$1.08/Hour and Rising

[Wiley]

I really really like Vinkman's post, although that scale kind of falls apart at the upper end.  I'd consider flying a real mustang a LOT more fun than 2 rounds of golf, but that's just me.

I think Fester's about right.  This type of game has a shelf life for nearly every person, and every person is different.  Some people get bored with it in days or weeks, others after many years.  I have found my attitudes shifting over the last year or so, finding myself getting bored sometimes if I run into too many one pass and run people in an evening.  As long as I get enough different situations when I up though, I usually have a good time.

To me, it's definitely worth the $15 a month though.  Some months I play less than others, but even if I just did FSO it would be worth it to me.

Also,

Sounds like an advice from a prime time player

That's one disturbing trend I've noticed of late.  During prime time, I have plenty of fun.  Around midnight Eastern, red bardars suddenly drop to onesy-twosies everywhere, and few of them at that.  This generally causes me to log.  I can only imagine it gets worse as the night goes on.

This pretty much sums up my experience at that point as well:

My experience doing what you suggest during off peak hours is as follows: the con will fly around in the base ack waiting for a proxie. And besides, vulching and picking isn't that rewarding after a while anyway.

Wiley.

[MADe]

To the op,

Exactly same type things were said during the time I spent with FA. It was always the games fault.

Well to very small extent, it is the games fault. It is what it was meant to be a combat flight mmo. As such it has its limitations and attractions, will not state them, they are obvious.
Lets face it, flying is, at its heart, boring. In real life air war, it would have been weeks of boring, followed by seconds of abject fear. Different when your life is really on the line. In game I have died a 1000 deaths.

GV's, who cares, I fly airplanes, its why I play in AH.
 
I too feel bored. But its because I hit a plateau with my abilities. I do the same dumb things and die, HO'ers sux, the AI never misses. These things have always been there, I've come to know them. Familiarity breeds contempt.
The game only provides us with a set of tools, paint brushes and canvas if you will, the picture you paint is on you.

Also there are a very limited number of peeps, world wide, who care about such gameplay, WW2 aircraft.
They are already here, for the most part. Take all the peeps that played FA, add them here, take all the WarBirds players, add them here. Get MS Flight Combat sim players, add them here. AH gameplay will still be the same and total numbers still would not be much larger.

You yourself will have to make the reasons to continue with AH or drift away.
S

[TDeacon]

My experience doing what you suggest during off peak hours is as follows: the con will fly around in the base ack waiting for a proxie. And besides, vulching and picking isn't that rewarding after a while anyway.

If I GV to the base the enemy simply drops a bomb on me. Both examples just seems like a waste of time and effort for nothing. Also, I'm not saying that the large maps are solely responsible for the player decline we're seeing, but I think it certainly contributes to the problem....especially during off peak hours.
I can load up on ord and jabo things all night long but I'm not really accomplishing anything. And that's where the boredom comes in.

Valid complaints, but as you say these issues are independent of map size.  

In the first case, you need to make sure you give them the impression that they will have a chance at an even fight.  So come in at 2K, and keep your distance until they up.  Also, bring a less capable fighter.  Alternatively, if you hang around the air base town at low altitude (as if you were taking down town buildings), you should often attract a capable low altitude defender.  

In the second GV case, I meant you GV to a GV base; GVing to an air base by yourself is usually suicide.  Take out the radar with HE; then start in on the 88s and 17pdrs.  Now in some contexts eventually some moron will up a jabo and fly to the GV base, but maybe not, and in any case until then you should be able to hold your own against defending GVs and have fun.   BTW this second approach is what I usually take, and it works for me.  It doesn't require any more than a couple of opposing players, either.  

MH

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Statistics don't lie.  The term statistic implies the math and measurement target have been properly vetted prior to the numerical variables being totaled.

You are confusing "the numbers don't lie" with statistics don't lie.

I have sales reps that say the same thing when they have poor months..."I had a better month than my stats say"....no you didn't.  You had exactly the month that your stats say.

You're wrong. Statistics lie because they only show statistics, not the reasons behind them.

If you read statistics you can see that every person who ever drank water in their lives, ended up dead sooner or later. Just having something in the stats doesn't mean the reasons behind it are obvious.

The 190 k/d rates may have been elevated because they saw mostly action in the hands of a few elite players for example where more 'common' planes get slaughtered in the hands of noobs and result in abysmal k/d rate.

[dedalos]

You're wrong. Statistics lie because they only show statistics, not the reasons behind them.

If you read statistics you can see that every person who ever drank water in their lives, ended up dead sooner or later. Just having something in the stats doesn't mean the reasons behind it are obvious.

The 190 k/d rates may have been elevated because they saw mostly action in the hands of a few elite players for example where more 'common' planes get slaughtered in the hands of noobs and result in abysmal k/d rate.

Not to mention that 98% of criminals ate bread the day they committed a crime.  Ban bread now!!!!

On the 190, if I had to bet a dollar I would bet that it was not elite pilots but elite vulchers lol.  Whats an elite 190 pilot?  The guy that dives the fastest or the one performing the dolphin maneuver flawlessly? 

[Lusche]

The 190 k/d rates may have been elevated because they saw mostly action in the hands of a few elite players for example where more 'common' planes get slaughtered in the hands of noobs and result in abysmal k/d rate.

Even if so (and actually it ain't to a big extent as in really low usage planes, the 109K is a relatively high usage one), it should not be possible according to the description of Franzl/Schlowy. He describes those German planes like they were even more crappy versions of the P-40C, being 'superior' planes real life being unfairly modeled by HTC in AH.
Such a plane would never as much consistent success on a large scale as it does in AH.

And that's my whole point.

[Karnak]

I hardly play anymore.  I still have my subscription because I like to occasionally play, and mainly, I want to put my money where my mouth is and support this hobby and HTC.


As for Franz, try some other airplanes.  You seem stuck on German stuff and it seems you really have no idea how the other aircraft are modeled.  Should a P-51D fan whine that the Bf109K-4 out flies his P-51D it almost all aspects?  Did you know the Bf109K-4 out flies the P-51D, the "American plane that won the war in the air" from many casually (mis)informed Americans?  How about the tub of a P-47 which is meat on the table for any Bf109G or later?  There isn't a Bf109G-10, so?  Why should there be?  Many versions of many aircraft are missing. Why should the Bf109G-10 get special mention?  You seem particularly antagonistic about British aircraft, Spitfires in particular.  How are you surprised that it is an easy and effective fighter?  It was, and remains, famous for being such.

The German planes do not seem to be singled out in any way and are certainly not second rate to any nation's aircraft in AH.

[ROC]

Lots to think about between now and the end of September.

Hang in there BE, we'd miss you   BOB will get your juices flowing again 

[Bear76]

You sound like a skipping record Schlowy.

ack-ack

Sounds more like Storch

[Brooke]

Riding the 'Top Thrill Dragster' at Cedar point amusement park = 7

Heh!  I've ridden that.  My wife is a rollercoaster enthusiast and wanted to go to the park that has the largest number of top-rated rollercoasters in the world (Cedar Point).

Aces high wins. 

Yes! 

[zack1234]

I thought i was paying £14 a month until Bruv pointed out it was dollars, so i was paying £9 a month

Fester is right then again he is not

[Ack-Ack]

Sounds more like Storch

The Luftwhiner rant gives Schlowy away.  Storch wasn't a Luftwhiner, just a whiner.

ack-ack

[jimson]

I've thought of leaving several times. The first thing that kept me here was when we got the ability to upload our own terrains to use in customs and in AvA. The second thing is the staged mission system that every patch contains a few more more fixes for.

No way am I going to miss the chance to run awesome staged missions on our awesome custom terrains.

I ain't going nowhere.

[titanic3]

Take a month or two off, it'll do ya good.  Longest I played continually for was maybe 3 months.  About to end my sub after this month.

[Tank-Ace]

AH hasn't changed you have. every time one of these posts come up lamenting this or that about the game I am reminded of the fact that almost all players even most of the long time ones burnout on a predictable cycle when they grow tired of a certain activity such as the game.

I view online air combat games as a form of chess and fundamentally this aspect of any game of this nature is unchanging.

you start your plane up takeoff climb find the enemy planes shoot at them and shoot them down or they shoot you down then you either quickly are back on the runway taking off to do it again if you lost the fight or you are rtb to land if you won.

this is an unchanging cycle of all air combat. it will not be changing any time soon in thise genre of entertainment. nuances and gimics will come and go but this is the bread and butter of where the variations of this cycle form the fundamental basis of what makes it so fun and entertaining.

True, but dweebery and tarding is more common. Not new, just more common than it used to be.

Anyway, I hope you eventually decide to stay, Eagle. Don't fly with you regularly, but you almost always give me a good fight.