Hitech,
I appreciate the problems you are grappling with and the problems that addressing those issues have caused. As I read all these posts and get my head around the major complaints (which don't need to be reiterated here) I am drifting to what may seem a very simple solution.
Why not just disable side switching?
Instead, assign all new subscribers to a 'country' and leave them there.
I read one post where the player said they were "born a ROOK". If that's the sentiment (and I know I share it as well) then maybe it would be better to work with the prevailing mindset rather than try and change it. Go with the flow, so to speak.
If it were me, I would permanently auto-assign new players to countries with an inadequate number of players. This 'balance' could be mantained behind-the-scenes in such a way merely by adjusting where new subscribers are assigned and could be adjusted to account for the number of players who are actively flying for each respective country.
This balancing system can only work if country switching is disabled.
The end effect would:
1 - Allow for the team dynamic to be maintained and for squads to flourish
2 - eliminate the abuse of players switching to be in the winning 'horde'
3 - allow for players to regularly interact with the same players and develop country loyalty and player friendships...this would lead to more spirited attacks and defenses.
I think from a business perspective, the forging of friendships in-game would be a priority. These virtual friendships have alot of appeal for people. Such attachments are a powerful motivator for players to remain subscribers. I read some posts that the friendships forged in this game are the best part of the game. I say foster that climate and encourage the formation of friendships and community within countries.
Anyway, these are a few of the benefits that come to mind but I'm sure there are more. Not knowing if there is a hidden impetus behind your changes aside from the obvious side-balancing issue this is what I came up with.
Now this is very simple and direct but hasten to add one more aspect to this plan. Significantly, it would only affect new players who subscribe from the time it goes into affect. I would recommend against making it retroactive. Sure, sides will remain out of balance for a while but new subscribers will eventually even out the teams.
The only downside I can see to this is in the case of where a player wants to have their son or daughter or maybe a friend subscribe to the game and fly with them on their country. This too can easily be fixed by having a field on the signup form to identify their parents/friends in-game nic. That information can then be used to assign the new suvscriber to the same country. And of course, having current subscribers recruit new subscribers is part of your overall mareting strategy so this would also foster that effort.
Yes, this is a relatively simple solution. But sometimes we can't see the forest through the trees so I thought I would offer it up for your and the community's consideration.
May I ask you to consider and perhaps respond to this idea?
I am very interested in what you think of it.
Thank you,
David
