I've been playing these types of games since commodore 64 and vic20s and the original settlers game.
As a newbie I've noticed that the lower lvls of this game has an impossible task, at 100 points you have no one to attack, because the retention of newbies is really poor, so no vespene, apart what you can manufacture, which lets face it is nominal, the pirates are pretty far away with no chance to get vespene. So you have to log off and come back, if you can be bothered, guess what biggest majority don't find it interesting enough to be bothered..
All I can say the makers must be making a fortune, because if you don't have a regular turn over of newbies, the game will go the same way as others.