• IDEA!: Establish a Respawn Delay •

[Steve]

force players to fight smarter and in a more realistic way; a stark contrast to
the reckless arcade style of gameplay we see now.

Finally you've admitted it. You want to FORCE people to play the game a way you deem more appropriate than the way they choose to spend their $15.00. That you think this is reasonable speaks volumes.

[Sincraft]

Thanks to those of you who posted a complete
thought. 

Based on the majority of posts,
it seems like the biggest concern is the duration
of the delay.  I agree that 5 minutes is a bit
long.  It will take some careful consideration to
arrive at the best time that discourages arcade-style
abuse while at the same time not discouraging players
who die from "natural causes".

I like the 1 to 1.5 minute idea and the prohibition
from launching from the same base during the
delay period.  Great ideas!

Why are you in here typing when you should be forming up missions?  Geesh Delta - you disappoint me. 2 nights in a row you chose your family over 'us'. lol

[Old Sport]

Okay, here's a different idea to make "life-and-death" a little more meaningful, and perhaps a bit entertaining, but without grounding a player for a repelling five minutes:

Every AH II subscriber would automatically get paid 20 perk points a month. That's right, a perk for each working day whether you rate it or not.

Every subscriber would also have three levels of Character Life (CL1, CL2 and CL3). The most desirable is CL1 and the least desirable is CL3. None ground you. All three affect your rank and perks. I would suggest that all three be controlled by configurable arena parameters.

CL1
You start an AH II session in CL1 - when you first take off you are flying as CL1. This is intended to be your primary character life level. CL1 earns perk points that are not available for use by the other two CL's. In addition CL1 also provides the lion's share scoring basis for determining rank. So it is desirable to stay at the CL1 level. In game there is no change in icon appearance - you only see your CL state in the hangar.

CL2
Upon your CL1's death only CL2 is available for 5 minutes. When you takeoff in CL2 then you remain in CL2, even past the 5 minutes, until you land, bail or are killed. If you go the required 5 minutes in CL2 without dying (even if you subsequently die in flight after the 5 minutes) then the next time you take off you automatically revert to CL1. While in CL2 you earn perk points at 70 percent the rate of CL1. These perks are not available for other CLs. Moreover CL2 scoring success calculation in relation to CL1 provides only 40 percent of the total rank calculation while score losses are counted equally with CL1.

CL3
If, while in CL2, you die again before the 5 minutes are up you proceed to CL3 for 5 minutes. While in CL3 you don't earn perks and no perk rides are available. In addition CL3 scoring success provides only 10 percent of total rank calculation, but score losses are counted equally with CL1 and CL2. You stay in CL3 for 5 minutes, and then, a la "Get Out of Jail Free" you revert to CL1 with all its wondrous rank and privilege.

SGLI
For those who refuse to be stuck five minutes at CL3 without perk rides another feature should be added, called SGLI (Serviceman's Group Life Insurance). If you suddenly find yourself in CL3 you can cash in your SGLI policy in the hangar and immediately revert to CL1. The policy must be bought previously when you are at a CL1 level and is only available for use later at the CL3 level. You sign up for an SGLI policy in the hanger for say 5 perks.

[X] Yes Dale, sign me up today for some of that SGLI action !!   

Any subscriber can use the 20 perks provided monthly to buy SGLI policies. You can also use CL1 perk points for SGLI if you have any.

Now, here's the big payoff. SGLI policies mature in two weeks. So if you sign up for an SGLI policy and do not cash it for two weeks, then you get back double the perks you put into it, i.e. 10 whopping perks. Woo Hoo!

This would provide a modest "life-and-death" sensation without grounding anyone.

[stickpig]

Now I need an insurance salesman 

[texasmom]

Seems like that would discourage the desire to engage in a fight.  You'd see hesitation on the part of folks who aren't confident they can achieve victory moving on to buildings or ack, to prevent the 5-minute tower trips that they know are sure to follow an engagement.

Isn't the fight supposed to be the fun part?

I'm not certain that what needs to be changed is any portion of the gaming mechanisms in order to create a better gaming atmosphere.  It's the mindset, but nobody really has control over that except each individual over their own.

*edit*
But it's wonderful that you want to see an improvement in "the fight," keep thinking & posting other ideas

[USCH]

I cant wait to get a T-34 to a base and make all you guys sit in the tower as i spawn camp the runway.... 

[lengro]

Die in MA and respawn in closed 2-player DA room - winner of duel can return to MA - loser duels again 




 

[SmokinLoon]

I'd go for a 2 minute delay upping from the SAME field, but a zero delay when upping from a different field.  The only issue is to code it so the gamers cant up then land/bail from a different field in a matter of 10 seconds and then re-up from the original field bypassing the 2 minute delay.

I like the idea of the delay.

[Hap]

horrendous idea

[Infidelz]

Would a limited supply might be more appropriate than a respawn delay? Being able to endless lift from a base under attack is odd. Of course so is being able to lift any plane from wwii and I like that.

INFIDELZ>

[GREric]

Id rather go for like a 30 second wait, simular to Halo. 3, 2, 1, Beep. idn dont mind me though.

[96Delta]

My interest in posting the idea was simple. 
It was to see if there was any support at all
for the idea to make the game more like realistic air-to-air
combat through the introduction of some sore of penalty for
dying. (as there is now none with the exception of losing a
perk plane).

I shared this idea to see if I was alone in my view
and to determine to what extend other players agreed with
me. And, along with comments from those who agreed, I also
wanted to hear cogent arguments from players who thought
this was a bad idea and why.

Based on those comments, it appears that the majority of you
agreed, at least in principal, with the idea.  But this
wasn't a vote. It was merely a discussion of the idea.
Whatever value it has is for HiTech to decide, not any of us.
It is a record of thought.  Nothing more.

In the meantime, I will still try and improve the
game for like-minded players who desire more
realism by adjusting as much as possible to
what I perceive to be the arcade nature of the
experience.  I'll do this by continuing to run missions
using country-specific planes and by setting up
pseuedo-historic battles through my [MoM]
"Missions of the Month".  These are just 2 ways
I'll try to keep the game interesting for myself,
and for the scores of players who join me in these
operations.

But I am hopeful that in the future, the leadership
at HiTech creations will see the merit in adding a
death delay and the value of increasing the realism
and immersion of a player into a world war two areial
combat experience.

[grizz441]

Based on those comments, it appears that the majority of you
agreed, at least in principal, with the idea. 

The majority agreed with you?  Not really.  You had a few people that thought it might be a good idea to have a 1-2 minute delay tops at the front line base.  Even with this watered down version of your original idea, I think would still be a bad idea. 

Defenders are already at a significant disadvantage, why would you want to a) Give them more of a disadvantage by making them sit in the tower and allowing the fight to become more lopsided and b) Negative incentives for wanting to fight the tough fight by defending a base?  I can't emphasize enough how awful and destructive of an idea this is to game play.  But it would be more realistic I guess. 

[Murdr]

The idea of spawn delay from same field not only tips the balance towards the attacker, but it is also a furball killer, it will raise average altitudes, and will alienate the working/family joe who has limited time for games and just wants to log on and find a couple fights.