is this necessary

[bagrat]

what about those of us in kazakhstan we are definitely gettin the shaft on this whole caps thing

[VoX]

Of course we all gonna quit in favor of a 64-player max game, because we are upset about a 100 player cap here ...

Lets do some maths: -

100 Player limit in Aces High = 33 players on each side (3 Countries)
33 players defending two fronts = 16 players on a front
16 player front = The Fiasco that we currently have.

64 player game = 32 player sides with AI
32 player side = 32 player front +AI
32 player front +AI = Alot more realistic and alot less expensive than currently paying for AH during Euro times

Why won't anyone at HTC listen to the numerous calls for change or at the very least login during Euro times and look at the empty fronts?

VoX.

[RTHolmes]

its actually worse than that, of the 16 about 4 will be afk/in tower and another 4 in GVs or guns. leaving 8 aircraft on each front ...

[Oddball-CAF]

Of course we all gonna quit in favor of a 64-player max game, because we are upset about a 100 player cap here ... 

Lusche,
  The CAP, set at 100 disallows entry into that arena. So, the first guy into the second one is actually
playing alone. The next guy makes it a 2 person game, etc, etc.. So a 64 person multiplayer
really would have the ability to compete with Aces High at various times of the day/evening
depending upon one's time zone.
  When the Cactus Air Force was still operational, we'd have formal missions worked up each week.
They'd be distributed to all pilots in the squadron via email in HTML format. They'd be the old
Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration and Logistics type; the 5 paragraph order, complete
with pictures, diagrams, etc..These would be in pilots hands by Tuesday evening, and all pilots
were to report to the arena at 830PM for a 9PM mission.
  The C.O. would usually arrive about 8PM and assess the operational / strategic situation and
figure a starting field for the mission or modify it according to the situation.
  At 830, it began..."I can't get into the arena". First from one pilot, then another...then another.
  These fools who pipe in with either no text (the stupid emoticons) or advise you or I to "go to
the other arena" are what I call HTC's Apologists, simply lack the intellect to properly perceive
what the problem is, or are just trolling for a hotheaded response.
  We weren't the only squadron which worked up ops prior to Squad Night, either. Even squadrons
whose COs winged it and just set things up "on the fly" on their squad night would run into the
same problem with the arena CAP.
  I've seen it posted in here that HTC doesn't / didn't need squadrons. That they don't intend
on relying on the income of the older guys. ie: the ones that have been around for years.
Their financial model doesn't require that; just a steady stream of new guys plunking down their
fifteen bucks a month, replacing the dienfranchised ones.
  And that's exactly what I've seen over the years. Those squadrons are gone or full of "new"
guys. More old timers left than I would expect over the course of a few years.
  Some of the older guys still fly their squadron "Colors" on the roster, but those squadrons
are names only and those pilots will be the first to tell you that it just ain't the same.
  And of course, it isn't supposed to be the same, everything changes. But the changes implemented
which limited the number of guys on a map put the final nail in the coffin for many of the old
squadrons and/or many of their pilots.
  I'm hopin' a lot of the "5 Star" plutonium bashers hop in here and start sniping. Each stupid emoticon
they post up gets 'em another "star"; one more step towards being on the HTC buddy list I call "The Apolgists";
you may just call 'em 'rumpswabs".


 

[CHAPPY]

2 Arena's is Excellent Buisness for HTC.

[The Fugitive]

Lusche,
  The CAP, set at 100 disallows entry into that arena. So, the first guy into the second one is actually
playing alone. The next guy makes it a 2 person game, etc, etc.. So a 64 person multiplayer
really would have the ability to compete with Aces High at various times of the day/evening
depending upon one's time zone.
  ....snip to save space.....

Having "Limited" 64 player arenas are not going to help, as Lusche said why leave a 100 capped arena to go to a 64 capped arena? Thats what it amounts to.

I was flying Saturday and called it quits around 7 eastern to watch a Bruins game. For the 6 hours I was on it was dead. And the funny thing was it was capped at 400, no restrictions. The 200 some odd people spent most of the time trying to avoid a fight. I made a few buff runs to drum up some action and as soon as people figured out we were there to fight, not capture they disappeared. A group of Rooks were hitting a V base and were calling for air support. So I flew over there to help out. The VH was down and the 8 to 10 guys that were vulching to enemy on upping were just sitting in their hiding spot waiting for the VHs to pop again. They weren't interested in capture either, they just wanted some air cover so they could vulch. The fights sucked because the enemy planes only wanted to bomb GVs, not fight.

At this point, it's the players that are killing the game, not the CAPS, or the ENY. It's kinda hard to play a combat game if no one is willing to do some combat.

[Lusche]

this point, it's the players that are killing the game, not the CAPS, or the ENY.

I disagree. The players are not fighting any more or less than 2-3 years ago. Some nights are good, some nights are bad. Sometimes this depends mostly on what time you are logged on (luck factor) and how the bases and player numbers between countries are distributed.
When I was flying at US prime (very late at night), I had mostly a good time. When there was not enough red to be found, I hopped to another country.

The sole reason I canceled my account are the CAPS.

[DREDIOCK]

At this point, it's the players that are killing the game, not the CAPS, or the ENY. It's kinda hard to play a combat game if no one is willing to do some combat without vastly superior numerical advantage or base ack nearby to run to.

Fixed

[Oddball-CAF]

Having "Limited" 64 player arenas are not going to help, as Lusche said why leave a 100 capped arena to go to a 64 capped arena? Thats what it amounts to.

  My point was that the 64 player online wargame which was mentioned earlier in the thread WOULD indeed be able to
compete with HTC's customer base since a very large number of them are relegated to playing in an arena
which quite often has LESS than that.

[JHerne]

I hate caps and eny. I don't like playing in the evening as I typically dislike the prevailing attitudes of those under the age of 30 (with notable exceptions, of course). Being semi-retired, I typically play in morning CST.

If we were allowed to switch countries only once per tour - preventing advantageous side-switching, then who cares about eny? When I log in and can't find a fight, I make one. Simple enough. If you get your bases taken away because the other side is running them, well, where's your countrymen?  If you cap anything, cap the total number that one country can have at the start of the tour, say, no more than 1000 players per country per tour. Then let the law of averages run its course. I don't know if there's data to support that more Bish are on in the AM than Rooks, or more Nits are on between 4pm and 6pm than Bish, etc., but that's the way wars run. Sometimes you have the numerical advantage, sometimes you don't.

It might be a worthwhile idea to consider an experiment. For a few weeks, even a month, raise the cap on the Orange arena so everyone can get in, and make Blue a 2-country arena. Instead of Bish, Rooks and Knights, simply have Red and Blue teams. See how the dynamic changes with a 2-sided war, review the data, and see if there's anything that can be learned from having a 2-sided war. Side balancing in a 2-sided war makes a lot more sense. Since I fly for only 1 country, its not unusual to see Team 1 hitting us one side, Team 2 hitting us at the same time on the other side, yet we have 20 more players and ENY issues. In theory, that should be negated because in theory Team 2 and 3 should be fighting each other as well. You can determine in your own head who Team 1, 2, and 3 are....

Just sayin'....experiment, see what happens. A 2-sided arena might be dead after a month, it might be really popular.