AVA icon settings

[captain1ma]

They don't reply when asked directly... In the beta forum when I asked why the icon question was never answered... my post was removed.. Id say they are making a statement...

I have noticed a  drop in participation in the AVA since icons were turned on. That would make sense as the AVA was a ghost town before, with icons on..

Admittedly I was the impetus for the no icon movement in the AvA... I recommended that icons be turned off about a year and a half ago and was granted my wish....I recommended smaller maps, shorter base to base proximity as well as concentrating the available air craft to bases that were in close proximity to each other and turning off or neutering far reaching bases to concentrate action. With those recommendations the AVA  population started to grow there were 30+ nights... squads were coming in the arena had lots of momentum... until certain AvA regulars started to berate folks  for using team work and tactics.. squads like loses deuce and other respectable units pulled away and were run off. I recommended that folks that berate team work in the AvA be ban from the AVA berating players for utilizing wing tactics should have never been allowed to take a foot hold...

The decision to turn icons back on was not a good one for the arena.. but the intention was well meaning... Some times you cant see the forest though the trees.

It was simply a bad choice and the proof is in the pudding... Now that they are turned on again... the AVA is slipping back to its former unpopulated sate.

 Its a shame really as no icons were actually a draw for many.
It afforded a new and interesting challenge for those that were looking for something different...Unfortunately the topic is polarizing and boils down to two groups..
 for those that were dedicated enough to master the no icon style of flight simming...  all of whom are forward thinking guys who utilize new advancements in flight simming like the track ir.. and
 The folks that don't use track Ir. They are the same folks that wanted icons turned back on. That is a shame because there unwillingness to move away from the hat switch held folks back from taking flight simming to the next level. as a result the AvA is slipping backward..

Mediocrity breads mediocrity. "Great spirits will always encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds".. Albert Einstein..

Until folks start to see what they are missing and how pure flight simming is w/o icons here in AH, this sim will always be considered a kiddy air quake sim to most in the global flight sim community..

Just one man's opinion.....

[Devil 505]

for those that were dedicated enough to master the no icon style of flight simming...  all of whom are forward thinking guys who utilize new advancements in flight simming like the track ir.. and
 The folks that don't use track Ir. They are the same folks that wanted icons turned back on. That is a shame because there unwillingness to move away from the hat switch held folks back from taking flight simming to the next level. as a result the AvA is slipping backward..

Raven, dont lump the "pro no icon" group with the "has track IR" group.
I like no icon and I use a hat switch. I'm sure that I'm not the only one.  Is it difficult? Sure. Is it a rewarding challenge? Most defanately. Please don't belittle users who give the best they can with the equipment they've got.

[Nr_RaVeN]

U mistunderstand me... Im not belittling.... I'm simply stating that its folks that don't use Tir have been the ones pushing for icons back on.....

You are a diehard devil to work no icons with a hat that takes great spirit and back bone there .... Its its just much less frustrating and most would like it better with tir

[jimson]

If total kill numbers are any indication, the population started dropping in May, the same as last year.

If we count the month of July as the start of icons being on, we are down from Jun, but If you look at last years numbers the July total is very similar, in fact a tiny bit higher this year, and all summer months are slightly better this year.

I would expect August numbers to drop as some start playing with the new H2H arenas.

I don't think you can pull a definitive answer as to what effect icons have had on population.

To me it looks pretty close to a zero sum gain.

[TheBug]

U mistunderstand me... Im not belittling....

I agree you aren't making much sense, so you're difficult to understand.  But from what I do understand it is quite obvious you are making an attempt at belittling a group of players.

[jimson]

Do we know if it was an intentional decision or an inadvertent omission/bug?  Has anyone queried HTC about it?  

Who knows?

Perhaps as ugly as the constant arguments were, they decided it was bad for the community?

In that, they would have had a point, but I do wish the player arenas had the option so the no icon fans here would have some alternative other than Il2.

... In the beta forum when I asked why the icon question was never answered... my post was removed.. Id say they are making a statement...

It looks like the whole beta testing forum was removed, not that they singled out your post for removal.

Or was it while the forum was still up?

The new icon restrictions were unchanged after the first patch.

There will be more patches, so we will see.

[Shane]

....July total is very similar, in fact a tiny bit higher this year, and all summer months are slightly better this year.

I don't think you can pull a definitive answer as to what effect icons have had on population.

To me it looks pretty close to a zero sum gain.

Despite the apparent contradiction, I do agree it's too early to tell. Let it ride for another 2-3 months and you'll have a better idea.  The H2H won't bleed off much (of what?) from the AvA, especially if H2H has the same setting issue (which apparently they do) that may or may not be a deliberate decision from HTC.

Don't forget you're also going to have to take into consideration the "strategic" direction/option the AvA is trying to offer. And of course some setups draw more or less than others.

I will add this:  A clear MoTD goes a long way in influencing the newbie or occasional AvAer to stick around. In some setups, if I didn't have an understanding of the AvA already, I'd be lost.  Which side is which should always be listed (it's not always) with an note that the default base may not be close to the action. Also always make note of the no side switching restrictions. Oldman also remarked about the current setup (folgore) not clearly indicating planes were enabled at VBases. I had the same concerns when I first entered this set up (but also knew planes *could* be enabled at Vbases - something a casual player may not be aware of.)

One other small peeve I have with the AvA (MoTD) is with our specialty maps, the sector scale.  It'd be nice knowing what the scale is. I know there are ways this can be determined, requiring maths and stuffs, and that after enough exposure I'd remember what map is what scale, but again for the casual player....

Oh, and just because icons are back doesn't mean we have to go with MA radar settings. The AvA still has to deal with the issue of making the action easily found?

Make sure to keep spamming AvA adverts too. 

[Krusty]

Make sure to keep spamming AvA adverts too. 

You lose more with those kind of tactics.

[Puma44]

Do you ever have anything positive to say?

[Krusty]

Do you ever have anything positive to say?

I'm sorry, I don't feed the trolls.

To anybody else, please see my thread as intended, and take it at point blank face value. It was intended to be helpful. Spamming constant nagging advertisements for the AvA were a detriment to my forum visits, and made me think less about actually visiting it. Opposite of the intended results. It can happen in any advertising. You need to find the proper method and means. That goes for anybody, be it Bob's Pizza Parlor down the street, or the NFL advertising across the nation.

[Puma44]

See Rules #2, #4

[captain1ma]

according to what i received in a PM, icons in the game were never meant to be disabled. therefor the answer is there is a minimum distance and that's it. the day of no icons is gone. i hope this puts the whole icons thing to rest.

[Nr_RaVeN]

That's about as gay is it can get.

[IamSalem]

That about as gay is it can get.

Yup. I will cherish the days of no icons.

[Shane]

Yup. I will cherish the days of no icons.

You can still toggle icons on/off from your own front end. And nothing stops anyone from gentlemen's agreements about mutually turning them off, even if it's in a specific part of a map...  you know?