We’re still working on some issues with 1.10. We’ve also begun work on 1.11 and that’s what this overdue news is about. Throughout our version history, we’ve looked to set new precedents with the features we developed and 1.11 is no different. With 1.11, our goal is to add an entirely new gameplay structure to Aces High to complement our existing formats. This will be done with a separate arena using an entirely different format.
This new arena is completely mission based, using historical setups and mission objective scoring including pilot careers with ranks and medals. This is not an open format where a player can choose what, when, and where he flies. Every flight that goes up is part of a scheduled mission. Missions will begin on scheduled regular intervals, such as 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, etc., so it won’t be like the main arena where you can just hop in and fly a few quick sorties.
Scoring is completely different with a heavy emphasis placed on achieving mission objectives and survival. With success, you will earn career points that will translate to rank promotions. Stats such as kills, strikes, etc., will be streak based and reset upon death. Your personal best streak will be saved in its own category and not reset. Ranks and medals are also not reset upon death, but death will carry a large penalty, and may even penalize other members of your flight. In earning career points, succeeding in your mission objective is of paramount importance. If your mission is to protect a group of bombers, than their survival, along with that of your own flight, will dictate the success or failure of your mission.
All operations and scoring in this arena are completely done by the host. There is no CM or admin staff to run these missions although the mission profiles will be scripted ahead of time. We plan to start this arena with an 8th AF/Luftwaffe setup and eventually expand to all theaters once we are comfortable with the system.
There are a lot more details to be covered, and this will certainly bring up more questions than we can answer at this time. At this stage, we just want to provide a general outline of what’s to come and then give the details as we get closer to completion.
