Hmmm, at what point should a realm decide that it is doing to well for its own good?
Well, we just got our 30th noble and everyone else has less than 20. Maybe it is time to chase off some of our nobles to keep the game fun for those realms that have only managed to attract a few nobles.
We finally have all the alliances that we need to survive, maybe we need to back stab a couple of our long-time allies to make the game more fun for those who are too lazy/unable/unwilling to make alliances.
It seems our realm is larger than any of our three neighbors who are all allied against us. Time to piss one of them off and get decimated by all three to keep the game fun for others.
Really... where does one draw the line?
How many nobles were in CE and Tara? How many nobles were not part of that alliance?
What percentage of the players were actually enjoying/not enjoying Atamara?
Did anyone actually win the game? NO, it stagnated and we all lost a continent to play on.
Not one winner there.
CE/Tara shared a long-time brotherhood that seen both realms grow and prosper together.
To have one or the other break that bond would likely have seen one or both of those realms totally destroyed.
Asking the players to give up that bond at the cost of one or both realms, so that other players can have more fun, is just not reasonable.
I have heard reasons for not resetting the island, but maybe it should be a consideration when a situation like stagnation occurs.
Another possibility could have been huge tornadoes/earthquakes tearing through the island killing any nobles and destroying everything (buildings, populations, walls, much longer travel times, etc) in their paths (partial reset).
A huge tornado 2-4 regions wide that ripped through the middle of CE/Tara lands (and beyond) could have reduced the power base and allowed many options.
A separated CE and/or Tara may have promoted/encouraged the formation of separate realms on either side of the devastated lands.
It would have made both of the realms harder to defend or to co-ordinate offensive actions.
It would certainly have allowed for many RP possibilities.
Players that had nobles killed in the tornadoes may have started new characters in different realms.
We would likely have lost a few players to this solution, but I recall hearing we lost lots to the sinking of the island anyway.
It is human nature to grow.
Would you tell your employer "No thanks, I am already earning too much money. Give my next raise to the poor janitor so he can enjoy life as much as I am."
I don't believe that realm density was a problem back then, so limiting the size of a realm was not practical.
To be honest, I feel that the current rogue/density "solutions" are also stagnating both Beluaterra and Dwilight.
Other than the adventurer "incident" that was reversed and certain players were punished for their efforts, Beluaterra has not seen any significant conflict since the rogue/density solution was introduced.