Map Size - Design Question

[Ghoul]

Is it poor game design to have maps with varying max sizes? For example, having a "tutorial" area that is 20x20, but "overworld" maps generally being larger. Not sure if this would almost ruin the feeling of the game due to this inconsistency.

[Mohenjo Daro]

I'm played a few games that have different map sizes, and it can work well if you use the warp attribute instead of the map's default teleport when you walk into the side. The warp attribute will make it feel more consistent but take more time to implement.

[Xlithan]

This is how old mapping used to be done to make it look seamless. Make the map size fairly large and then put the warp attributes about 5 squares in. It's not really worth it. I believe Konfuze or Elysium used to have genuine seamless mapping but it was incredibly laggy.

As for the OP's question. No it's not really bad practice to have different map sizes. And you CAN make the world consistent by doing something like this:

[Xlithan]

Forgot to mention downside of this is you can only have 1 map to each side of a map. You'd have to use warp attributes for say, Map 3 to Map 2 and Map 4. But your world map will be consistent with this method.

[AngelR]

I have a doubt.
What disadvantages are there when making large maps, ie from 50x50 to 100x100?

[Mohenjo Daro]

@angelr Speed and stability. A friend of mine made a 200x200 map (EO 2 based engine) and it was extremely slow to move around, then he added trees and the map would crash the server when opened.

Also, smaller maps means the packets sent from server to client are smaller (using less bandwidth [I think that's the right term?])

[AngelR]

@mohenjo-daro Oh okay, I understand. Thank you very much

[Xlithan]

To be honest, you don't really benefit much from having large maps, besides being able to talk to other players on the same map, but who wants to talk to other players when you're grinding? Not me!

[Sunku]

Bigger maps are better for 3D games. I personally prefer medium sized maps with intricate details. But a combination of larger -> medium -> small maps can work amazingly as long as you connect them in a smart/efficient way.

[Xlithan]

You'll probably find that large 3D games don't always use large maps, they're just seamless.