A Question Regarding Open Worlds and Size; What would you players prefer?

[Almighty_Jado]

Hey everybody, just a quick question for anyone who stops by:

Do you think the Orb Vallis' 9km^2 area is a good size? Would you prefer a larger open world? Perhaps one larger than PoE but smaller than the Vallis?

Thanks for you answer!

 

 

Spoiler

^{_{Also this may or may not be a question that I want answered so I can improve my fan concept further by solidifying the dimensions of its open zone... shameless plug here:}
https://forums.warframe.com/topic/942631-the-legion-of-tau-210-as-seen-on-primetime-sentient-open-world-new-weapons-diverse-enemies-general-endgame-content-and-more-newest-addition-portalyst-and-lekalyst-redesign/}

 

 

[Firetempest]

Orb is perfect size I feel, but it's all samey. Could have offered a distinct terrain change between one side to the other like PoE coast to mountains just streched out. But it's just high cliffs, low roads and dotted with landmarks to break it up instead. But that's just my preference.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Firetempest

[AdunSaveMe]

I'd rather have detail over size. More depth, and I don't mean caves. It's great to have a big pretty-looking zone but not if it's meaningless filler space.

It's worse in the Plains than it is in Fortuna though.

[ZesiMuerte]

GTA San Andreas size, with territorial wars.

Besides K-drive, put sci-fi horses.

RDR+GTA+WF Open World. Perfect game. 10/10.

Edit: Just joking. In my opinion, the size of maps are irrelevant. I don't know why so many young gamers nowadays get orgasm at huge maps. If the maps are empty like Fallout 4, would it be fun? I highly doubt so. Compare it with say, skyrim or san andreas (even if san andreas is dated) those are interesting. Kingdom Come Deliverance is also a very good example of huge, beautiful maps, but empty and lack of substance in gameplay.

I say, let the content determine the size of the map, not the other way round.

Edited November 14, 2018 by ZesiMuerte

[CoolDudeMcCool]

As long as it feels alive, has good content, maintains quality, and is actually playable by the people who play the game, as big as you can make it. 

There should be a reliable way to cross the map, and preferably no need to go from one end to the other for one random mission. Long travel time is best kept to a minimum, which means either letting people have access to quicker travel, or missions being localized in a specific part of the map, maybe with different types of missions in different areas. The latter is probably more appealing, it doesn't matter how big the world is if you never see it because you're rocketing across the landscape so fast everything is a blur. If the map is so big that going from the starting point to the area where X thing happens is tedious, maybe there can be different drop-in/evacuation areas to help with that. 

[Showerwalker]

I think you could explore more of the story and lore of the sentient, such as their hierarchy or how they'd look and act out of combat (they are 'machines' made for terraforming at first after all. Only then they weaponized themselves by synthesizing orokin tech) by understanding their habitat and most specifically what planet/system would the orokin deem uninhabitable and needing them in the first place might help you better visualize the world's appearance and perhaps the size. PS: love your Legion of Tau post, it's really cool

[BulletsforTeeth]

4 hours ago, Firetempest said:

Orb is perfect size I feel, but it's all samey. Could have offered a distinct terrain change between one side to the other like PoE coast to mountains just streched out. But it's just high cliffs, low roads and dotted with landmarks to break it up instead. But that's just my preference.

I think this is pretty much the most prominant, and at that, minor, issue with the Orb vallis. It'd be nice if there were just a bit more transition or variability,  for example perhaps the outer reaches of the map more clearly transition into the pressure-cooker hellish wasteland of non-terraformed venus? Or perhaps more of  the frost melts during the warm period?

Or maybe it goes like you said, from mountainous and cliffed to more  hilly to maybe even a more flat area at one end of the map. Regardless though, it's still so much better than POE, DE really nailed things with Fortuna.

[Lost_Cartographer]

Biome diversity is usually the sticking point to a lot of open world maps.  The snowy mountains look great, don't get me wrong, but the area around the Temple of Profit looks and feels the same as the area around the Spaceport.  We really could have used a burning hellscape on some portion of the map, and maybe a small surface colony in another.

Its... not the greatest game, but what Planetside 2 got right with one of its continents was that Indar is desert themed, in that it has a red-rock canyon region, a flat, dead sea bed "desert" region, and a dry prairie/savannah region.  It was enough variety that One could orient themselves relatively well and roughly understood where they were on the map.  On Venus, that would equate to a mountainous snow scape, a rugged tundra (think Alaska) and a burning hellscape on the edge of a pocket  of Venus where the towers just plain failed.  Right now the most notable feature is that central lake in front of Fortuna, and we quickly lose sight of it.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Littleman88