To summarize, this argument is not about whether ENY balances numbers on a side (it doesn't but that is a whole other topic). It is NOT about how someone flies or tactics they use (but thanks for that thought). It is about sheer numbers in the game. How many people play and how many sit in the tower or leave. This is about having a game wide view, not a "me" view that says what is good for me.
I can tell you from experience, but you don't have to believe me, people leave or sit in the tower. Typically when ENY hits with 60 people on the side, 20 or 1/3 are in the tower. There are also calls of people leaving the game, others just see it and go watch reruns. I'd call that pretty NON working. You can tell me its a total success but this kind of total success gives us what we have today. Personally, I don't find watching someone smack themselves in the forehead with a hammer entertaining.
ENY as a thing, drives people to do this. Is this the desired result? If it isn't, it has to change. The thread referenced only states it was a great idea ELEVEN YEARS AGO. Eleven years ago there were a lot of people playing this game! This is today and today we have a problem with numbers playing the game. ENY drives them to leave or not play. SO IS IT WORKING NOW?
I have absolutely no urge to tell you what you think or to win favor in this forum. I'm only pointing to what is happening, day after day, as the numbers slowly dwindle. There are other ideas to make the numbers rise but that is another topic. In this case, no one can make it more clear.
1. Numbers are dropping and the slide under the present set of circumstances shows no trend of stopping.
2. ENY drives them away
3. Does the feature increase numbers? Yes or No??
Ask yourself which is better, trying to find employment as a developer or bending and making changes to increase numbers here? It is possible to win all the arguments by closing the game down. That will show all the so and so's how the world is made. But that is limiting. It is far harder and more rewarding to make the choice to change. This game has all the basics to be a much greater success than it is. Why it is not is baffling to everyone who knows how it works. I will humbly suggest that one thing is absolutely clear at this point:
*The past decisions repeated lead to where we are TODAY. It is proved already, you don't have to re-prove it by making the same choice.
*If the goal is to be different then BE DIFFERENT! MAKE ANOTHER DIFFERENT CHOICE THAN BEFORE.
*It isn't about making minor modifications to features that makes the negative ones work. The feature itself IS the problem.
At this point there isn't a whole lot more to lose.