I don't get why people are viewing map simplicity so negatively

Personally, I thought the old Phantom Forest was the best area in the entire game. Especially pre-BB when BF could be sitting on any random portal ready to 1shot whoever foolishly walked through. May not sound like fun, but it was, kept you on your toes. That, or you had a DrK friend go through all the portals first while BF hunting if you weren't a thief class, LOL.