I must also say that I didn't feel DA was exactly the step up from NWN2 I had expected in terms of gravity. Its strength is no doubt in the characters and animations, which are lightyears ahead of NWN2. But in terms of the areas themselves, I feel many of the DA ones are quite flat. With day and night cycles, plants and trees that have a small movement to them, I think NWN2 areas in general feel a bit more alive and "vibrant".
Though, just as with NWN2, the area design quality in DA will only go up. NWN2 OC wasn't anything spectacular, while MotB and SoZ had some amazing areas (far better looking than DAs, even with its longer drawdistance and larger scaled areas). Or just look at the recently released Misery Stone mod (set in Ravenloft), amazing areas. As clunky as it can be, the NWN2 engine has had time to settle and people have learned how to really make great looking areas in it. I suspect the same will happen in DA if the interest in it doesn't dwindle.
EDIT: Also, to stay somewhat on-topic, I really don't care much for any visual improvements in terms of the technical design. DA looks fine enough and is functional. I hope they can improve their art design a lot though as DA wasn't very interesting in that area. A good sign is how much more interesting and varied ME2 looks when compared to the rather stale ME1.