Let me first say that anyone who thinks that the problems in Aces High can be anywhere near addressed by updating the plane set is insane.
Part of the problem with this game is not only the shrinking player base, but the player base that the game is shrinking to. Namely a bunch of crochety old men who still complain about Call of Duty Xbox playing teenagers, despite that these are things that are nearly 15 years old now and the people who grew up on them are in their twenties and thirties. (note everything that I'm going to say is grasping at straws, conjecture, non-researched [I haven't even played this game seriously in years but still can somehow not keep myself from the boards] and not sugar-coated/somewhat tongue-in-cheek, so if you've got one foot in the grave and a thin skin I suggest you change your colostomy bag in lieu of finishing reading this post)
As far as I remember in 2007 this 'old guard' still had itself together, but it's pretty clear that at this point a lot of these people are just fed up with video games and moving on to knitting or something or are dying (the current 'old guard' will from here be referred to as the 'near-dead guard'). The ones that are still left seem to be so bitter about not having anything better to do at 85 that they do nothing but complain on 200 about how much better things were in the fifties because race mixing was still illegal in their state. This provides an extremely hostile environment for people who still have hope left in their life upon entering the game. This is a problem, because these are the people, in their teens, twenties, and thirties, who should a) be filtering through the game and b) be forming a new 'old guard'.
Part of the issue is that this game is catered toward the near-dead guard.
"Graphics don't matter!"
"that's dumb, all I care about is combat!"
"anyone unwilling to put in three months of floundering and being made fun of is unfit to play this game!"
"shirts with flames on them are cool!"
The game play issues of Aces High are difficult to address and I suspect a lot of the stagnation comes from the shrinking player base as opposed to actual problems with the game mechanism anyway. The and while the shrinking player base of course probably has a lot to do with the gameplay mechanics, there are other things which make this game less conducive to a new generation of players that can also be looked at. But never are. Because most everyone here is almost dead. You'll refuse to believe these are issues, but, rest assured, they are.
And, let me first say, that I think that the terrain update is a fantastic step in a great direction, not only because of an increase in tangible graphic capabilities with stuff like ambient occlusion and more terrain vertices or whatever, but aesthetic. Aesthetic is something this game has a huge problem with.
Removing the graphic capabilities, it just looks like a game from like 2003 (liberally). The menus and utilitarian controls (like the auto takeoff sign or whatever) just all look awful, half baked, and one-to-one-and-a-half decades dated (which makes since since a lot of them largely are). This is not going to be fixed with higher resolution textures or bump mapping. It just all needs redone in a way that is more in line with what you would expect from a professionally done video game in 2014, not an indie game from 1999. While obviously icons are here to stay, they can probably be looked at in a way that will make them look a lot less '1999'- maybe change the font, just make them a little smoother. Perhaps things that are usually in the middle screen (like 'auto takeoff enabled') into a special 'game/status message' box on the screen. Make the radio look a little bit cleaner and more modern. The website is similar. Further, the screenshots section of the website shows screenshots from a long long time ago, with old terrain engines, very old plane models, etc. and generally makes the game look outdated and pretty crappy.
As noted the terrain update I think is a huge improvement, and this goes along with aesthetic. Previous game elements, as well as most custom design elements, feature weirdly high contrast color schemes which old people seem to interpret as "HD". This may be a biological issue (perhaps their eyes just can't perceive subtleties in color?), but it's likely simply an issue of aesthetic that has never been allowed to adapt with the times. The new terrain is great because the colors are so much more subdued, there's so much more subtlety, and everything seems so much more organic and soft. Some of the buildings, I think at least, are still a little bit 'photographs with the contrast cranked' looking, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. But the bright colors I suspect much of the aging population of this game equates with 'vividness' or something has to go, quickly, in a big way. It's just something that goes into giving the game an amateurish and very outdated appearance, even as the graphical capabilities get much better.
You may think that this is stupid, a lot of work for nothing material, but that's why this game fails to grab new players. That attitude is out of touch with what makes a twenty-something feel like they're playing something immersive and professional. It's why Aces High will never pick back up until it ditches its fifteen-year-old aesthetics.
Go to WoT and you find another game that, despite also coming from a relatively small developer, feels professional, immersive, and somewhat 'serious'. Guess which game is going to seem immediately more appealing to someone who's in for a realistic WWII experience.
Also all of the old AH I models should be updated by now because seriously
