Ah chess pieces

[Shuffler]

Originally posted by pluck
i don't know how assigning players who frequently switch to even numbers is helping anything, they already do that willingly, they are not the issue.  the issue comes into play when there is a large number imbalance and people refuse to switch.  whatever the reason it doesn't matter, people who refuse to switch are part of the problem when it comes to number imbalances.  eny was designed to combat this, and guess which people have a problem with that.  so you can assign all the reasons you want to not switching, yet the problem remains.  HT in the past has tried to implement features into the game to keep numbers more even, yet that too is met with many complaints. so what is left for things to try, just auto assign everyone like in almost every other game that i can think of?  ya, that would go over well.  it just seems many avenues regarding this issue have run their course and it comes down to the community to make this issue right. a quick glance at the bbs and i'm sure that won't work either.

Yup

[Shuffler]

Originally posted by Guppy35
So it's still on me to play fair.

I can't expect HTC to fix it as there are too many folks who as SaVaGe pointed out, want the easy button.  There is comfort and safety in the horde.

I can't change it.  Country cap limits would be about the only thing that could help if people aren't going to change on thier own.   But chances are that will only increase the whining about not being able to play their way.

So I can't worry about it anymore.  I do my part by going to low numbers side with my squad.

Not sure what else I can do outside of that.

I'm still finding all kinds of fun, and I'm still not quitting

..... and Yup!

[Lazerr]

haha, I never had so much fun getting gangbanged.

[Clifra Jones]

Originally posted by Kev367th
We are all
An NO we won't switch sides, so it works for and against us depending on numbers.

And that there is the root cause of the problem.

[Kev367th]

Originally posted by Clifra Jones
And that there is the root cause of the problem.

Actually the root of the problem -
People live in a fantasy land.
I would think by now that someone at Grapevine would have realised that for whatever reason(s) the majority of players won't switch sides.

Once that is realised and accepted you then logically move onto -
How do we set the arenas up to get a balanced number of players in them.
Rather than -
How do we change the ways of 100's of players.

It's far easier to tinker with arena settings than change the ways people play the game.

Having to accept that there may be one arena that ends up lopsided no matter what can be done.
But at least its better than 3 or more lopsided arenas.

MW - I'll bet once ENY is re-introduced the numbers will drop again.

[LYNX]

Originally posted by lazs2


lynx... I do not claim to know what happens in euro time.  I am sorry if it doesn't work out for euros... perhaps no holds barred after a certain U.S. time?  I wouldn't want to be part of that but... I am not a euro.

unrelated... why do you suppose there is no euro game to compete with AH?

lazs
Public Relations Officer for the BK's

The time difference here is 5 to 8 hrs ahead.  Worse time for EU players is early morning when it's 1am to 5am US time.  Midnight for me is early evening for you.  Player numbers are decent then.  

If 1 arena is capped out with 1 side outnumbering the others then it follows that the next arena gets lob sided also.  Example:- 150 bish 70 knights 90 rooks.  Next arena 100 rooks 80 knights 35 bish and repeat that all the way to TA.


Brits good at inventing and making stuff but absolutely useless when it comes to marketing.  You lot have a tendency to see the potential and make good of it.  
I did think about buying "fighter Op's" some 5 years back when warbirds was about to ditch it.  Didn't take it past the "think" stage.... British

[Kev367th]

Originally posted by LYNX
The time difference here is 5 to 8 hrs ahead.  Worse time for EU players is early morning when it's 1am to 5am US time.  Midnight for me is early evening for you.  Player numbers are decent then.  

If 1 arena is capped out with 1 side outnumbering the others then it follows that the next arena gets lob sided also.  Example:- 150 bish 70 knights 90 rooks.  Next arena 100 rooks 80 knights 35 bish and repeat that all the way to TA.


Brits good at inventing and making stuff but absolutely useless when it comes to marketing.  You lot have a tendency to see the potential and make good of it.  
I did think about buying "fighter Op's" some 5 years back when warbirds was about to ditch it.  Didn't take it past the "think" stage.... British

Good example of what I have been saying for a while -

The current setup has taken the old MA occasional very lopsided sides and magnified it across most arenas on a daily basis.

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by Kev367th
Actually the root of the problem -
People live in a fantasy land.
I would think by now that someone at Grapevine would have realised that for whatever reason(s) the majority of players won't switch sides.

Once that is realised and accepted you then logically move onto -
How do we set the arenas up to get a balanced number of players in them.
Rather than -
How do we change the ways of 100's of players.

It's far easier to tinker with arena settings than change the ways people play the game.

Having to accept that there may be one arena that ends up lopsided no matter what can be done.
But at least its better than 3 or more lopsided arenas.

MW - I'll bet once ENY is re-introduced the numbers will drop again.

Just curious Kev.  Why won't your squad switch as needed to help the cause?

I'm of the opinion that established squads, of which yours is one, help set the tone for everyone.  The notion of loyalty to a chess piece seems to be secondary to the friends in a squad.  Why not just make it, as we do in the 80th, low numbers is where we start, and go from there?

Not meant as a shot, just wondering what the thinking is?

[Kev367th]

Originally posted by Guppy35
Just curious Kev.  Why won't your squad switch as needed to help the cause?

I'm of the opinion that established squads, of which yours is one, help set the tone for everyone.  The notion of loyalty to a chess piece seems to be secondary to the friends in a squad.  Why not just make it, as we do in the 80th, low numbers is where we start, and go from there?

Not meant as a shot, just wondering what the thinking is?

Various reasons Dan, some of which are a little too controversial to go into on the BB's.
Shall we just say there are specific reasons why we would never go back to a certain country, even temporary. Last visit to them left a bad taste.

[Brooke]

Some incentive for side balance is already in the game, based on perks.  It has limited effect.  So, what are some other ways?

I think the best way would be for an adaptive system (basically a control system -- like a thermostat for your furnace) that adds incentive until the imbalance goes away.

You could do the following every 15 minutes.  If a side has 10% more players than the middle-player side, add five perk points to all its perk aircraft and add 5 perk points to its two lowest-ENY non-perk aircraft (making them perk).  If a side has 10% fewer players than the middle-player side, subtract 5 perk points from all its perk aircraft (eventually making some of them non-perk).

It's like a thermostat in that, as long as there is imbalance above a threshold, changes are pumped into the system.  Once there is no imbalance, no changes are made.  If there are imbalances over threshold the other way, changes are done in the other direction.

It is a self-balancing system.  It is based on perks, which is already a part of the game (so no radical rethinking is needed on players' parts).  It enhances the use of perks and ENY.  It will help with diversifying the planes people fly.  It might be easier to put it into the Aces High system as the system already has code in it that adjusts perks periodically.

[Kev367th]

Perk costs already go up and down depending on numbers.

In fact if your ENY'd you can't get perk stuff anyway (wouldn't matter if a Spit 14 cost 1000's of perks, you still couldn't up one), so it doesn't seem like your idea would make any difference at all.

Still say the answer is a way of setting up the arenas to get balanced numbers in them, while still letting people fly for their chosen country.

No I don't know how.

[Edbert]

Originally posted by soupcan
Are players so tied to their chess piece that they would rather "fight"
(and i use the term loosely) 7 of US against 1 of THEM? And do these
same people think this is good action?

No doubt SOME are, in fact there are some skwads that will kick you out for playing another chess-peice even if your reasoning was to make the game more even. But I think a lot of what you are seeing is the fear of a virtual death.

Log onto the arena and see one side with more numbers already attacking a weaker opponent and join the side with numbers? Only reason I can think of other than a dictator for CO is that you'd rather fight with a horde over some scraps than have to go into a heads-up even-steven fight. I think that mentaility fits a large percentage of the players.

[SlapShot]

This will never happen ...

Still say the answer is a way of setting up the arenas to get balanced numbers in them,

as long as this is true ...

while still letting people fly for their chosen country.

True balance can only be achieved by us choosing to balance ... and there is a very large contingent that has made it quite clear that switching sides to achieve balance is out of the question and will never be an option.

The only other way true balance can be achieved is via HT coading in a mechanism that will distribute people evenly across an arena but this would be violated ... while still letting people fly for their chosen country ... which I don't think he would even consider/

So what you are asking for is truly impossible.

[Mr No Name]

Kevin, the answer is simple, stop dynamically gerimandering the arenas.  The old MA wasn't perfect but some squads did move about to side-balance.

As it is setup right now, the only way an arena would maintain balance is by a fluke.  HTCs only option would be to dynamically assign pilots to a country everytime they logged in, effectively disbanding every squad in the game.  THAT would be the absolute undoing of the game in one fell swoop.

You cannot make the world a fair place no matter what you do.  There will always be better players, people who have more friends that want to fly with them at any given time.  Perhaps HTC should try more carrot and less stick with this behavior modification experiment.  Granted the stick works but it reminds me of the old joke "The beatings will continue until morale improves!"  Instead of figuring out new ways to punish those with a numerical advantage, or those who want to fly as a group, - FOR SOME - (many could care less) the appeal of perhaps even higher perk multipliers could help encourage side balancing.

I still say the real answer to this is a robust, separate furballers and GVers arena for those not wanting to win the war.

[Soulyss]

Well just about the rest of the squad chimed in so I might as well add to the sentiment they have voiced here.  

In general the fights I've found lately have been far better than what I had grown used to in the old system.  The single biggest change has been the increase in arena community I have seen.  I've actually had some great banter and conversations with people I just got done fighting.  Hell, someone actually apologized for ramming me the other night.  Didn't really bother me when it happened and I was surprised as hell to get an apology for it.  Was actually kinda humorous.  Was looking behind me @ a spit switched to forward view and all I can remember seeing on my FE was a giant "F4U" icon.  Turns out a squaddies was dragging the F4U and was trying to clear my tail and took him right into me.  The F4U aplogized, I told him not to worry about it and we both had a good laugh over the matter.  

I'm talking more and meeting more people in the new arenas more and more often.  People that I remember and will say hello to next time I log on.  The arena is what we make of it gents, it's up to us.  HTC has provided a place and format where we all can have a lot of fun.  Now it's up to us to make it such a place.