I played Daoc for about 7 years before I played war. I think the game is good, and with a little more love, it'll be great. Many people forgot that daoc started much the same one, but it'll take some time to work out the balancing and bug fixing. As far as population...I play on Iron Rock and the realm balance/action seems pretty good there when I play. Mornings can be a little slow from what I hear, but I know at night the action is great.