I really like how they have made the zones so open. There are very few pathways and valleys like we see in many, many MMOs. To me this makes the whole map feel like one single long path you need to walk through. The feeling of this might be influenced by the way other MMOs make their zones look at the minimap. How many people here have not opened their map just to follow the road to next quest hub over and over? This feeling is completely gone in GW2 for me. The combination of more open maps and the rewards from just exploring and not really care where you going, makes this result for me. It is just so much more fun to play PvE when you dont have to look at your interface/minimap 60% of the time. Well done Anet. 

Anyone else feel the same?

Yes i agree...

 

And if i have to look at the map, its probably the best looking map of any MMO.

They're pretty good, I especially appreciate the attention to little details, like incentivising exploration for skill points and there also being little jumping puzzles with a loot chest at the end of them, etc.

I'd like the whole world to be open and there to be no loading between zones, but I realise that is difficult with their setup.

I was delighted when I realized there are three ways to get into the northern parts of the Norn starter area.  One at a high elevation, one in a normal way, and one underwater.  None of them better than the others, just different.

 

I also really like not only that the zones are huge but that they have a huge variety of stuff going on.

They kinda remind me of how zones were made in old MMOs, like M59, EQ and Lineage.

Modern MMOs often makes paths you more or less have to walk, but I think it have to do with the fact that most modern MMOs more or less is a linear path from one questhub to the next. Since GW2s DEs happens all over the map and you rarely go anywhere for a turnin it is just more natural to makemaps like this.

When getting to a new zone, not opening the map, not talking to any scouts, not following any hearts and just roaming around is so rewarding! You feel like an actual person walking around in an actual alive environment, it's fantastic.

I like the zones, in general. The ones I've seen, at least. Norn area was specially appealling to me, despite being almost all snow-covered. They managed to give them some personality, using a difficult basic theme.

It's open, full of detais, nooks and crannies. Art direction is stunning.

Beautiful environment art in this game, so the zones are very nice to look at. Also, yeah, they didn't feel too boxed in in terms of geography, which blissfully goes against the recent trend. Though I must say seeing those huge red "You Cannot Enter" signs in the air was quite the turn-off.

Also I saw more loads than I'm comfortable with (but then I'm only comfortable with loads on continent changes). It's especially conspicuous when you try and make a run to a far spot of the map.

From what I've seen, I'd rank the outdoor zones higher than average, but not among the top. But then I have a lot more to see.

Though the cities... They're hands down  the best looking ones I've seen in any MMO. Not only are they beautiful, but they feel very much alive as well.

I usually end up looking at the map, deciding on where to go, and then spending the next hour or 2 doing random dynamic events on the way there and never finishing my objective I was after for quite some time. I love the feeling of just getting lost in the world. Not worrying about the destination, but enjoying the journey is what makes it so much fun. You can literally just roam around aimlessly and find plenty of stuff to do.

I don't really find the maps any more open than the average mmo.

Obviously you can go in any direction and don't have worry about hitting a specific quest hub. In other mmos missing a quest hub might leave you behind on the level curve. With GW2 you can always go to a lower level area you have yet to experience.

Beautiful video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JSviUveSXE&feature=player_embedded

The zones are massive, open, immersive and beautiful. Lack of linearity and rewards for exploration make game play in the GW2 world feel like a cross between the best MMO experiences and the free-roaming openness of a game like Skyrim, except the world is much, much bigger than Skyrim.

The higher in level you get, the more open your explorations. Not only does level scaling keeplower level content valid and interesting, but I noticed that by the mid-20s, you actually can handle most content 4 or 5 levels higher, if you play smart and have some skill.

The level 2-6 "sub zones" in the level 2-15 racial zones break up those zones, I didn't really start to fully appreciate the size and openess of the game zones until I got to the level 15-25 zones and Gendarran Fields, the level 25-35 zone that was added for BWE2, blew me completely away.

The game is full of detail and all the farms, villages, forts, manors and other points of interest all feel realistic in design and placement with in the world.

GW2 may lack a number of features required for a sandbox game, but the game maps themselves would be very well suited for a Sandbox game. The freedom, openness and realism of the maps, combined with non-linear, dynamic content delivery definitely remove most of the "theme park" feeling found in most MMOs and put the game about as close to the sandbox end of the sandbox vs. theme park spectrum as we have seen in any non-sandbox AAA MMORPG.

I was looking at one of the new map tools yesterday, along with the map that shows the zone locations and level ranges. I was shocked to see that we've only had access to about 1/4 of the non-city land mass, or a bit less. In 81 hours of play testing between all events, with exploration a major personal focus, I know I've only explored, at most, 60% of the environments that were open to us. That includes time spent doing just basic exploration of many areas, not taking the time to give an area more than a cursory examination before heading off in search of the next Point of Interest, Waypoint or Skill Point Challenge.

At high setting, at least, the view distances are incredible. From the balcony of a Manor in northern Gendarran fields I could see the silhouette of the gateway to Lion's Arch, probably a 7 minute run to the south.

Technological limitations clearly still force trade offs. The vastness and viewing distances in Gendarran Fields were extremely impressive, especially since my frame rate remained in the 35-45 FPS range, even at near max settings. However, there is less in the way of trees, shrubs and other ground flora than would be required to make the environments perfect. I'm fine with the trade off, the openness of most of the environments is a very welcome change from the often claustrophobic feel of the majority of other MMORPG titles. (The level of detail, in the context of the vast openness is also impressive when compared to many purely sand box world environments).

Just for the record, I appreciate that there are some other upcoming titles that also appear to be offering visuals in the same league as GW2, sometimes with engines that appear to even be superior in some areas. I think GW2 visuals and environments are clearly among the best seen to date in the genre and I'm glad that many MMORPGs in general seem poised to leave the cartoonish WoW look behind. We still may be a ways away from MMO environments that combine the vastness we expect, with the level of detail seen in the most detailed FPS titles, but we are getting there.

@OP: the zones aren't big compared with the zones in other MMO's, kinda same sized, sometimes smaller, sometimes larger, and the zone structure can be offputting compared to the openworldness of MMO's like WoW and LotrO, but they're well and artistically designed.

@Fiontar: MMO's will always be a step behind in graphics compared with singleplayer games, for the simple reason that MMO's have a number of other things that have to be taken into account that push the graphical quality down compared with singleplayer games.

Originally posted by smh_alot
@OP: the zones aren't big compared with the zones in other MMO's, kinda same sized, sometimes smaller, sometimes larger, and the zone structure can be offputting compared to the openworldness of MMO's like WoW and LotrO, but they're well and artistically designed.

 

@Fiontar: MMO's will always be a step behind in graphics compared with singleplayer games, for the simple reason that MMO's have a number of other things that have to be taken into account that push the graphical quality down compared with singleplayer games.

Gendarran Fields feels bigger than the Barrens in WoW and definitely as large or larger than the largest LotRO zone, while feeling even more organic and looking better to boot. Arenanet have done a great job making the zones above level 15 not feel like self contained zones, but part of a large, connected world.

Of course MMOs will always lag behind single player FPS games, the point I was making is that FPS titles are now able to produce some very expansive, lush environments that don't need to compromise on realism. MMOs should be able to match some of what we see from the best current large environment FPS titles in the next five years or so. Guild Wars 3 will be mind blowing. ;)

Originally posted by solarine

Beautiful environment art in this game, so the zones are very nice to look at. Also, yeah, they didn't feel too boxed in in terms of geography, which blissfully goes against the recent trend. Though I must say seeing those huge red "You Cannot Enter" signs in the air was quite the turn-off.

Also I saw more loads than I'm comfortable with (but then I'm only comfortable with loads on continent changes). It's especially conspicuous when you try and make a run to a far spot of the map.

From what I've seen, I'd rank the outdoor zones higher than average, but not among the top. But then I have a lot more to see.

Though the cities... They're hands down  the best looking ones I've seen in any MMO. Not only are they beautiful, but they feel very much alive as well.

Pretty much agree wtih this on all points.  

The environments I've seen so far are very distinct and universally beautiful.  It appears each zone will have a unique personality.  

Loading screens were far more prevalent than I had hoped.  Unless you are teleporting to a very nearby waypoint, you will encounter a load screen, even within the same zone. It's still a huge turn off for me when I have to travel through a portal to reach adjacent zones, especially the cities.  There do seem to be two or three connection points between zones, which feels infinitely better than one choke point, but I haven't yet encountered anything quite as open as, say, the borders between Ewynn Forest, Duskwood, and Westfall, or the Barrens and Durotar in WoW.  Unforutnately, with the requirement of loading screens between zones, I wouldn't expect to find anything like that either.

The cities, though, were truly wonders to behold.  These are what MMO cities always should have been!  How have we accepted anything less than this for all these years?

Editting to add that it was great to play in a world where hotspots of life, civilization, and busy happenings are everywhere.  The life and vibrancy of the city environs carry over to the open world.  There are literally dozens of small towns, camps, forts and villages in every zone.   

Originally posted by Homitu

Originally posted by solarine

Beautiful environment art in this game, so the zones are very nice to look at. Also, yeah, they didn't feel too boxed in in terms of geography, which blissfully goes against the recent trend. Though I must say seeing those huge red "You Cannot Enter" signs in the air was quite the turn-off.

Also I saw more loads than I'm comfortable with (but then I'm only comfortable with loads on continent changes). It's especially conspicuous when you try and make a run to a far spot of the map.

From what I've seen, I'd rank the outdoor zones higher than average, but not among the top. But then I have a lot more to see.

Though the cities... They're hands down  the best looking ones I've seen in any MMO. Not only are they beautiful, but they feel very much alive as well.

Pretty much agree wtih this on all points.  

The environments I've seen so far are very distinct and universally beautiful.  It appears each zone will have a unique personality.  

Loading screens were far more prevalent than I had hoped.  Unless you are teleporting to a very nearby waypoint, you will encounter a load screen, even within the same zone. It's still a huge turn off for me when I have to travel through a portal to reach adjacent zones, especially the cities.  There do seem to be two or three connection points between zones, which feels infinitely better than one choke point, but I haven't yet encountered anything quite as open as, say, the borders between Ewynn Forest, Duskwood, and Westfall, or the Barrens and Durotar in WoW.  Unforutnately, with the requirement of loading screens between zones, I wouldn't expect to find anything like that either.

The cities, though, were truly wonders to behold.  These are what MMO cities always should have been!  How have we accepted anything less than this for all these years? 

We haven't. EQ1 had cities like this. That's why I love this game. Well one reason.

 

Oh FYI...the "Do Not Enter" signs are I believe a beta-only thing, as access to some zones is restricted in beta. Hopefully we will not see that post-launch. 

Maps are nothing that has not been done before nor are the zones as huge as some are playing them out to be, go run through the old EQ zones or the planets from SWG those were huge and filled with sandbox elements where you could do anything you want. Say what you want but the game play here is still scripted and pushes you along a path towards the next zone, it is a themepark, a well done one but still a themepark in the end.

the zones in GW2 are really fun to run around in, and full of content.

Originally posted by Saxonblade

Maps are nothing that has not been done before nor are the zones as huge as some are playing them out to be, go run through the old EQ zones or the planets from SWG those were huge and filled with sandbox elements where you could do anything you want. Say what you want but the game play here is still scripted and pushes you along a path towards the next zone, it is a themepark, a well done one but still a themepark in the end.

Pretty sure this conversation has nothing to do with themepark versus sandbox.  Everyone knows this is a themepark, and not everyone thinks themepark is a derogatory term.  

Originally posted by Saxonblade

Maps are nothing that has not been done before nor are the zones as huge as some are playing them out to be, go run through the old EQ zones or the planets from SWG those were huge and filled with sandbox elements where you could do anything you want. Say what you want but the game play here is still scripted and pushes you along a path towards the next zone, it is a themepark, a well done one but still a themepark in the end.

I can see someone might have that opinion if they didn't get beyond the level 2-15 zones. The 15-25 zones were all massive and the 25-35 zone is bigger still. I spent the last five hours of BWE3 exploring Gendarran Falls and there was still over a third of the map I didn't get to. I did heart tasks, and a few DEs. I didn't expore any locale in any sort of detail, in fact I noticed things in some of my screen shots I didn't even pick up on while playing, because I wasn't spending much time in one spot.

(For instance, I didn't notice the Ruins on the hill behind this town when I passed through the region, nor did I spend any real time checking out the town's streets. This was just one of maybe half a dozen forts or settlements I found in the zone and the distance between them is appreciable).

Things may seem familiar and somewhat linear in the level 2-6 areas on the starter zones. Things open up a little when you get out of those pockets into the rest of the starter zone, but things don't completely open up until you reach the 25+ areas of the game.

There is nothing liner here. There is no linearity to the content and by the time you reach level 15 there is so much redundancy of content, further amplified by level scaling, that you really have absolute freedom.

The game is clearly a theme park/sandbox hybrid and it wouldn't have taken very many sandbox features to push this game to the sandbox side of the spectrum.

The game and the world are sandbox in very similar ways to how Skyrim can be considered a sandbox. The biggest difference is that content doesn't scale up to you, your level still limits what content is beyond you, while you scale down to keep lower level content meaningful.