People dont seem to be understanding how exactly this works. Correct me if im wrong but the players do not all play at the same time. The first player starts the game on his own, plays his turn, saves the game, and then emails the save game file to the next player who plays his turn and sends it to the next player. That way 17 people dont have to sit online for hours but only need to play through their turn for 20 or so minutes at their own leisure. Of course it could potentially take days to get through one turn as you have to wait for 16 other people to get around to playing their turn but i dont think the turnaround rate will be that bad. And itll also give you time to formulate your strategies and get some diplomacy done as well as allow you to have several games going at once. I personally cant wait for this to be released officially although i think that myrrdraal will have to create something so that players can choose which factions are player factions and which are AI factions so that any number of people can play.