So, just re-created an account and began to explore the game after a long absence. While I was never a great player, I had a lot of fun and flew with some pretty awesome pilots as well as hung with a few well known squads along the way.
WTH happened to the numbers??, less than 100 players in three massive countries? Looks like it is taking hours of flying and dying just to get into a decent fight. How the heck are the squads doing???
When we once had 1000's playing from several countries, enough on at one time to find a fast and good fight, or a long range full theater war lasting several days? What I have see so far is pretty dismal by comparison.
Dale - HiTech answering the phone himself, I made several calls to the 'office' recently, wow!
Correct me if I remember wrong but when I started playing AH the game in 2008 was much tighter with less complexity. Meaning, my first experience was entering a small training arena, not multi-level platforms with one-on-one area, bombing ranges, and the other 'separate' ways to train: it was one arena to meet-n-greet newbs, recruit talent, and sometimes just hang out and help less skilled pilots strengthen their wings, literally! There was community created in that small venue of interested game players, or at least that is how I remember it.
I read through some of the most recent discussions about game play, the current state of affairs, and the loathing about low numbers and difficult times. Seems to me that the vastness of the game, being oriented to what was once a massive membership, is part of the current problem along with a seemingly stubborn commander-n-chief: HiTech. Perhaps less could be more, and could a change help make things better, if we can get a consensus from the tribe?
With so few players and the size of the current game, perhaps things could be adjusted back to a much tighter and less complex footprint so that 100 players could engage in a decent fight without blowing hours on a few skirmishes, or for the newbs, flying what seems like a lifetime across sectors just to die in a few seconds because what is waiting is a group of much higher ranked players. Losing a few fights is and should be part of the tempering process while learning the game, but being slaughtered for weeks before getting enough experience to land a single kill does not lend itself to player retention, right? If we chase off the newbs the game falls flat, kinda like the quire sinning only to itself when a audience is required to keep things going.
When I left game back in 2013 one of the reasons was the issues associated with key players dominating the game, padding their stats at the expense of newer player retention. Some of you will argue, "that's war, nothing is far" and to some degree you are correct, it is about fighting each other in a air war theater, but it is also about the reality side of being a member of a community of gamers, so both must be part of the discussion on how to regrow the game, even if Dale Hitech won't listen right now, he cannot deny that AH was once a fantastically populated and well played game, he must listen to us if he's to survive.
So, let me ask you this basic question, how much fun are you having in the game right now? Is if fun padding your stats, if that's you goal, by continually dominating a very small population of gamers on AH? I remember asking this question to one of the more notorious gamers back in 2012 and at that time there were 1000's playing. At that time a few squads were in near complete domination of most fights and that player lamented the only thing interesting was watching the stats grow. I'd watch this player tear through furballs killing at will, and landing multiple kills over and over, or sneak bases and so on, but on the human side of things, the player was basically board with the direction AH was going at the time. I cannot imagine, and I will ask when I encounter that player - if still playing, what the game is like today.
Less-is-more in a lot of things we humans engage in. Restrictions stimulate interests and enhance creativity, this is not speculation its a proven fact. Perhaps the answer to resolving the fast downward spiral of AH is to scale it back to a much tighter arena(s), seriously address the ENY situation (read a lot about this, it seems to be a part of the problem), and work on both the human and gamer aspects if the game.
Lastly, if you are a veteran of AH with high marks and a good standing in the game, please think back to your first encounters in the game, learning to fly, engaging other players, the first legit kill in your gun sights and the thrill of it all. Don't misunderstand what I have written as a plead for fairness in the game play, it's not about that. What I am asking is to fairly reflect and analyze the current game and how your personal influence might assist in growing the numbers again so we get back some of the fame-n-glory that was once AH, to retain new players by capturing their interest in hanging with it, inspiring them to learn a grow, and to recruit their friends.
I'll be out there, being the fodder for better pilots, eating lead like a twenty dollar hooker, and happily playing the game as it is. But, I hope this post generates some serious thought and dialog about how we can help change the game and get those numbers back up so more gamers can enjoy the fantastic game as it was intended.
