Hi, I have only been playing this game for the last month or so (so classed as Super noob I suppose) but thought I would stick my 2 pence worth in from thoughts gathered having read the posts.
These pre-made alliances you speak of, where players get together and decide to have basically an alliance ready before the start of a server, is not limited to this game. I have played a game called Travian for several years and the same sort of thing happens there. We tried one once by pre agreeing rules etc and even setting up an external forum, but it failed. Time was the issue. We had spent so much time dedicating ourselves to attempting to win the previous server (Travian has an end game for each Server) that by the time we were ready to go, time constraints in Real Life meant we went our separate ways, but other “super alliances” would always form on certain servers. Designed to give them a head start as players were ready to support and be recognised from the start of the server, but they do not always win. Other players would be fed up of their bullying ways and gang up on them, some would just set out to destroy the league of friends to prevent them dominating the end game, ironically, making themselves the bully and target for next time.
Any of these MMRPG games (I have tried several) stagnate as folks who play a lot find a formula that works and pass this on through guides or mentoring so that a lot of players know the formula. It sounds like some servers have been running for years and this does not help as the end is never in sight. The trick is accepting that the Pre-mades are inevitable because, as mentioned in a previous thread, they do not need this forum to make a pact as Skype or Facebook or other social media are just as easy to work with when arranging this. The idea of random dumping only works at the beginning as the Pre-mades will just agree to make their next cities closer to an agreed point. Limited Alliance sizes? Just means more pacts.
The trick is finding a better formula than they think they have and go for it.