First of all Wab nothing but respect headed your way from me. <S>
I agree we probably had virtually exactly the same kind of experiences.
As to what I was thinking, well I wasn't thinking field capture, win the war. HT has pretty much made his mind up on that particular subject. And getting him to change his mind takes either a whole lot of expensive booze, or a nuke, or perhaps you could bribe his wife and get her to whisper sweetly into his ear at night. But for me, I'll accept that what HT has said will be. Its his Sandbox.
That does not mean that we can not have other things to do.
Thanks that might effect the arena, or somethings that might not.
Maybe they'd just be contact points for combat like a task group is in the main?
Things like a Zeppelin's in the middle of the map, so we can grab a wingman or 2 and take a try at Zep hunting. What if you could jump into the zep for your side and man a gun if its under attack? No one said it had to be easy! Just that with good flying and perhaps a wingman you might make it back to base often enough to keep you interested!
Or perhaps things like Barrage Balloon busting. Now if your going to tie that to an arena setting, you need to think through what it would do to gameplay. And while I wouldn't necessarily want to see all flack's at a base to be turned off. Perhaps if the enemy destroyed 50% of your balloons the range that your flacks fired at was reduced significantly until they regenerated.
Again, they can be defended, that is just a matter of map making.
Convoy strafing, dare I say (nope, chickened out)
Well you really wouldn't want anything making it not possible to fly certain birds would you? No I didn't think so.
Or perhaps it could effect ammo load available for a field?
You can still up, you can still fly, and fight. But perhaps there is no incendiary ammo available for balloon busting or Zep hunting? Or perhaps your only able to take 50% of a normal ammo load?
I leave it in HT's hands. He's the guru of gameplay, so I'm not going to ask for something he's never willing to give. My point is that all of us who were in WWI that first tour obviously were there for a reason. And the way it is now really has not been good for gameplay and arena health long term.
So perhaps its time to leave one arena as it is, pure grinding furball. And experiment with the other.
Maybe contact a few of the map makers to see what idea's they have. After all a new map couldn't hardly hurt, right?
And if he can figure out a way to give us things to do, that do not involve field capture, and arena resets, well heck I'm all for that. What I do know, he's modeled a Zep before for DOA, so I know he can do that if he choses. DOA even had the ability to call in arty strikes from 2 seater planes, but only from the rear seat. I know we have trucks and trains in the AH mains that could be slowed down, remodeled to WWI look. I'm willing to bet he could model a Zep that cruised around the arena not all that disimilar from a task force. With a half a dozen mannable guns on it that can be jumped into. Just like the manable guns on the fleet.
Heck he could even get totally whacked and award ribbons and medals for doing enough damage.
Look at all that RPG players go through to "level up" or that WoT players go through to get the next tier of tank. Talk about the carrot on the stick, they've got guys jumping through hoops just to play with a tank thats got a 45mm gun instead of a 37mm, with maybe a 1/4" more armor. And they'll grind for days to save the credits to buy it, and earn the XP points to research and unlock it, then tweak it up. Who says we have to have all the planes available to everyone all the time in all arena's?
But instead of an RPS what about "earning" those birds with successful sorties?
Its a brand new arena, the sky is virtually the limit. Isn't it worth some time to try something new? Perhaps something totally different?
Perhaps Wab in my old age I am finally learning some wisdom. Some windmills can not be felled by tilting at them. Perhaps we need to find a different way. So I prefer not to ask for specifics in general. If I can tweak god's beard and perhaps get him to sit up and think, perhaps give us something totally new, well I'm all for that. I really prefer not to get into heated discussions with him. You really don't get anywhere that way.
But I do know, that even he has to see that its not working as it is.
And that the only way it will work, long term, is to give people who are not in the top 10 a chance to fly, and do something. Something that doesn't put them back in the tower every 5 minutes. Something that encourages them to stick around, try something else.
After all isn't that why the mains have Bombers? And Tanks? And PT boats? And Task Groups?
Isn't all that for diversity? Well the WWI arena is screaming for diversity. And if you build it, we will come.
