I don't know. I still think the game would actually be much better and run better with smaller maps. Look how fast the load times are in the prologue as compared to the rest of the EA. Smaller overall map. Game loads quicker.
So, Imagine the EA surface map was Beach/Nautiloid/Crypt/Wilderness just outside crypt where you reunite with Lae'zel. That's 1 map with one or two gates that lead to Silvanus Grove. The game would have to load up that first area faster if it was just that significantly smaller area. So, not only should it be faster loading screens but you'd get a transition from that first area to the second, making it clear that time passes between the two.
Area 2 is Silvanus Grove which includes everything from the harpies all the way to where you meet Ed and siblings. Whether you go down to the river and cross by the owlbear cave or you cross the bridge, you transition to the next area. Again, maybe two gates. After all, the game map is actually designed to be only those two ways to get to the next area.
I would think the hardest part would be to develop the landscape beyond the gates so it looks like there's more land there, but you can't actually enter that land. So, from Area 1 to Area 2, they'd have to create sort of a mountainous backdrop that makes it clear you're continuing to make your way through boring, empty mountains to the next location. Then, from Area 2 to 3, you'd need more of a backdrop of mountains and trees. The trees becoming more prevalent as you continue on into the distance because Area 3 is the Forest/Blighted Village/Ruined Temple of Selune. It kinda makes sense to include both the village and the goblin camp in one map because the Temple of Selune was a pivotal structure in 1372 linked directly with the village of Moonhaven. Also, you can stand on the overlook at the back of the windmill and see the temple in the distance. It's very appropriate to have them together.
The backdrop for the south would be that it dips more and more until, in the distance, you see the bog at the foot of the mountainous, forested area. The transition gate to the north could be way before you reach the bridge. Like the bog, you see the bridge in the distance, but the remainder of the ruined town of Moonhaven is more of the backdrop, letting you know that there is more boring, non-important areas of the village besides just the few buildings in the game right now.
Risen Road would be Area 4 and the Bog Area 5. Each area, being cut into smaller chunks, would have to speed up loading times and it would add to the immersion of the game, making players feel more like they are actually journeying through larger, wider spaces, and that places like the Blighted Village aren't just a few small homes and the forest isn't just a few trees clustered together, etc.
Not that they'll likely do this, but I would think that if they did, it would greatly improve a number of things. Like... I wouldn't see Alfira's lyrics floating in the air all the way from the Temple of Selune... lol... as if they can hear her in the Goblin Camp.
