I agree that these other interesting areas really do not match the additional Ages of Myst. For this beta I have not yet built out these Ages. Instead I built these "preludes" to the Ages. It will take a great deal of effort to fully model each Age, so I wanted a Beta/Demo first to make sure I was even capable of creating something worth playing
In this storyline, before you can actually travel to the other Ages of Myst you must collect 4 Instruments: timepeace, scope, horn, and flute. Once you collect all 4, place them on the Altar and a final secret and travel area will become available.
The scope is found after defeating the Worshipers Enclave. The horn is found after defeating the Gobhobbler rats. The timepeace is located in the Usurper's Lair, and the flute is found after defeating the Demon Wall.
For the area you defeated, Clan Beach, you cannot access the Gold Mine nor the Elixir Collector. Also, the door behind the pit inside the Keep is only for show. The main purpose of Clan Beach is to infiltrate your way in to the Gobhobbler's Den and obtain the Scope. Apologies if all the extra eye candy distracts too much from the central goal. Perhaps I should reconsider the use of these assets.
Lastly, yes the performance tends to decrease frame rates on Clan Beach. I'm not entirely sure why this is happening. I am hoping that the upcoming patch AH is working on (which includes Engine Optimization) will help improve this. However, I will take a close look at anything I can do to help with the frame rate issue.
Oh and yes, I will gladly put in the ability to travel to and from Clan Beach quicker once it is beaten, so that the Lost Woods puzzle does not need to be repeated every single time. Thanks for all the feedback!