This really blows. Here is my understanding of the situation.
Bundle of stick DDoSers are attacking a bunch of different networks. Taleworlds servers are caught in that big cyber attack. Taleworlds servers govern the cd key check that crpg servers use, so when they are down, no one can join any server and get passed validating the serial key. There seems to be short gaps or lulls during the attack, in which taleworlds servers get back online, which is why some of you get to play by being lucky enough to attempt to join while the cd key servers are online, but population will be low because you won't be able to reconnect when the servers go back down. There is nothing any of you can do to fix this problem other than waiting for the attack hitting taleworlds to stop, so don't try reinstalling anything or messing with router settings.
This really blows.