Smallworld was nickname given to the map set before being transitioned to Bigworld (current map set) in 2005-Jan.
In smallworld, it possible to travel (walk) from Scorn to Navar in maybe a minute. Many of the maps found in the “wilderness” were just a few tiles apart to maybe a dozen tiles away. Basically, the world was quite crowded as far as dungeon access goes.
So, the answer to that was to expand the world about 20-fold.
Since smallworld is still referenced from a historical or development perspective, this page serves to provide that historical summary.