Is this what Hitech wants?

[1Boner]

I think the game is fine the way it is.

If you don't like hordes, stay away from them.

Its not like there's not enough room on a map.

Its almost the same answer I get when I whine about alt monkey pickers or vulchers.

[Urchin]

To answer your question - yes, it is what HT wants.  

He is running a business, he has said many times that he expects turnover in his customers.

None of your complaints are new, the gameplay 'changed' back in 2003 or so when the emphasis shifted from fighting to landgrabbing. That is a philosophy of the playerbase, not something HT has any control over. If anything, he is hindering the wishes of his playerbase by keeping AH well, AH. By that I mean he is making the game available as a 'flight-centric' land grab game, which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. It is time for the game to really go head to head with WW2OL and become a ground focused landgrab game with infantry, artillery, AT guns, the works. The fact that AH already has the best 'combat flight sim' on the market will just be icing on the cake.

IMO, AH's playerbase hasn't wanted an 'air combat simulator' for quite a few years now. They want a 'war simulator'. Instead they have to try to adapt 'war simulator' tactics to a combat flight sim game. It can work, but HT isn't giving them many tools, and he gives the defenders even fewer, as the people who are still trying to play an air combat game keep 'whining' about.

[mtnman]

Other than avoiding this how would you fight it?

I went against one of their hordes a few nights ago in my F4U-1A.  It actually happened accidentally...  I saw a dar building, and lifted to intercept it.  

On my climb-out, I saw an escorted group of bombers above me.  One of my favorite things is to go up against a flock of escorted bombers, and kill the bombers without resorting to killing the escorts until after their bombers are dead, lol, so I began to climb up to them.  They climbed higher and I was finally able to get a shot and a kill on the bombers at around 18K.  I had to evade the P51 a few times before that...  Suddenly, I realized that the enemy was all around me, in unbelievable numbers.  I think the only thing that saved me was that I was now up above most (but not all) of them.  So I actually hung around, and got a few kills on the fringes.  That got my confidence up, so I came in and dropped in on a few at the field and town.  Overall, that went poorly, and I had to beat a prudent retreat out over the water.

Fortunately, I only had maybe 15 guys chase me out of the swarm, and I can run like the wind, lol!  As soon as we lost icon range on the congealed mass of red icons, most of the gaggle on my six realized the danger they were in and turned back for the group.  That left only about 5 on me, but they were also gaining.  I decided to give it another 5 seconds, try to enter a subtle curve to get then in "one spot" on my six (bunched up), and go for broke with an overshoot attempt (kill one or two on my way out?).  But, as I began my turn, all but one turned off.  Sweet!  So, I killed him.

Now, my confidence is really up, but I'm low, so I decide to climb back up to 10K or so, and head back in.  That idea went well, at least until I reached about 6K and got spotted by a 12k (or so) F4U-1D.  He attacked me, so I killed him too.  Back to the climbing idea (I'm pretty low again...), but now they captured the field, and I'm low on fuel, so I head home and land my kills instead.  I admit, I did crack a "congratulatory" comment on 200 about how I was surprised they'd been able to capture the field with such a small force...

Now, I never saw another defender at our field...  Not only that, but I wasn't the highest guy, nor fastest guy.  The only reason I was above 12K (my normal alt for attacking large groups) was because of the bombers.  But, I actually got "called out" by a member of the attacking party because I'd had so much alt!  LMAO!!  Ignore the fact that I was alone against what? 75 or 80 pilots?  Seriously, I admit it, I have trouble with 3 on ones!  Sometimes even with 2 on 1's!  I'm dead meat in a 4 on 1 almost every time!

That comment from him made my night!  I loved it!  LOL!  Makes me look forward to the next opportunity!

[B-17]

yeah. AH is really just a combat flight sim with other features included i.e. naval battles. it has a really small percentage of vehicles/aircraft that can actually put up a fight once theres even one or two bogies over the airfield (although i have fun with the PT boat with its 7-10 guns. )

[68ZooM]

Hordes   lol   Fly right threw them hunt down there goons and kill'em then turn back and club the seals as they flounder 

[save]

Best way to horde undisturbed is just to set up barrier cap for them coming from other field  to help out. Specially 262s are very vulnerable during climb out.

[coombz]

My 2 cents:

You will always get this kind of behaviour (hordeing/zerging/whatever) in any game where it is an effective way of 'winning'. Even if it's a meaningless kind of win.

The people who prefer challenging, skilled fights always seem to be in the minority for some reason, from my large experience of online gaming.

Just try to accept that, and re-up away from the horde (friendly or enemy) if you don't like that style of play.

[Ardy123]

My 2 cents:

You will always get this kind of behaviour (hordeing/zerging/whatever) in any game where it is an effective way of 'winning'. Even if it's a meaningless kind of win.

The people who prefer challenging, skilled fights always seem to be in the minority for some reason, from my large experience of online gaming.

Just try to accept that, and re-up away from the horde (friendly or enemy) if you don't like that style of play.

It isn't just in online gaming that people behave that way...

[coombz]

very true Ardy, but as this is an online gaming forum I thought I should restrain my overwhelming natural cynicism, and direct it to the topic at hand rather than the human race as a whole  

[lulu]

Yestarday at 44 field, battle evolution.

I kind of Knight booring strategy.

They started from a near field and they were more then us.

They went up until 12k and more.

Many p51, la7 - and one 'bastard'  brew    that did not want to died !

We bishop, went out and fight them.

It was funny, except for the time we loose to climb and merge vs knights.

Many times i avoid to climb so high also if i knew that i cannot land my kills because picktards dove.

But it was also true that those picktards had more bellybutton then brain  

Much fun.


 

[DREDIOCK]

Can we stop complaining about this, please?

This horse's soul has past on to the afterlife long ago, rest his soul...

No.
Its a legitimate complaint.

Personally Im tired of logging on and seeing most people fighting mostly where other people arent. Its one of the primary reasons I dont spend as much time in game as I used to.

[DREDIOCK]

Hello Fugitive,

  It seems to work a good percentage of the time, and can lead to some great fights sea, air & land.

 

Way

Yes cant deny it can lead to some great fights
Problem is. More times then not,just about as soon as any kind of real defense is upped or it becomes obvious the quick capture isnt going to happen. The horde again moves to where people arent.

[DREDIOCK]

IMO Hardening hangars is only going to exacerbate the "hording" problem. It takes four heavy Ponies to kill the FH's and VH at a Small Airfield. If the hangars are hardened then it'll take twice as many aircraft to achieve the same goal.

I like the v-spawn in town idea though. It might make captures way more difficult than intended though if ten tanks can instantly be hiding in town waiting for the troops to come walking by. And then you have to have a really good GV'er come by and kill him or you need ANOTHER plane with eggs. It's a cool idea though, I hope HiTech gives it some thought (if this isn't the first time someone's thought of it).

Rather then in town GV spawns. perhaps just have a spawn point closer to the town.

Also (And I'd like to see this anyway) Return to zones.
 Zone bases and zone strats. Only place the strats near the towns. also have a railroad running through the towns. This would certainly aid on realism as the townspeople would most certainly work in the strat factories as well as aid in the defense of the town.
Having the railroad run through the town would serve the same purpose.

These would also provide something for the GVers to fight in, around, and over control of.

Although. On the down side. Making things harder only contributes to the horde mentality. As it becomes more and more necessary to bring more people to take a field.

The only real solution to the horde is to break them up. Impose field limits like we would have IRL. This  would force the larger hordes to up from several different bases rather then just 1. Which would force true thought in planning and coordination.  Gimme a break. The only intelligence required for planning and coordination a horde mission now is the ability to play follow the leader. And I think most of us learned that game in kindergarten.

If you force them to up from multiple bases. You force thought and coordination. To meet up at a specific time and place AFTER the mission has been launched. It also increases the likely hood that such a mission would be spotted in advance and because the mission is broken up into smaller segments. It makes it easier for smaller numbers of defenders to disrupt portions of the mission if spotted.

In the end you would also have fights spread out over a wider front almost by default. Which in itself would be an improvement. particularly on the large maps

[JunkyII]

If the Delta was available there would be far less Hellcats.

POTW uses Hellcats more then the Delta............Hellcat=pwn

[mipoikel]

It is time for the game to really go head to head with WW2OL and become a ground focused landgrab game with infantry, artillery, AT guns, the works. The fact that AH already has the best 'combat flight sim' on the market will just be icing on the cake.

  +1000