Greetings,
I know I am about to get flamed, but hey, here goes. I liked the concept of the thread maps. (one base leads to another that can be taken). With one comment.
I think the threads should not lead from one base to another, but some bases should lead to 2, 3 or 4 other bases. Create a grand tactical (or operational) reason to attack a given base verses blindly following a single thread.
In addition, each map could have 2 - 5 thread designs that would change the operational requirements to 'take' a map. In effect you could get 2-5 different campaigns while using the same terrain map.
Regards,