Short of convincing Hitech to reduce the MA to 5x5 terrains to create the illusion of numbers and activity, there is another way. Each of my three terrains was an experiment in understanding how to use what Hitech restricts the MA to with his building rules, and help players produce activity. After riftval I could not see anything more I could do inside of the rules but, I still see possibilities without I think a large change on Hitech's part.
We have capture the flag objects you are required to capture from each country to achieve 20% of that country's territory for a map reset. That has been fixed for over a decade and ongoing complaints have shown it to be stale. I tried to spice it up with my terrains and to a point succeeded by adjusting field distances, spawn paths, and adding new objects. My ongoing goal of trying to make more real world looking terrain features didn't hurt either. It only lasted as long as I was willing to produce new terrains since you get a "novelty" effect with the community that lasts for a few months. It's not enough to solve the underlying "novelty" effect problem which contributes to the complaints about time to fight and being bored.
The assertions are new potential players log in and don't see activity on a scale to make them believe the game is worth investing, and customers are leaving due to same old same old nothing going on. Activity of that sort is concentrated groups from two countries battling over an area of real estate for long periods of time and consistently from login to login. My three terrains point to that. Hitech won't change to a two country game in the MA. How do you concentrate players willingly for long periods of time? Change the capture method\focus to something new but, it stays within the existing framework.
This will probably result in faster flipped maps but, the lynch pin capture object will concentrate air and land combat probably for the whole prime time window. If Hitech can generate a second city object(copy of the original) that will be seen as a field object in the capture order needing a map room object. Then require 60-75% of it to be destroyed to allow troop capture. It can be set as part of a new map win capture requirement, "own it" and 10-12% of a country's feilds. Allow the nearest airfield to be minimum 13 miles. The terrain builder would see the value in placing it in easy attack distance or Hitech can require that, so it's not hidden in the rear of each country next to the 163 field making it impossible to capture. Then require a minimum of GV spawns to it since at this point capturing feilds with GV spawns to it will collect most tank players into that new city. The new city object will only have it's ack tower and auto ack(maybe more added by Waffle) while the surrounding friendly feilds provide it's defense land and air. Hitech would probably allow M3\C47 to resupply the destroyed buildings like with towns. Then smart groups would drop all vehicle hangers and ordinance bunkers to this new city object's defending spawn connected feilds, when they capture their first enemy field with a spawn to it. Or I would like to think so versus they will all spawn in with tanks first thing and get carpet bombed from those feilds.
One or two of this in rotation would address the "novelty" problem and there are probably some terrains sitting around that would make good candidates for a modification. I could do this given access to the project files and permission to change "all" the field layouts, local micro terrain, add paths\bridges and clutter painting. With this change in capture percentages, the combat radius on a 10x10 could be shrunk to a 5-6 sector diameter to shorten transit time and condense activity. From my recent experiences, unless Hitech will create a "total new capture system" with smaller MA terrains, 2 country or 5x5 3 country terrains. It's a matter of small modifications using the existing backend code to address "novelty" while maintaining the traditional look and feel of the MA as a large sand box.
Some of this came from experiences on buzzsaw with my squad all in tanks taking down a city while defending tanks and aircraft were hammering us as a coequal force. In all the time buzzsaw has been in rotation, it's happened only twice with my squad. The rest of the time we just flatten the town in tanks unopposed. If the spawn points had been closer so the drive was 1\2 mile from the city, the place would have filled up with tanks. If we had the option to capture the city, we probably would have been carpet bombed and our spawns camped which would have brought in more of our fighters and theirs. I suspect that is what Waffle thought would happen but he placed the spawns too far away turning getting to the fight into a chore not worth doing. Time to the fight has been my most important experiment with all three of my terrains since bored customers have made that factor quite clear over the years. And the next issue was "novelty".
Nice work. You sent me to sleep quicker than a 15 minute climb out. You are without a doubt the most verbose person I have ever encountered.
Now whilst I do not wish to step on your efforts to create maps, it is certainly a factor, I think you need to consider other factors are at play and not one of us can solve them.
You cannot make a map that makes people fight. No matter how small you make it the runners will run. No matter how much people want others to fight we cannot make them do it, the runners will run.
Consider this also, the community applauds those that land multiple kills even though we know they did nothing but high speed passes and by default snagged a few kills. As soon as they have to actually “fight” for the kill they are running to ack or wirbs or 5 friends quicker than you can imagine.
The problem with AH3 is an over abundance of runners and a lack of fights. It is not just the fighters either. Those that claim to want to move mud would rather move undefended mud than fight for a base. Sneak attacks resulting in a capture get whoops and hollers and we all want them right?
Agreed, maps help create action and there are some that need to be culled, however IMO the issue lies in the lack of combat and the truth is MOST of the current player base want kills over combat. I am not sure anyone can fix that.
Personally I would adopt a system more like world of warships and I think that is where HTC is headed.
Get in a room and fight. Determined outcome based on combat.
Respectfully
