Okay, I'll try to be more Dark Avatar-specific.
1. The graphics are still a huge step up from DL (Dread Lords) to DA. The ships have a lot more texture, and there's even little details like when you zoom in closer on a planet you can see all the ships docked at that planet in orbit around it. Very, very cool. But the nice thing is, it'll still run on my crappy old machine.
2. The AI is certifiably smarter, and if you read the posts that Brad (Draginol or Frogboy, depending on his mood) has put up the last few days, it looks like Twilight of the Arnor is going to have even better AI. He's pulling it to bits and fixing all sorts of annoying things, making one of the best AIs I've encountered in a strategy game even more wicked strong.
3. DA adds more realism in that many of the 'colonizable' planets have certain conditions that must be met, such as technology to deal with heavy gravity, aquatic worlds, barren worlds, etc. as well as offering the opportunity to mine asteroids to increase production and such.
4. The super abilities are an awesome part that keep me from playing DL. Each race has a certain thing that they're really freakin' good at, like the Altarians with their 'Super Organizer' and how they can convince people to go to war against you just because they're a good race if you are hostile against them, or 'Super Warrior' which allows the Arceans first strike capability - not really handy in the first part of the game, but mid-game on they're a super threat if they're not on your side. Or you've got the earthlings with their 'Super Diplomat' ability and their penchant for avoiding war, or (my personal favorite) the Korath Clan, an offshoot from the Drengin, who are Super Annihilators and can develop Spore Weapons. (I don't ever conventionally invade planets anymore.
)
5. DL had events - things that would happen that will often throw off the equilibrium of the game a bit, like having the I-League appear out of nowhere and turn a level 0 planet into a tasty prize of a level 15. DA, in contrast, has the option to turn on mega events - cataclysmic things that
seriously screw with the balance of the game, like galactic plagues, the Jagged Knife showing up and stealing half your planets (and the planets of all your foes, too), or economic downturns that can have you bankrupt in no time. It's great when your game gets on, when you've hit a stride and you think you've pretty much got the AI figured out to have something like that come in and now you get to deal with totally new adventures.
6. The two new races in DA are cooler than almost any of the races in DL. They're just cool, man.
If I think of anything else, I'll come back and post it. At any rate, I hope this helps, man - if you want my advice (and with the prices the way they are) you'd be best to buy the Gold Edition that has both DL and DA. I really think it'll be worth your money. If you really like it, pony up and buy TA when it comes out, but for some people DA is enough.
But I know that, after playing DA, I wouldn't be happy with just DL anymore.
