I do not understand how can some of you state so firmly that the better and more PC demanding graphics increases the number of players. Do you have any statistics to back up your opinion? If it needs a better PC, some may unsubscribe and some may join. I am a returning customer and I love this game, but I would not buy a new computer just because I can`t play AH2. Any change that puts a higher demand on the hardware or network connection seems like a risky one. I am shure that a better terrain will come some day, but I understand it takes time.
If this discussion gets heated and some threaten to leave because of the graphics, then maybe the solution would be a poll among the subscribers. There could be an option to give your vote near the account information or something. People could vote if they want an improved graphics and that they are willing to accept the new minimum system requirements, if that can be predicted.
If there is a cunning way to program a better terrain without the increase in video card load or if there is an option to tune it down, then by all means. Anyway "eye candy" is pretty low on my wishlist.
You don't even NEED statistics. Look at the player-base of AH. Its dying. Everyone sees it except those few who are in such deep denial that they are going to drown.
When you have games that have crap physics and flight modeling pulling in more players than AH one has only to think for any amount of time to realize that it is the eye candy. Even with commercials it wouldn't improve the AH player-base by much because that is one of the biggest things for the modern gamer. Graphics. We are in an age where every respectable gaming computer would have been a super computer in the day of what some of you are running.
Am I saying they need to make it so that everyone has to drop four grand on a PC? Absolutely not. Heck, my computer couldn't run any of the IL2 games, but I DO see that in order for this game to live on it needs to be re-worked. It doesn't take a genius to see that.
Those of you refusing to try to upgrade when you have the means to do so are doing nothing but slowly contributing to the death of your favorite game. If you can go out and buy a new car, restore and old car, build a new man-cave etc. you can upgrade your PC. You simply do it one piece at the time if you cannot go all out and get a new PC.
For those who ARE wanting to buy a new PC I recommend
www.digitalstormonline.com - they have a baseline computer that can run any modern game of $699, which can be upgraded to all kinds of fancy stuff (even liquid cooling, which is not necessarily a big feat).
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Back OT: Just look at any modern game. The game-play sucks but they have a lot of players. Why? It looks good. People are tired of playing the same old games with the same old graphics. Why play something that looks like it belongs on an Atari? The game-play may be good, but on this new game over here I lose a little bit of game-play for....my gosh...it's so beautiful....
Am I saying HT needs to sacrifice game-play? No. It's merely a means of showing you how the modern gamer works.
