Dedicated ACM is a niche activity in any online combat flight sim, including this one IMHO. That is why all those changes have been made (88mm, side switch etc), to combat another issue created by larger number of players not looking for a good fight, but looking for a way to exploit something. Dedicated ACM players have always been a small % of total number in my opinion. My opinion is based on my experience with some other online flight sim games, on all those complaints posted in this forum over the years, on what new players do when they join the game. This is why I don`t understand why the furballers left instead of trying to keep their group together and I do not understand the widespread walking out the door mentality in general.
A good bunch of the "Muppets" left when they over stepped the bounds of respect and HTC came down hard on them. HTC wouldn't bend to the "demands" and so a bunch of them left. The rest of the "furballers" have left over the years due to the fights running low. Between numbers dropping due to the economy, players changing the way they win the war (avoid contact with the "enemy" at all costs), side switch timer, the 88s being added ( why waste a life fighting at a base when we can hide in a gun!), town resupply (why defend a base when its easier to run in supplies, heck you dont even have to bring them all the way in, just get close) more and more players are leaving.
In the old days this was ok as Aces High was pretty much the only WWII game around and players came in to replace those that left. Now a days tho, we are not seeing the same influx of new players that sticking around. Why? Because there are other options today. Some are cheaper, some are much easier to play and get started. If this game doent change with the times I fear we will continue to lose players every month.
