one of the things you have to sort of take in account is that the exodus was much smaller, not just that but it was only one level; so everyone ran into each other more often.
the other problem is an inherent view of what HRP is; there is like two different sides of HRP that dont meld together well.
some people think Heavy Roleplay means playing an INDEPTH character, with a lot of aspects to that character; regardless of realism.
then other people think Heavy Roleplay means playing a realistic character.
Previously there were more "realistic" characters, with some deviations; I remember playing with [mention]Something Vile[/mention] and [mention]AmoryBlaine[/mention] in security, [mention]Dragonspare[/mention] in robotics, [mention]The Stryker[/mention] in Surgery and [mention]Pratepresidenten[/mention] as CMO.
eventually a lot of these people who played these characters that had a big impact on rounds sort of left or played less; ontop of that when the lore develops it changes a lot of interactions.
On the flip side you dont see the Indepth and fun characters like [mention]SleepyWolf[/mention] Toronto-88 Offten or their CE Diona because these people do get busy and the combination that initially made the server what it was for a lot of people obviously can't be the same.
I don't think the server has gotten worse, apart of it is how big the ship is; you really really don't get a chance to interact with people as often.
I do know what you're saying by it _feels_ different,