Dar bars are the perfect IMO, they give you enough idea of where to look but you still.. *GASP* ACTUALLY HAVE TO TRY to find your target.. which of course leads to having good SA and strategy and .. you know all that stuff we apparently don't have time for anymore.
Yup (air darbars, not the GV kind, they suck big hairy meatballs).
Guessing HT is trying very hard to bring new players in and is dumbing the game down as a result. I get it that newbs will be more inclined to poke around vs log off if they see every player all the time, but HT is likely to lose a number of long term players (and possible mentors to newbs) whose porridge just got peed on in trying.
A better solution imo is to have dedicated helpers to newbs, and very clear and exact ways in which newbs can get in touch with these helpers. That's probably what got me past my 1st two weeks. Sadly, I no longer remember the name of my helper, but he was far more patient than I would have been in helping me get a grasp on AH's utter basics--which are NOT obvious to people checking the game out, I didn't even know how to use my friggin' mike for example!
HT has said that people new to the game are often gone very, very quickly. THAT's the time to catch them. NOT by spoiling the game for the people who have been here for years, or even decades; but by having dedicated helpers whom they can easily get in touch with (and KNOW they can get in touch with) to help them get them acclimated before they lose interest and log off.