I have to disagree a little bit there. The gameplay can be abused and it does infact affect players staying in the game. Sure sure, people's actions in the game make the game turn and keeps it non static, but it may not be right for game play overall, and it reduces overall players rather than build them. Does the 20 player morning hoard help the gameplay. No. But it makes the game appear to be alive from the outside. Pretending that actions don't run players off is why so many have been run off...
There is a reason I harp against too many good players flying Temps and super E planes. They run players off over time because they are boring to fight against. If I took this game super super seriously and only flew the Tempest every sortie. Do you think it would be fun for anyone I killed? I'd fly so high and fast and run from everything, it would be super lame for the arena but I'd be #1 every tour with a 20 k/d. Now imagine if every one flew them to compensate. It would be as boring as ever. And unfortunately that's where a lot of players are now and it just creates a boring fighting atmosphere for a lot of players. Who wants to fight Temps and 262s every sortie?
Gameplay does make a difference in #s. Maps make a difference. People should he cognizant about how their playing the game might effect #s. Even tho the game is bascially do anything you want, it does infact have consequences over the player #s in some way. You can either be someone who wants to create good engagements with other players, or you can be selfish and play the game that ruins it for other players. So far, most players just play the game selfishly, and thays why so many have left. Selfish players can have fun playing by themselves and that's what we see in the morning.
