Missions, PUGs, and new players

[Ramesis]

Pardon me, I gotta chime in on this one.

Your objective of this game is to capture territory.

Somebody else's objective of this game it to pursue achievements.

Yet another person's objective is to improve their K/D ratio.

Yet another person's objective is to de-vulch a field with 88s.

+1

And btw... Its been awhile since I read the manual but last time I did, it hasn't kept up with
the game 


And on and on and on.

There is no one way to play the game.. took me a couple years to figure that out.

This game offers many things to many different types of play.  Creating a poison environment by insulting people's choices does the game no good. 

 

[Shuffler]

There's plenty of dogfighting games out there. If you take one with and without a monthly fee the one without will win every time.

Players without any interest in the main objective are still here of course. Because they have ever been (unable to adapt to new), because of people they have known for decades (many of the dead by now), and because the asymetric fights created by many players working towards the main objective provide a personal advantage for pure a2a over a setting that provides balanced fights.

How does that work for new players?

I find it funny that you bring up another weak point of many "gamers" today..... math. Many will spend 10s, 100s or 1000s over a month time because $14.95 is too much monthly.

No game of any substance is "free".

The main objective is pretty simple and.makes for some very exciting times..... fighting/competing against another human in an arena where neither can really be harmed. A competition where each and every player can get better by playing on a level playing field.

[save]

if you want old AH'ers to come back, you need new plane types/variants, new tanks/SPV's maybe ships.
The game have not got anything new to play with in a long time.
Mission planners and make game more intuitive is good, but the old players are looking for a reason to come back and play , and they want new toys.

New players either want a ww2 sim or - a community to live in -  something many other sim's does not give them the same way as AH does.

[The Fugitive]

Last night was almost enough to make me quit this game.

Bish and Knights were fighting on their front. Knights trying to hold off the Bish win. Rooks get together.... sorta    and start pushing the Bish front to try and get them under the 20%. Base after base we took while the few defenders that came out to try and slow us down were in guns or wirbles and the occasional M3. It was a poor defense as we took base after base but one. For someone who likes to fly fighters there were very few guys to fight..... most players hiding in GVs.... and those that did come up in a plane made one pass and then dove out to circle in the wirbles range of fire. There is more excitement playing a game of solitaire.

If the "action" isnt put back into this game by the players new players arent going to stay, and old players will just get bored and leave.

[Oldman731]

Last night was almost enough to make me quit this game.

By contrast, I had a lot of fun last night.  With the new radar, I was able to spot some enemy fighters.  I headed that way, had a fun fight, then needed a new plane (as always).  I announced my location, my destination, my altitude and my plane type.  Within a few minutes we had three or four people on each side participating in the engagement.

What I took from this:  If you tell people where you are and where you're going, like-minded others will come out to play.  So far as I'm concerned, the rest of the crowd can entertain itself with winning the war.

- oldman

[The Fugitive]

By contrast, I had a lot of fun last night.  With the new radar, I was able to spot some enemy fighters.  I headed that way, had a fun fight, then needed a new plane (as always).  I announced my location, my destination, my altitude and my plane type.  Within a few minutes we had three or four people on each side participating in the engagement.

What I took from this:  If you tell people where you are and where you're going, like-minded others will come out to play.  So far as I'm concerned, the rest of the crowd can entertain itself with winning the war.

- oldman

What team were you playing on? If it was Bish or Knight then yes there seemed to be PLENTY going on on that front. Rook front was pretty much empty but for the wirble yahoos.

[Ciaphas]

Last night was almost enough to make me quit this game.

Bish and Knights were fighting on their front. Knights trying to hold off the Bish win. Rooks get together.... sorta    and start pushing the Bish front to try and get them under the 20%. Base after base we took while the few defenders that came out to try and slow us down were in guns or wirbles and the occasional M3. It was a poor defense as we took base after base but one. For someone who likes to fly fighters there were very few guys to fight..... most players hiding in GVs.... and those that did come up in a plane made one pass and then dove out to circle in the wirbles range of fire. There is more excitement playing a game of solitaire.

If the "action" isnt put back into this game by the players new players arent going to stay, and old players will just get bored and leave.

Being the third wheel sucks no matter the situation.

just a quick question:

How does a developer put the action back in to the game when the action is reliant on players actions? do you want a linear game? 'Cause that's how you get a linear game... .

[Oldman731]

What team were you playing on? If it was Bish or Knight then yes there seemed to be PLENTY going on on that front. Rook front was pretty much empty but for the wirble yahoos.

Rooks are usually the low side when I log on, and last night was no different.  So I was a rook.  I believe the people I was fighting were bishops.

- oldman

[The Fugitive]

Being the third wheel sucks no matter the situation.

just a quick question:

How does a developer put the action back in to the game when the action is reliant on players actions? do you want a linear game? 'Cause that's how you get a linear game... .

....as I said in my last line of the message you quoted...


If the "action" isnt put back into this game by the players, new players arent going to stay, and old players will just get bored and leave.

I believe HTC could "push" players to do this by limiting guns and 88s during low population numbers as well as wirble availability. Its the low numbers that is highlighting the issues. If there are 120 players on and 20 of them are in guns and 88s thats a big number, but 250 players with 20 in guns not so much a big deal.

Rooks are usually the low side when I log on, and last night was no different.  So I was a rook.  I believe the people I was fighting were bishops.

- oldman

I was on untill 11PM est and I didnt see you, maybe things picked up after I logged. I ran one buff run, one M3 run with troops, half a dozen P38 runs, and half dozen hvy P47 runs, as well as joined a mission KB put up. Dropped bombs on wirbles and T34s, shot up a few M3s running supplies, carpet bombed a V base, and chased 190s and spits through ack/wirble fire. All and all a pretty boring night. Had one fight with a spit that started co-E at 14k and went to the deck but again, he ran for the ack and a buddy came off the base to HO me.


If HTC added something in to where a team could take no more than 3 bases in a row from one team WITHOUT taking a base from the third team it would break up that "third wheel" issue. Forcing fights to move from one front to another. 

[Ciaphas]

....as I said in my last line of the message you quoted...

You're right, I misread the last line. My bad.

 

[1stpar3]

Last night was almost enough to make me quit this game.

Bish and Knights were fighting on their front. Knights trying to hold off the Bish win. Rooks get together.... sorta    and start pushing the Bish front to try and get them under the 20%. Base after base we took while the few defenders that came out to try and slow us down were in guns or wirbles and the occasional M3. It was a poor defense as we took base after base but one. For someone who likes to fly fighters there were very few guys to fight..... most players hiding in GVs.... and those that did come up in a plane made one pass and then dove out to circle in the wirbles range of fire. There is more excitement playing a game of solitaire.

If the "action" isnt put back into this game by the players new players arent going to stay, and old players will just get bored and leave.

Yes, you are correct, we were in VEHICLES! Had a great time defending in the WIRB...was 2 hours plus! HOWEVER...IT WAS A V-BASE...and you wonder why we were defending in GV's I liked it...then again I love every thing AH Even at the Air Fields, once again WIRB HEAVEN. I WASNT EVEN gonna think about trying to up a plane Not when the field is CAPPED and deacked with 8 fighters vulching the run way. 2 Jugs, 2 Spits, 1 110 and 1 Mossy an La7 and a Ki-84. With 4 more fighters hovering near town. That to me is no fun. So YEAH, Wirb was BOSS

[Oldman731]

I was on untill 11PM est and I didnt see you, maybe things picked up after I logged.

My first film was saved at exactly midnight, so I was an hour later than you.

I'll stick with the premise, though.  I think you can find fights if you ask for them.

- oldman

[CAV]

Artificial intelligence generated "Maximum effort missions"  or "Fuhrer Directives"...................

After a predetermined amount of time the game does not detect a player generate mission against side A or B. The Game AI sets up a mission and targets a base.

If the mission parameters or objectives are not achieved in a certain amount of time, all players presents at the start of the mission lose perk points for failing the objectives.

Just for fun.... exempt the side with the lowest number of players from AI missions.  And cut down on 2 teams ganging up on the third.

CAV

[The Fugitive]

My first film was saved at exactly midnight, so I was an hour later than you.

I'll stick with the premise, though.  I think you can find fights if you ask for them.

- oldman

Im sure there are still those that will accommodate you when you call out but it isnt the norm any longer. I was on for over 5 hours last night and had only one fight that was any good and even then that one ended with the guy running to the base/friendly to save his butt.

The rest of the time was bombing GVs or dropping guns at fields.... so much fun.

The game mechanics ALLOW all kinds of play, unfortunately todays players seem to choose the least combative and look to avoid as much combat as possible.

HTC has to decide if they are putting out a combat game, or something more along the line of a realtors game where changing properties is the end game.

[caldera]

Im sure there are still those that will accommodate you when you call out but it isnt the norm any longer. I was on for over 5 hours last night and had only one fight that was any good and even then that one ended with the guy running to the base/friendly to save his butt.

The rest of the time was bombing GVs or dropping guns at fields.... so much fun.

The game mechanics ALLOW all kinds of play, unfortunately todays players seem to choose the least combative and look to avoid as much combat as possible.

HTC has to decide if they are putting out a combat game, or something more along the line of a realtors game where changing properties is the end game.

First off, you can't hang out near a field and expect them to not run to the ack, because they invariably will.  Feign a pass at the town to get the ack firing at you and they will think you are easy meat.  Give up your six.  Then drag them out to where they can't run to the ack.  They also will be much more aggressive if you are in a low end aircraft.  That gives them an advantage but it's not insurmountable unless the guy is much better than you.  IMO, flying a low end plane is the best way to learn how to survive, because you can't run or climb out of it when things go south.  You have to figure out some pilot stuff through trial and error and it will make you better - guaranteed.  Then you kick their taints back to the tower (if all goes well).