The "Good" Old Days

[USRanger]

When the arenas got split up, AH stopped being a sim and became a game, hence the player behavioral changes.

[Lusche]

When the arenas got split up, AH stopped being a sim and became a game, hence the player behavioral changes.

Uhm... what "sim" part exactly went away with arena split?

[NoBaddy]

When the arenas got split up, AH stopped being a sim and became a game, hence the player behavioral changes.

To quote Sherman Potter..."BULLPUCKY!".

The player behavior changes started years ago when EA shut down Air Warrior.

[USRanger]

Bull whatever.  When the arenas split, we lost "the war" aspect of the game.  Each day you could see your country's progress and you knew for the next week or win, everyone would be on that map, fighting the same war, having an actual cause.  Now we just log on to whatever server for the night.  Who cares what happens because you might not be back in that same map/server for the next week.  The long term goals (which made it a sim IMO) disappeared and it became just another online game of pick a server.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Tigger29]

I played this game for over a year, back before the arena split.  Back then all we had was the Main Arena, Training Arena, Dueling Arena, Special Arena, and of course... 8 player mode... basically "Titanic Tuesday" minus the early and mid war arenas.

It was a good time.  The main goal for everyone was to win the war.  People all worked together to take and defend bases, and it was a heck of a fight all of the time.  Sure we had a few people on just looking for 'a good fight' but that was by far the exception... ESPECIALLY when a map was up no one particularly liked!  Just win it and move on to the next one!

Then I had to quit playing... I was out of a job and times were very, very tough... and right in the middle of it all my Motherboard fried during a power outage.. My 'backup' computer (Old PII) simply couldn't run AH, so I cancelled my subscription.

About 8 months later I was in a much better financial position... I built a new computer and got back into the game.  I had heard about the arena split which happened during that period of time, but didn't fully realize the impact of it all until I started playing.  Now it seemed as if no one really cared about 'winning the war' anymore, and those of us who were drawn into the game because of the teamwork and base taking had become the exception, and most of the people on were looking for good fights.  The entire mindset seemed to have changed.

Now I'm not saying the game isn't fun anymore.. it's just a bit 'different'.  I'm not sure WHY the arena split had caused this to happen, and sometimes I wonder if the Arena Caps may have more to do with this than the actual split.. but I guess this is all up for discussion.  I've got nothing at all against 'a good fight' but I personally don't have nearly as much fun flying solo than with a 'somewhat' organized group.  I happen to like the camaraderie, teamwork, planning, strategy and all that... and I get an absolute thrill out of base-taking (and even more so winning the war)... and any good dogfights that happen along the way just add to that experience.

[NoBaddy]

Now it seemed as if no one really cared about 'winning the war' anymore, and those of us who were drawn into the game because of the teamwork and base taking had become the exception, and most of the people on were looking for good fights.  The entire mindset seemed to have changed.

Now I'm not saying the game isn't fun anymore.. it's just a bit 'different'.  I'm not sure WHY the arena split had caused this to happen, and sometimes I wonder if the Arena Caps may have more to do with this than the actual split.. but I guess this is all up for discussion.  I've got nothing at all against 'a good fight' but I personally don't have nearly as much fun flying solo than with a 'somewhat' organized group.  I happen to like the camaraderie, teamwork, planning, strategy and all that... and I get an absolute thrill out of base-taking (and even more so winning the war)... and any good dogfights that happen along the way just add to that experience.

Really? Where? When? I know plenty of folks looking for just that kind of action. Instead, every weenie and his sister is focused on capturing the next undefended field so they can win the war.

Sorry, I've never understood the "absolute thrill" of base taking. Oh well...different strokes.... 

[The Fugitive]

I don't mind the win the war type playing there game. It "should" create more fights. Unfortunately what happens is the guys that are trying to win the war don't want to fight for it. They want to roll bases with out any defense. As soon as some people show up to defend (AKA fighter types) the win the war type run away to try and sneak a different base. In the old days whole squads went head to head. You could spend hours fighting over a base, and should the base be taken, you had better be ready for the the other team to come back for it right away! A1 in Mindanao was a classic for that. The fights would last hours on end into the night.

Today its the quick grab stuff, nobody want to work for it any more. Nobody has the skill, or take the time to come up with a plan and then try to execute it. And noo, "lets all grab 110s and go NOE " is NOT a plan.  I remember one guy who would spend a week building a plan, time the launches and lay out way points so that as the buffs arrived at the waypoint, the fighters got there a few "K" over head at the same time.... talk about immersion ! You don't see that stuff any more.

[mechanic]

I played this game for over a year, back before the arena split.  Back then all we had was the Main Arena, Training Arena, Dueling Arena, Special Arena, and of course... 8 player mode... basically "Titanic Tuesday" minus the early and mid war arenas.

It was a good time.  The main goal for everyone was to win the war.  {snip}

 

no way! when i joined in late 2003 there was already a long term split betwen furballing and base taking. Nothing much has changed except how much we complain.

[Wilbus]

Yup been here from the start more or less (wasn't in closed beta though). Most everything have improved, not surprisingly of course.

[Ghosth]

Was here from fairly early open beta, missed the first pay for play tour. Have been here pretty much ever since.

High points, staying up all night shooting airplanes with tanks when 1.02 came out.

AH2 beta, helping people get tuned up, working to get the bugs out. Saw HT and Pryo a lot back in those days.

This place has come a long long way from the early beta days.
I miss flying as bait for Wilbuz though.

[GGhost]

I don't mind the win the war type playing there game. It "should" create more fights. Unfortunately what happens is the guys that are trying to win the war don't want to fight for it. They want to roll bases with out any defense. As soon as some people show up to defend (AKA fighter types) the win the war type run away to try and sneak a different base. In the old days whole squads went head to head. You could spend hours fighting over a base, and should the base be taken, you had better be ready for the the other team to come back for it right away! A1 in Mindanao was a classic for that. The fights would last hours on end into the night.

Today its the quick grab stuff, nobody want to work for it any more. Nobody has the skill, or take the time to come up with a plan and then try to execute it. And noo, "lets all grab 110s and go NOE " is NOT a plan. I remember one guy who would spend a week building a plan, time the launches and lay out way points so that as the buffs arrived at the waypoint, the fighters got there a few "K" over head at the same time.... talk about immersion ! You don't see that stuff any more.

This all went away with the server split, enemy value ill regular and some poorly made maps.  - GGhost

[humble]

Beta...9/99

Primarily "old guard" sticks with exceptional ACM, most flew under "the code"...basically the "golden age" of WW2 era flight simulation IMO.

Version 1.4

The beginning of the end (or the end of the beginning). Major adjustments of the flight model to facilitate the vast influx of AW players who had significant difficulty adjusting to the AH flight model...

Death of the CT...

Some dork in a "squad" found the CT and the butterfly effect took hold...

AHII (rise of the squeeker)

Vastly improved graphics and "special effects" aimed at the "mainstream" (squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek) population. Somewhere along the line the commercials started as well...

The Rise of the Horde

The initiation of trench warfare in the skies, who needs skillz when we have the horde. And dont worry there is always someplace on the map they cant get us. The digital dirt onslaught starts...

It's always 3am somewhere (Lets go porking)

The advent of strategic bombing (i.e. lets pork the whole map before they wake up)

Which leads us to the new world....












































the rise of the SBD

Where hordes of well flown SBD's will dominate the clueless ACM deprived masses

[BaldEagl]

The advent of strategic bombing (i.e. lets pork the whole map before they wake up)

Lol.  When I started playing AW in '96 I was running a small marketing consulting business out of my home.  As soon as the wife (at the time) left for work I'd log on and go pork the CZ Spit factory with a B-17 then log off and go to work.  It was my morning milk run.   

[Icer]

I'm just curious if there are any of you that have been with this game from its beginning? If so, what was it like playing it then as opposed to now. I'm sure there was a limited selection of planes and such and imagine the graphics were different.

Is there anything you remember that stands out as being vastly improved, or even made worse?

Also wondered if there was any way to download and try playing the first version of this game?

Yeah.. a lot less squeaking and moaning back then. We mostly just had fun flying, spent a lot less time typing.. But then I liked the Confirmed Kill beta with only 2-3 planes to choose from also....