How large is the game? There seems to be some varied aspects from real world history intermixed within the storyline. Do all areas of the game tie into an overall story theme, and are there "featured events driven by staffers in game?"

The game world is about 16-20 zones large right now. Real scenarios and credible personalities are intermixed with the storyline to create a believable ongoing story. The official live-events are promoted by lore and driven by the development team coming in-game in certain roles to provide a real live-event experience. Major historic events occur once a month per server. It's also noteworthy that personal perception of what's going on may be affected by a player's own reputation and access to certain NPCs who are willing to share their thoughts about in-game situations.