Hi there.
I'm leaving the world very much open to the players to mold to their will. They've helped me create Outremer, so they deserve to be able to play with it to a certain extent. I will however say that
i do have a central plot in mind, and if it interests them then they can join me in that. The main plot is overarching, so that as the RP goes on it will become harder and harder to remain neutral and carry on your business; we will all need to pick a side. Some people may run off to Actim and try to bury their head in the sand when things kick off, and that's cool too.
I don't want to give anything away yet because i don't want people to adjust their characters so they are perfectly equipped for the events that will emerge.
Trust me though, it's explosive. There may be a crew aspect to the RP, like in the last TSR some of the players were aboard a Sandship called the Hercules. That might happen again but people have a choice of whether they want to participate. I'm also advocating the use of several characters, as long as they are properly documented in the CS's. :)
As for the influx of people, i say the more the merrier. As long as people are mindful of the unspoken rule of RP: 'leave two posts before replying if you're in a group.', there should be no problems. :) I'm also an advocate of a post summary, who its addressing and the use of hiders to tidy things up. Hope that answers your questions.