World Exploration/"Living" Villages

[Dragon6624]

On the topic of world exploration, I already know you guys are going to do a great job building the map, but about how big will this "world" be? And also, will there be lots of hidden locations you can find (and perhaps even get some exploration achievements from)? I was thinking you could do something like the following for hidden areas of the map that take some thinking to get to:

Silver Spring Meadows:
Location: Land of Hills
Terrain: Beautiful meadow with a shining spring and small open cave ceiling...located in the very heart of a dark labyrinth cave which happens to be set in the middle of a deadly forest.

If you find this (example) place, then not only do you see a very fine example of modeling, but it also has a little "Silver Spring Meadows" window that pops up and gives a brief history of the hidden location (probably two paragraphs max, explaining some interesting tidbits about the history of the place, like how perhaps a deadly battle was fought here or that the spring is supposed to heal all ailments). In the case of this place, you can then close the window and walk over to the springs, where you will be able to "get a drink" of the spring...which neutralizes all poisons and restores your Hp and Chakra a good bit for every drink you take. On top of this, players could use these hidden locations as meeting grounds for whatever they desire. I think this could really help keeping players interested in the world around them, especially if they happen to be travelling and inadvertently discover an interesting hidden location with a unique purpose or item/person/creature/other in it.
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On the topic of "living" villages, how do you guys intend to make the atmosphere of the villages feel right? I.E. will there be plenty of buildings (even small homes/shops) to walk around in with NPCs reacting differently based on your allegiance, their own personalities (i.e. a jerk npc will rudely tell you to leave their house before they call for help), and your reputation. And will NPCs have a random chance of giving you various side quests (i.e. A shop owner asks you to find the troublesome kids that stole some of his produce, or a shinobi guard asks you to find an item he lost, but can't go looking for as he is on duty)? Of course, you would have the option to decline these minor quests, but it would still make it interesting all the same and would help more players enjoy their stay in settlements.