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Agreed on your general sentiments HM, and yes - the general intention is for each server to run for around a year, with some kind of yet-to-be-revealed conclusion point that is hopefully more satisfying than Travian's Natar/Wonders system. However, if the expansion packs etc keep things interesting and balanced enough for everyone (new players and veterans alike) then this may be postponed or conceptually up-for-grabs.
Quick q though, when you wrote "But this game has a much bigger problem" above, were you referring to Illyriad or Tribal Wars? There was some ambiguity, and it's the latter, I hope!
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Games such as this are usually very social in nature and tend to be somewhat open ended, so if you're looking for a pass/fail or endpoint with "you're number one" plastered on it, you may be disappointed. Duration of the game is open to discussion so far as I know, with the current word being that this server will last a year (unless my intel is out of date).
But it'll still be up to you to decide what constitutes success: having the top overall score, being in the top alliance, having the most military victories, or something else entirely. Otherwise, there is no defined end game at all...just a discontinuation. One might consider it far more satisfactory were the server to continue until some individual or party emerged clearly dominant, but none would be able to agree on what is that threshold, and the game mechanics won't really allow power to consolidate that much. Given that there can be no clear definition of victory, I'm of a mind that it would be better to continue indefinitely, since one's presence in the game is likely all they'll ever have to show for their effort and potentially financial investment.
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To be honest, I think it is this lack of persistence that tends to devalue web-based strategy MMO's like this. There's another game that's similar: Tribal Wars. It closes registration to old servers after a while but keeps them running to some point of conclusion, which I certainly like. But this game has a much bigger problem, that being that it's a complete thug-fest. It's thoroughly designed to de-value pre-existing partnerships, moral standards in treatment of other players, social development and diplomacy in general, and tactical expertise in coordination and intellect in general.
Travian is another similar game, most noteworthy for shamelessly selling victory to the highest bidder. Inselkampf is yet another, extremely simplistic and completely abandoned by its developer, but a suitable platform for sophisticated meta-gaming and building success through long-lasting relationships. And the game lasts forever, but it's mostly tended (on the server I play) by a certain benevolent alliance that has achieved clear dominance and spends its days rooting out multi-accounts and other such cheaters...but they're getting very bored and slowly fading out through inactivity.
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