Why the MPA isn't a viable arena

[nrshida]

I've been giving some (idle) thought to the MPA. I don't think it's working for several reasons beyond a reduced player base since Aces High 2.

• There is a huge mismatch between fighting the AI and duelling human players. Because they are rigid, predictable and cheat with their energy states it is basically reduced to a reversal-based gunnery range - which is fine in itself but your ACM / duelling skill set will atrophy.
• You cannot fly there alone at all unless you agree to fight the AI who will always attack in pairs, so if you want to practice something or train or just bimble around and relax after work, say, you are compelled to leave and go to the TA (which is equally devoid of human players on my timezone at least)
• There is no cross-arena roster so the only way to know someone is there is to dot s <player> particular callsign every couple of minutes or exit your arena & look at the arena numbers from the online arenas menu
• Possibly some MA players consider any improvement to this arena to subtract from the already low numbers in the MA - a cultural barrier
• The lack of popularity of the MPA contributes to the continued narrowing of the typical gameplay. Other viable arenas widen this. A possible way to minimise the effects or hording - people might stay logged into AH instead of leaving in cycles

In conclusion: The MPA is no place to hang out. Players are as seldom seen there as they are in the TA. This in conjunction with the bizarre flight models means it is no introduction to AH to new players and nothing of much of interest to experienced players, when they are alone. Anyone occupied in the TA or MA will have no way to know if a prospective duelling partner shows up, so the option to duel is never apparent. Occupying and going to the arena is awkward and unhandy. As modelled it is only slightly more useful than Steal the Sheep. Which isn't saying much but is still on the arena page just the same.

Suggestions:-

• When someone enters the MPA, have their name appear on the MA Roster with a suitable symbol to indicate they are in the MPA.
• Enable access to MA channel 200 from within the MPA
• Add a system message in the MA when a person is in the duelling queue
• Re-enable the bases at the old furbal lake so as to give people an area to fly around in free-flight so as something to do there while waiting for others to show up. If you want to ensure no fur balling, then only enable A1
• Make the MPA a paid arena - I think it's fair to pay to fight. The Training Arena is free after all if people want to experience the new flight model. Then the activities of players are at their own discretion without any detraction to HTC's income

Perhaps others can make easily-implemented suggestions too. Just some thoughts for constructive discussion. What are the chances 

[DmonSlyr]

A lot of good points, although I think it should be FTP, inorder to encourage players to come back and recheck out the game without the risk. Here were my points from a post I made in March regarding match play:

Something needs to change with Match Play. It's just   

Here's a list of issues to make this easier.

1. 2v2 and up don't work. Tried to have some 2v2 duels the other day, it would not spawn us.

2. Once you do a 1v1 match, the map gets stuck and you cannot zoom in and out.

3. There is no where to just take off and fight with others. You can go into the area with the drones, but you cannot remove the drones. The Hurri 1s are like freaking Knats.

4. The scoring is stupid. You shoot down 10 planes and maybe Increase 30 points only to die once and lose 40 points. Doesn't make any sense.

5. No more canyon fights or anything like that.


So my point is, Match Play really needs another look at.

Can't we just make it simple?

1. Remove the scoring, it's absolutely pointless.

2. Have a separate area where furballer types can fight without the drones. Keep the air spawn though. All green chess peices if possible to avoid ganged. No bases for landing or vulching.

3. Keep the spawns and 1v1 thing. That's one of the most cool additions that was brought. Need to fix the 2v2 + matches though.

4. Make the drones fly to the planes actual capability and add more types of planes. The Hurris are tiring. This is actually great for practice but the Hurris are probably too tough for most players and again are like Knats.

5. Fix the map bug.

6. Allow players to roll down south where the canyons are so that people can have canyon fights again.



You cannot just tell people to "start a custom map". It's not that easy. Things have to be set up. The players have to download it. You can only really see it if the All tab is selected which no one sees. It would be far more beneficial to just have a server map ran by HTC that was free for people to quick fight and jump into a furball without having a clue what to do and just get to fighting. There needs to be a fun room to go to when the MA is not producing and the current Match Play just isn't working.

Thank you for the consideration!

[Shuffler]

Enjoyed the read... both of yall. Constructive criticism is the best. Good ideas put forth.   

[TryHard]

Much like the old sound system from AH2 I can not fathom why the old Dueling Arena was axed for the pathetic arena that replaced it.

Why fix something that isn't broke by making it totally unplayable?

[nrshida]

A lot of good points, although I think it should be FTP, inorder to encourage players to come back and recheck out the game without the risk. Here were my points from a post I made in March regarding match play:

A lot of shared conclusions. 

Much like the old sound system from AH2 I can not fathom why the old Dueling Arena was axed for the pathetic arena that replaced it.

Why fix something that isn't broke by making it totally unplayable?

HiTech answered me once when I asked him this. He said something to the effect of:- The arena was empty at the end of AH2 why should I bring it back? I used to live in there, in the year before AH3 was released a lot of the usual suspects drifted away because they didn't want to buy new PCs just for AH3. Perhaps that was the basis for his decision. Bit of a false negative actually.

I do think the duelling queue with random-based air-spawns is a vast improvement for duellers. Ideally (for folk like me anyway) simply reactivating A1, A2 & A3 and adding in some cross-arena notification would be the best of both worlds. Overall it'd just be helpful to have an alternate to the MA with nothing else to do but fight for the sake of fighting.

[Shuffler]

You have to admit.... if a computer will not run AHIII, it is way past replacing unless all you do is play checkers and surf the web.

[nrshida]

You have to admit.... if a computer will not run AHIII, it is way past replacing unless all you do is play checkers and surf the web.

There were several old fellas who only used their graphics cards for AH2 I guess. They just didn't want to come along to 3 so just drifted away. Do miss fighting some of them. Was a good community in the ''Breakfast Club".

[Shuffler]

There were several old fellas who only used their graphics cards for AH2 I guess. They just didn't want to come along to 3 so just drifted away. Do miss fighting some of them. Was a good community in the ''Breakfast Club".

A bunch of us enjoyed the MW arena too. No LW planes and better fights.

[Dadtallica]

Bring back midwar is my jam!   

[Blinky]

I spend all of my time nowadays in the MPA, and to say you both hit the nail on the head. I spend hours in there sometimes just looking at my phone waiting to see someone queue up for head to head. There are a lot of frequents in the MPA that only fight bots, I included when I wait and nobody shows up.

I literally second all points made here, and would even further say I think giving MPA access to 200 would solve a LOT of the issues quickly and easily. Or at the very least, able to pull the roster list from the MA.

And obviously... (Please fix 2v2 it's been broken for at least an entire year)

I'm only on the fence about making MPA P2P. I feel keeping an arena with access to (some) form of pvp is crucial for first timers and returning players.

[Eagler]

I check it nightly around 8pm est before I go into MA

A pop up in ma when someone joined it would be a great idea imo

Eagler

[nrshida]

Do you think HiTech has read this thread? 

I've been mostly working on my joystick and then I'll try to appear more regularly. Might be hanging around in the TA while I wait. Maybe that would be a good meeting point?

[Dadtallica]

Do you think HiTech has read this thread? 

I've been mostly working on my joystick and then I'll try to appear more regularly. Might be hanging around in the TA while I wait. Maybe that would be a good meeting point?

Pretty sure he reads them all.

[nrshida]

Pretty sure he reads them all.

Poor HiTech 

[nrshida]

I found a film from a duelling session dated June 2018 and there was a free-flight area in the MPA (no drones) at that time. If you didn't want to join the duelling queue - or there was no one there - clicking on any of the compass points air-spawned you over an area of flat terrain above a river.

If there really is a wish to never allow the furball lake to come back, could you at least add another radio-button labelled, say: 'Free Flight' which would drop you back into this airspace (no drones). At least you could fly around and relax while waiting for customers.

A few small tweakes could maybe allow a friendly duelling culture to re-emerge