Hitech,
I think I understand why you chose to split the arenas. But I think you are on the wrong track to finding a solution that suits everyone! Except for maybe 10%, it seems most agree that the split was bad and is nothing but a pain in the arse.
I haven’t read much definitive info on why you split the MA, but my understanding is the problem stems from hording which in essence is bullying that causes your subscriptions to drop.
Now I don’t think most of us are prone to extreme frustration if we get beat a time or two trying to defend a base. We all know it's just a game. But when there is no hope of defeating the hordes then the frustration begins to build.
And in that environment not many people can deal with being bullied a few times, let alone on a regular basis as might happen with the inexperienced or less "dedicated" players.
Some spend FAAAAAARR too many hours working for victories in the form of base captures just to reach the end of their play time and miss out on the victory of a successful defense or base capture all because the horde never stops coming.
This game already seems to favor the uber gamers especially if they like to horde. When a new player comes into the game and gets beat up repeatedly I’m sure they feel abused. And if they get lucky enough to get a kill on an ace, that ace just comes back and takes his revenge out on them.
We've all done it! But is it mature? Or fair that the ace can come back and ruin your triumph? You have rules against abusive behavior but you really have little going on in the way of enforcement.
It is really lame that a guy can up the same base a hundred times to stop or help with a base capture. Said ability equates to the childishness in first person shooters. And the same goes for the spawn camping in GVs. This system encourages abuse of players and in my opinion is why this game is "gamey" and needs to mature a bit.
Let’s raise the stakes! Here's a novel idea, what if you couldn’t take off after dying? As it would be in life, if you F up, you are out of the fight! The problem is not the numbers, but the fact that the horde is endless when it wants to be.
1 Put a cap on the number of planes and gvs that can spawn from a base. Say 50 aircraft, 50 vehicles, and 50 bombers. I pulled these numbers out of a hat. I think they are a little high. (keep in mind these numbers can be adjusted for playability.)
PROS• This method reflects the necessity commanders had in WW2 to maintain defenses all along a front and not concentrating forces unless there was a planned push.
• This limits the size of the horde unless someone has the patience to fly from an additional sector away to join the fight. Maybe it needs to be 2 sectors away.
• There will be more dar bars along the entire front instead of the horde dar bars in a couple of locations.
• Encourages WW2-like cooperative attack missions where guys will coordinate and rendezvous from a couple of bases. Timing and formation flying then become important so that the early group doesnt get jumped before help arrives.
2 Put a counter on each slot. When one (fighter-bomber- GV) dies, that slot will not be allowed to be filled again for a certain amount of time. Say 40 minutes (keep in mind these numbers can be adjusted for playability.)
PROS• Representative of ww2 logistical problems with personnel and equipment.
• No more endless hordes.
• A group who fends off a horde can enjoy the victory as opposition runs out of resources.
• You should see more cooperation in some cases because of the knowledge that failure to work together may leave you alone for another 40 minutes. Lone wolfs who don’t help others may find themselves in the path of a counterstrike with no one to help him.
• It will be safer to help team mates with the absence of endless hordes.
• The game may become more of a poker game when it is unclear what resources a base has at it’s disposal.
3 When a pilot loses a slot he must choose another base no less than 4 sectors away. He may however up at the same base in a different mode than the one he just died in. He has 1 life to use in each mode (fighter-bomber-vehicle) Barring death in a particular mode, you continue indefinitely. One exception to this rule might be for anyone who drops supplies.
PROS • Again, Representative of ww2 logistical problems with personnel and equipment.
• No longer is it possible for some pissed off uber pilot to come back and hunt you down because he died by the hands of a less experienced pilot OOOOORRR a bunch of pissed off lesser pilots come back and hunt an uber pilot. (Now, I like my retribution! I wont say I am glad to see it go, but I think the benefit outweighs the loss.)
• Because revenge killings and gangs have been curtailed, every ones success may increase as the odds of making it home increase. (as a side bar, wouldn’t it be cool if the dead couldn’t communicate with anyone in that sector to tell their buddies to gang me when I kill them?
)
• New guys won’t be allowed to continue to up a base where an uber pilot is padding his score, protecting him from abuse.
• When the new guy gets lucky and downs an ace he can go home and enjoy his victory.
• Score padding with shades, and in general, becomes difficult.
• Faster base captures due to diminishing opposition, allowing busy folks to enjoy a victory or two capturing bases in their limited play time.
Now I know there are maaaaaaany of you who are already seething about this. You’re going to start yelling "what if I can’t find good fights." and “what about…Blah blah blah blah Fn blah!”
You already whine about not finding good fights! You already whine about all of the things you are about to say to me.
I don’t get involved extensively in all aspects of this game. I don’t have all the answers, I only have the basic idea. If we think this through we can come up with a hugely better compromise than arena caps.
Maybe the map centers would have no restrictions on furballers but not allow base captures. I don’t know! We should be experimenting with every possibility!
Personally I have no problem with the hordes because I am not into the land grabbing aspect often and I like a target rich environment. I just have the same gripe that most do, arena caps and ENY sucks!
It has been years and the "comfort level" with the caps hasn’t been regained as you suggested. I like seeing 500+ in the arena. And I like having options other than switching arenas if there is no action going on; especially if I cant get into the other arena!
But Hitech, if you ABSOLUTELY INSIST on having two main arenas, even with caps, why don’t you take my advice in one of them and let the players decide which is more “healthy.”
The profile of this game hasn’t changed much since Warbirds or Air Warrior. I think moving forward means bigger arenas and more interesting game play, not separating the group like a couple of brothers who don’t get along! You can “keep pumping in more players into a single arena without hitting a stagnation point.” If you do it right!
This game is already stagnant, it’s time for us to grow a little!
A little more complex engine management would be nice. While you’re at it, since you want to bring in new players, why don’t you make it free (indefinitely) for anyone who wants to man gunner positions? Bombers would certainly be more challenging targets. They’ll get hooked and wont be able to resist paying at some point.
Speaking of bombers, their use in here is restricted and fails to live up to historical patterns partly because of either player patience or time restriction, which I know you are considerate of. So have you ever considered “high altitude in flight spawns” for large bomber missions? Far enough away from the front to allow reaction, but not so far that it matches the climbout to 20k feet.
This kind of thing is obviously is gamey, but no more so than vehicle spawns. A good compromise when you consider the new dimension it adds to the game. How else do you expect people on a time restrictions to enjoy this kind of activity? I think you would see a huge jump in the numbers of people willing to fly bombers this way! 300 bomber mission anyone? It’ll cost you 30 perks though!
If you want more ideas, you know where to find me!
