I agree the overland map should be great. This was a huge pet peeve of mine with NWN.
Well everyone has their opinion, but I find 3.5 to be pretty good, and they are my favorite so far (although similar to 3.0, I find the changes for the better). I hope they do 3.5 justice. Rangers who are actually Rangers, Bards who are Bards and not wizards, no Bulls Strength that last all day, etc