They could have easily split the EA wilderness into just a couple more areas to create a proper feeling of distance. Even the overland map is already there.
E.g.
Map A: crash site, abandoned temple, Druid Grove
Map B: Blighted Village, Goblin fort, hag swamp
Map C: Waukeens Rest, Toll house, Mountain pass
Even just separating Map A from everything else would have accomplished this.
It does bother me how gamey Larian's games feel. It's gameplay convenience over immersion so hard that it's harmful for an RPG. The theme park area design that destroys all feeling of distance, traveling and scale.
The fast travel system that is an actual magical teleportation system in the game world that only the player uses. Why are they explaining a player convenience feature as a real game world teleportation event?? It just raises questions a strictly game mechanical fast travel system wouldn't. Why is no one else using the free teleport from Underdark to surface to wherever? Why are the runes literally everywhere within a few minutes of walking distance? Who needed a magical teleportation system to cover such meaningless distances and why? Why aren't Red Wizards and other factions all over the place trying to chip off the rocks with the teleport runes and use them for trade and mitary purposes? It's a self powering free teleport system with multiple access points which is enough to make a kingdom.
Larian don't have the answers. Immersion is their biggest downfall and it's a big deal in RPGs, unfortunately. I hope they learn to make immersive worlds that make sense and feel real rather than remind you at every turn that it's a game where things don't need to make sense. Even the later iterations of Dragon Age don't feel this gamey.
