By my reckon the new variant is much more helpful in getting players started than the old one. Instead of leaving you to guesswork in some instances, you are getting helpful pointers on how to do what (some may be self-explanatory, but others spare you a lot of guesswork), and it doesn’t leave you in the dark concerning paths requiring a more advanced character (which has been a major drawback of the old system: You didn’t see any unfulfilled tasks in later chapters unless all chapters preceding the one in question have been completed).
So instead of randomly poking around in an attempt to elicit some sort of result, you just have to read what the different paths are telling you and then go for it. It really helps you get started if you are new, plus completing the different journeys now come with benefits.
All in all, this definitely is an improvement.