Dear players of this silly game :

[AWwrgwy]

While I don't disagree with your assessment of recent whines, I must say that I am inclined to ask......

What makes you think that HTC would suddenly close their doors and shut down the game that is their REVENUE?

EA, the  , could make him an offer he can't refuse and he could finally just say screw it all.
 

Also it's important that the majority of AH players a no "vets". For those of us being here for years a particular change may seem just as more challenge, for the occasional short time player it may be too much.

This has always made me wonder.  What does a new player know from dar at 65 feet versus 500 feet or more buildings in town.  They get used to it right away.  They don't know any different.


wrongway

[Lusche]

This has always made me wonder.  What does a new player know from dar at 65 feet versus 500 feet or more buildings in town.  They get used to it right away.  They don't know any different.

That's why we have seen actually complains about "having no second LW arena at offpeak times". Mostly by players that have never seen the old single MA setup.

[oTRALFZo]

no.

Most games strive for a gameplay balance, and once that is reached, the relative difficulty (or even the absolute one) stays the same. Parts of the system however can & will be tweaked if some other basic conditions change, if the balance had been disturbed.

Also it's important that the majority of AH players a no "vets". For those of us being here for years a particular change may seem just as more challenge, for the occasional short time player it may be too much.

So in essense, we must appease to the vets that have been here a long time that are into the real estate game so we can further swell their heads by taking 50 noobs to smash a base and pat themselves on the back for making it go green.
To me, thats what bugs me about the game. I have no problems giving new guys something to work for. Problem is this type of gameplay breeds napoleonic armchair generals that insist the other country chess peice are bad bad people and must be destroyed. This to me is what makes the gaming enviroment a cesspool. Guys like Dan, AKAK and you Lushe as well as others, who provide this game with a wealth of information that is vital in keeping this game alive are slowly dying off. I would pay 100$ a month to play with just 2 of you guys left rather than 100 people looking to win at all cost

[Lusche]

So in essense, we must appease to the vets that have been here a long time that are into the real estate game so we can further swell their heads by taking 50 noobs to smash a base and pat themselves on the back for making it go green.

The best way is not to "appease" anyone. It's exactly that kind of thinking that is bugging me.

All kind of players are pulling on mommy Hitech's arms, trying to drag her into whatever direction seems to be best for them...and not necessarily for all the the kids. Mommy Hitech's job is to ignore all the whining and feet stomping, yet still having an open ear to all objections and complains, as buried between all those whines, arguments and hissy fits there still are a lot of real issues and valid points. The problem is, once anything will get changed, adjusted or fixed, a group of players will appear on scene and immediately claim HT's has appeased some other group of players. I personally feel such a behaviour is more detrimental to the game than anything else.
And HiTech's job is not being made easier by the fact that where nice this game, being a MMOG, was a rarity once... but today it's like standing in the middle of a huge amusement parks, with lots of other HUGE attractions trying to capture the attention of us "kids".

[oTRALFZo]

The best way is not to "appease" anyone. It's exactly that kind of thinking that is bugging me.

All kind of players are pulling on mommy Hitech's arms, trying to drag her into whatever direction seems to be best for them...and not necessarily for all the the kids. Mommy Hitech's job is to ignore all the whining and feet stomping, yet still having an open ear to all objections and complains, as buried between all those whines, arguments and hissy fits there still are a lot of real issues and valid points. The problem is, once anything will get changed, adjusted or fixed, a group of players will appear on scene and immediately claim HT's has appeased some other group of players. I personally feel such a behaviour is more detrimental to the game than anything else.
And HiTech's job is not being made easier by the fact that where nice this game, being a MMOG, was a rarity once... but today it's like standing in the middle of a huge amusement parks, with lots of other HUGE attractions trying to capture the attention of us "kids".

So reality is that the issue is we have no issues. Why have to change anything back after we change it? I see a few threads claiming that dar is back to 500 (I think), HTC is looking to impliment towns to be easier to capture.  Why not leave things the way they are now and have people adapt to it?   
Again my argument that the new guy joining today wont know any better and he/she will just adapt anyway, so whats the big deal?

[Lusche]

So reality is that the issue is we have no issues. Why have to change anything back after we change it? I see a few threads claiming that dar is back to 500 (I think), HTC is looking to impliment towns to be easier to capture.  Why not leave things the way they are now and have people adapt to it?  
Again my argument that the new guy joining today wont know any better and he/she will just adapt anyway, so whats the big deal?

If we would get rid of the capture thing entirely, and be a pure "furballing" game, the new guy joining today would also not know any better. And yet, it would be a big deal.

Offering a diverse and balanced gameplay is essential. Of course there is no single golden point of gameplay, where everything is perfect. It's a grey area. But once you make things too hard, it may have a detrimental impact on overall gameplay balance, which in turn may be detrimental to the game in a subtle way. A few guys will simply quit in anger (happens basically at every change HTC makes), but also the long term satisfaction may suffer and a slow but steady loss of players can be the result.

To come back to my first point: If this game had been a pure "furball" aircombat game  5 years ago, would I still had joined? Most probably. Would I still had found it fun? For sure! Would I had knowingly missed anything? Most probably not. But would I have been still here after 5 years? Absolutely not. I would have been completely burned out long ago, just like I burned out on the WWI arena pretty quick.

It was the sandbox mode, the huge variety in gameplay that AH offered me what made me stay all those 5 years (except 2 months), not the number of planes I could fly.
And this sandbox aspect is what I had always admired most in AH. The inclusion of so many playing styles in one single arena, providing such a huge variety in combat situations

Why have to change anything back after we change it? I see a few threads claiming that dar is back to 500 (I think),

Rarely have things been really changed back entirely. Dot dar alt is still 65ft, in other arenas we do even still have the large radar circles. We also will not go back to the old towns, instead we will see some kind of adjustment.
And yes, sometimes adjustment is necessary. While not every change is bad just because it's a change, it's not automatically a good one either. Sometimes changes have secondary side effects no one thought of.  HT himself stated it was never intended that the new towns had to be that hard to capture as they are now. So he will make some adjustments to that.
One of the very few changes I have ever seen being completely rolled back was the capture order.

[Chilli]

So reality is that the issue is we have no issues. Why have to change anything back after we change it? I see a few threads claiming that dar is back to 500 (I think), HTC is looking to impliment towns to be easier to capture.  Why not leave things the way they are now and have people adapt to it?   
Again my argument that the new guy joining today wont know any better and he/she will just adapt anyway, so whats the big deal?

Your logic is a circular argument.  Both Lusche and HiTech have given us information discussing game play trends and concerns for balance.  I give them credit for keeping their finger on the pulse of the gamers.  The deal is, the right balance between challenging and fun conditions is what fuels the influx of new subscribers.  

[grizz441]

hy not leave things the way they are now and have people adapt to it?   
Again my argument that the new guy joining today wont know any better and he/she will just adapt anyway, so whats the big deal?

Because the game is not balanced.  Leaving it unbalanced and saying "figure it out" will not make it any better.  If baseball had 120 foot base paths instead of 90ft would the players "figure out" how to adapt?  Maybe in some sense, but the game of baseball would turn into homeruns or bust to score.  How crappy of a game would that be?   What if the bases were only 50 feet apart?  How would the game be then?

Same with Football.  What if it took 30yards for each first down and the field was 200yards long?  Would the players adapt?  Maybe.. but the game would just turn into something different (and much worse).  What about 3 yards for a first down, would that be much fun?

[oTRALFZo]

Because the game is not balanced.  Leaving it unbalanced and saying "figure it out" will not make it any better.  If baseball had 120 foot base paths instead of 90ft would the players "figure out" how to adapt?  Maybe in some sense, but the game of baseball would turn into homeruns or bust to score.  How crappy of a game would that be?   What if the bases were only 50 feet apart?  How would the game be then?

Same with Football.  What if it took 30yards for each first down and the field was 200yards long?  Would the players adapt?  Maybe.. but the game would just turn into something different (and much worse).  What about 3 yards for a first down, would that be much fun?

(Image removed from quote.)

I agree with what your saying Grizz, but Im looking at it at totally different perspective. Im sure (hypotheticly) if somehow new players emerged in the game of baseball where they were hitting 20 home runs a game that the league will then take a hard look at changing it and making it further. Yes people go to watch and hope for home runs, but dont you think the "glory" of the home run would be diminished if people saw so many a game? My argument is that balance is set NOW and give it time to put into effect to where soon, this system is easymode like the old setup

[TOMCAT21]

 

[Simaril]

Ummm that's pretty much what happened. Far from the "sack" of Rome, the Huns (who had fundamentally become the Roman's European army) turned up in Rome looking to be paid. The Roman senate went, "err, no dosh, sorry Huns" and the Huns went, "Righto then" and went home. Rome's decay is more to do with a changing social fabric brought about by Christianity. (Sound familiar?)

So therefore the fall of Rome was precipitated by the Huns whining about not being paid.

Most modern historians don't blame Christianity for the fall of the empire. The idea gained currency after Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire >200 years ago. Gibbons was a classicist who admired the Roman traditional view of Virtue, and consequently relied heavily on the writings of Romans traditionalists who blamed those darn modern influences, and looked back to the imagined virtues of their view of yesteryear.

Among many other problems with the theory is this one major one - In fact, the Vandals that sacked Rome WERE Christians!! Vandals were Arians rather than Catholics, but Christians.

[greens]

I remember 1yr ago today it was all peas n carrots  i miss the old days, old strats, old maps, old friends <sniffle>. btw aces high is not a silly game, its a good game.

[crazyivan]

If enough people voiced the same opinion, then I would. Start a petition for all I care, I'd rather enjoy counting
the number of people that dislike me.

I apologize I was rude. At the time I read this as just another kiss arse thread. Again my bad!

[crazyivan]

The best way is not to "appease" anyone. It's exactly that kind of thinking that is bugging me.

Ahh like changing the arena caps for euro players that whined constantly? I see your point.

[SunBat]

The howls would come from the other side of the fence if they made the planes more "challenging" to fly.

A little more realism in operation of the planes apparently is order, if they indeed are looking to be challenged.

I'm sure the only ones that would figure out how to fly them would be the furballers.  Just saying.