Two sides of a reality looking only at what they feel is a game. When you evolve something like AH to the size it is of things to do all the time, you attract two general kinds of game players. One kind wants to fight mano-E-mano tooth to nail against other players, the other wants to attack none human objectives while accepting running into humans on the way as a risk of doing business. The second kind do not look for other players as their first choice to engage in combat. They look for situations that provide activity and objectives.
A total AI arena to go break things will not keep the second group in the game just like the first group won't stay in the game for only AI. Both want activity dominated by other players to take part in. The second group does not want to spend all of it's time hunting and defeating other players, if anything they don't have a desire for that kind of risk. In many cases they don't make as good a fight for the first group as occasionally finding first group counter parts in the other countries. And the second group to take care of business, is often more practical about eliminating threats. They don't see anything wrong with 12 of them taking out one or two enemy, especially the higher on the food chain those enemy's skills are. It frees them up to achieve the objective they showed up for with less risk to each individual that the first group poses under the first groups terms of engagement\winning. The second group sees winning as eliminating threats in any manner getting in the way of achieving the objective.
The second group tends to have more members in many of life's endeavors, and unlike the first group who just needs access to other players. The second group needs to be entertained with functions, processes, and toys that create objectives and locus points for groups to create activity. Having to fight other people then becomes one part of the process to achieve objectives. Not the totality of it as the first group constantly wants Hitech to rearrange the game to.
Armored trains or trains with man-able guns, fitting them into the fabric of the game without pushing the game too far into being an AI dominated world. At some point you have to balance the needs of the two groups to keep them subscribing. The old trains to strats were attractive as a diversion from time to time. The way the game is structured, that made the only credible way to have them in the game. Hitech has not appeared to favor the idea of resupply depots that control zones of the terrain that can be destroyed to drastically impact 1\3 of the player base by the actions of one or two players. My building terrains, it's obvious he favors each field\town, port or vBase as a localized activity locus, one at a time. That makes equal opportunities for both general groups of player types. Is it perfect, no game strategy really is over time as much as the players ability to keep it working with their use of it. Does it keep a small number of players from dominating 1\3 or 2\3 of the arena population with less effort than attacking and capturing an equivalent number of bases, yes.
As long as Hitech can maintain a balance so AI objectives and activities don't tie up players to avoid fighting other players, this is a neutral wish. Much more dependent on Hitech's todo list and personal interest in the subject I would venture. He could always reinstate the old train system to supply the individual strats for you to chase around in the bushes after. Though I doubt he will make the bridges destructible so one or two guys can keep several bridges down all night long once they figure out the time table for when they re-spawn.
