive, why has this never been made? Has there even been serious talk about it? Am I missing something about why it would be harder than it seems?

Of course now, with the community fading away, at least for M1TW this will never happen, but just wondering.