Re: What is really new?
Dom II was a great step beyond DomPPP, but my take is that Dom 3 is the perfection of the changes that Dom II initiated.
I loaded up Dom II today. I noticed immediately that some of the commands that I have grown used to in Dom 3 weren't there: things like being able to resize the commanders bar, or hide the commands to the right-hand side, etc. I noticed the lack of the information-rich interface that I have grown used to: in Dom 3 I can see gem amounts, magical items, province descriptions, etc. in the main view. I recalled some of the non-particle-ized spell effects (even things like poison) which looked pretty silly in Dom II. Dom II was a great step forward, but a lot of the changes weren't complete - the game creation process for example was in some ways a step back from DomPPP. In Dom 3 the changes are pretty much complete, as well as a whole lot of stuff added (such as the aging system, national spells, the different eras)
In other words, I think it's a better, more complete game than Dom II, even though it is similar in content and style. Much more than a service patch, since most aspects of the game have been re-examined and thoughtfully changed. See below for a short list off the top of my head for new things that I'm particularly grateful are included:
pretender creation independant of game creation (how bitterly I wished I had this in Dom II!)
random opponents in game creation
several different AI tactics, as well as AI strengths
different eras (each with different emphases)
total gems available listed in main screen
commanders' icons are resizeable, and show gems + magical items equipped, as well as troops being commanded
national summons!
new spells/items/summons designed to deal with demons (hate those demons!)
damage done in combat shown
eradication of most all the old and nasty spell graphics (Slime, Poison)
new battlefields, depending on terrain
terrain survival actually makes something of a difference (at least for swamp survival - hopefully we can convince the devs to add more!)
new independant troops (toad, horse, lion, bear, wolf, deer tribes)
new fortress types
new option of awakening, making it more viable to create a great bless strategy.
bless effects shown when creating a pretender
ability to get out of windows (such a spell lists) without scrolling to the bottom
shift-click to recruit multiple units at once
in SP, clicking 'end turn' automatically takes you to the next turn
less friendly fire (IMHO)
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Hybrid Mode
