Ahhh the anticipation...

[dedalos]

I think the EW arena will be closed
The MW will have the population of the EW
The AvA, well . . . .
And the WWI arena will be a bunch of planes running in circles
 

[Phil]

And the WWI arena will be a bunch of planes running in circles
 

Ahh that's a good comment ! 

Ya think that if we end up flying side by side, I can use my revolver for a head shot ? (Fly boys) 

Anxious Phil / OPP7755

[Enker]

With the WWI planes, I think the pilot skills are gonna surface more !
Lucky ones that run away when in "bad" situation, won't be able too anymore.

No more "cannon/explosive" rounds. Hold steady and pull the trigger! Lots of aiming for the cockpit.

Gonna be very interesting  

Phil / OPP7755

I dunno, I think they will still be able to run away, just a lot more slowly. Unless you are in a SE5 with altitude. 180mph dives anyone?

[Shuffler]

I'm not that excited. It's just going to be like the DA with WW1 planes and besides I prefer the

(Image removed from quote.)

Once it evolves I may change my mind but I can wait.

It wont start like the DA. The DA at one time was a good arena.... it has devolved into the pathetic pit it is now.

[gatt]

I think the EW arena will be closed
The MW will have the population of the EW
The AvA, well . . . .
And the WWI arena will be a bunch of planes running in circles
 

+1

Anyway, flying the Spad XIII or the SE5a, or the late D.VII, the way they were meant to, you'll still be an alt monkey for the Camel-Dr.I crowd 

[Larry]

I give it about a month then I think numbers will be like the EW and AvA are now.

[Harp00n]

And groundwar will be totally awesome. Just think of this:



Running around with a bailed out pilot is probably as exciting as driving this thing. 

[CptTrips]

I give it about a month then I think numbers will be like the EW and AvA are now.

Sight unseen, I'm willing to bet a dollar that you are wrong.  I agree there will be an initial honeymoon period that will fall off.  However, I bet it will remain significantly more popular than either EW or AvA (perhaps better than both combined). 

It will never be as popular as the WWII MA.  HTC knows that.  They're smart enough to know they gotta dance with the one that brung'em.  But that doesn't mean the WWI crowd can't cut in every once in a while. 

Regards,
Wab

[Nypsy]

The only WW1 sim I ever flew was Red Baron about 9 years ago.
I was flying over a French village at dusk and from below I hear a church bell ringing, then sirens as they notice I am German. The atmosphere of that game grabbed me.

Now I know atmosphere in AH2 is last on the list of priorities, it was a nice touch in a WW1 sim though.

[Sunka]

Larry has made it well known he is not into WW1

Sight unseen, I'm willing to bet a dollar that you are wrong.  I agree there will be an initial honeymoon period that will fall off.  However, I bet it will remain significantly more popular than either EW or AvA (perhaps better than both combined). 

It will never be as popular as the WWII MA.  HTC knows that.  They're smart enough to know they gotta dance with the one that brung'em.  But that doesn't mean the WWI crowd can't cut in every once in a while. 

Regards,
Wab

[Motherland]

I give it about a month then I think numbers will be like the EW and AvA are now.

The obvious thing would be that WWI planes would not be available in WWII LW.
Thus, unlike EW MW and the AvA, where you get a limited choices, even though any plane you want to fly is available in the LW arenas, the WWI planes being only available only in the WWI arena, not WWII LW.

Ex. if I want to fly a Bf 109E-4, I can either go to the EW, where there's no one there (and the people that are are generally tards), or I can just fly it in LW, where I get more of a challenge, and there's no shortage of airplanes. If I want to fly a D. VII, I HAVE to go to the WWI arena, because there's no other place to fly it.

I don't think that WWI will ever be as popular as WWII, but I imagine the arena will remain at least as popular as MW or the DA, and not be constantly empty like the AvA and EW.

[Shifty]

+1

Anyway, flying the Spad XIII or the SE5a, or the late D.VII, the way they were meant to, you'll still be an alt monkey for the Camel-Dr.I crowd  

Go ahead and dive on the Dr.Is



You'll find them.



Hard to get.

[james]

Ah blue max. One of the best movies alongside all quiet on the western front

[wgmount]

I am ready to fly the Sopwith Camel. Hey, it is now the early part of the year.

[toonces3]

I don't know if you guys are all stuck in Aces High online mode all the time or what.  I know that I fly a very diverse set of flight sims, depending on what mood I am in.  I spent the better part of yesterday piloting an F-8 and A-4 all over North Vietnam.  But anyway...

There are two very popular offline (non-AH2) WW1 flight sims going around right now.  I'm sure you guys can figure out what they are and where to get them.  One in particular I have been flying a lot lately since I got it for Xmas.  I've only flown it offline (the one that needs CFS3 to run).  I will tell you that it is a very different experience than WW2 dogfighting (or Vietnam-era dogfighting for that matter).

This game, AH2, is obviously WW2 oriented and that is where the playerbase is.  I agree that the WW1 arena will certainly have a spike initially- who doesn't want to see what's new?  But will it have longevity?  How would I know?  But I don't think it will be the flash in the pan that some think it will be.  It just isn't the same kind of fight.  This will appeal to some and not to others.  Frankly, I look forward to jumping into a plane that someone like Dedalos, for example, has as many hours in as me.  It levels the playing field some.  I'm never going to beat Steve in a Pony; I might have a chance beating him in a Fokker that he's never flown before, negating his familiarity with the plane handling aspect.  This might attract some of us mid-water feeders that are good but not great, that are familiar with the planeset in the MAs but not intimate with any plane, and just don't have the years of experience or the hours of free time to get there anymore. 

I'm sure someone will figure out how to game the system and tard out in the new arena, but I also think that it (may) attract a playerbase that stays there more than other arenas.  You can't fly the WW1 planeset in the MA's, so that will set it apart, unlike EW/MW/AvA where you can fly all of those planes in LW.  Some folks might find the WW1 arena somewhere where they can compete to be top dog, rather than fading into the masses of LW.

I'm willing to give it a try.  The fights feel different in the sims I've flown.  It's fun and different and it's really where the fundamentals of dogfighting were forged.  How can that not be cool to try in the crucible of online dogfighting Aces High?