When will the map be expanded?

[El lobo]

It seems quite small so far, I played for 4 hours and have been nearly everywhere.

[Genghis Pawn]

The common replies to this are:
(a) You may have seen most of the places, but you haven't seen everything there is to see because you have to explore those places; they only "seem" small if you don't look closely. and (b) also, places aren't content, so don't assume that they need to release new maps to add content (source).
and
b) Nobody can or will say with much precision when specific updates are planned. They used to have a pretty detailed roadmap on the Store Page that listed out what specific features were upcoming, in a clear order, but that was never a timeline of when they would be released, and it has been taken down. They're not too keen on providing timelines at this point (source).

[WeaponsGradeHumanity]

Ghengis isn't wrong but to give more of a direct answer, another quarter of the map is expected to begin opening up when we move from Chapter 0 to Chapter 1.

[Genghis Pawn]

Originally posted by WeaponsGradeHumanity:

Ghengis isn't wrong but to give more of a direct answer, another quarter of the map is expected to begin opening up when we move from Chapter 0 to Chapter 1.

I've confused myself in this point before, but is that so? Chapter 1 release (i.e., end of EA) used to be way down at the end of the roadmap, far beyond the full release of Kasa and the South.

[El lobo]

Originally posted by Genghis Pawn:

The common replies to this are:
(a) You may have seen most of the places, but you haven't seen everything there is to see because you have to explore those places; they only "seem" small if you don't look closely. and (b) also, places aren't content, so don't assume that they need to release new maps to add content (source).
and
b) Nobody can or will say with much precision when specific updates are planned. They used to have a pretty detailed roadmap on the Store Page that listed out what specific features were upcoming, in a clear order, but that was never a timeline of when they would be released, and it has been taken down. They're not too keen on providing timelines at this point (source).

True, still. In a Game about travel map size is very important, just like content.

[Genghis Pawn]

Originally posted by El lobo:

True, still. In a Game about travel map size is very important, just like content.

Won't argue with that.

I'm not necessarily endorsing any of the common replies that I FWDed along, I'm just providing them because this is a popular question with a pretty well-worked out set of replies at this point. The most direct reply to your question is: we don't know when.

[WeaponsGradeHumanity]

Originally posted by Genghis Pawn:

I've confused myself in this point before, but is that so? Chapter 1 release (i.e., end of EA) used to be way down at the end of the roadmap, far beyond the full release of Kasa and the South.

I went back to check and according to this[i.imgur.com] you're absolutely right. I've always thought each region would represent an advancement of the story and now that it comes up, I can't remember whether that idea came from something explicit or implied.

[Genghis Pawn]

I also think the plan is that the story will be evolving as we move through EA -- there has been some (limited) evolution around the Kasa narrative already. That evolution can occur even if we don't see the start of "Ch.1" and the end of "Prologue" (the period formerly known as "Chapter Zero") until the end of EA.

Plausibly the "Early Access Journey" trailer that used to be on the Store Page could be understood to suggest that the story would evolve during EA:

Originally posted by that vid 1:15ff:

Early Access or Chapter Zero [Prologue] as we call it will feature a unique part of the world's story, one that will expand with its own significant updates.

This is ambiguous but can be interpreted to mean that the story would evolve "inside" EA. I think the video was taken down from the Store Page because it used the "Chapter Zero" branding.

Edit: you can find similar and more explicit suggestions of a "changing storyline" and "developing story" during EA in some of their news announcements.

[WeaponsGradeHumanity]

Man, could you imagine if 'Early Access' exhausts the game's life cycle? Classic industry shenanigans.

[Genghis Pawn]

Originally posted by WeaponsGradeHumanity:

Man, could you imagine if 'Early Access' exhausts the game's life cycle? Classic industry shenanigans.

I believe I could imagine that, yes.

[asti223]

Originally posted by WeaponsGradeHumanity:

Man, could you imagine if 'Early Access' exhausts the game's life cycle? Classic industry shenanigans.

This is the reason I haven't been playing. I will gladly contribute to the project however possible but I would like to go back in with a new character that will experience everything fresh rather than already know what to expect for the first hours of the game.

[[PBS] jamstam]

I've been playing since the Steam release, lurking, and watching the updates, and supporting the studio. Being well versed in games' life cycles, I did not commonly play. From my experience and observations, the game has evolved enough to test it further and could be ready for enjoyment to its fullest.

To answer the OP's question, it's impossible you've been everywhere in 4 hours, even if you were, you did not explore enough.

Not to spoil the game, but there are lots of things to do as is. I have visited roughly 21 locations in 30 hours, and have low-mid gear, but times were different. Not to mention there's no level cap and leveling past 5 is not easy.

The game can be confusing as there's no hand-holding, but there is content and plenty of things to do.

As for the studio's official response to further content, it's "no comment" as was said in f.a.q. video.