I really like the more serious atmosphere. I remember playing back during the last days of Norland and all the silly RP was irritating to me. Seriously, a 'viking' leader with a bushy tail? I'll take SMA everywhere over that again. At the same time, I also remember feeling more clued in back then. Most chatter was realm wide and the environment felt inclusive (not just in Norland).
Of late, I always dread the first few days of near silence after creating a new character. No estate, no army, no groups == little chatter. I have heard that getting an estate and thus an army assignment is a lot easier now but have not tried it myself. I still think it would be awesome if you could get assigned to an army by Leader or General even if you don't have an estate!
Of course, a lot of this is player driven. Most realms I have been in over the last few years seemed to be obsessed with relying on a small, trusted, inner circle for very valid in character reasons. One of my older characters had to fight like a madman to try and keep things inclusive back during the founding of Barca and that was amongst a group of fairly welcoming individuals. I remember the back and forth between Galvez and myself on the matter!
Now I am rambling...
