I suppose I can only theorize, since I've been out of commission for like a month now, but I think it was worth trying. I had fun last strat. Playing with people across the world made me feel like I was experiencing the best online gaming had to offer, even though 180 ping on a pentium D taught me otherwise. I think it would work out better now that the pace of strat has been fixed and turned into a game where gold matters, fiefs matter, planning + collaboration between so many clans at once is absolutely necessary to maximize bonuses.
The map is very cramped, especially with large clans and alliances. I like the seperate maps idea, or a bigger map with a similar divide to give smaller clans somewhere to go. I don't know how realistic that is, and it would be a shame to seperate the two communities like that, because I agree with RandomDude as far as that goes. Ping and Paranoia are people's problems I suppose.