What is map exploration like? BG1 or BG2?

[Tartantyco]

The biggest letdown for me when it came to Baldur's Gate 2 was that the free exploration was dropped. In BG you could explore everywhere except Bandit Camp, Cloakwood, and Baldur's Gate itself straight from the start, and that gave you a wealth of options as to how you were going to proceed through the game. In Baldur's Gate 2 you had to get access to areas through quests instead, and it just took away so much of the game for me.

 

How will Pillars of Eternity deal with this? I can understand that some areas, much like in the original BG, may be off limits due to story progression, but will we still be able to explore large parts of the world without restrictions?

[Sensuki]

somewhere half-way between BG1 and BG2. There will be Wilderness Areas, just not as many as BG1.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Sensuki

[Panteleimon]

I agree absolutely, that was a very disappointing change from BG1 to BG2. The fact that you could(and had to the first time through an area) walk the entire way from one town to the next and actually experience the journey yourself rather than warp from focal point to focal point really gave travel a certain something.

And when I walked up to the bridge to Baldur's Gate and was told the city was sealed due to the war scare, it made that feel real in a way that could only come from seeing it myself. I certainly wasn't annoyed that it was cut off at the moment, how could I be? It made total sense in context. It just made me more interested and invested in the main quest and the region.

I suppose the BG2 method was more economical from a resource standpoint, stuffing every area with a massive concentration of stuff and cutting out the middle man, but sometimes I just want my walk in the hills to be a Little less 'epic'(or frenetic).

On point though, I'd bet Sensuki is right on the money with this.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Panteleimon

[IndiraLightfoot]

Tartantyco: I really loved the exploration in BG1 too. I still recall my first playthrough most vividly, very much because of it and the weird choices I made (but I still persevered). BG2 in that very regard was a pretty big disappointment, it's biggest fault, even. I do hope we get more of BG1 than BG2 when it comes to exploration.

[Nonek]

Though I thought the open maps of Baldur's Gate were a nice feature they pale next to the game worlds i've really enjoyed, Brittania in Ultima's 4-7, central and western Midkemia in Betrayal at Krondor, Rivellon in Divine Divinity, even Ancaria in the first Sacred. In these and others the world seemed to spring to life and be a joy to explore, while BG felt at all times a little too gamey and artificial.

 

Icewind Dale could have been such a setting for me, when it was initially introduced I was both charmed and intrigued by the Kuldahar and the settlement around it, unique, interesting and something worthwhile in the world. Unfortunately it all too soon became dead and content deprived, when I was looking for the great foundations it had lain to be built upon and expanded. A shame.