The game play

[Shuffler]

Ak,  i explained how i think it could help.  Can you explain how it wouldnt?

One side with 140 and one side with 50.

I'm not AKAK, but I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[flippz]

One side with 140 and one side with 50.

funny the three sided war isn't working either then.  because the bish generally have double the numbers as any other team until about 4pm est.  so if the two sided war didn't work what are we gonna say about the three sided war?  it works for a couple hours a day? 

[Shuffler]

funny the three sided war isn't working either then.  because the bish generally have double the numbers as any other team until about 4pm est.  so if the two sided war didn't work what are we gonna say about the three sided war?  it works for a couple hours a day?

It is just not that busy during the day when folks are working in the US.

Now let me get this straight.... you are looking for a fight or you are wanting to capture a base?

[DmonSlyr]

demon, I understand the not getting vulched part.  I am speaking of the title.  GAME PLAY.  we are low on numbers and I was not around for the hay day.  but it seems it would be a lot more fun if the sides equaled out some how.  I don't have the raw data and exact numbers but I am sure map wins for the bish are in the 90% range.  that seems a little skewed to me.  I guess I don't understand the horde mentality, its not really fun to me when I'm the horder or the horded.  I love a great big furball, but I also like to get my butt kicked in a one on one fight.  I can see every once in a while a group raids a base and closes it, but everyday every base and seems to be the same group constantly.  I am still under a year in this game but I have noticed the bases that are hard to capture seems to draw the largest crowd ie. tank town on the ndislands map.  also the uncapturable mountain bases with the indestructible vh.  there are huge fights there and fun as well. 
my point is game play, with low numbers and then numbers skewed so drastic to one side is not helping.  I have read many many posts about that and seems the rooks went through this a few months ago and it doesn't seem that its going to change by player involvement.  I don't know what makes people stay on a largely out numbering side 25 perks? a score that is only relevant to them that has no affect on anything in the rest of your life? bragging rights to only people that are in the game, to whom most don't care if youre 20vs2? wouldn't it be more fun if you upped 5vs5 and came out the victor versus 5 on 1?  every one complains about the map close to war loss, let them win so we can move on to the next map I hear but the next map has bases and the same people are going to be playing and the same groups are gonna be hording and the same eny is going to in affect (or ineffective).  I hear on 200 oh the eny sucks, oh the eny is terrible but they will not switch to help it and throwing a map to get to another map seems redundant. 
and again I go back to what if that day was a persons first day in here?  what we would have showed on the first impression would have been horrible.  I downloaded a game and tried to play it a few months and the three or four times I flew in it the people were not helpful, and seems to be closed in to not wanting new people, so I don't fly that game at all anymore.  now I'm not saying that about this game but referring to first impressions are very strong as to whether some one is going to stay and learn the game or say to hell with that.  I don't guess there is a magical fix for the issue because we leave it up to man to decide and man is not the best choice making invention at times. 
this is a great game in the aspect it has lasted 20 years (maybe wrong on the years).  we just need to police it a bit better and look at whats best for the game to make it last for the duration.  switching sides for a little while is not that big of a deal, you will not be banned from a country for going rook or knight or bish.  you actually might find it to be fun and enjoy the game a little while. become a better stick for fighting guys you normally would not fight.  find new guys to talk with about stuff.  maybe wind up with a better score in the end because there are more targets to shoot at.  '
that's all I'm getting at, enrich the game playing experience.  I guess in a matter of sense we should tidy the house before the guests get here for better first impression and more enjoyable game play for all that are involved.

What you are saying is that you like furballs and aircombat situations, which is exactly what I want. We have the same problems. I agree that most new sticks and players in general cannot handle a "hoard". That is why my solutions of shorter base distance, will actually make more furball action. Defending from a back base is very important in AH. If there is no back base and a hoard is over a base, it's very difficult to stop. Shorter back base distances will spark more people in to rolling to go help the base. It will create better furballs overall. Long drawn out base distances are why hoards can easily be created. Further bases create higher alts and more time to get to the fight. That's more time and more cruising just to help your base out. No wonder so many get in (point and shoot) wirbles. What fun is that? Shorter base distance equals more furballs and more people participating in the fight. That's why furball island works so well on ndisles (island map) ( I think that's the name of it. It works!


 

Right now there are 30 bish, 9 nits and 10 rooks.  Bish could be flying 202's and they still kick bellybutton at 3 to 1 odds.  I logged off since its a waste of time.  People logging off because the game is not fun due to numbers imbalance is not a good way to attract and keep subs. 

Good game but not worth logging in atm.

Just had a thought maybe a solution to the problem is to increase hardness of base targets based on eny.  If one side had a significant advantage in numbers increase the hardness of objects an equally significant amount.  Doesn't force anyone to change sides or anything but increases the ability of a defender to defend.  ATM its a waste of time apart from buzzing a red horde from alt or logging off.

I actually really like this idea!

[Lazerr]

Thinking it would work is far from knowing it will work

Those folks you speak of are HiTech who knows 2 sides has not worked as well as 3 in the past, sir.

I didnt know he tried two counties with the ENY system in place.

[caldera]

I didnt know he tried two counties with the ENY system in place.

I would like to see that tried once per week, on whichever day gets the least traffic. 

Make two new teams: X and Z, just for that day.  Allow 1 hour switching to the low numbered side.

[bustr]

It is just not that busy during the day when folks are working in the US.

Now let me get this straight.... you are looking for a fight or you are wanting to capture a base?

I wonder if you can ask the audience to first apply this filter to themselves before positing their opinion and if they are playing during the 2 hour USA high number window, or outside of it?

It would strip away the monolithic generalization called "game play" that is used to flog this subject. It is too easy to take a position, then throw out pet solutions for the collective community. While they assume an illusion of a monolithic unified community at any given time supporting their position. Because they assume the community is victimized the same as they are by what their position argues.

During a two hour evening window USA Pacific coast time, about 100-150 players are in the Melee arena with all three countries either in a furball, or stuck in a base capture or base defense at one of their two fronts. Before and after that window, numbers are lower and the game is played much less like during the 2 hour window directly due to lower numbers. And during the average 300-400 nights in the 2000's, all of these game play complaints were leveled in these forums almost verbatim by a minority who assumed they were speaking for a unified monolithic community victimized like themselves. Or using them as an illusion for legitimizing their argument on the community's behalf, versus as one man's opinion about his pet peeve.

I suppose the majority were too busy making due and scraping by with the crappy conditions in the Melee arena back then and didn't know better, or something like that. On Friday nights for an hour or so just before everyone who is warming up for FSO bails from the Melee arena to enter the SEA arena. The numbers can be as high as 250 or more, and the arena is full of fun group driven activity. While everyone is busy shooting at or evading being shot at and having fun.

This complaint seems poorly directed when the source of the whole problem is not enough players generating activity. Hitech did agree to the experiment called Titanic Tuesdays, so it is not out of the scope of things to give him a good enough argument to try something again once a week to work with the lower numbers. Something along that line is more constructive than using a community who never voted for a representative to air their assumed common victimization by circumstances here.     

[flippz]

It is just not that busy during the day when folks are working in the US.

Now let me get this straight.... you are looking for a fight or you are wanting to capture a base?

I am more of a base defender type I guess.  I am horrible at bombing with a fighter and getting better at deacking.  I joined the game to fly and fight fighters and unfortunately that's not really available except for a few hours a day.  otherwise its flying in a hoard (which I don't care much for) or up and try to defend against a hoard (which sucks).  and I don't want you to think I am crying about one hoard that I tried to up and got vulched once or twice.  its a continuous phenomenon that's created day after day.  even last night at 11 pm it was hoard after hoard at bases.  I even had one apologize in a pm because I had been vulched so much that day by them.  if we were able to come up with a side number balancing system I think that would work.  I want to up a fighter and fight in either since.
violator is correct we should find a way for closer back bases to up and be able to have a chance at defending, espically with numbers skewed as bad as they are.  I know we should offer solutions to a concern but this is the first game I have ever really played so my input would invalid but I support violators idea of closer bases, look at ndislands when the bases are close there are awesome fights.     

[SPKmes]

I think it is getting better.... the ugly is still here but I have noted a difference in player mentality creeping back in... it is encouraging

[NatCigg]

funny the three sided war isn't working either then.  because the bish generally have double the numbers as any other team until about 4pm est.  so if the two sided war didn't work what are we gonna say about the three sided war?  it works for a couple hours a day?

bish win.  they still play the "old" way.  go bish!

 

[thndregg]

I think it is getting better.... the ugly is still here but I have noted a difference in player mentality creeping back in... it is encouraging

A few of us have been trying to bring it back. Semi-organized bomber/escort missions, a little "hangar queen" fun here and there.. I think it'll happen again. Had a great sortie and some comic relief last night with some familiar names. Overall, despite a few minor misgivings about terrain environment, it has been a fun few weeks so far back in the game.

[Shuffler]

I am more of a base defender type I guess.  I am horrible at bombing with a fighter and getting better at deacking.  I joined the game to fly and fight fighters and unfortunately that's not really available except for a few hours a day.  otherwise its flying in a hoard (which I don't care much for) or up and try to defend against a hoard (which sucks).  and I don't want you to think I am crying about one hoard that I tried to up and got vulched once or twice.  its a continuous phenomenon that's created day after day.  even last night at 11 pm it was hoard after hoard at bases.  I even had one apologize in a pm because I had been vulched so much that day by them.  if we were able to come up with a side number balancing system I think that would work.  I want to up a fighter and fight in either since.
violator is correct we should find a way for closer back bases to up and be able to have a chance at defending, espically with numbers skewed as bad as they are.  I know we should offer solutions to a concern but this is the first game I have ever really played so my input would invalid but I support violators idea of closer bases, look at ndislands when the bases are close there are awesome fights.     

Not implying that you are crying or whining about anything. Just asking that question so I can better understand your position.

We all have our preferences.

[SlipKnt]

I simply haven't been on a whole lot for many reasons.  None of those reasons are AH3 related.  Just personal things.

When I have logged on, I mainly see sporadic base take attempts (and successes).  I have noticed a more defensive stance than offensive.  ET37 always seemed busy running things and had quite a following. 

I feel that we need more guys like him willing to run bomber missions with escort.  I believe the 49th still does that.  It does make it fun and challenging whether you are in the mission or trying to sniff out the incoming mission.

As I start getting back into MA game play, I may start trying a few things by either posting missions or announcing runway information to see if we can get something going again.  I am Knight for now so if you are a Knight and see me posting missions.  Come along.  It may materialize into something. 

Things that will never change...  HOing, BnZ.  Vulching, Ganging, Hoarding, etc... 

Things we can change, our fun.  Run missions, etc...

Just play your game.  But don't be afraid to go offensive.  Who really seriously cares about score anyways? 





   

[NatCigg]

we know your out there, the fun ones.  come on back and bring that teamwork spirit.  if we can keep it ww2 themed we will have even more fun.  get a good captain who can rally a committed army  with some pilot stuff added in.     no more gamey "fighter strikes" or "climb and pick" solo fights!  were going to play aces high as multiplayer unit!  well even let the selfish fighter dweebs in in the fun (although it should be blatantly clear the fighter aces will not and never have kept this game going).  It was always the team, The Team, THE TEAM.

<S>

Go Blue.

 

[bustr]

We used to have that, then many adjustments were made to slow down the iconic AH2 base taking NOE hoards which sheltered and gave newbies a chance to learn the game.

Now the terrains have bases and towns on them that spit in the eye of groups while radar is set so low the trees can be heard making bets on who will auger first to feed them. We have hours long stalled fights over feilds that end up promoting all those lame things everyone complains about here in the forums under "game play". With the lower numbers those hours long stalled fights bore people during the general 2 hour prime time window that we get our max population of 100-150 players.

We no longer have the hoard problems the game has evolved to temper since the middle of the 2000's. And we no longer have the numbers some of those evolved mechanisms were introduced to keep the game fair for everyone. So now fast paced is not a term to describe action during prime time. Action was fast paced years ago....

I would suggest a titanic tuesday style once a week testing with a terrain, old or purpose built, with many of those hoard controlling mechanisms dialed way down, radar minimums back to early AH2 to help generate NOE which created activity on both sides. To see how the current smaller community plays with it. In the old days the base captures were faster paced and drew in the fighter players to harass the attackers while the newbies and strategic players played WW2 taking bases. Today newbies get thrown to the wolves while the strategic players beat their heads against the hanger walls and complain here in the forums. And there are not quite as many of the higher talented fighter jocks around as once played with us. I see them more often here in the forums than in the arenas.

I've never seen trying to overwhelm Hitech with complexity for the sake of complexity work. Keeping it simple and reasonable sometimes works.