A radical idea

[Lucky Luke]

So we roll back, you are getting a fresh copy of .85, log in and... See ~50 people online.

Getting all those players back won't happen over night no matter what you do. The reason for suggesting this in the first place is because when someone says to you, early on, that you took the wrong turn, and then more and more people join in telling you that you really did take a wrong turn, then maybe you should turn around and go back. On your way back, you might pick up some of those people who got off because of the wrong turn. You might even pick up a few new ones when they all realize that you're back on track again.

Do you think all that activity that was in Dublin back then happened from one day to another? Ofc not. It's a build up. But if you manage to create these hotspots, then more and more people will join, because it's actually fun to do stuff together.

Like I said in the OP, maybe it's possible to make these changes in the current mod. 4.85 didn't have the same anticheat, so that would be a good argument to why you shouldn't do it. But facts remain. Hotspots are needed no matter how much butthurt they bring. The positive effects outweigh. And POB's take too much time and effort away from the things that most people play FL for.