The Way the Game Was??

[Dichotomy]

Gyrene shoosh you.  There's nothing wrong with a bit of water torture.  It builds character. 

As far as the 'old' and 'new' personalities? Some of the 'old' vets are extremely obnoxious if you have a thin skin (thank heavens I don't).  Many of the new guys that I saw coming into the game a couple of years back have turned into assassins thanks in equal parts to their interest and aptitude and being.. ummm Godfatherd... by people who were patient and knowledgeable about all aspects of the game and they've turned into assassins.  Something to think about gents.  Nothing quite like attempting to conform to what you think the unwritten rules of a particular place here and getting called names when you're making an effort.  Think what that would do to someone who isn't as seasoned as you 'older' guys.  I'm betting that there are many, and not necessarily the majority of the 'newer', players that came in the arenas and made some kind of attempt to become good at this game, got ragged on severely by a 'vet', found something they could excel at (fortunately I've never found this), and stuck to it much to the chagrin of the 'olds'.  Just a random thought from a brain or whatever the ballast in my skull is that is full of them 

[WWhiskey]

The game is a good bit prettier than it was when i started,
 many more tanks and the terrain is much nicer!
the ability to play the game changes with each new update,this one much more than any other since i started but soon goes back to the same standard,
base takers take bases, dog fighters find fights!
 for me it has reset back to when I was new to the game in many respects,
 I must learn new tactics to capture bases but I had to learn them to start with, when they added ack to the fields I had to learn how to de ack them all over again,
 the fact that it changes is good, the fact that some of us don't like all the changes is standard!
 I will play another 5 years or more probably, I will ask for things I want and whine about the changes i don't like,
 but i will overcome, just as most of the other players
I loved the 80's as well, but I can't go back and I don't set around whining about it!
On a side note,, if anyone has a 79 Z-28 for sale,,, i might be interested!

[waystin2]

lets start with POWs don't salute... EVER !!!
   change starts at home.



froger

 

[Changeup]

Agreed, but that is most likely the biggest change.

I think todays players are younger and less interested in the history aspect. They are just looking for a great game to play, and lets face it, AH2 is a great game. We all use to pretend we were flying over the Memphis Bell as high cover on one of her missions, or winging with the Tuskegee Airmen. Today half of the new players couldn't tell you anything about either of those. To us old timers it was a fantasy land, to the new players it's a game. It's still fun, but I think it's missing a bit. Call it honor, call it heart, call it the romance of just tooling along in the bright blue sky (overly brite some might say   ) rolling your wings left and right scanning the sky and finally spotting that unsuspecting boogie. Only to dive down and find that he isn't so "un-suspecting" as you thought and you fight it out twisting and turning, guns blazing until one of you is victorious. Then a quick <Salute> to your foe and your off again.

 

[grumpy37]

At one point in time the game was more about the fight and less about the base capture.  For the most part from what I can remember what i miss the most were the 1v1 fights that were clean and fun.  No worries about getting picked by 5 other bad guys while fighting said 1v1.  I know this is just part of the game and will never change and ive just accepted it.  I will admit I play a lot less then I have in the past because of this dynamic change in the game and that is my choice.  I dont let the 5v1 piss me off anymore I just avoid them all together and if that means I have to log off then i log off.  Eventually, probably sooner then later, I will leave the game.  Only thing really keeping me here now are the friends I have made but there are other, free ways to keep in contact with them.

[Bear76]

I actually understand what you mean for once  

And I didn't even have to draw a picture 

[Max]

Hitech, Pyro and Skuzzy all quit smoking cigarettes 

[Plazus]

Ive played on and off since 2003. I havent noticed any major changes to the game besides the graphics, and the addition of new planes/vehicles/terrain. The thing I think has changed is the community. It is larger and has more younger people. Yet people still whine, HO, and complain as in any other multiplayer game in this world.

[TW9]

smaller maps and better fights. much has changed. those that say nothing has are in denial or really just dont know any better and act as though they do.

[cobia38]

   we had squid   
    we had sheep
   we had no running after 2 kills
  we had less complaining
  we had HTC staff come online more often and play with us
   

[TequilaChaser]

It's not just Aces High that gets that.  It was Air Warrior.  And going to school ("Back when I was a kid, we had to walk uphill both ways, in a blizzard, even in summer, but then it was 110 degrees *and* a blizzard.")  And so on.

ROFL..... Brooke, you forgot the no shoes bit or barefooted 

[thndregg]

I think todays players are younger and less interested in the history aspect. They are just looking for a great game to play, and lets face it, AH2 is a great game.

I agree. Time and again I will post a mission involving B17's, and usually some young person will ask why it is set to launch from far away, followed by a comment about how long it takes. I usually tell them they've got it good with this game- only 2 hours on some of the longer flights compared to eight to ten by the real bomber boys in WW2, unless they were shot down.

Some younger players still surprise the hell out of me, though, and it gives me a glimmer of hope that people still pay attention to what history has proven.

[MonkGF]

I played Air Warrior back in the hourly AOL days (not much then) then when it went monthly (woohoo!), tried Warbirds for a short bit, then was here around 2001-2003, then had a kid and ran out of time, and now I'm back as the kids got older.

The same "gentlemanly" stuff was debated as here. HOs have ALWAYS been complained about, with the same answer: it takes two to HO. The whole "we want a 1v1, back off!" was debated, also with the same answer as here: then go to the Dueling Arena!.

If you want tactics and coordinated play on both sides, fly Special Events. If you want friendly coordination, join a squad, or jump around a few fields and find a fight where people are actually talking to each other and join in. For a smaller furball, try one of the other arenas; Mid-War had a great fight the other day I was in. But the MA will be a bit more arcadey and catering to ALL play styles with strat getting updates periodically that require the strat guys to rethink things, the DA or the lightly populated side arenas for those who want their small gentlemanly dogfights, and the SEs for those who want the real war experience, and folks will whine about how everybody else is playing the game. It's been this way forever, it will always be this way forever.

[HawkerMKII]

Agreed, but that is most likely the biggest change.

In the old days we had the same rules, but being more on the side of history buffs, and old guys getting to play fighter pilot we didn't push the rules. We didn't look for ways around the rules. We kept it pretty simple. We came up in our fighters and flew over to where you were in your fighters and we had it out, or if we were coming to take your base we flew over and tried to take your base, you defended. That was pretty much it.

We didn't try "hiding" from a fight, we did try mis-leading them now and then. Launch a couple wings at different times, from different bases, to different bases.... which was the real attack? Which had a goon and which had just a bunch of light fighter looking for trouble? Which was high, which was low? The point is they ALWAYS knew we were coming, and they always knew we were going to fight it out whether it took one pass, or 5 hours ( a single base capture is the leading reason for the lack of sleep and hellasiously long work day the next day).

Today more players are after the WIN more than the fight. One attempt on a base. If the mission fails, they move to another place on the map. Their excuse is they are using stealth, and surprise, to me they are trying to avoid having to fight for the base they want.

I think todays players are younger and less interested in the history aspect. They are just looking for a great game to play, and lets face it, AH2 is a great game. We all use to pretend we were flying over the Memphis Bell as high cover on one of her missions, or winging with the Tuskegee Airmen. Today half of the new players couldn't tell you anything about either of those. To us old timers it was a fantasy land, to the new players it's a game. It's still fun, but I think it's missing a bit. Call it honor, call it heart, call it the romance of just tooling along in the bright blue sky (overly brite some might say   ) rolling your wings left and right scanning the sky and finally spotting that unsuspecting boogie. Only to dive down and find that he isn't so "un-suspecting" as you thought and you fight it out twisting and turning, guns blazing until one of you is victorious. Then a quick <Salute> to your foe and your off again.

  To many XBOX type players who just want shoot em up games

[HawkerMKII]

   we had squid   
    we had sheep
   we had no running after 2 kills
  we had less complaining
  we had HTC staff come online more often and play with us
   

Dont forget the UFO