Full Open Map, or Unlock as you go?

[Rammer2k]

GTA V was the 1st game that I know of where the entire map was open to explore.  Would you prefer RDR 2 to be the same, or like previous games, the map unlocks as you progress the story.  I'm kinda torn on this.  Playing through Red Dead Redemption again, I kinda like opening up the map as I progress, but also being able to explore San Andreas after doing just the 1st mission was nice too.

[GTA Plus Enjoyer]

I'd like it to be like in GTA San Andreas, but I don't know how could it be done... in GTA:SA you were forbidden to leave because Tenpenny didn't allow you to. In GTA IV you couldn't because you didn't have a visa, and there was a terrorist attack.

 

I don't want the whole map to be unlocked from the start, period.

[Spadeflush]

I'd prefer unlock as you go, but I feel that won't be the case. 

[PhotomodePNG]

Total freedom so an open map I hope.

[silly_nate]

I want an open map from the start

[Flannelmagic1]

I prefer a locked map tbh, when it is fully open from the start, to me you miss out on those awesome moments like riding into Mexico in the sunset while listening to Far Away. I don't know man, unlocking a new area is just exciting, more so than if you could go there from the start. If I had to guess I would say it is going to be open but with some restrictions depending on where you are in the story.

[Slonitram]

I think it's going to be fully open from the start if Rockstar wants to achieve the maximum player freedom they seem to be going for, unless bridges to new locations will be built as in-game time passes, like how they've been teasing with that one barn IGN mentioned.

[Pocket Fox]

Explore as you go for single player.

Revealed map for multiplayer.

[Lock n' Stock]

To be honest, GTA V made me realise how much I miss having a locked map. It's just far more satisfying to unlock more parts of the map as you go along, rather than having it all open to you at the start.

[infectedG636]

Unlock as you go I would like to see.  Open map for multiplayer obviously

[Johnny Spaz]

Locked map, keep it old school

[Non Funkable Token]

With that big blizzard going on at the beginning, it's a good bet to say the map will have some parts to be unlocked later on. Plus the gang being on the run makes a logical decision to lock some parts due to law enforcement reasons.

[Vercetti27]

Locked, as you have something to work towards and you spend more time exploring the open parts and attributing missions and memories to each area. An open map sometimes means you want to cover it all right from the outset and get distracted. I can't imagine how much time I would have spent up in tall trees if it was open from the beginning. 

[MARKUS.]

For what we know so far I think it would be locked, so you unlock certain parts as you flee and move the camp with the gang.

 

and maybe it’s possible that visiting some previous parts of the map would have consequences as a permanent wanted level. More or less what happened on GTA V when you were on Madrazzo’s hitlist 

[Tonesta]

Would love it to be 'Unlock as you go' because there was nothing more satisfying in older games than completing that tough mission to open up another third of the map.

 

But in the Online era, it's tough to see it happening. They are going to want the entire playground to be open from the beginning for Online, so probably think it doesn't make sense to restrict players in Story Mode alone.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by Tonesta

[CrimsonFolo]

As others have said, Online - Full Map. Singleplayer I wouldn't mind either way but If the map is big enough, I would like it to be unlock as you progress but only have this happen like 2-3 times dependent on map size.

[combustion]

Open map from the start. IMO it's better to familiarise with the map a bit before progressing through the story.

[joshua969]

Unlock the map as you go.  I love the feeling of exploring new areas as the story progresses.

[DoctorMike]

They should unlock the map as we go through the story, just like the older R* games, It felt really satisfying to explore the newly unlocked locations

[Nutduster]

On 8/26/2018 at 5:00 PM, Rammer2k said:

GTA V was the 1st game that I know of where the entire map was open to explore.

 

First among Rockstar's open world games, but not first open world game to do that by any means. 

 

Anyway, I actually would like the old school "unlock as you play" approach.  As great as the world of GTA V is, there is no revelatory moment similar to when you first make land in Mexico (RDR) or move to an entirely new city (San Andreas).  The worlds are large with so much to explore in each area, anyway - I don't need to have access to all of it at once.

[Fidzy]

On 8/26/2018 at 10:31 PM, Domac said:

I'd like it to be like in GTA San Andreas, but I don't know how could it be done... in GTA:SA you were forbidden to leave because Tenpenny didn't allow you to. In GTA IV you couldn't because you didn't have a visa, and there was a terrorist attack.

 

I don't want the whole map to be unlocked from the start, period.

RDR1 was mostly locked at the beginning. You couldn't enter West Elizabeth or pass through to Mexico until so far ahead.

[TheWetPartoftheArm]

I think unlocking the map as you go is an outdated mechanic. In some of the previews it said parts of the map would change over time, like NPCs would be building tracks or houses and then later in the game you'd see them completed - this wouldn't work as effectively if you're only unlocking parts of the map as you play through it, it's more satisfying to unlock the whole map and then watch as it changes over time, along with new side missions and activities opening up in those areas. There's more than enough to look forward to without unnecessarily restricting the player from the get go just for the sake of being "old school". Players who don't want to explore the whole map immediately don't have to, they can stick to one region and save the rest for later (since early story missions tend not to send players outside the initial region, even in GTA V). The people who want a locked map are essentially asking the developers to purposefully restrict one group of gamers who want to explore to benefit gamers who want to wait, but lack the willpower to do so, which I don't think is fair. 

 

It's the same argument as expecting developers not to include easier difficulties because you personally like a challenge. Freedom is the future: allowing players to play the game how they want to play it, so I'm expecting as few restrictions as realistically possible and I think that's a great thing. You should probably have a better argument than "I kinda liked it" if you wanna restrict freedom in a game.

On 8/27/2018 at 1:54 PM, Vercetti27 said:

Locked, as you have something to work towards and you spend more time exploring the open parts and attributing missions and memories to each area. An open map sometimes means you want to cover it all right from the outset and get distracted. I can't imagine how much time I would have spent up in tall trees if it was open from the beginning. 

Let's say you do get distracted... why is that a problem? Rockstar practically want you to get distracted, that's precisely why their games rule the open world genre - it's what makes their settings so fun to play around in, every time you wanna do one thing, something else pops up so you're spoiled for choice. The main story isn't going to go anywhere (unless there's a mission which penalises you for taking too much time before starting it, and I doubt that'll happen), so take your time and explore it at your own pace, why is that inferior to having your hand held and being told when you can explore certain areas?

Edited August 29, 2018 by TheWetPartoftheArm

[Aborted_Fetus]

1 hour ago, TheWetPartoftheArm said:

I think unlocking the map as you go is an outdated mechanic. In some of the previews it said parts of the map would change over time, like NPCs would be building tracks or houses and then later in the game you'd see them completed - this wouldn't work as effectively if you're only unlocking parts of the map as you play through it, it's more satisfying to unlock the whole map and then watch as it changes over time, along with new side missions and activities opening up in those areas. There's more than enough to look forward to without unnecessarily restricting the player from the get go just for the sake of being "old school". Players who don't want to explore the whole map immediately don't have to, they can stick to one region and save the rest for later (since early story missions tend not to send players outside the initial region, even in GTA V). The people who want a locked map are essentially asking the developers to purposefully restrict one group of gamers who want to explore to benefit gamers who want to wait, but lack the willpower to do so, which I don't think is fair. 

 

It's the same argument as expecting developers not to include easier difficulties because you personally like a challenge. Freedom is the future: allowing players to play the game how they want to play it, so I'm expecting as few restrictions as realistically possible and I think that's a great thing. You should probably have a better argument than "I kinda liked it" if you wanna restrict freedom in a game.

Let's say you do get distracted... why is that a problem? Rockstar practically want you to get distracted, that's precisely why their games rule the open world genre - it's what makes their settings so fun to play around in, every time you wanna do one thing, something else pops up so you're spoiled for choice. The main story isn't going to go anywhere (unless there's a mission which penalises you for taking too much time before starting it, and I doubt that'll happen), so take your time and explore it at your own pace, why is that inferior to having your hand held and being told when you can explore certain areas?

Those are all great points, and from the fundamental standpoint of not arbitrarily restricting an area I would agree. But for me, there's just something that's more fun about exploring an area as the game takes you there. Whether it's in terms of the narrative using the locations to tell the story or simply as a gameplay mechanic where you get that sense of accomplishment unlocking a section of the map. As an example that others have already brought up, imagine that ride into Mexico in RDR if you had already explored the area on your own. It wouldn't have had nearly the same impact. So as long as the map restrictions feel important in the context of the story, I'm ok with it.

[Dr.Rosenthal]

To me it doesn’t really matter as I tend to want to follow the story. If I can explore everything from the start, I won’t, because it’d break immersion. I usually wait until I’m somewhere halfway through the game until I start to explore properly on my own. Eitherway I really don’t want to see too much too soon. I don’t understand players who immediately go and do everything right away - talk about ruining the experience. I’m glad I get to play alone and I don’t have someone like that to ruin the game for me!

[TheWetPartoftheArm]

40 minutes ago, Aborted_Fetus said:

Those are all great points, and from the fundamental standpoint of not arbitrarily restricting an area I would agree. But for me, there's just something that's more fun about exploring an area as the game takes you there. Whether it's in terms of the narrative using the locations to tell the story or simply as a gameplay mechanic where you get that sense of accomplishment unlocking a section of the map. As an example that others have already brought up, imagine that ride into Mexico in RDR if you had already explored the area on your own. It wouldn't have had nearly the same impact. So as long as the map restrictions feel important in the context of the story, I'm ok with it.

Sure, but as anyone familiar with semi recent gaming news is already aware, a "sense of pride and accomplishment" isn't a great argument for restriction either. I'm not saying it can't be done within the context of a story, the question is why should it be structured that way? It's arguably more difficult to think of reasons to restrict huge sections of the map and incorporate that into the narrative than it is to simply craft one independently and allow people to explore at their own leisure. Furthermore, you can still explore as the game takes you there, just because the map is open from the start doesn't mean you have to explore the whole thing from the outset, you can wait for story missions to send you to areas you've never been to before - all of this is possible without the game restricting you and others who actually do want to explore immediately. Obviously you won't get the same feeling of accomplishment you might get from unlocking the area, but there'll be plenty of other things in the game to unlock that'll satisfy that need. 

[Aborted_Fetus]

36 minutes ago, TheWetPartoftheArm said:

Sure, but as anyone familiar with semi recent gaming news is already aware, a "sense of pride and accomplishment" isn't a great argument for restriction either. I'm not saying it can't be done within the context of a story, the question is why should it be structured that way? It's arguably more difficult to think of reasons to restrict huge sections of the map and incorporate that into the narrative than it is to simply craft one independently and allow people to explore at their own leisure. Furthermore, you can still explore as the game takes you there, just because the map is open from the start doesn't mean you have to explore the whole thing from the outset, you can wait for story missions to send you to areas you've never been to before - all of this is possible without the game restricting you and others who actually do want to explore immediately. Obviously you won't get the same feeling of accomplishment you might get from unlocking the area, but there'll be plenty of other things in the game to unlock that'll satisfy that need. 

Yeah, I'm not saying it should be structured that way. It should be dependent on what the developer is trying to accomplish. I just think that, when done right, those restrictions can have a greater narrative impact in terms of progression through the game. Again, as long as it doesn't feel forced or cheap. Much in the same way Rockstar maintains hype with their marketing, by dropping bits and pieces of info. Of course, from a purely gameplay perspective, it's certainly more satisfying to have everything unlocked from the beginning. I guess I'll just say if it's all open, I'll try to restrain myself haha.

[Tonesta]

4 hours ago, TheWetPartoftheArm said:

Players who don't want to explore the whole map immediately don't have to, they can stick to one region and save the rest for later (since early story missions tend not to send players outside the initial region, even in GTA V). The people who want a locked map are essentially asking the developers to purposefully restrict one group of gamers who want to explore to benefit gamers who want to wait, but lack the willpower to do so, which I don't think is fair. 

 

This is certainly true......when I played through GTA V the first time, I didn't leave the city of Los Santos until after completing the first heist (the game doesn't take you to Blaine County until Trevor shows up).

I actually treated myself to a cycle ride into the Palamino Highlands as a reward for finishing that heist mission - and then promptly got eaten by a Mountain Lion whilst admiring the view!

 

So yeah, rather than have the map locked....players can just apply a little self-discipline!

 

 

I suspect the equivalent to the unlocking of the map in RDR2 is going to be the passage of time and the changing of the map as e.g. railways get built. I wonder if they may also go the Bully route and change the seasons as you progress through the game?

[RetroStyle]

I want the map to open up gradually, but based on time played and not based on missions played. I want to savor the story while still being free to explore. They did say things get built as time passes, so bridges/boats being built over time to unlock the map would be fun imo.

[Swift1]

I want the entire map unlocked. The best part on day one of GTAV was venturing far and wide without hitting barriers. 

[Cutter De Blanc]

I will be happy either way