In a game like this the pace is going to be a bit faster. For comparision in Perpetuality the first nations had been reduced to their capitals by the time dormant pretenders started to wake up. That's like, after first ten turns.
(EDIT: Beaten by evil, evil Homer.)
After thinking about bidding, I must say I don't like it. In the way that if you want something, you have to take a beating to get it. The lottery system in Perp was nice in the way that you either got what you wanted, or a consolidation prize (pop bonus). Easier for likes of me who actually don't know about nations enough to comfortably take negatives on them. But, just my opinion.