[KaVir]

Sure, and many games already do that, based on their own criteria - Newworlds appears to be very happy with the way he's balanced roleplaying, and I feel likewise with my own solution, even though our games are at opposite extremes in that respect. The problem is you seem to be viewing the IRE games as some sort of "ideal" that all muds should strive for, when in fact they represent just one of many styles of game.

You gave the analogy "IRE is like the crack of the MUD world", but it's more like the Ben & Jerry's, or Starbucks, or Pizza Hut of the mud world. It's one of the more popular brands, and it has its fair share of devoted fans, but it's not the only option. You may find it tedious to eat with a knife and fork, but that doesn't mean everyone wants to eat pizza every time they go out to a restaurant.

There are currently five IRE muds with a sixth in the works, and Avalon is still around as well. There's also Maiden Desmodus (which focuses more on roleplaying), and other muds such as Lithmeria and Elvenblade that are under development, as well as others such as Ilyrias that never made it. This corner of the market is pretty well covered and already stretching its audience thin, I would honestly rather cater to other audiences.