That was the DA furball lake and it had 5K bases with ack to keep people from air spawn camping air spawns. If Hitech went for that kind of a terrain and players like you and myself were kept out of there, yes, it might work if a trainer was on duty from time to time to kick out shades. Even as a FTP arena. The automated match up arena allows players like us to turn new players into scooby snacks which is not a very good introduction to "Aces High, we will kill you as your reward for showing up in your first 30 seconds because we are desperate to kill anything that moves".
Everyone with a "tiny minority of statistical anomalys", learned this game by following base captures, and over time, deciding if they wanted to be only that or move on to ACM. If you don't keep the doors open, you won't grow the next generation of players interested in ACM. All those old farts who do base capturing keep the doors open with their subscriptions, and that mass activity will be where new players learn the ropes in the beginning. And where a few will find furballing is their calling.
It sounds like you want Hitech to make an IL2\War Thunder style of game play arena, why don't you just say that? But, once Hitech goes that route, why stay here and pay $15 a month when we can get that for free? Unless one of your long term goals is to get Aces High turned full FTP?
Alright, I finally have time to write a thought out response to your insinuation. Before you write your next post, please consider the psychology and understanding of what I am about to share with you. This is from years of playing in all areas of AH, at the highest level.
Lets talk about the DA and DA Lake, and why new players aren't sticking around for only MA type action.
A. The DA dueling side of the map is very well done, is great for its purpose, and well used for the aspect of dueling.
B. The DA Lake side of the map is a total disaster. No one flies there anymore. It needs to be removed, and the arena needs to be a Dueling only arena.
C. Create a separate Map entirely designed for quick furball action. 1-2 sectors, 3-5 bases, air spawns, no Teams, and a few rules like no swearing/ friendly ganging/vulching
D. This would work far better than the current DA Lake. The DA lake is still slow to get to furball, people gang with teams, 5k alt advantage on take off, water only scenery, cons hoarding around the bases waiting for the guy they just shot down to roll. There are so many reasons it's not working and why no one flies there anymore.
E. A new Fast action arena would be totally different than IL-2 or WT because this isn't match play/ and the MA will still have your "Base takers guys" and players like them, and players who like the MA, It's not going to change any part of that game play. Most new players want fighter action, not slow base grab action. Players will join the fast action bowl arena, jump in, and swing away. There is no teams, there is no point to the game play, no scores, no ranks, players will be forced to engage very quickly. It would be a lot of fun, and will greatly enhance skills. It is in no way relating to the game play of WT or IL-2. It would also be great for players who like the flight model here better than Il-2 and WT.
F. I think the "sharks eating the bait" analogy is a farce. Everyone gets killed quickly when they first start this game. In the MA it just takes you 15 minutes to die quickly, after you just spent all that time climbing and enjoying the scenery. That makes a lot more people pissed off and discouraged than if they just spawned and died within a 3-6 minute time frame. The MA takes a lot of time. I think that is the misconception that you guys have about this game. If I love AH, log into the map, and there is a lack of fights, or I dont have 40 minutes to find one/create one, where do I go to find some fun fighter action? Would you rather I go play WT or IL-2? Or would you rather me go to an arena with a map that is easily understandable, to keep me in the game, talking to players, fighting people, making friends/enemies, and helping others learn the game better? Even if they die quickly, they wont feel like they've wasted time just getting to the fight. This is a place for people to find quick, non organized, non team action, for quick fights. The MA is far more intense/big/challenging, than you realize, and that is because you have been playing for so long. When I started this game, dying over and over again was the way I learned, Luckily there was a quick map in h2h where I could have shorter sorties and not waste so much time just getting to the fights. Yaws and others beat me to a pulp, but it helped me learn the game better, its a big reason why I decided to subscribe after it was shut down. 2 weeks in the MA would have not allowed me to understand the gameplay, or level of fights in AH, and I think that's why so many players who check this game out dont stick around. There is no place for them to find quick action and learn the planes and jump into action easily. I think saying that "players will leave because they die quickly to good players" is a terrible reason because no one would ever play video games if that was the case. Im a newb at battlefield and die quickly, doesn't mean I hate the game and get discouraged, it just means there is more learning to do. Human Competition is always variable and always challenging, its part of the game. I actually think it would encourage players to keep playing the game and become better at it.
G. This is what AH is really missing. You guys are under the illusions that you have a " furball arena" already, but there is a reason why no one plays on it and its still a far cry from a fun place to enjoy fighter combat without the intensity/time of the MA.
2. If you don't want to do that. The only way you can make the MA more actionable and more exciting for all the players who have to fly in the MA for the AH experience, is to make base distance shorter overall and keep the maps smaller overall. This will keep people from getting bored with the game, especially in the off hours. Smaller #s need smaller maps with closer base distance. You would be surprised at how much that will help the action of the game play. That's the biggest reason why CV fights are so fun and why so many people love CV fights. Quick. Fighter. Action. If you don't want to create a FFA arena bowl for that kind of action, then make the bases closer together so that players can enjoy the fights a little faster.
I really understand how the fights and action work in AH. I understand furballs better than anybody. I understand why so many people have gotten bored and left, which makes the game overall slower. It's a ripple effect. The maps and base distance need to be smaller for the current player base. That is the only thing that will keep players subscribed to the game and keep new players around after 2 weeks. It would bring many old players back and create a huge spark in excitement. People want action, not strategy.
