SAVE ACES HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Drane]

Speaking as one who likes a good hamburger every now and then, I don't want to give the wrong impression....I don't think it is ever permissible to eat one at a McDonalds, a Windys OR a Burger King.  *blech*   

Wendy's rocks oh yeah!  

McDonald's & Burger King bleh!

[AirLynx]

Wendy's rocks oh yeah! 

McDonald's & Burger King bleh!

I agree.

As far as the game, it's probably the most fun I've had out of any flying game I've ever played, and I'm sure I'm part of the "younger generation." Matchmaking games can be fun, I enjoy a game of CoD4 or TF2 every once in a while, but Aces High is a different kind of game. When I saw the commercial for it on the history channel, I was expecting an AvA style game. Now that I'm used the the 3-sided war though, I can't imagine it would be better any other way.

[PJ_Godzilla]

IL-2 is an open sandbox type game with hundreds of players in the same arena?

Well, exactly. It has to be one or the other. If it is open sandbox, you'll have stupid/improbable/impossible matchups. If not, you may have entry delays driven by balance issues. The question is, have we traded off the right thing?

[hyzer]

Just my opinion, I don't think you will ever see a 2 sided axis, allied setup in the main arena.  WB tried it long ago, along with a rolling plane set and also just my opinion, it didn't work. 

[Wiley]

Outside of FSO, Snapshot, This Day and special events you can't just log on and get the classic plane matchups of WW2 (other than a contrived fight in the DA) for one thing.  Spitfire vs P-51 is pretty goofy.  Very few mission opportunities on many nights, and when you're escorting, intercepting, or flying bombers the target is A57 not Berlin or the hundreds of other famous WW2 targets.  I play AH but it lacks the WW2 immersion many players are looking for.  And I can't imagine new players coming here looking for chess pieces over fantasy maps...that part has never made sense to me.

If that was what people are looking for, the AvA would be the full arena.

FWIW, HTC's tried different country setups from 2 to I think 4, 3 was determined best for playability.  Not entirely sure how that relates to things these days, but that's what they determined.  They did put thought into it.

Well, exactly. It has to be one or the other. If it is open sandbox, you'll have stupid/improbable/impossible matchups. If not, you may have entry delays driven by balance issues. The question is, have we traded off the right thing?

I'm here for the sandbox, it seems quite a few people are.  From what I've seen over the years, there's a pretty decent sized allied bias in numbers.  The guys that fly Axis planes tend to be fairly fanatical about flying them, but there are fewer of them most of the time.  Constant number imbalance would get old.

The real world/real maps also aren't particularly designed for playability.

Wiley.

[Lusche]

I'm here for the sandbox, it seems quite a few people are.  From what I've seen over the years, there's a pretty decent sized allied bias in numbers.  

Absolutely.

Just think of the impact of plane capability in a "war sandbox" game like we have. Compare the allied bombers to the axis ones. Yes, axis has 262s but that doesn't change the fact that they can't strike nearly as hard as the allied forced could.
So only a scenario like setup with clearly defined targets and strict population (and plane!) control would make for a balanced game. Like a AH scenario.

[ink]

I am one that would leave immediately if AH turned into full blown WW2 sim.

who ever said AH is not a combat sim...is very wrong.

it is NOT a WW2 sim....

it is most definitely a COMBAT sim using WW2 equipment.

it is the ONLY true Combat sim with WW2 equipment.....incredibly accurate and well made models of said WW2 equipment.

and no lame pushing buttons to simulate "engine" control..

thats what is great about AH....it is ALL about the COMBAT.

whether it be combat in planes Tanks or Bombers. 

[BuckShot]

I'm sure many here have wt accounts from when they checked it out, I do.

I "tastefully" spammed the txt box in there last night describing the beneficial advantages of ah.

Better fm, realistic views, huge arenas, and more to do than mini scenarios.

Others in here should do the same. it's best to make positive posts that will make them want to try ah.

[Wiley]

I think AH hits the biggest POTENTIAL niche in flight sim gaming. The trouble is that nobody knows this game exists.

I disagree.  Sandbox multiplayer with no clearly defined goals is not for everyone.  I'm here because that's the kind of game I like playing.  I don't like two equal teams on a small map with a small goal for the round that will be over in 15 minutes.  I want it to feel like an area for me to operate in, with a variety of more or less random things going on in it.  I decide what I want to do, and try to accomplish it.  There is nobody telling me to go blow up the CV group headed this way, I decide whether I want to or not.

For a lot of people who want to dogfight, WT gives them bite size guaranteed action, round based, 'fair' fights.  The arcade mode is vastly the most popular, with dwindling numbers as you move up the realism scale to more or less what we have here in round based format.  It seems to me the vast majority of gamers want to be told what to do, to be given a short term goal that they can accomplish, then move on to what the game says the next short term goal is.

Unfortunately people just don't seem to be able to handle the type of gameplay that's here.  About the closest game to this one I've seen in recent memory other than Warbirds which only has around 15 people on in primetime last time i checked, is Planetside 2.

I was there pretty early for it on release, seemed like a lot of fun.  Focus in PS2 is more on infantry and ground than air, but it's the same type of idea in that you've got a big map, 3 countries (apparently more people than HTC and WBs think that's the magic number) and are free to do as you like on that map.  Hording abounds, so does spawn camping.  It started out with huge numbers, then faded to (spitballing here) about 1/3 of what it started out with at the most.  Been a while since I logged in, but they started out with at least double the amount of servers they had in the beginning, and have had to merge them a couple times.  A lot of people left due to the horde or be horded gameplay and boredom it seems.

It just seems to me most gamers need  the game telling them what to do at all times for some reason.

I'm sure many here have wt accounts from when they checked it out, I do.

I "tastefully" spammed the txt box in there last night describing the beneficial advantages of ah.

Better fm, realistic views, huge arenas, and more to do than mini scenarios.

Others in here should do the same. it's best to make positive posts that will make them want to try ah.

I wholeheartedly disagree with that.  The last thing we need is a rep for spamming.  I know if I see people spamming about a game on another game it makes me far less likely to check it out.  Just seems like a really low class thing to do.

Wiley.

[BuckShot]

...that's why I said "tastefully" and to stay positive.

"hey, anyone in here tried aces high?"

"no, what is it?"

that's where I talked about how great ah is, not that it's better than wt (even though you and I both know that).

A few said thanks, and another said "if you like ah, you should try il2." Nobody in there said anything negative.

Wt advertises more than ah. I'm betting that there are many in there that would prefer ah if they only heard of it, and then tried it.

[Randy1]

The addicting part of AH is like golf.  In golf, at times I can hit just as good of a shot as Tiger Woods could have if he was making the shot.  Not every shot.  Not every other shot but it will happen.  When it does it gives me great satisfaction.  AH is the same way.  When this tour started as an example I had 16 fighter kills in a row to zero deaths.  That will not happen again anytime soon but for that time in the game I was a super pilot.  I made all the right declensions and made all the right moves.  I have had equally bad moments.

We play for our moments of triumph not matter how far apart those glorious moments might be.  That is HTC market.  A WW2 simulation game that is addictive.

[PJ_Godzilla]

I disagree.  Sandbox multiplayer with no clearly defined goals is not for everyone. 

blah, blah, etc...

spamming about a game on another game it makes me far less likely to check it out.  Just seems like a really low class thing to do.

Wiley.

Wiley, I too like the sandbox thing at times. Sometimes, I want practice and self-initiated activity. Other times, I want organization and realism. It's like the difference between playing singles tennis and playing soccer. I've played and enjoyed both - but they are not the same sport. To ensuire broad appeal, the game needs to cover both bases - but currently only covers one for about 124 of 128 hours every week (unless you're in the lunatic time warp, in which case its 100 hour metric days and the coverage is a little different, when lucid).

As for the earlier comments regarding the AvA arena and the "unpopularity" of that arrangement, as evidenced by the population at any time: Using that standard, the only "popular" arena is Late War main. Nobody likes mid, early, WWi, or DA (or those would always be full, doncha know) - OR - there is a significant bandwagon effect and people simply go to the arena that consistently draws the biggest numbers and is the most unregulated. In all, I found this argument to be laughably specious. USing this standard, we'd have ONE arena, or better, choose to shut the whole thing down.

No, the net needs to be broader and the numbers need to be large enough that preferences of all types can be supported. We know BnZ likes the DA. I used to spend a certain amount of time in AvA. Nobody plays in either place any more and so we all end up in the MA, where stupid icons and unrealistic matchup are the order of the day and everybody must love it - otherwise they'd be doing the combat equivalent of masturbation over in the arena of their choice. NEWSFLASH: schtupping even an ugly girl beats being a one-man band, at least sometimes.

I'm starting to think some of the critics of this BBS are right: ossified to the point of being moribund.

[Zerstorer]

NEWSFLASH: schtupping even an ugly girl beats being a one-man band, at least sometimes.

And just when I thought I've seen everything this forum has to offer... 

Thanks man....That sentence right there brightened my whole day.   

[Wiley]

No, the net needs to be broader and the numbers need to be large enough that preferences of all types can be supported. We know BnZ likes the DA. I used to spend a certain amount of time in AvA. Nobody plays in either place any more and so we all end up in the MA, where stupid icons and unrealistic matchup are the order of the day and everybody must love it - otherwise they'd be doing the combat equivalent of masturbation over in the arena of their choice. NEWSFLASH: schtupping even an ugly girl beats being a one-man band, at least sometimes.

I'm starting to think some of the critics of this BBS are right: ossified to the point of being moribund.

This game is a niche within a niche within a niche.  I think a lot of you guys are grossly overestimating the endless streams of people who would put forth the equipment and time investment to play here if only they knew about it.  The people who are casually interested in it get their itch scratched by the F2P stuff.

Wiley.

[PJ_Godzilla]

Again I find myself in limited agreement with you, Wiley. It is highly specialized and, as it sits currently, is overspecialized because of the limited numbers. What i'm saying: it'll likely always be niche-y, but need not be nested nichey. In part, it's how we've made the world, in part how the world was to begin.

That said, if you are telling me that AH would not benefit from broader awareness, I'd tell you that there are more than 200-300 (or even 2000-3000) WWII air combat enthusiasts who would probably pay money for the experience. What were the WT numbers, again? What about WoT, to whom we lost so many players?