[...] Then something funny happened. The purists complained that there were too many milk runs on strats and we lost a large following of players.
Complains of all types of players have been with Ah since beta
The decline AH experienced can't be linked to any singular change. In terms of player numbers, AH peaked late 2007/early 2008 and declined more or less steadily ever since. No major change to the strats or anything was made ad that time. Still small towns, zone system with a lot of decentralized strats, old GV control system and icon settings...
The Strats and cities were combined and placed so far away it was all but impossible. Even after some minor adjustments it didn't seem to bounce back.
This change was mid 2012. And for me, it really started the strat / bombing game. On some maps, they actually had been quite close to the front at start, so that even short range bombers could have at it. Only with retreated strats on huge maps the distance became so great that indeed they became difficult to hit.
But anytime else, there were always plenty of bomber pilots around going for them that even during low hours I could spend my time just defending the strats (if I wasn't attacking them myself).
We also saw plenty of big bomber raids on them, as a big target with big impact, long range and (on large maps) mostly no Me 163 nearby made them a really attractive target. I fondly remember protracted battles against huge B-29 raids, something never seen again.
Fact is, different players have always been claiming this or that specific change ruined the game. It may have been ruined it for them (I could name a few things for myself
), but said above, the decline in pure numbers was quite gradual and steady over the years.