Tracking of funds should be kept public--I get the argument in real time games, but since arena also can be played turn based, it's just obnoxious to not have it be public. Either player can calculate and track it easily, and ask people to do the tedious work of tracking funds in a game that can go on for weeks is silly when the system can just openly display it for both.
I'm personally more a fan of multiplayer games and dynamics and like St Petersburg best at 4, but I rarely play arena St Pete anyhow. It may be a reasonable compromise to have the arena seasons rotate through different player counts given I do think the player base is fairly split on what count they like the most.
Finally, I'd actually be fairly surprised if statistics show players opening in the noble seat have much advantage in 4 player games. I would agree it is the best, and they likely have a small edge, but I'd wager it's pretty small, less than 30%.
I'm personally more a fan of multiplayer games and dynamics and like St Petersburg best at 4, but I rarely play arena St Pete anyhow. It may be a reasonable compromise to have the arena seasons rotate through different player counts given I do think the player base is fairly split on what count they like the most.
Finally, I'd actually be fairly surprised if statistics show players opening in the noble seat have much advantage in 4 player games. I would agree it is the best, and they likely have a small edge, but I'd wager it's pretty small, less than 30%.