After playing Aces High for 18 years, maybe it's time to just say goodbye. Once again, I have been "muted" This time only my "Chat Privileges" are "currently suspended". Perhaps what I said to one obnoxious and pusillanimous player made me deserve what I received, but, I have seen worse by others, including this player. It has been over 48 hours, I have no idea how long it will last, which is in and of itself ridiculous. I come to this game for the fun of chatting as much as actual game play. The game itself has degraded into a smack talking, name calling horde fest, that with less than a hundred players on at any given time, has detracted from my enjoyment of playing. I know I am not the only one. Constantly having to defend one's self from the constant badgering and belittling from a few players who believe that if you don't play the game Their Way, you are a coward, gay, Communist, socialist and worse. I admit that I am as guilty as anyone, but in all sincerity, I have done it to defend myself. There is a reason there are virtually no new players that stick around. Nobody wants to help them learn (although I have seen this change over the last month), and for the most part, no mentoring or training, let alone inclusion into the game. In fact, I have on more than one occasion seen the player I mentioned above, cut down and verbally eviscerate new players because they HO'd him, or bailed rather than be shot down. Even though this player HOs and rams almost everyone he meets unless he can pick them.
Aces High won't keep players, new or otherwise, as long as this persists. Another thing I have noticed is that having three teams, with usually less than 30 players each, playing on huge maps. The two teams with the most players will gang up and split the third team until they score enough fields from that team to win before turning on each other.when both enemies have 20+% of your fields, it is nearly impossible to come back to win the map.
The game needs to drop to TWO TEAMS until such time that there are enough players on a consistent basis to warrant 3 teams again. Also, Where are the features that will keep the old players as well as bring in the new ones? We haven't seen a new plane in years. 90% of the players in this game are over 40. Many even older. Many cannot or will not buy new computers to keep up with the latest graphics advancements. Many cannot and will not buy VR equipment, or even rudder pedals which gives others with those things a definite advantage. Add to that the discrepancy of what planes are perked, and which aren't, is a joke.
I have put up with this for about as long as I care to. Something has got to change. If it doesn't, I will have no other choice than to leave what used to be a great game, with great people.
Kinego, Nedermyr, OlShakey, Scabs, TeeArr, and many other names I have used over the years.
