Yes, ENY again...

[Soulyss]

I've said it before; If you need to balance between different countries, get rid of the country names.  When the game logs the first player from a squad into the game for the day, he goes to the side with the lowest numbers.  With a few tweeks, this could work for side balancing within an arena but when you throw a 2nd arena into the mix...

The problem I see with that idea is that it removes player choice from the scenario.  One it's assigning a player to a particular side that for one reason or another they may not want to play for.  The key as I see it is choice, the player must have a choice in how they play the game.  What I think some people (speaking in general here, not directed at any one person is particular) have difficulty separating the choice they made with the consequences of that decision.  I think the more vocal complaints are from people who don't realize that they made the choice, or that there was even one to be made, but they did.  ENY restrictions are designed to give incentive to the player, but it is still up to them to decide to follow the carrot being dangled and switch sides. 

There is always that choice.  There is no external force that is making anyone play the game in any particular way, one of the more common reasons for not switching is squad loyalty.  The player in question still had the choice to join the squad, being forced to deal with ENY on occasion is just one of the consequences of that decision.   

[GlassJaw]

wow

[Delirium]

I've said it before; If you need to balance between different countries, get rid of the country names. 

You could call it country 1/2/3 or country A/B/C and you'd still find weirdos clinging to some 'virtual patriotism' that makes absolutely no sense.

[DCCBOSS]

You could call it country 1/2/3 or country A/B/C and you'd still find weirdos clinging to some 'virtual patriotism' that makes absolutely no sense.

Well you have a part of the facts correct, I think it goes this way, you have your friends in one of the three countries that you would normally want to fly with, as one of the factors, the other is everbody loves to have a common enemy (if youy don't think so look at what people think of the IRS), so the two other counties you are flying against have people you perfer to do battle against almost as much as you like flying with your country mates, this is what I think the most influencing factors of people wanting and staying with one country.

This is just my take on the subject.

[SlapShot]

I've said it before; If you need to balance between different countries, get rid of the country names.  When the game logs the first player from a squad into the game for the day, he goes to the side with the lowest numbers.  With a few tweeks, this could work for side balancing within an arena but when you throw a 2nd arena into the mix...

That will never be implemented ... and the reason is that you can actually make that same decision yourself (collectively as a squad) right now seeing that you post implies that your squad is not "country" loyal.

If you and your squaddies are flying Rooks and the ENY goes thru the roof you all decide then to move to Knights or Bishops (lowest numbered country). There is no need for "automatic" side switching at login. Do you need the "game logic" to make the decision for you ? ... to switch to the lower numbered countries.

[GlassJaw]

No, I personally do not have loyalty to the virtual chess piece thing.  If I were not in a squad, I would probably change countries to which ever one offered the best fight for me... usually that would be the low numbers side (more bad guys to kill) but this is not feasible with the squad system and the squad system/the guys I fly with are core to why I play the game.  If you want to fly with people, you join their squad and you can fly with them with this idea.  You also get the oportunity to fly with other great folks that you would otherwise not have had the chance to meet.  Many people do have loyalty to the chess piece though and are stuck in their ways and wont move to fix the problem, yet other people don't have this issue and like to hoard so they change sides to join the hoard thus compounding the problem.  The current ENY system allows this.  Face it folks, the current eny system is flawed and is more effective at causing customers to become frustrated with there aces high experiance than it is effective at balancing sides.  I'm looking for a balancing system that causes me not to log off like eny more often than not does.  There are lots of smart people here... I just cant bring myself to beleive that the current system is the best we can come up with.

Anyway, this idea fixes the problem before it becomes a problem.  Eny would never have a chance to go up because people would be directed away from where their numbers are not needed.

That will never be implemented ... and the reason is that you can actually make that same decision yourself (collectively as a squad) right now seeing that you post implies that your squad is not "country" loyal.

If you and your squaddies are flying Rooks and the ENY goes thru the roof you all decide then to move to Knights or Bishops (lowest numbered country). There is no need for "automatic" side switching at login. Do you need the "game logic" to make the decision for you ? ... to switch to the lower numbered countries.

[newz]

this is not feasible with the squad system

Sure it is. You've just got to convince your "country loyal" bumpkin/squadies to quit being such
a timid bunch and spread their wings. It's not rocket science. All the squad functions work just fine.

The whole, "I would switch but for my squad", motif I just don't get.
Your squad would rather log off in disgust over eny, than switch countries for a spell?
Do they know you can switch back in as little as an hour?

What's not feasible?

[rvflyer]

Anyway, this idea fixes the problem before it becomes a problem.  Eny would never have a chance to go up because people would be directed away from where their numbers are not needed.

Talk about people leaving the game, if you take away choice for people then people would leave this game in droves. ME FIRST.
I really don't understand the ENY whine, I can always get in to which ever arena I choose, maybe have to wait a few minutes at times but rarely
because the ENY numbers change rapidly. Or switch to another arena and still play for the country of your choice. It is not a big deal.

[Shuffler]

Well you have a part of the facts correct, I think it goes this way, you have your friends in one of the three countries that you would normally want to fly with, as one of the factors, the other is everbody loves to have a common enemy (if youy don't think so look at what people think of the IRS), so the two other counties you are flying against have people you perfer to do battle against almost as much as you like flying with your country mates, this is what I think the most influencing factors of people wanting and staying with one country.

This is just my take on the subject.

There are folks on all three sides that I like flying with. Folks who fly one side limit their AH experience. Those that are stuck in a one sided squad limit themselves too. We all make our own choices and have to live with them..... some just like to complain about their choice.

[SlapShot]

No, I personally do not have loyalty to the virtual chess piece thing.  If I were not in a squad, I would probably change countries to which ever one offered the best fight for me... usually that would be the low numbers side (more bad guys to kill) but this is not feasible with the squad system and the squad system/the guys I fly with are core to why I play the game.  If you want to fly with people, you join their squad and you can fly with them with this idea.  You also get the oportunity to fly with other great folks that you would otherwise not have had the chance to meet.  Many people do have loyalty to the chess piece though and are stuck in their ways and wont move to fix the problem, yet other people don't have this issue and like to hoard so they change sides to join the hoard thus compounding the problem.  The current ENY system allows this.  Face it folks, the current eny system is flawed and is more effective at causing customers to become frustrated with there aces high experiance than it is effective at balancing sides.  I'm looking for a balancing system that causes me not to log off like eny more often than not does.  There are lots of smart people here... I just cant bring myself to beleive that the current system is the best we can come up with.

Anyway, this idea fixes the problem before it becomes a problem.  Eny would never have a chance to go up because people would be directed away from where their numbers are not needed.

Your are contradicting yourself here ...

On one hand, you are saying that you personally are not chess-piece loyal ... but your squad is ... ok I got that.

On the other hand, you are suggesting that when the first person from your squad logs in and the system decides that the Rooks need numbers and your squad is loyal to the Knights ... that's gonna be OK with your squad ?

Would it be OK only because the system made the decision for you ? ... instead of you and your squaddies discussing on squad channel that the ENY is killin' your fun and that you all should probably switch to a lower number country so you can continue to have fun ?

Your idea would only work if people didn't really care what country they flew for ... which is not the case for a large amount of players ... and those are the ones that usually whine the loudest when ENY hits their beloved country.

[moot]

Well you have a part of the facts correct, I think it goes this way, you have your friends in one of the three countries that you would normally want to fly with, as one of the factors, the other is everbody loves to have a common enemy (if youy don't think so look at what people think of the IRS), so the two other counties you are flying against have people you perfer to do battle against almost as much as you like flying with your country mates, this is what I think the most influencing factors of people wanting and staying with one country.

This is just my take on the subject.

What did you do when you first played AH?

[Crash Orange]

But the point of ENY is to level the playing field because the players will not. 

In theory, sure. But it flat-out does not work. Either side balancing is a serious problem, in which case HTC needs to find a means of addressing it that actually works, or it isn't, in which case there's no real need for ENY as it now exists.

One big reason it doesn't work is that there's nothing to prevent two sides from more or less ignoring each other and ganging up on the third. You would think that would usually be the two with fewer people on vs. the horde, but from what I've seen it doesn't work that way, it's more or less random. And this isn't a personal whine, it happens to each country as much as the others, and when it does it's a lot less fun for that country - flying crappy planes against heavy odds - without any corresponding increase in fun for the others.

Personally I'd object to ENY a lot less if, one, there was anything late war to fly off a CV with ENY > 15 or even remotely competitive at ENY > 25 (A6M2? It's got a freakin' lawn mower engine!), and two, the ENY ratings were not so ridiculously slanted toward German planes. I mean, really - does anyone seriously think a Spitfire I is equivalent to a 109G-6? (The Spit has a higher ENY but for the purpose under discussion anything > 29 is the same.)

I can see one legitimate benefit from ENY: getting people to try out planes they otherwise wouldn't take. But I think that could better be accomplished by making ENY have a significant impact on score. That would tend to get the people who really ought to be more flexible in plane choices - experienced and higher-ranking pilots - into the old buckets and leave the newbs, whose scores are going to be low anyway, less affected. But as it stands we have the insanity of the perk system giving the best planes to the people who need them the least.

As for side-hopping, what can I say, I like having a team. I've been a 'skins fan for 40 years and I ain't gonna to root for Dallas anytime in the next 40. That loyalty has no rational basis either but however irrational it's a large part of the fun. 

[Scotty55OEFVet]

I think the funniest thing is that this is a historically accurate (or pretty close to it) WWII Air and Ground Combat multiplayer online game, right???  Well, as far as I know, and I have a vast knowledge of everything WWII, is that there was no ENY in WWII.  I think that the only perked rides should be the ME-262 and 163.  I understand the whole some are better than others and yada yada yada, but it is a little ridiculous.

[Shuffler]

Obviously it works well. Otherwise folks who just will not change sides would not complain about it.

[Lusche]

I think the funniest thing is that this is a historically accurate (or pretty close to it) WWII Air and Ground Combat multiplayer online game, right???  Well, as far as I know, and I have a vast knowledge of everything WWII, is that there was no ENY in WWII.  I think that the only perked rides should be the ME-262 and 163.  I understand the whole some are better than others and yada yada yada, but it is a little ridiculous.

This game doesn't simulate WWII. Or have you ever heard about the three countries Rook, Bishop & Knights fighting on any front?