My take after my return.

[Dadtallica]

Been "complaining" as they say, about it for a while now. Unfortunately the creator doesn't play the game enough to understand the gameplay during off hours and how it's boring when there is no streamline area to fight. Bombing or Jabo bases by yourself gets old after 2-3 sorties when it takes 10 minutes to climb out and get to the base twiddling your thumbs on the way. These smaller maps make the off hours much more enjoyable. BowlMA during off hours you might as well go stand outside or do something else cuz you ain't gonna find much to fight.

Unfortunately this slow gameplay has forced many of the fighters to go play faster games with more action per hour. I love this game to death because of the MA style, but absolutely hate logging into a huge map on a saturday afternoon and seeing no fights with tiny little dar bars with maybe one guy in the sector who may or may not engage or roll again if you shoot them or they just runaway ect. I'm not gonna roll for 1 kill. You can clearly see the #s higher on certain maps that draw streamline action. I'm not sure why it's so hard to just let a couple of maps go.

Well I like the big maps. Not everyone wants to have massive fights all day.

He plays way more than we would ever know. Imagine if it were you.

[Brooke]

Smaller maps are the way to go.

If you want action.

Amount of action is proportional to players per battle area.  (Using "action" here to mean combat per player.)

We do this in scenarios.  We use smaller battle areas today than 15 years ago.  We have more action in today's scenarios with 50 players than we did in many past scenarios with 150 players.

[DmonSlyr]

Well I like the big maps. Not everyone wants to have massive fights all day.

He plays way more than we would ever know. Imagine if it were you.

I guess the 20 players actively in a sortie maybe, shooting buildings in a town or strat by themselves. The rest of people are looking for some kind of action and log off if there is none. Even on a smaller map, there are plenty of places to go bomb or tank by yourself. The issue with large maps is that it makes the game look unactionable like no one is even playing. That's not what most people want to see when they log into a game. For newer players, they will have no clue where to roll to find some action.

Smaller maps are the way to go.

If you want action.

Amount of action is proportional to players per battle area.  (Using "action" here to mean combat per player.)

We do this in scenarios.  We use smaller battle areas today than 15 years ago.  We have more action in today's scenarios with 50 players than we did in many past scenarios with 150 players.

Makes all the sense in the world. This brings out the best of AH IMO.

[Eagler]

Low numbers dictate smaller maps or going from 3 sides to 2 or both

We will get neither it seems

Eagler

[molybdenum]

I just signed in for a minute. These big maps are a serious mistake. Now im sure nobody is going to listen to me but this game can't sustain these big maps anymore. I'd rather play 24/7 that small map we had yesterday and never play another map then rotate these big ones in.

The numbers simply aren't there.

Variety is the spice of life. And I am primarily a bomber pilot. Small maps give me fewer options, and low numbers mean if I do something solo I probably get killed with nothing to show for it. Why play, then?

Another perspective.

[Rich46yo]

Why play, then?

On that we can agree and I wont be sticking around.

And joining all the others who have left the game. I'd thought these big maps were History. I was wrong. A flight combat sim is supposed to have actual combat not a flying tour of huge empty spaces. AH doesn't have 500 players online anymore and seeing these huge maps with 20 players on 3 sides, 1/2 of them in GV's, is just pathetic.

[RichardDarkwood]

These maps are small


DCS maps are huge and I can see complaining about that


AH maps are tiny, the game is tiny


Either play the game or do not play the game as it is provided

[Eagler]

Even with low numbers and too large of maps AH does provide more action than I find in IL2 or DCS iconless maps..

I don't bother with arcade world of planes..

Eagler

[RichardDarkwood]

I don't bother with arcade world of planes..

Eagler

You play Aces High. That is the most arcade ish game right under War Thunder and you know it.

Come play in Enigmas Cold War server. You'll find action faster than any other game and any other server.

[Eagler]

You play Aces High. That is the most arcade ish game right under War Thunder and you know it.

Come play in Enigmas Cold War server. You'll find action faster than any other game and any other server.

No jets thanks

What is/was your AH handle?

Eagler

[RichardDarkwood]

Still don't change the size of the maps in AH. They are tiny maps in comparison.

[edge12674]

Even with low numbers and too large of maps AH does provide more action than I find in IL2 or DCS iconless maps..

I don't bother with arcade world of planes..

Eagler

Depends on where you look. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ7Flg2SUeM

[Animl-AW]

You play Aces High. That is the most arcade ish game right under War Thunder and you know it.

Come play in Enigmas Cold War server. You'll find action faster than any other game and any other server.

IMO
1) DCS seems to be a money pit, which can exclude many would-be players.
2) DCS FM seems to have issues, according to many players, and many admit AH FM is closer to reality.
3) Many who fly here have been doing so for 20+years. They have a history with AH. It's like breaking up a 20+ yr marriage.
4) I've seem comments that one can fly for a hour and not see a plane, and visibility isn't great.
5) DCS is more of a sim, AH is sim played as a game. The sacrifice of some graphics is what allows large numbers playing.
6) AH is just more fun

THAT SAID, to each their own. I think they each draw different crowds.
One relies more on graphics
One relies more on game play.

[Dadtallica]

Trying to make this game even more compact is not the way to attract more players. I liken this to the number of countries debate. It’s not a currently popular opinion but three maps is going to always be better than two. The game and its strategies would change dramatically and you should be careful what you wish for.

And sorry but no I don’t want to get into a lengthy discussion on this… it doesn’t matter anyway.

[RichardDarkwood]

IMO
1) DCS seems to be a money pit, which can exclude many would-be players.
2) DCS FM seems to have issues, according to many players, and many admit AH FM is closer to reality.
3) Many who fly here have been doing so for 20+years. They have a history with AH. It's like breaking up a 20+ yr marriage.
4) I've seem comments that one can fly for a hour and not see a plane, and visibility isn't great.
5) DCS is more of a sim, AH is sim played as a game. The sacrifice of some graphics is what allows large numbers playing.
6) AH is just more fun

THAT SAID, to each their own. I think they each draw different crowds.
One relies more on graphics
One relies more on game play.

It wasn't a game comparison

other than map size