To expound...
There are a few reasons I think the game has "changed", and not as appealing to some older players.
First off, things just get "old" after a while. I can not think of one game or thing i personally have been involved with and kept interest in as long as AH besides guitar. Some I think have just gotten to the point that they have seen / done everything in AH (or AW or whatever), and there is no more "challenge" to the game.
These people get frustrated when they can not find a "challenge" and do different things to show that frustration. BK's i will use as an example, only because they are probably the most recognized (no offense fellas, especially with the junk now). There are some OLD sticks in the BK's (and others in-game) that can pretty much shoot down anyone they want to if they were to really try.
these "old" sticks all have a rapport built up over 10 years of flight simming, and act a different way with each other, compared to a "2 week n00b" (at least online).
Some newer players come into the game, see some snide comments made in jest, but do not know the history of the players and the game. They take that as their queue to also act / talk in the same way. They are equal in their minds.
This changes the whole attitude while flying and the approach to the game IMHO.
Another part is selfishness. there are some players new and old, who just wont "play nice with others" these are the players that when asked on VOX or something in-game "please don’t bomb XXX" or "please help take base XXX" and they retort "STFU you can't tell me what to do, or how to play" in their frustration they sometimes act out against those same country mates just to spite them. This is a very selfish and arrogant way of thinking IMHO, but it seems to be prevalent.
These "selfish" players also don't want to "learn" or be helped in any way. They think the game works one certain way in their heads and NO ONE is going to tell them different. Think of the guys that swear you mush kill FH to capture a base, because it is not possible without. No matter what you tell them, or try and teach them about game play, they hold to their thought. Somewhere along the way they either saw, or was told some thing and take it as LAW. They in turn pass that on to new players, perpetuating the cycle.
So many times I have flown into a fight or attack or something, and hear guys talking out of their arses about how this and that works, with no clue what they are saying. When you try and help them understand it better, they just say you are wrong. Player XXXXX told them it is that way.
Add these things up, and you have a tumultuous arena.
How can it be made “better”? I am not sure. I do know one thing; the “help” radio channel is a good start. Instead of a regular influx of new players being told and taught things that are ½ truths, or blatantly incorrect about how game play works, you now have hopefully a way to teach new players correctly off the bat.
In the past a new guy would learn to type or talk, and whoever was nearby or had the time to answer would, with whatever they might know right or wrong.
I know there are no “rules” to the game, but there are some generally accepted game play situations. There are also some functions of the game that some don’t even seem to grasp. These things are the kind of question every new player will face quite early in the sim life, with no defined resource for them to go to. If they were show all the different options, and actions to take, they can make their own educated decision on what to do. As it stands right now (at least for the past 2 years) they just became a face in the “horde” following whatever moron decided to say “let’s do this”.
That, I think is why the MA has become a different place as a whole.
to add it is amazing how different you look at someone after you meet themin person @ one of the CON's. i think i have a good relationship with all the guys i met at them, and enjoy knowing them. i think that personal connection is something that really changes your view on the game.
