Testing Capture system in LW orange today

[smash]

Originally posted by hitech
Because I think that either type playing by them selfs can not be sustained. Just like I do not want a fighter town. Even though the pure furballers think it would be great, I do not believe so. I also do not believe a pure  race to capture fields game play (rather than fight for fields) can be sustained.

Thanks for taking the time to do multiple posts in this thread.  I realize it was probably a bit of a pain, but it was good to read and understand some of your logic.  After trying out the new arena setups for a while here are my thoughts.

The value of your product, for me, has always exceeded the monthly fee by a significant amount.  While you have not always produced some of the features I have hoped for, you have provided others that I was not expecting and I have always been entertained.  I have discontinued my account in the past, but never because I no longer liked the game or the cost.

Recently while evaluating my monthly expenditures I thought about the value of AH to me.  It is really surprising how much the community has played a part in my enjoyment of your game, especially considering I have not been a member of a squad in years.  But a large part of the "pull" to sit down at the computer and login was knowing that I would find a group of people flying that I knew - virtually speaking.  I knew their voices.. more importantly I knew their flying habits.  You joke around.... have some fun,  maybe participate in a few missions, maybe save someone's bacon or vice versa.

For myself this part of the experience has evaporated.  And I cannot emphasize enough that has been a complete evaporation.

In your game I tend to use some of the features that you have implemented, even though many of those are scorned by some of the mouthy few on this board.  That includes scoring, rank, hit percentage etc.  My goal in using the game is not to become the top ranking fighter pilot... I don't have the time and frankly there are other things in life far more important to me then devoting that amount of energy to this game.  But in the past I've watched and spent a little time in all the columns and enjoyed each type of game play whether fighter, buff, gv or the rest.  Typically I would play an evening and then the following day logon and check my score.

What I find now is that I don't bother to pull up the scoring page at all.  It seems that I just don't care any more.   What is interesting is that pattern follows the myopic behavior of those people who only seem to favor one style of game play.  When beginning these series of changes a few months ago you were quite clear about trying to force a behaviour change... I am just passing along what I've noticed for myself and how I participate in the game.

I realize that criticizing your recent changes or your product is a turn off to you, and I don't want to throw up a wall.  But the game is moving farther and farther away from what I enjoy.  Its a combination of things, but some of it is a lack of variety.

An example.  By playing with a group of people for a while you know who can put together a decent mission that has a reasonable chance of success.  Once in a while someone puts together something interesting thats a little off the wall, maybe its an SBD attack, or some other infrequently used plane type.  You get 10 or 15 people to participate and have a lot of laughs.  Maybe an all GV attack.. who knows.... but something different.  I'm not seeing any of that any more.

Again, that is part of what 'pulls' me to the computer to login and spend a couple of hours and enjoy myself.  I still enjoy the planes, and the fantastic art, the realism of the flight etc.  But the other part, which it seems I valued more then I knew, has been seriously reduced if not all together eliminated.

I've been watching the changes and I continue to try and get some playing time in now and then to see how things are going.  I am not a member of either your marketing team, or the group of friends you've been working with for years as you've built this game.  So my option for feedback is either this forum or a private email... and you probably need another email like a hole in your head

My goal with the post wasn't to add to the your irritation level, just pass on one guys opinion.  Best wishes for the holidays for your people.  Its an interesting period as you try to figure out where to go.  From what I can see logging on it looks like there's still plenty of people online.  I certainly understand that the bottom line drives all.

Good luck.

[DaddyAck]

Please HT for the love of all things AHII, leave the arenas as the were!
I do not like the concept of only one capturable base at a time, especially when they know when and where we are coming.  Furthurmore HT, I disagree with a mobile furball all the time.  I know that my opinions in the past have not mattered much (Like when I said night time was good), but since you still faithfully get my $15.00 I guess it is a mute point.  Ultimately though I HIGHLY dislike the new system which in my opinion is catered to the furballers, It is your decision HT and yours alone.

[SlapShot]

(Slap, you were doing fine until that last paragraph) See Rule #5

[hitech]

Smash: Excellent post.

Have you considered what has caused the change  for you?


HiTech

[Traveler]

Originally posted by Krusty
Or, like last night in the MWA, the rooks had 60% of the entire map, but that wasn't enough, so they ran 3 sectors in and took the one V-base that had a spawn point to knit HQ, and then killed the HQ with GVs. Didn't bother to take the fields between their front line and the v-base.

I think taking rear bases is unrealistic to the extreme. Milk runners and griefers do this more than folks using legitimate tactics.

I'm definitely going to try logging in today to try this out.

Hitech: Can you let this run for a week, at least, so we can get an overall idea on how it works?

Take a look at how the US fought Japan in the pacific.  The strategy was not to engage on every island but to by pass and cut off large number of enemy forces.  They avoided the choke points.

[Traveler]

Originally posted by Edbert
Anyone else notice how many of those who threaten to quit over this are registered in 2006?

Anyone else notice how many of those who threaten to quit don't?

It is haveing an effect, 113th Lucky Strikes has been in the game for a very long time and has lost several long time members.  Another just pulled the plug today.

[Traveler]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Right-click on the clipboard map, select "Country Status", and it will show all the fields that can be captured for each country.

Nothing like haveing good directions.  Any chance that the game documentation has been updated or is everyone just winging it?

[Stang]

Originally posted by Traveler
Take a look at how the US fought Japan in the pacific.  The strategy was not to engage on every island but to by pass and cut off large number of enemy forces.  They avoided the choke points.

Yet the islands they did choose to attack were not defended, right?

[twitchy]

See Rule #5

[smash]

Originally posted by hitech
Smash: Excellent post.

Have you considered what has caused the change  for you?


HiTech

That will take some thought.  I'll post later on and try to give you a worthwhile response.

I will say this.  In the game I've started engaging in some of the stupidest dweeb behaviour.  Suicide missions, HOs etc, things I just wouldn't have done before.  Its definetly not fair to blame that on the game, it may come down to some weird personal defect of which I have more than one  But some of it has to do with not caring about the score.

I'm going to get flamed royally for this, but I actually have paid attention to how the scoring system worked.  All the factors that play in such as # of kills versus the amount of time you're on, your K/D ratio etc.  Those things all discouraged suicide missions and general ill-planning on the part of the player.  Of course you had to care about the score and rank.

There is not a lot of satisfaction in playing the game in what I would consider a 'poor' way, at least for me.  And I find myself logging much sooner and finding something else to do.

[SkyRock]

The incredible, amazing, growning post!  683 in three days or so!:aok

[BaldEagl]

HiTech, I have a question for you.  Once this is worked out do you plan to do this in all the arenas/maps or just the large maps or haven't you decided yet?  It wou seem EW and MW don't need large maps and this system might benefit them due to low #'s.  It would also seem a reasonable idea to leave one LW arena with the unchanged small maps and the other LW arena with the large maps using the new system.  Just wondering.

I'd also like to ask one more question that I've always wondered about.  Were you and/or your staff involved in the Air Warriors sims?  I've always assumed you were due to the similarities.

On to those of you who flew in the original version of Air Warrior.  You might remember what we all affectionatly called the Valley of the Dweebs.  You always knew, 24/7 that there was a furball going on in the VOD while the strat game was being played out through the rest of the arena.  For the life of me I can't remember why that was.  If we could remember this there may be a lesson to be considered for future development in AHII.

[Traveler]

Originally posted by Quah!
OK so bombing stuff is strategic.  I'll give you that, but many strategery folks have said it wasn't very strategic so what gives.  Can you cite any strategery that does not have to do with bombing strat and has more to do with the topic and base capture?

 

Umm first off your view of furballing is quite narrow and I guess with such a view I wouldn't enjoy them either.  And if your sole purpose in an online combat flight game is not to engage in Air to Air Warfare then why or what is the point of even getting online?  Chat room?

 Why, what fun has it stomped out for you?  Is it a control thing where you have to be the one that selects what base you take.  Or again are you just wishing you still had the option to take undefended bases??

under the old system of base capture, one never knew where a base would come under attack until it happened.  When a base came under attack, people deffended.  You could draw resources away from a base being attacked by counter attacking to capture the base that the nme forces were originating from.  Or attaching at a more distant target to draw defenders away form a base.  by attacking a more distant target with the thrate of capturing that target.  

With the new base capture system the thrate of a more distant base being captured is no longer an issue.  there is no need to go defend any other target then the one or two bases that can be captured.  

Strategy in the new base capture system is to come to the game with the bigest hord.

because there is no side balancing, only server balancing.

[john9001]

Originally posted by Stang
Yet the islands they did choose to attack were not defended, right?

i think you got it backwards, they did not attack a base BECAUSE it was defended, the base was defended because of threat of attack.

[Traveler]

Originally posted by john9001
i think you got it backwards, they did not attack a base BECAUSE it was defended, the base was defended because of threat of attack.

Some were and some were not.  You might find reading about the pacific war interesting.  Not just the major campaigns but the little islands that served as re- supply depots and other rear operations areas that were taken without firing a shot.  You can get information form the DOD a lot of it is online.