"A lot of people" would like free 262 and 162 at every field. It's been 14 years and I still don't see that. No one can read Hitech's mind but, if you have read enough from Hitech over the years and look at how he has built the game to function. Then hold up against how the game functions to the changes he has made over the years. You get a sense of what he may go with, and even at that they are very small changes to be watched against the long term effect on the community and his paying the bills.
Below is one of Hitech's better answers to the phycology of wishing for a sweeping set of changes. As for the free market, I've always seen the Wish List as a honey pot to give wishers something to do, so they don't clutter up the whole forum by hijacking every post they can get their nose under the tent flap to beat their own drum. And does Hitech read every one of them, I believe he does. But, in the end he is on a whole other level than us when he looks at his game versus our wishes.
Using search to read years of Hitech's responses to players in these forums creates a picture of a game developer who really has a better understanding of his game and his industry than 99.99% of us wishing in here. Very few of us really break down our wishes like the rundown Hitech does below, to see if our wish is really: I want it because I think it is good for "me" so it "will" be good for everyone becasu I thought of it. Or, this wish is a good idea and maybe Hitech will think so to.
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From: Hitech April 22, 2004
TheDudeDVant: We always listen to our customers, we just don't always take there advice.
As nopoop brought up in another thread reacting to what the customer percieved they wanted, was a good chunk of the dimise of WB.
The way I view major game play change requests by players is don't look at what the person is asking to have changed, but wrather what they think the affect of that change is. Thats what they realy want. I.E. We want a furball arena, is realy asking we want more simaler aircraft only fights, with out the hastle from bombers and stratigic thinkers. But most people are not thinking about the unitended consiquences of a new furball arena.
Here are a few thoughts. These are not here to debate but the will be effected by a new arena.
1. Community and squad splitting.
2. Fight stagnation i.e. every day fight is same place same fields.
3. Scoring, is there scoreing? If there is how do we balance it
between arenas.
4. Is there perk points, what plane set. Might as well make 5 furball arenas, I can alreayd here the request for different era plane set furball arenas.
5. New user burn out do to same o same o.
6. Vulching, or ack running, Take away the ability to kill ack, i.e. furball only, we cant have bombs, lots of people will use ack as a defense. Take away the ack and vulching will dominate.
7. No other game to play because of community splitting, think of what a side imbalnce will cause in this arena where eveyone is only fighting. Now when we have a side imbalence more people tend to look for somthing different to do as in vehicles / bombers / base capture / field defense what ever. In this arena you will just be outnumber.
8. New user burnout do to less verioty of things to do. It is simple to say well then they can just go to the main, once we make a communty split life is not so simple. The person would be used to playing furball AH, all his friends would be there, moving to the main would require getting all new friends.
Becuse most times implementing a game play change the way people ask has unexpected consiquences that they did not consider, and a change dosn't turn out how every thinks.
HiTech
