Rincewind,

All of those are good questions.

There are very few top tier kingdoms left because of the demands of leading and training players. When a newer kingdom gets organized enough to want to try to join the top, it is a very difficult hurdle to cross because the first two or three ages it almost always gets thrashed as it learns all the new aspects of balancing play in the top. Most kingdoms can't take the punishment that happens. However, whenever anyone new tries, I think the top is generally welcoming and there is always someone working hard to try to keep that kingdom from farming out too hard and unbalancing the top. The problem comes when a new kingdom won't take ANY advice and then ends up farming out hard and unbalancing the top. That is when you start to see the complaints and *****ing.

The other problem is that, to compete with each other, they need to harvest off the rest of the server for a time. This breeds a lot of resentment across the server for the top. When the other's express their resentment, it breeds disdain in the top and you read things like "cry me a river! it's a war game" and "its not fair that you bottom feed!" and so on. That is a challenge in almost any ladder style open engagement environment and I don't htink I have ever seen a game with a perfect solution.

does that address some of your questions?