1946 arena, and yes I know, it's low on the list

[PJ_Godzilla]

GE turbo fans? Why not use the specs of the engine it was projected having?

That's what you'd end up doing - choosing a surrogate. My only point was: it amounts to HT finishing the design.Reality, of course, would've differed. Jets, as with everything in its early stages of development, were improving rapidly at that time.

[Wmaker]

That's what you'd end up doing - choosing a surrogate.

General Electric turbo fan eg. something with far more thrust than the Heinkel HeS 011 which was to power the Ta183? That was my point, your post didn't make any sense.

[Rich46yo]

I think that what attracted most of us to AH II is the historical accuracy and a "realistic" planeset, not including what-if airplanes and aircraft that barely made it to the war. We already have flight simulators that thrive on post-1945 aircraft (WoW, War Thunder, Il-2 1946), so I think Aces High should center on filling a nice WWII planeset, a new terrain (already in the oven) and new maps/scenarios. No other sim can offer an experience as complete as AH does, and this should be kept in mind.

No doubt, which is why I sympathize and understand those who want a French made fighter made in the lates '30s. Or a 3 engined Italian bomber. I too am a WW2 flight enthusiast and am sympathetic to the purists. And while I agree no other sim can offer what AH does we must also face fact that AH is not attracting new players and is losing old players at an alarming rate. Facts are facts, even if we dont like them. Also remember WW2 didnt have 3 chess pieces fighting each other, nor did it have many of the air plane match ups we currently have in the game. The only real "realism" that counts is the airplanes performance model. Everything else is irrelevant.

And for the debbie-downers, remember that the new graphics aren't far away, they will include some new planes and a new wave of players, you can be sure!  On the topic of new players, maybe it would be a good time to implement some in-game tutorials. AH II has a steep learning curve if it's your first flight sim.

Realists arent "Debbie Downers". They are realists. I dont think new graphics is enough, honestly. they alone will probably lose almost as many players as they draw. New aircraft will be welcome as long as they are aircraft players actually want to fly. How many times do you really think a noob on a 2 week free ride will fly an obscure 1939 fighter, getting slaughtered each time he does, and stay excited about Aces High? The game HAS to appeal to noobs like that instead of just catering to whats left of an aging established, and rapidly diminishing, long time player base.

The last few weeks this game has been like WOT 2.0 with worse graphics. The flight game has just sucked. Im sorry but thats the truth.

[Karnak]

1946 gets added, I cancel my subscription.  Period.  End of story.

Why you ask?  Because I have no interest in playing that game.  I am already pushed into the LWA when I would prefer an active MWA.  Add 1946 and the LWA will be as vacant as the MWA is now. I have no interest in seeing how badly a Mossie VI gets destroyed by a F8F, Me263, P-80, J7W2, Vampire or Hornet.  I also have low confidence that realistic flight models can be generated for things like the J7W2, much less things that never made it off paper like the Ta183.

[PJ_Godzilla]

General Electric turbo fan eg. something with far more thrust than the Heinkel HeS 011 which was to power the Ta183? That was my point, your post didn't make any sense.

It was hyperbolic, yes. But the point is that, no matter what, and even if you choose the likely choice, you're now extrapolating from what actually would have happened. So, let's go down this rabbit hole: regarding the Heinkel n engine, was it a complete design? Do we have a full set of numbers on it, obviously and most importantly, the thrust and weight? Do we know that it would have packaged into the geometry that matched the TA wind tunnel model? Or would the cd have been impacted as the engine development continued?

My only point here, and perhaps I'm tipping my hand as a product development guy, is that preproduction wind tunnel model with paper content isn't the same as a finished producible design. We're thus asking ht to finish TA's work -and that's harder than modeling something for which we have real flight test data. If the two were the same, I wouldn't be sitting in this damn Lufthansa lounge having to go to Germany again. I'd just tell ford pd Merkenich to use what they've got on paper.

[Wiley]

1946 gets added, I cancel my subscription.  Period.  End of story.

Why you ask?  Because I have no interest in playing that game.  I am already pushed into the LWA when I would prefer an active MWA.  Add 1946 and the LWA will be as vacant as the MWA is now. I have no interest in seeing how badly a Mossie VI gets destroyed by a F8F, Me263, P-80, J7W2, Vampire or Hornet.  I also have low confidence that realistic flight models can be generated for things like the J7W2, much less things that never made it off paper like the Ta183.

I don't think it would be good for the game, I just think it would be neat.  A separate game Secret Weapons of the LW by HTC would be fun, I don't think Korea or 1946 would fit in this game as arenas.

Wiley.

[Karnak]

My only point here, and perhaps I'm tipping my hand as a product development guy, is that preproduction wind tunnel model with paper content isn't the same as a finished producible design. We're thus asking ht to finish TA's work -and that's harder than modeling something for which we have real flight test data. If the two were the same, I wouldn't be sitting in this damn Lufthansa lounge having to go to Germany again. I'd just tell ford pd Merkenich to use what they've got on paper.

As another example, the Hawker Typhoon's thick wings are the result of erroneous wind tunnel data.  I can't say Focke-Wulf's wind tunnel data is correct or not, but errors were not unheard of even at reputable firms like Hawker.

[Oldman731]

Add 1946 and the LWA will be as vacant as the MWA is now.

Yup.  Same reason EW and MW aren't populated.  People go for the hot rods.

- oldman

[Rich46yo]

Yup.  Same reason EW and MW aren't populated.  People go for the hot rods.

- oldman

In the end does it matter after you have doubled your player base?

[Coalcat1]

In the end does it matter after you have doubled your player base?

Unfortunately, I have to agree, I would rather see the game survive in a slightly different form than to die out in a few years. It will take more than graphics from 2 years ago, compared to other games, and a few new planes that noobs won't use to save this game. We may still have the LW arena populated around the same as now, but hopefully, with some new things, good advertising, and some luck, the game may be able to thrive, or at least, no be on the verge of dieting out.

[Butcher]

Yup.  Same reason EW and MW aren't populated.  People go for the hot rods.

- oldman

In my prime, I seen 20 or maybe even 30 in the Midwar Arena, I actually preferred it too the LWA, however in my "prime time" it was always empty. I see the DA barely holds 10 people now, what happened? a year ago there were numbers it suddenly shrunk by a large margin?

[Lusche]

In my prime, I seen 20 or maybe even 30 in the Midwar Arena, I actually preferred it too the LWA, however in my "prime time" it was always empty. I see the DA barely holds 10 people now, what happened? a year ago there were numbers it suddenly shrunk by a large margin?

Generally it's been a longtime process that just got more visible to you because of your extened absence.

[Coalcat1]

dieting

Dieing *

[Rich46yo]

In my prime, I seen 20 or maybe even 30 in the Midwar Arena, I actually preferred it too the LWA, however in my "prime time" it was always empty. I see the DA barely holds 10 people now, what happened? a year ago there were numbers it suddenly shrunk by a large margin?

Actually thats the K/D stat that concerns me most. Apr. 2013 compared to Apr. 2014. Counting both LWA and MWA were looking at about a 150,000 less K/Ds. Not scientific but far from irrelevant. I love WW2 era flight and want to see it thrive.

[Oldman731]

In the end does it matter after you have doubled your player base?

Wish I could foretell the future.  I have doubt that the allure of 1946 planes, to the extent that it will attract anyone, will double the player base.  After the gloss wears off, I suppose you could add 1950s jets, and then Vietnam jets, and the beat might go on.  But I think the diminishing player base is due to factors other than the types of aircraft available to us.

- oldman