I read that WB thread, but I don't see any arguments against an RPS in there. I
did leave WB partly because of the sucking RPS, and because iEN would do nothing about it. It had been preceded by an interesting "Generations" concept, developed by a guy called sinbad, but this was tried for only one tour before it was shelved.
There
are (and were) problems in WB, and I would identify these as the main issues with the WB RPS:
- No point arguing about individual plane performance, as the flight model for all planes is porked.
- Not all planes that existed in WW2 are modelled in WB, and for that reason a certain amount of fudging is required to create a balanced arena. And that's what triggers --ik--'s whines.
- With a strictly Axis v. Allied RPS, Doofus-Dweebius will switch sides to fly whichever plane is the strongest, fastest, best armed etc.
Yes, there are problems. But that is not the fault of the RPS. It is caused by all the factors listed above.
But is the above scenario that much worse than what we have in AH, especially with the small, pocket sized maps? Last night I was flying a Bishop 190A5 at Gangbang Island in the centre of the map - the one with the three vehicle fields on it. There was a low hurricane, and I managed a pretty good B&Z attack to kill it. But that opened the gates of hell. Now everyone knew I was there, so in come the Doras and Thunderbolts - and a N1K and an LA7 - of course.
Well, it just wouldn't be Aces High without an LA7 now, would it? I managed to outmanoeuvre the LA7 and 190 (biggest threats) and established 3000 yards of separation - but it was no good. The LA7 is able to catch up to me - even after a hard e-bleeding turn.
Given that it was a 5-1 fight, I had no alternative but to reverse and fight the LA7. Low in his 12, I pulled up for a HO and that was the end of him. Same thing for the N1K. Now one of the P47s was 400 yards behind me. I barrel rolled and caused him to overshoot, and might have been able to pull up and shoot him, but the 190D was still there and blew me away.
A fun fight, possibly. Realistic? Hardly. Historical? LOL! Do you really think that this game is made better by having enemy LA7s five minutes away at all times? Maybe to a furballer it is. But for anyone flying a jabo mission, or wishing to fly something other than the all singing all dancing LA7/N1K/Yak subset, it is not. When trying to get a goon in for capture, we constantly have to have a sacrificial lamb present to distract the inevitable LA7!
I can see why AH is the way it is. As far as I know, AH has always had a flat rate pricing plan. Initially it was $30/month, now it is down to $14.95. AH was in direct competition with WB, which had a $2/hour pricing plan, and that forced WB to adopt a flat rate pricing plan. That’s why they’re in so much trouble – they don’t have the money for R&D, so the players have to contribute. What Hitech/HTC realised (correct me if I’m wrong) is that guys like –-ik—in that WB thread are actually a minority.
Most people that enter the world of Flightsimdom want nothing more than to get in a plane, take off, and start shooting stuff by the time they reach 5K. For a flat rate pricing plan to work, the game must have MASS appeal. Thus, the plane set is designed for mass market appeal. Indeed, there are guys like Lazs who have said openly that the only stat that matters to them is the number of kills per unit of time. That’s it. Nothing more. No interest in the war. No interest in territory capture. No interest in the historical.
The RPS does have its problems, but not having one and constantly having to avoid opportunist LA7s is not much better. The one thing that IS better is that I don’t have to fly early war crap, but can choose my own plane.
