so to everyone who ever told me this engine was all just smoke and mirrors, bite me. the engine doesn't load in buildings you aren't supposed to visit in that section, generally, but the whole world mesh, including all the trees is always there... LOD works as you'd expect, with content streaming in as you move around.
so, for example, if you free cam during the ferry ride, all of town is there (though the Oh Deer! diner interior is missing), bird leg cabin is there and the lodge is there (complete with most of the interior details you see later on, though some of the rooms are totally empty).
you can set the camera speed up super high, to outrun the detail streaming in, to see the engine adding in all that detail.
the whole of bright falls is there, at all times. it's just missing buildings, water, and bridges. the roads, the land, the trees? all always there. i'm not sure if there's any other examples of needless detail being left in a level like the lodge interior, gardens and hedge maze, all being present when Alan first arrives, but i'll be looking for them.
the tech is fantastic. this is an open world streaming engine. STILL.