To me, Aces High was never about ACM. My interest in WW2 planes start out from the historical perspective, and therefore what is most important for me was how different pilots in different planes would act out in an virtual environment, and through such experience, "feeling" and "imagining" how WW2 might have been was always more important than the my dick is bigger than your dick-ish contest of ACM. In my point of view, everyone has different amount of talent when it comes to aerial combat, so no matter how much one "practices" stuff, in the end there is always someone you find difficult to beat, and someone you can do so easily. Not everyone can become the superb pilot we all wish to be, and as such justifies the concept of tactics - if you can't beat him alone, you beat him with a better plane, an altitude advantage, a cherry pick, and if all else fails, with numbers. To me, the "1vs1" or "duel" or "ACM-oriented" mentality was never appealing in the first place.
Therefore, how the aerial combat full of common, mediocre pilots played out was much more interesting to me. After all, these guys are like the normal, everyday pilots of WW2. They don't get the bravado and attention the more famous pilots do, nor can they make quick scrap metal out of any enemy plane they meet like them 'superaces'. They drop like flies when things go bad, they make mistakes, they're not too good, and they are just plain, average. However, these average pilots are the backbone of the airforce, and how they fight and survive in the war makes history - not just a handful experten. These people can't just become a 'good pilots', so they do anything they can within the MA to survive, and that's what was more interesting for me to watch, than the egomaniacal superpilots doing what they do all the time - fight and meet an inferior pilot, win, and then boast about it.
Thus, during the initial phase of the explosion in MA numbers I welcomed it. The "land-grab" gave the MA something larger than just what a handful ACM-lovers can enjoy. It started a coherent, full-blown 'war' into the MA where different range of situations and tactics could occur. Before that, the "war" aspect of the MA was nothing much more than a colorful facade or a background. However, with the increase in MA numbers the "war" became more apparent, and individual strifes and ACM contests - no matter how fancy or impressive - just didn't mean anything much anymore. With more numbers each of the WW2 military asepct portrayed in AH began to take form. Naval warfare and ground warfare now meant something. Tactics and strategies developed around what was previously much neglected, and treated as a few fun gimmicks for people to enjoy outside of being in an aircraft cockpit.
Then, as the numbers grew larger, the war in the MA grew more intense. People discovered the most primitive, most simple, and yet most brutal and effective tactic of all time - the Horde. People didn't fight anymore. The MA turned into a strange combination of a milkrun + overrun... where one front would be left mostly undefended and overrun by enemy horde, while the other front would be milkrun by one's own horde. It would become a chicken race - which side can steamroll and milkrun the most bases before enemies drive in through one's own undefended flank. All other tactical choices were gone, and since the MA system didn't have a centralized, coordinated strat system in place, it dug itself inside the mindset of every common player in the game.
The war in MA grows hotter and hotter, but unfortunatley, the MA is completely devoid of all of the aspects which make a war more than just ganging up into huge numbers. No attrition, no real strat/economy which effects efficiency of the military, no central chain of command which stops people from just deserting a tough fight and seeking out easy gangbang, milkrun opportunities. In short, no reason for people to come up with something else than just joining the horde movement and following it around. People do what they can do to survive. You can't blame them for it. They found the simplest, most effective way to enjoy MA.
The "Golden Years" are gone. It's not coming back. The problem with the MA is not that it has changed in mentality - but rather, the problem is that it hasn't changed structurally.
This all-out war shouldn't neccesarily be so unenjoyable for the old timers... but it is.
Fighting an all-out war shouldn't necessarily mean everyone should join an all-out massive offensive against undefended enemy lands... but it is.
Fighting an all-out war shouldn't necessarily mean that being on the defensive side is pitting yourself against the entire enemy horde... but it is.
When the focus of the MA shifted to this "war", the structure of the MA should have changed with it, to adequately accomodate for the new tendencies and situations in the MA. However, none of what was suggested ever made it into the game. The MA system remains as it was in AH1. People can do anything, fly anything, go anywhere - so, they are free to make up large hordes, avoid fights, abandon entire fronts, and milkrun airfields. Not only is there no ACM-oriented aerial combat now, but also no strategy or tactic.
The MA numbers grew large enough for a war...and so many new aircraft/vehicles have also been added into the MA to play out a war. However, the organization level and the strat system of the MA remains non-existant up to this date. We have all the toys and tools to make this a pseudo-WW2, except none of the "rules" are here. So without those "rules", it's basically nothing more than a huge team-FFA where bunching up into huge numbers and ganging up on those lesser in numbers is the only way to go.
So at this point, I find myself asking; "does the MA not need a structural change now?" It's time to rethink attrition, industry, economy, organization, limitations, and everything that's not in the MA, so everyone can find something to enjoy.
Perhaps the discontinuation of Combat Theater can become something good.
Perhaps, all of the systems that have been developed or conceptualized for the CT, can be transplanted directly into the MA.
