The Way the Game Was??

[rvflyer]

8 yrs ago I used to go AFK on auto-climb to take a piss and come back at 4,000 feet alt. Now when I come back I'm at 10,000 ft   

  Now that is funny Bear and only older players will get the meaning.

[Ghastly]

What has changed the most since I started flying sims online (AH was just in beta when I started flying, and I started in Warbirds) is that the community of players has, over time, changed. 

What was a niche populated by a relatively small group of almost exclusively middle aged men who shared a love of WWII era aircraft - and were able to afford to shell out $2.00 per hour to fly them in an online sim environment (with much more rudimentary graphics and much simpler mechanics, and simulation capabilities that while good for it's time had no where near the fidelity of today's) - has matured into a much broader-based game, with a wider player base encompassing a much larger and more varied player base many of whom seem to be far more interested in the game as a game than they are in the machines that are simulated.

And while many of the arguments (HO's, collisions, etc) were the same them, there was very much a "small-community" sense to it all and certainly a greater sense of camaraderie among the community - and I mean the entire community, not just squad or side - something that's very diluted today.   

Another thing that has changed is that one argument that's was nearly constant and all-consuming in one form or another is almost non-existent today - and that's that no one seems to argue the fidelity of the flight sim itself much any more.

<S>

[MonkGF]

Another thing that has changed is that one argument that's was nearly constant and all-consuming in one form or another is almost non-existent today - and that's that no one seems to argue the fidelity of the flight sim itself much any more.

You need to check the WWI threads, although I guess the argument about the DrI has a bit more to do with the claim that the wings don't fall off like they should...

[guncrasher]

I used to play aw back in the day, and even then there would always be somebody who would start  about how the game was going to crap.  5 or 6 years from now guys that just joined will be talking about how the game is going to crap....



Semp

[ebfd11]

Does anyone remember when the VH was a camo tent?? does anyone remember when the maps were not as big?? If anyone has some screenshots from the original aces high you can see how much it has changed. I can remember thedays when we had only 1 size airfield and the map changed quite often.

 

   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
    

I can remember all those things also, but don't forget how SimPizza got it name...LOL a Large pizza on the mountaintop.

[The Fugitive]

 
I can remember all those things also, but don't forget how SimPizza got it name...LOL a Large pizza on the mountaintop.

SmPizza was made after a lot of talk was had about the Pizza map we had (and the source files have been lost) It was called AKDesert, but everyone called it the Pizza map. It was round and was split into 3 pie shahped zones. by water/very wide rivers that were able to have the CV groups run through them. Around the outside was a series of GV bases. Inside of the pie shapes were huge canyons with more GV bases and the land mass was mostly long rolling hills. It was all colored in the browns, orange, grays and blacks of the desert.  It was a fun map though some people complained of headaches due to the colors.

I miss the old pizza map 

[balance1]

   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
   

don't forget the giant beer!

[jamdive]

I used to play aw back in the day, and even then there would always be somebody who would start  about how the game was going to crap.  5 or 6 years from now guys that just joined will be talking about how the game is going to crap....



Semp

Back in the day? Hell, back in the day nobody owned a computer. "Back in the day".....lol.

[Spikes]

I'm just on the close side of that right in at 5 or 6 years...like said it has changed in some ways but mainly community wise. I used to remember being able to type on 200/all "so and so, 1v1?" and others would break off...or sometimes even the player would call them off without asking.

Now it seems people will dogpile for 1 kill...even if he's leaking something or missing something (they won't get the kill anyway, but they'll still try).

Like said above...the game is the same with a few changes to game play itself ie 1 big arena vs 2 LW, 1 MW and 1 EW.

Oh and no more donut map

[dmdchief]

Hitech, Pyro and Skuzzy all quit smoking cigarettes 

and MAXEY is still smoking those HU MON GOUS          CIGARS

SALUTE you old goat

ab8aac/dmdchief

[Changeup]

In all seriousness, it sounds like there was a lot more chivalry and a ton more "honor".  When I say honor, I mean if a guy worked three bogeys and survived, he seems to have earned the right to get home regardless of his a/c's condition.  After reading eveyone's posts it sounds like it was a "man's man" group of pilots....your egos didn't get in the way of being bested but you always tried to get better.

I would have loved to fly those river maps....wow...driving CVs up the rivers sounds fun and ambitious.  Thanks guys..I guess the "take-home" for me is two things:  People are gonna beeeyatch no matter what and there is still a place for chivalry here. 

I will no longer beeyatch and if you fought your fight, you will never get picked by me....mostly because that's the right thing to do.  There will only be two exceptions to that rule:  1) I wasn't there to see you win your 1 v 3 or good fight OR 2) you were an alt monkey slaughtering the guys putting on the good fight and thus taking your weenieazz back to refuel and rearm.  lol

Thanks gents...

V/r

Changeup

[oboe]

I think for the most part the changes in tha game have been positive.   One thing I do miss about the way it used to be is choo-choo hunting.   Can't really do that anymore with the way the strats have been grouped in the rear areas.

I also miss seeing Hitech flying around online - it was always a kick to see his handle up and about.

Seems to me updates used to be more frequent, but it was probably easier with a smaller game footprint back then.

Finally, The Axis and Allies arena used to be where I always flew.   We had a great group of flyers there and had alot of fun and good sportsmanship.   

[Brooke]

Back in the Air Warrior days, the game originally ran on the Mac, then on the Amiga and Atari ST.  When the PC gained traction, Kesmai put out a version of the game for PC's.  Man, did some folks complain about that.  "The game will be flooded with clueless newbs -- a bunch of ham-fisted arcade-game types!  The community will be ruined!"  (As it turned out, the game and the community weren't ruined.)

Here, even the early days of this game would, from some old codger's point of view, be long past the glory days of, say, 1992 -- you know, back when there was only one other game in town, and it was called "Stare at the sun," and we liked it!

Really, you know when the glory days are -- the best days, the golden days?

Right now!  (And that statement will still be true tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, etc.) 

[grumpy37]

I guess that would really depend on your point of view...  But everyone is entitled to their opinion.   

[Brooke]

Why, that sounds sort of curmudgeonly.

Compared to the past, we've got a better flight model, better graphics, more planes, better terrrain, better BB technology, cheaper access, and more special events.  As for the community, I think it's what people make of it.  A lot of old timers who say, "Ba.  Back in 1993, we had a great community, and those days are gone," brought their view about through their own actions -- by not staying active in the game.  If you and all of your buddies drift off and don't play anymore, there goes your local neighborhood (not through any fault of the game or other people in the game, though).

Folks generally look back at whenever the peak of their activity was as the golden age.  If you look past the individual to the collection, if you look at what is in the game and what you can do here, the golden age really is now.