I do think one of the central problems is that there seems to be some sort of denial that if we just adjust some things or create mechanics that influence denser realms that the game will magically fix itself.
It's been on a slow decline for a long time. The game as currently designed is suited for a noble base 3-5x as large on each continent. There is no easy fix to that. Closing continents or freezing all continents and starting a new continent based on a current map are solutions which need to be on the table.
It might not be the ideal solution or what we like, but things just keep getting worse as time goes on (in terms of active characters)
