How is this game open world?

[Toxicwire†]

I haven't bought the game, looking into it but how is this game open world or is it like baldurs game, it gives you a few options to go here and there or is it like Skyrim and has a full fledge explorable map at all times?

[RestarttGaming]

You CAN go almost anywhere at any time( certain areas are only acessable during certain quests, but they don't block access to other areas), but the enemies may be way to hard.

[Toxicwire†]

Originally posted by Restartt:

You CAN go almost anywhere at any time( certain areas are only acessable during certain quests, but they don't block access to other areas), but the enemies may be way to hard.

So the game is set up in regions like Torchlight 2 or Diablo?

[RestarttGaming]

There are 4 large maps, each connected by a gateway. Each map itself is a lor more open then a Diablo map, a lot less linear paths. Think like world of warcraft style zones, but with diablo like transitions between zones

There are also waypoints scattered around you can insta teleport to once you've found them once.

[Gregorovitch]

DOS is not really an open world RPG but it isn't linear either. In fact sometimes it feels like it's a bit confused as to which it is.

Technically you can go anywhere once you've dicovered how to get there but in reality you are channelled into certain areas Gothic 2 style by the presence of enemies way too strong for you where you're not supposed to go yet.

In some ways it feels a bit like BG1 & 2 in that you have a series fairly big areas to more or less freely adventure in which open up sequentially as the game progresses but it also feels different because there is a lot more inter-dependency between quest lines which kind of stops you moving on unti you've tied up all the loose ends in what might be called a local quest group.

[raubrey]

Gregorvitch summed it up well. It's not open world but nor is it linear. I think we need a new word in the gaming dictionary for this. :)

[Incunabulum]

Originally posted by ☩Heretic Inquisitor☩:

How is this game open world?

Its not.

[devland]

There are 4 maps, each with hidden dungeon-like areas.
You can visit most of them at any time, though some might be too difficult if you rush exploring.
You can revisit any area at any time after you've explored it.
There are also portals for fast travel.
Enemies do not re-spawn.

[Yggdrasil]

Originally posted by Gregorovitch:

DOS is not really an open world RPG but it isn't linear either. In fact sometimes it feels like it's a bit confused as to which it is.

Technically you can go anywhere once you've dicovered how to get there but in reality you are channelled into certain areas Gothic 2 style by the presence of enemies way too strong for you where you're not supposed to go yet.

In some ways it feels a bit like BG1 & 2 in that you have a series fairly big areas to more or less freely adventure in which open up sequentially as the game progresses but it also feels different because there is a lot more inter-dependency between quest lines which kind of stops you moving on unti you've tied up all the loose ends in what might be called a local quest group.

Nailed it.

[Dorok]

It's more open that Gothic 2, in G2 multiple dangerous areas can be sneak through either with a safe path either with some stealth but you still have limits and Stealth isn't very useful. In D:OS Stealth can be quite more efficient and it is perfectly adapted to a party approach thanks to the huge party split abilities and some teleport stones.

All in all you could explore a large part of the 3 main areas (1, 3 and 4) with a low level party by using stealth or eventually invisibility. For the snow area I don't think so.

But for combats it's another matter, because of the non scaling of enemies.

I also disagree about the dependencies, in fact in D:OS the main line for each areas is very independent. In my replay I do a lot in different orders and it's clearly designed for that.

But at first play most players won't noticed much that freedom because they'll try achieve all quests of an areas and kill all monsters of an area before to move to another, but nothing force you do that except if you want do the combats.

[mbpopolano24]

It is not ONLY if you are a [insert offensive remark here] and limit yourself because you are afraid of challenges or too [insert second remark here] to experiment with the game.

[feralgal]

I mostly agree with Gregorvitch except that I think that the game is fairly linear. Some of the dialogs, comments, etc. won't make sense if you do them in the "wrong" order. The story is also hard to follow if you don't do things in the order that Larian apparently intended.

I base this on trying to go straight to the Dark Forest map after doing the western part of the Cyseal map so my experience is probably far less common than most players', though. Although there have been (in the past) quite a few comments about people having problems with the main quest in Cyseal if you do things in the "wrong" order and a few other people who had the problems with dialog if you skip most of the Luculla Forest map and go directly to the Dark Forest map, among other problems that players have experienced by doing things in the "wrong" order. The directions that Zigzak gives you for how to stop the attacks on your homestead are wrong. They seem to assume that you are on the Luculla Forest map at the time that he speaks to you, even though the dialog occurs on the Dark Forest map. He does not give any indication that you should try to solve the quest by returning to the Luculla Forest map, then using his directions. This is a huge pain if you're unfortunate enough to experience it.

If you encounter these problems on a replay, it's not a big deal because you already know the story, where you should go to solve certain quests, etc. At that point, I think that the game can be played in different orders and is far less linear. But the problems can be confusing if it's your first playthrough. Other than that, I agree with Gregorvitch.

[Dorok]

Originally posted by mbpopolano24:

It is not ONLY if you are a [insert offensive remark here] and limit yourself because you are afraid of challenges or too [insert second remark here] to experiment with the game.

Lol, common [morale and behavior lesson] no need be [insults and bird names] but I agree that playing routinely ie as you are used to play other RPG will not show its real gameplay.

One point is this RPG isn't combats centered, few RPG are like that, and players aren't used to it. Explore an areas mean kill all enemies in it. But the game has wide areas without combats and ton more tricks to find or solve than combats.

Add to that stealth tricks and even combats tricks to get rid of some quite higher level opponents, and it is quite open. The tricks for combats or problems to solve are clearly designed to push players be creative. A side effect is combats end with too many OP ways and many combats have tricks to make them a lot more easy. But it remains that it's a game designed to forget routine play and try be creative.

[Dorok]

Originally posted by feralgal:

Some of the dialogs, comments, etc. won't make sense if you do them in the "wrong" order.

Really? I played the game in more or less a right order, and I replay in a totally wrong order, I have yet to see a dialogs that doesn't make sense.

The 4 areas are in fact quite independent threads so they hardly show coherency problems.

[Horrorscope CC97]

Originally posted by ☩Heretic Inquisitor☩:

I haven't bought the game, looking into it but how is this game open world or is it like baldurs game, it gives you a few options to go here and there or is it like Skyrim and has a full fledge explorable map at all times?

More like BG, almost just like it.