In a way, yes, but it’s significantly better at what it kept from builders 2. DQB2 slows down to a crawl about 50 builds in, and can’t manage a tenth of that active NPC amount in an area.
It’s also designed to give you a lot more freedom. Instead of most story objectives being imposed blueprints and a tiny active building site, you’re dropped into large areas with lots of broken architecture and empty wilderness spaces, and what you do with it is your decision.