Delta,
Just out of curiosity, what would you like done to improve AH2 for the lower-end gamers?
That's a fair question.
First we need to understand what it means to improve the game.
To do that we need to define some terminology: game
and environment. They are not the same thing.
The game consists of planes, vehicles and the dynamics
of gameplay like strategy, coordinated gameplay, flight
model and other aspects of actual operations. Even the base
layout, number of barracks, fuel, etc. are part of the game
as they affect actual gameplay.
The environment graphics, by contrast, are the virtual world
that the game takes place in. They are 'not' the game.
My whole point here is that the visuals used to create
the environment shouldn't cause actual gameplay to suffer.
My related concern (other than not being able to enjoy
all these visuals) is that the "game" has suffered because
of the focus on environment and not on gameplay.
While I appreciate the work that was done on the game's
mechanics (flight models, bug fixes, etc.) I wish more
attention has been given to adding planes and maps
that would not have posed a serious technical hurdle to the
existing player base.
Easyscor, you above all people should understand
the opportunity cost that this new version required, seeing
that you are involved in events and all. What would have
made for better scenarios, shiny water or new planes like
the Ju-52, Betty bomber, Japanese Raiden, PBY, or even
the oft-reviled B-29, etc.?
How about additional vehicles like the M-10, M-24,
Japanese tank, etc. These would have been invaluable
for scenarios and FSO events. Gratefully, we got the 2
new planes but my argument is that we could have had much
more and with no technical headaches.
Imagine the player response if the last update had
presented us with 4 new maps, 8 new planes and a couple
of more vehicles. It would have been universally enthusiastic
but more than that, none of the current subscribers would
have been tossed to the curb because their systems
couldn't handle the new release.
From my reading of the forums the chief desires of the
community for a long time has been for new planes and maps.
We got 2 new planes, no new maps and a host of technical
issues related to the newest release.
Moreover, improvements to the film viewer and mission editor
are long overdue but again, the time that could have been spent
on these issues was instead used for shiny water and
photorealistic terrain (sans topographic features).
Please understand, I didn't post this to slap anyone down
but to highlight my contention that in actual fact nothing
significant about the 'game' has improved. The only game
benefits that this version presented us with were two new planes.
Sure, the virtual world that this game takes place in is
nicer to look at (if your machine is able) but that very
eye candy has actually caused gameplay (the 'game) to suffer.
Let me conclude with these thoughts. First, I applaud
HiTech and crew for the quick introduction of patches
to fix some of the issues that have been caused by the
new version. My 'game' play has improved somewhat because
of these efforts and I hope they will continue but in the
future I hope they will concentrate on improving the
'game' and not the environment.
My hope for myself is that the 'game' will once again be
playable for me and that I will continue to enjoy this pasttime
that I have become addicted to over the past 7 years.
