Yeah amp, I agree, I'm still having fun with the game, even though I rage at times, it still brings me challenge and competition and that's something to admire in any game.
I Think it comes down to my experience here, but once you learn the game better and become better at the game, you really have much more fun because you can stay alive longer and dictate situations. You can get to fights faster and have a better understanding of how to dominate in your style of play.
I for one have been enjoying the game, especially with festers map, and have been enjoying the fights lately. I don't really care about the graphics as most do because I enjoy the game and flight models. There are some changes that need to happen and I think Hitech is fully aware. I think the new version will be really cool and I hope it brings more players.
That being said, my advice for new players is to be more aggressive, fly slower planes to learn ACM and learn defensive maneuvers, and ask as many questions as you can.