How has the game changed?

[SAS_KID]

Howdy all, Dunno if anyone remembers me but I stopped playing in 2009 just before I graduated high school due to not doing so well. Worked as a mechanic, enlisted in the Navy, currently attending US Naval Academy now from being picked up in their commissioning program.

How has the game changed since then? I am possibly looking into getting back into the furball. Just need to find my old X52 somewhere in the closet. And hopefully this school's bandwidth will be sufficient.

<S>

[Lusche]

Come in and find out 

[Delirium]

Good seeing you again, Saskid. I never forget a student, particularly one that had such a great attitude.

Fly for a couple weeks and see if you get immersed again.   

[1ijac]

I think Ghost attends the Naval Academy and plays all the time.  Welcome back.

one-eye

[FLS]

Hiya Kid

You don't need bandwidth to play, just low variance.

[Crash Orange]

How has the game changed since then?

A few new maps, new terrain (I think, I don't remember exactly when that changed) with very different towns, new planes (the Yak-3, TU-2, B-29, and Me-410 are all fairly popular), a bunch of very deadly German tanks (Tiger II, Panther) and TDs (Hetzer, Jagdpanzer IV/70, and Jagdpanther), new strat system, one MA as opposed to the LW Orange and Blue arenas... Game play hasn't changed much at all, though.

[Max]

Welcome back SAS KID 

A few new maps, a few new rides. Some folks will say it's all about hordes these days but don't pay them no mind. It's always been about hordes to some extent.

Fly, GV and have fun killing the bad guys.

[Gman]

If you enjoyed flying before, you still will, regardless of changes that you'll see.  The more things change, the more they stay the same - holds true here as it does everywhere else, even with the interesting new things you'll probably see, it's still the same game built on the same foundation.  I think what you'll notice most IMO is just a bunch of new unfamiliar names, everything else will come back quickly like riding a bike.

Congrats on being selected in the commissioning program - as others have said, there are other Naval Academy students playing.  Skuzzy recently said the game is designed to work with 28.8k modems, so I'm sure at any school today you'll be fine - as stated, variance and stability is far more of an issue than rate/speed anyway.

[Rich46yo]

Well right now, at 1330 hrs CST, there are about 120 players in the one main arena spread across a huge map with probably at lest 1/2 in vehicles and at least 1/3 of all not doing anything. At its height, and yes I used to play during the day, we'd have at least 150 to 200 on each of the two MA maps during this time of day. I'd day USA Fri night is about prime with about 300 on the MA map. Years ago it used to be 300 to 500 on each of two MA maps during prime of week. TT used to bring 550 to 600 on a Tues.

Many prime players left yet a good amount stayed. Even more rotate in and out because the genre is small and other companies cant seem to get it right. AH still has the best flight model. What it lacks in looks it makes up for in ease of use and having the right features. It really is cool to be able to jump into so many well modeled airplanes in the blink of an eye without a bunch of moronic rules and purchases associated with it.

What they have to do is figure why so many, a majority, of players left and then do something about it. But they have made it pretty clear they dont care what my opinion is.

Good luck with your return. I hope you have fun with the game.

[Zoney]

What they have to do is figure why so many, a majority, of players left and then do something about it. But they have made it pretty clear they dont care what my opinion is.

Sheesh, once again Mr. Positive strikes, very helpful if we want more players.   

SAS KID, it's a great game that I enjoy every time I fly.  I never am without fights or something to do, defense or offense.  Come and play.  Make the game better by flying with us.

[puller]

.  I never am without fights or something to do, defense or offense.  Come and play.  Make the game better by flying with us.

^^^This +1

[SilverZ06]

Sheesh, once again Mr. Positive strikes, very helpful if we want more players.   

Sometimes the truth hurts. The game is dying and if you don't see it for yourself you are in denial.

[oboe]

Sometimes the truth hurts. The game is dying and if you don't see it for yourself you are in denial.

Why do you say the game is dying?  I've been away for a couple of years; I understand numbers are down from the hey day of two MAs.  I've tried to keep up on the state of the game and flight sims in general, and I've watched videos of gameplay in War Thunder and World of Warplanes and while the terrain graphics are impressive and they have a lot of different A/C, I have no desire to fly against someone on a PS4 using external view and a game controller.  Rich46yo analysis makes sense to me:

the genre is small and other companies cant seem to get it right. AH still has the best flight model. What it lacks in looks it makes up for in ease of use and having the right features. It really is cool to be able to jump into so many well modeled airplanes in the blink of an eye without a bunch of moronic rules and purchases associated with it.

Add to that the immersive experience of AH's special events and I can't imagine an adequate alternative to AH.    

EDIT: Sorry for the t/j and SAS I hope you find your back to the furball!

[Wiley]

Why do you say the game is dying?  I've been away for a couple of years; I understand numbers are down from the hey day of two MAs.  I've tried to keep up on the state of the game and flight sims in general, and I've watched videos of gameplay in War Thunder and World of Warplanes and while the terrain graphics are impressive and they have a lot of different A/C, I have no desire to fly against someone on a PS4 using external view and a game controller.  Rich46yo analysis makes sense to me:

the genre is small and other companies cant seem to get it right. AH still has the best flight model. What it lacks in looks it makes up for in ease of use and having the right features. It really is cool to be able to jump into so many well modeled airplanes in the blink of an eye without a bunch of moronic rules and purchases associated with it.

Add to that the immersive experience of AH's special events and I can't imagine an adequate alternative to AH.     

This sums it up quite nicely.  For those of us that like this specific kind of gameplay, nothing else will do.  Unfortunately, this specific style of gameplay is simply not popular.

A good number of people were tolerating the gameplay because it was the only viable WWII multiplayer available.  Now that there are options with WWII multiplayer with different gameplay, those people went there.

Wiley.

[SilverZ06]

Why do you say the game is dying? 

simple: Number of People leaving > Number of People joining.

The numbers are dwindling which means HTC's income is also dwindling. There comes a point when it doesn't make sense to go further with the game. I'm not saying it is going to die in two weeks, but at the rate it's going I don't think it can last too much longer. Lets face it, even with the soon(lol) to come graphics update, the graphics will still be behind the times by 5 years or more. I think it is too little too late but I sincerely hope I am proved wrong.