Why do people insist on making a game everything to everyone?
The beauty of this game is we all get access to the same equipment in game to work with.
Ok, I will be blunt. There is a cycle seen repeatedly in Aces High and most of us fit that mold.
New to AH: Everything is new and great, taking part in missions in the MA.
Experienced: Starting to get the hang of this, attempts to perfect base taking. This player begins to understand concepts in the virtual air.
Veteran: Realizing that base taking is boring after a while, the vet takes part in more dueling and events.
Old stick: Compares the current day Aces High to the "good old days" when everyone took part in the game the way you remember. At this point the old stick either gives back to the community or does nothing but complain about it.
Sunset stick: Moving on to other games, or flies much less skipping months at a time.
Personally, I don't like the treadmill but the longer the game can keep the interest of subscribers, the bigger the online population and revenue for HTC. Even if it causes them to stay 2-3 months longer it would be worth the investment.