In my view, the only flow of the game is about the resigned/auto-resigned players from the start. That gives some players unfair advantage as one of their borders is completely secure from the very beginning.

To compensate that, fresh gamers should have the opportunity to take the seats of resigned/auto-resigned players after the game starts, lets say until end of day 2. The potential new player would have a complete view of the outposts owned and map of the resigned player before deciding to join in. After he/she joins in, he/she would be given as much drillers and outposts (from near dormant outposts) as the average of other players + free Neptunium funding to insure leverage.

i second that. give it like a 1hour window from resign. and that player an option to back out. but it will definitely help with the resign issue

not sure about the added bonuses. but maybe units reset to an average or something idk. i tihnk some resigns just wouldnt be worth taking.