Actually it renders the game virtually unplayable.
You cannot farm npc's to feed an army, due to the bot infestation, nor can you conceivably attack players, since even those that have the food I need have it hidden well behind a trillion or so gold. That requires 1000 transporter runs to clear... not gonna happen.
So now we cannot trade to feed an army either. Sounds like extortion in my book,

'Buy packages for Vesta, or pay to holiday. Give us money or your army starves!"

Face it, the game is no longer playable.