There I was...

[Lusche]

on a Sunday evening (1:30 AM local / 7:30 PM EST), trying to get a few minutes of massive multiplayer air combat action...

...and what did I find?



No, our radar wasn't down.
There were just no red darbars anywhere. There were no battles. In a few minutes I was staring at the screen, rooks captured two bases against about no resistance at all, and were already hording up for the next round.
This wasn't midweek off hours. This was on a weekend, end of Euro primetime and start of US primetime, with 280 players on a huge map.

It seems that the only time I can get somethin akin to the great battles of old is flying on a big map like Ozkansas is to play on a Saturday at 4 am, the height of US prime time with numbers hitting just over 300. Unfortunately that's hard to do with having a family now. Being mostly limited to reasonable daytime/early evening hours, I simply don't know what to do on these maps with 30-120 players online. Until last year I was doing the strat game then, attacking and defending the central strats - but that's a thing of the past.

Tomorrow, when my wife comes home from work, I can log in for another hour and see how about 80 players are being spread all over that map. I can only hope being fortunate enough that my chesspiece comes under some surprise CV attack during that time.

It's quite depressing.



(And yes, this is a whine, and I actually eating some cheese right now, so thank you)

[TheBug]

It's quite depressing.

Maybe the gods are trying to tell you something....

[MrKrabs]

I'll fly some buffs to the strats for you

[bozon]

What were all these players were doing?? Only a little over half of them are "in flight" which should be enough, but no dar bars.
Don't tell me, I can guess. At times like these the only question I ask myself is what kind of cheese were you eating?

[Lusche]

What were all these players were doing?? Only a little over half of them are "in flight" which should be enough, but no dar bars.
Don't tell me, I can guess.

Many Knights were resupplying their HQ, which had been killed at >100 minutes of downtime. The rest were fighting Bishops. Bishops were fighting Knights exclusively, and so did 'we' Rooks for the most part (except for a few solo bombing a bish base here and there).

Only about half the players being 'inflight' for Knights and Rooks is relatively low for that time and total population numbers. It seems to indicate that a few more were sitting in the tower and thinking "great. and what now?"

[Tinkles]

Many Knights were resupplying their HQ, which had been killed at >100 minutes of downtime. The rest were fighting Bishops. Bishops were fighting Knights exclusively, and so did 'we' Rooks for the most part (except for a few solo bombing a bish base here and there).

Only about half the players being 'inflight' for Knights and Rooks is relatively low for that time and total population numbers. It seems to indicate that a few more were sitting in the tower and thinking "great. and what now?"

But what type of cheese were you eating?

And is this a round-about way of asking for smaller maps in general?

[Lusche]

But what type of cheese were you eating?

Edam cheese.

And is this a round-about way of asking for smaller maps in general?

I have ask that 'officially' before , as others did.

It's basically venting and expressing my sadness about the state of things, which of course does include the dispropotion between overall player numbers and some terrain sizes.

[Tinkles]

Edam cheese.

I have ask that 'officially' before , as others did.

It's basically venting and expressing my sadness about the state of things, which of course does include the dispropotion between overall player numbers and some terrain sizes.

Yum 

I know, and I agree with it.  I think that the map should 'shrink' based on how many players are online at the time. So you have three to four tiers for each map. Each tier lowers the amount of bases that you can take off from, shrinking the diameter of the 'playable' map and making it so players have a higher chance of finding each other. When this happens, factories, strats and HQ (if they would be outside the map) would move accordingly, and the clipboard map would change accordingly.

So if 50 people online on a huge map like the one above (don't know names of them). Then tier 4 would be initiated, a tighter diagram/setup. The thing is I'm unsure how to compensate for bases captured etc, I guess my idea would require bases to be reset, but that would make many upset. And if bases are reset past work is irrelevant and future work is pointless because it will be 'moved back to normal' later on. 

 

[MrGeezer]

I'll take a large map harder to double-team over small map full court double-team press in USA prime-time & weekends any day.

[SilverZ06]

I was playing as a knight last night and couldn't get help trying to defend bases from the bish or rook hordes. I gave up defending and just went to TT to find fights. The sad reality is that this game is dying. A graphics update that will still be years behind its competitors when it finally gets released isn't going to help much. It's too little too late.

[Slate]

    I found plenty of fights at TT about 930 est. That was where most of the action was last night. I did wf the town at 53 and we took it with not a single defender upping. Tried a CV assault at 206 that was vigorously and successfully defended.
    I am agreeing with those that suggest map size should be geared to player volume to concentrate the fights. The only good thing about big maps is the strats are farther away making it harder to damage.

  HQ needs to be hardened to change that dynamic. If a country at war sees that it's HQ is constantly under threat you would think they would harden it. We can't make that adjustment. Maybe have strats hidden to enemy on map and have a cv like control so we can move them around. 

[Rich46yo]

The big maps simply have to go. Back when we had two LWAs you had two different choices map-wise and the day shift, "Europe evenings", had the most skilled players playing. There used to be 150 to 200 in each map even during the day and on the smaller maps it gives the impression of a more dynamic, easier to find, air battles. I honestly dont even sign on with those kind of numbers, 150 or under, on a big map. 50 apiece spread over such huge terrains just isnt enough.

Once or twice a month I get a weekend night off. Thats pretty much what Im paying for now. If I were flying around those lonely skies during the day on the big maps I'd be disappointed to. Its going to take more then a graphics update for the game to survive.

The question that needs to be solved is "how do you get the old time players back"?

[Greebo]

I think that the map should 'shrink' based on how many players are online at the time.

I seem to recall HTC tried a system of restricting available bases years ago and it lasted a week or two before player complaints killed it off. People often get frustrated when you restrict their choices in a game.

An alternative idea might be to give incentives to attack certain bases. Lets say you get double points and/or perks for killing players or damaging targets within a 5 mile radius of base XX. The bases in question would be marked with a 5 mile circle on the arena map and they would be paired opposite each other on each front line. This justs gets the furball going. Some would go there to improve their score and others would go there knowing that it would increase their chances of finding a fight.

HTC would pre-set lines of these bases running from one uncapturable field across the front lines to another uncapturable field. That way when one base gets taken, another bonus base becomes live further along the line. On larger maps you could have 2 or 3 these lines of double points bases running across each front line, with all live during peak hours, dropping to just one at off peak times.

[Lusche]

I seem to recall HTC tried a system of restricting available bases years ago and it lasted a week or two before player complaints killed it off. People often get frustrated when you restrict their choices in a game.

That was an extremely limited system, being forced upon maps that had not been designed for it. A lot of issues resulted from this 'capture order' system. Which actually did not restrict the bases available, but limited the bases that could been captured - on large maps that had been two per front. Very similar to what you are proposing.
The intention was great, but in practice it didn't work.

[mthrockmor]

As HiTech is rolling out the eye candy they shouldn't forget the current model. These huge maps, ease of killing the dark bar...if HT isn't careful the community may be irreparable by the time they launch AH3.

Boo