Re: POLL | Open world. Yes or No? Then, how?
Definitely yes, I approve of the new "open world" structure of MEA. Can it be improved upon? Yes, again. But I think Bioware took a step in the right direction by going this route over the previous games that were very linear in where you could go. Looking back at those maps now, they were basically tunnels that you could travel through a static environment. I'm not knocking the original trilogy, I loved those games, but there was always this tight restriction on where you could go. This was true in Dragon Age 1&2 also, but Bioware changed their approach to game worlds with the advent of Inquisition.
There also seem to be degrees of "open worldness" in different games. Inquisition, Witcher 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Two Worlds, and even going back as far as Gothic 3 (there are others but I can only comment on those games that I've actually played) all have their own approach in how open the world is. There will always be barriers of some type, where the open world actually ends, some type of barrier, whether it be natural or invisible.
MEA has made a good start, but there are always improvements to be made, such as how certain quests/tasks require you to cover ground you've already discovered. Also someone previously mentioned how expansion was handled in Inquisition, with troops/citizens occupying new territory once it was safe. I'd like to see something like this, give the world a little more population as you achieve 100% viability. Get a few more out of Cryo.
