how big is to big for rpg

im very new to this. so i was wondering if anyone would know how big is to big realistically. one square of 1000 m in each direction how many would be okay, do i need to do separate maps with separate loads to make it easier. or is one big map easier?

 

Dividing the world into chunks will definitely be beneficial in the long run.

If anything, just to have the ability to load chunks of the world in sequence. Otherwise the game may just freezes for 10-30 seconds on startup, by trying to load in one huge chunk of data at once.

In my experience, anything over 2x2km starts to require "open world" treatment (eg. a streaming system). Especially when it's packed full of stuff.

 

I'd suggest exploring the limit of your own capability first. It could be you struggle to provide content for a small area.

 

One game I recently found is "Northern Journey".
It's not an RPG per say, but it's quite a big world, quests, tons of enemies, amazing level design and atmpsohere + NPCS, and a story. Reminds me of dark souls 1.

I was surprised how much one developer can do, this game honestly gave me motivation. Very impressive stuff.
You can find a video where the developer talks about his process in making this game here: Video
One thing that surprised me is how he chose not to have any shadows, most things are unlit, and he doesn't even use normal maps. Goes against so many things many of us deem a necessity to a 3D game.

All assets are custom too: scanned his own textures, created custom models, did animations, etc.
This is not easy though, especially finishing something like this. You really have to be passionate, or find something else that really drives you to not just start it, but more importantly finish it.

 

That might be a good idea.

If each area is large, I think making each unique area, into seperate models in their own scenes, might be a good idea.