These would really be interesting, its incredibly difficult to get anyone interested in the game when you tell them #1 it is text based and #2 that it'll take you over a year in real time for your nation to be anywhere near competitive with the ancient nations. Otherwise all we have to offer is the promise that if someone is active enough, they might just get interested enough in the RP alliance portion of the game. Giving new nations a sort of quick start would defiantly make the game more fun and playable for new members.
UI changes would be welcome, the few logo changes that are straight out of word art doesn't really cut it.