Arena design request

[eagl]

Hello all,

First, I want to say that I think that the center island portion of the arena is pretty cool.  The valleys and terrain there is fun to fight in.  Recently, I've had a whole bunch of fun flying with a few squealing Pigs when we find a bunch of knights and throw a little furball.  The fields are close, the terrain adds to the fight, and everyone has a great time.

Until the flakpanzers show up and ruin everything.

Nothing ruins a knock-out drag-down furball faster than having a great fight go from 15k or higher down to the deck, then have a single flakpanzer shoot down everyone on one side.  What the hell was all the air combat for then, if one friggen truck with a damned lazer guided cannon can make it all pointless?  Tonight, I saw several large furballs disintegrate as they reached low altitudes, because a few flakpanzers shot down pretty much everyone on one side.

My request is to have a section of terrain very similiar to the island where A1 is, except just have 3 airfields on it.  Ditch the vehicle fields.  Leave the current island for those who want pitched tank battles, or even add another island with no airfields and 3 vehicle fields, but lets get someplace where people can fly and fight in aerial combat without the stupid cannon-toting trucks interfering.

3 times tonight, I and a few pigs were fighting what appeared to be tough and smart opponents.  When the tide turned against them however, as they ran for their home field they dragged right over a few flakpanzers.  They promptly set up a tight little circle 100 ft agl right over the flakpanzers.  What a cheap way to end a dogfight.  I understand that airfields ought to provide some safe haven until/unless it's under attack and the acks have been destroyed, but the remote-spawn locations have given new meaning to ack running.  There appear to be whole squadrons who base their tactics on running to these spawn points anytime they get in trouble, hoping a flakwagon will be there and can shoot down everything in sight.

I also fully understand that the flakpanzers are a legitimate strategic tool, and a group could deliberately use them as a trap.  My point is that this directly detracts from the air combat aspects of the game.

HTC, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give those of us who like AIR COMBAT over all else a place to fight without having engagement after engagement end with the appearance of a few trucks that can instantly respawn right where they were destroyed.  The current central island is a GREAT step in the right direction and provides good furball opportunities, but the presence of the ostwinds there are the quickest way I've seen to destroy a perfectly good furball.

If furballs aren't fun and in demand by the customers, why are they do darn popular in actual fact?  People SAY they want strategy and all that, but put 2 airfields together without ostwind interference, and you'll have 20 or more people duking it out having a great time.  

Please consider this in the spirit it's intended, a suggestion to make a fairly small addition to the terrain without dramatically altering the overall game.  Thanks for taking the time to read it.


------------------
eagl <squealing Pigs> BYA
Oink Oink To War!!!

[TheWobble]

Game isnt called "Furballs High" therfore there are many things in it that will put a crimp in usless furball orgies, you want a terrain to spen hours of usless furballing on, there is a terrain editor in the Download section.  try H2H if ya want that stuff, there are several FFA rooms open at all times.  
the intent of the MA is to have a dynamic "war" in which 3 opposing countries try to wipe out eachother by all available means.  I enjoy furballing aswell but simple fighter VS fighter air combat is not the goal of this game IMO.  I get much more out of accomplishing missions and goals than I do just flying out to a wad of planes and shoot until im dead to only fly back and do it again.  Furballing is fun, but the MA isnt designed for it.

[Yeager]

Fine suggestion stud!  When eagl talks people.......listen!

Also, perk them damnable osties!

Love,
Yeager

[SOB]

"Furballing is fun, but the MA isnt designed for it."

Alright Wobble, now you just put that crack pipe down and step away from it...Slooowly now!  Thaaat's good.

The MA is all about catering to a wide variety of tastes.  There are plenty of opportunities for endless furballing & there are strategic elements there for the other end of the spectrum.  I doubt you've been in the main arena lately, 'cause if you had you'd know that there's always an opportunity to furball somewhere on the map (save maybe for the late night hours) & it's the strategic element that is sometimes lacking.

I think eagl's suggestion is perfectly rational, and I'd be up for it.  That center island is perfect for furballing & I doubt anyone would be seriously put out if the vehicle bases were removed from it.  Speak up anyone if you feel differently  


SOB

[eagl]

Wobble,

No kidding it isn't designed for furballs.  FWIW, 8 player h2h to me is BORING.  I can get that in any number of other games, but it's not nearly complex enough.  It's great for training and trying out new terrains, but the big furballs are what keep me coming back for more.  

I don't want to change the whole MA or the game, I would just like the chance to see some big furballs again like we used to have, like we still occasionally get until someone brings an ostwind into it.  People who don't like furballs can have the ENTIRE ARENA to play in.  I'd just like one tiny little corner where I, and the rest of the people who play AH because it has AIRPLANES, can play in without worring about a truck driver stopping our fight.

Is that really too much to ask?  Heck, the fields would still be capturable, so those who have something against air combat could still shut it all down.  In the meantime, you play your war and I'll shoot down enemy aircraft because that's what's fun to me.  

From the few good furballs I've been in recently, there's generally a few dozen others online at any time who share my opinion since it's the same bunch of tough opponents I keep running into.  4v4 just doesn't cut it, this game can offer so much more if even one tiny corner of the arena is set up to allow it.

As to your flippant comment Wobble, the game isn't "vehicles high" either.  It's much much more than either of us, so much more that maybe, just maybe, we can both get what we want if we don't childishly slam each other's ideas.  What you call a "useless furball orgie", I and many others call "pure air combat" or "the only thing that makes it worth paying the subscription fee every month".  Don't slam it just because you don't like it.  Furballs don't even affect how YOU play the game except when you're mad that people aren't doing what you think they should be doing with their time online, so please don't pee in my cheerios just because you don't like large scale air battles.

edit - Thx for the support Yeager and SOB.  You guys are two of the reasons I come back after getting shot down by a truck driver.

------------------
eagl <squealing Pigs> BYA
Oink Oink To War!!!

[This message has been edited by eagl (edited 01-27-2001).]

[Exile]

Fighter Town baby!!

[Gadfly]

Boo-fluff'n-Hoo.  Go play Warbirds then.

Wow!  That didn't hurt at all!

[Hangtime]

The more I think about it the more I like the Fightertown/Fighter Island concept..

One island; center of map, but distance isolated from the 'strat' portion of the map, containing three airfields that are industructable but equipped with numerous strong defensive acks (vulch squelchers)

The airfields fields would have limited fuel, Fighters only; NO A/G ords and no vehicles at airfields, no bombers, no boats. Then also 3 Vfields; also indestructable; also with strong AA defense, but located beyond easy distance from Airfields.

Also have the Arena set so that when you join the MA you are deposited in the tower of your countrys fighter island airfield. (two weekers would always pop out here)

Methinks it would improve gameplay for both the Furballers and the strat guys.



------------------
Hang
1st/AG "Bishlanders"  << Recruiting!!

[Dingy]

 

Originally posted by Hangtime:
The more I think about it the more I like the Fightertown/Fighter Island concept..

One island; center of map, but distance isolated from the 'strat' portion of the map, containing three airfields that are industructable but equipped with numerous strong defensive acks (vulch squelchers)

The airfields fields would have limited fuel, Fighters only; NO A/G ords and no vehicles at airfields, no bombers, no boats. Then also 3 Vfields; also indestructable; also with strong AA defense, but located beyond easy distance from Airfields.

Also have the Arena set so that when you join the MA you are deposited in the tower of your countrys fighter island airfield. (two weekers would always pop out here)

You are describing AW's "Fightertown" almost to a 'T'.  They had a Pacific map with a central atoll which had 3 bases on it one for each country.  No bombers could spawn from it allowig fighters to get into combat quickly.  The alt of fites were generally pretty low which didnt require you to grab alot of alt prior to entering.

Ditto Eagl....think this would be a great idea!

-Ding

[Ice]

Good idea Eagl....hope someone with some clout is listening

Ice

[rosco-]

 I like yeagers idea. Perk it.

[Smut]

I have to agree with Eagl.  I saw several "brave" 109 drivers that seemed to have only one tactic...enter the fight with a 2-4K altitude advantage, dive down for the head on attempt, then run for the flaks. Saw this twice in a row (different pilots)...and, much to the dismay of the flak crews, I got both 109's before an uneventful rtb.  

"wobble", I think you are missing the point, or reading too much into Eagle request...he's not talking about remaking the entire arena, just a small part of it.

"gadfly", since you obviously have nothing of value to add here, why don't you bite me?

-Smut

[lazs]

eagl is of course.... correct.   The Amish will never go for it tho.   Seeing people have fun really makes em feel worthless.
lazs

[AKDejaVu]

Eagl,

Baron VonRichtoven said the same thing after he was shot down in WWI

If you remove ground vehicles from a base, that base will be 10 times easier to capture.  Given the tendancy of half the arena to fly/do what is easiest, that may be a mistake.

Making the bases indestructable will create the same situation you have described, except it will be ack instead of FPs.

If the ack is able to be shot down, people will take it down then vulch a field that they know ground vehicles cannot spawn from.

That is why I'm not a big fan of the "furball island" mentality.  The only way it would work is if you spawned at 10k over an area with no fields and were limited to that area.  Basically... make it quake.

AKDejaVu

[Dinger]

How about this rule of thumb:
Any vehicle easily capable of going on a milk run and generating over 80 perk points for the driver should be perked.

Funny how that group is limited to the ostwind and the C-hawg.