Mechanics are too opaque in this game and overly reward veterans who have learned and memorized the mechanics. Veterans will mostly either be impatient, busy, or not care enough to teach these mechanics to newcomers. When you have a game that relies on veterans to teach new players how to play the game properly you do not have a game that is attractive to newcomers.

The more you make the mechanics transparent and easy to view at a glance and understand from an interface perspective the more friendly the game is for newcomers. A new player should be able to eventually understand and master the mechanics of the game through self-examination via the in-game interface, rather than having to 1) ask vets; 2) dig through forums, or 3) hope wiki is current re: the particular mechanic in question.

Just a list of suggestions off the top of my head:
1. Update growth page so that you can see at a glance what effects building % acres will have
2. Spells when moused over should have a pop up that explains what it does. There should be a difficulty estimate when you select a spell.
3. Hostile meter should be viewable by all, no exceptions, with pop-up's / explanation of relation mechanics within the page.
4. If an attack will change relations there should be a pop up confirmation warning you of that action.
5. EOWCF and war stance needs a popup explanation or tutorial.