Blaming individuals in the manner that pits the "old guard" against the "new generation" is neither constructive, nor even accurate, in trying to understand what's happening in the MA. The reason why many of my own posts are often furiously aimed against the "vet" class of players is specifically because of such intolerance and (rather ill-mannered) misunderstanding coming from the old timers of AH - which is often fueled by distasteful hypocrisy and blatant contempt against what is now a very large player base which easily overshadows the pitiful few numbers of "vets". Instead of trying to understand and observe why the MA has changed so drastically over the years, people simply find a scapegoat and "blame it on the new guy".
Ofcourse, such emotional responses are not necessarily hard to understand. Not everyone can see and accept change at a face value. Although the "vets" still retain a hefty amount of influence in these boards, in the MA their influence is next to non-existant. The style and attitude towards aerial combat which they've enjoyed for so long, just cannot compete against the full-fledged war that is now brewing everyday in the MA. It's not hard to imagine such frustration can easily take note of the 'new guy' and make him a scapegoat. Afterall, that's the basic social psychology behind xenophpbia. Something goes wrong in one's own turf, then start blaming the foreigners.
However, in a general perspective, people have always been familiar with the term, "it's their 15 bucks". As a matter of fact, the "vets" themselves have come up with such care-free and tolerant attitude long before the "Exodus" (events referring to the downfall of AW and WB, which lead to a dramatic increase in AH population), and launching of AH2. Therefore, how the players choose to fly and fight in the MA should pretty much belongs to their own. So what's with all the criticism going around?
For one thing, the overall growth of MA population, and new additions to the game throughout the years, has allowed the three factions of MA to really start up a warring environment. How AH started out, or what AH professed to be millions of years ago, is completely irrelevant a matter in this perspective. The only important fact is that now, the MA is a hands-down wargame in which people compete and fight against "the other country" using vintage WW2-era aircraft and vehicles, and the majority of people fight in the MA for a very different reason than what the "vets" used to fight for. "Fun" is a relative concept.
The problem is, the old "vet" crowds should have a say in this, too. Although they are an ever-shrinking minority nowadays, it shouldn't be impossible for them to find some fun in the MA, nor should they be left out of the game. But such things are happening, and the frustrations and anger coming from such reality makes them lash out towards other people who are just trying to have fun. Why is this happeneing?
...
Well, I blame the "why" on HTC.
When the MA first started out, it wasn't exactly an exact science as to how the basic strat system was laid out. The goal of the game was to enjoy aerial combat in WW2 vintage aircraft, and all the rest was basically nothing much more than a mere facade, a colorful gimmick which people could use to add some different flavors to the aerial combat they enjoyed so much. However, as the years went on, AH grew into a larger game. With growing population, each of the three factions in the game could now put up regular numbers of pilots in the air for almost 24-hours straight, regardless of the time zone. More vehicles and aircraft were added in, which strengthened the level of detail in depicting WW2-era combat in the air, land, and sea.
In theory, the game should be getting more fun, now that its starting to look more and more like WW2. So why's it going downhill for the "vets"?
This problem stems up from a classic case of over competition in an environment which lacks structure.
Way back, when we had less than 200 people online, typically around maybe 150 or so in US time zones, and less than 100 in pacific time zones, everyone knew everyone else. Since there was never really a "war" going on, not only did people have the leisure to enjoy fights as they wished, but also the fights itself were much less hectic. It wasn't all that too difficult to survive when there were perhaps maybe five or six people at most in the area. People had the time to try practice, try stuff, and it wasn't an all too distasteful experience to be shot down a couple of times in the process. However, once the war machine started grinding, the purpose of the game shifted to the land-grab. Winning the war was the given objective, and people became a lot more determined in what they do. This sense of purpose gives the people a specific goal, a visible challenge which they can set their minds to, and the "challenge", is now not in winning in the air as an individual fighter pilot, but as an aerial power which operates at a more tactical and strategic level. The overall increase in population means that there are now a lot more enemies flying around in areas if engagement, and none of them are willing to cut you some slack. In short, its a lot harder for new players to survive now.
This explains the tendency of newer generations of AH players to stick to "uber" rides. They need to survive in the air to have some fun in the first place. This is also why the "horde" mentality surfaces - securing a numbers advantage against the enemy is the easiest and most primitive form of tactics in the field, and yet brutally effective. Newbies nowadays don't have the time and leisure to stay and fight with a vet. Like mentioned their sense of fun comes from fullfilling a given objective. Contributing for their faction in game, and being a part of something.
The problem is, despite all these changes, the basic structure of the game has remained virtually unchanged since 1999. As a matter of fact there is no 'structure' at all. In a real war, the effects of military structure, chain of command, economy and attrition all prohibit an individual soldier to act out on his own. Battle plans are carefully laid out, and order is observed and enforced. However, despite all the new additions to the game, such as towns and ports and etc.., the MA is essentially a large-scale form of fighting close to a team-based FFA(Free-for-All) where anyone can do anything they want without an existing military order which limits them. So, imagine what a newbie who first enters the MA would do when he sees that their are some 20~30 planes flying around at a given location in the map.
He looks for friends.
He tags along, and sticks within the group. The larger the group becomes, the higher the chance of survival. Especially when flying in a uberplane. Likewise, if the pilots on other side notice that the enemy group is becoming larger and stronger, he simply chooses to avoid the fight, and move to a location where the odds are better.
"It's their 15 bucks"
They take the most natural, simplest, and easiest way to gaining victories and fullfilling goals in the game - regardless of whether or not such attitudes in the MA can ruin the quality of the game itself.... and there's nothing anyone can do about it because, the MA is essentially a structureless FFA. Everything is upto the players, and the players can do everything - including, ruining the quality of the game for themselves.
And whose fault is that? Cetainly not the new guys. They're just playing how the game needs to be played.
If anyone is to blame, its HTC.
