Actually my post can be re-read and you may find 2 points:
- Not all people prefer open world kind of map, most of them just don’t care. Instanced dungeons and instanced maps survive (and mostly preferred) in MMOs for some reason.
- IMC is not a bunch of amateurs. I’m sure they were prudent enough when they were determined to employ the classic game style in TOS. They said out that they need TOS to be a unique game, when the players don’t get the same feeling like when they are playing other MMORPGs. I have been following TOS development progress since the earliest phase, so I can see that they are realizing what they have been aiming for.
EDIT: oh, and pray do not presume that my “compassion” is about they being lazy (their workload). But it’s about the time left for the developing stage considering the contracts they have made with the publishers and the market consequences when they keep delaying the release (after revealing so much content and increasing the hype meter).