Yeah, since the update has been released earlier today, Abassa has had 200+ people on at all times. It's gotten to the point where hunter parties are just a definite 1 fps, and most of the time I crash after getting full mat run cargo, which is kind of infuriating after it happens like 4 or 5 times consistently.
I know that with open beta the developers wanted to increase server capacities and make everything playable for thousands of players at a time, but with like 212 people on Abassa I get solid 1 fps when sailing and crash after maybe 10-15 minutes with full cargo. I would say you guys are on the right track, but there are likely just issues to be worked out regarding crashes with abundances of people on servers. :/