I did, I made "Speedfol," an item that doubles the player's walk rate (which is already x2 faster by default), buyable. I actually only did this after I had already created the entirety of The Great Desert.
It is the vastness and relative emptiness that make The Great Desert what it is - a massive desert. I don't feel I could have achieved that with smaller and more detailed maps here, outside of decreased walk speed. And we all know how much people enjoy that.