True, but this also means that the maps are possible to balance. You don't have to worry about things like red room or cold turn that break otherwise promising maps.

>Letting marines spend their own resources dilutes the game.

Way too many pub games of ns1 ended early because no one wanted to take on the stress of being commander. I've never seen that happen in ns2.

>Maybe I'm getting old, but I find the maps incomprehensible. This last is the real reason I'm not logging any time on NS2.

I think you are getting old. :) No seriously, I think it's just a busier art style that comes with more polygons and higher res textures. I had the same initial reaction being so used to older games with simpler graphics, but once you are accustomed to it most of the maps end up being pretty easy to learn. Tram and mineshaft are particularly hard, but veil is ported perfectly from the original, and summit and docking are both pretty straightforward.