I only stayed in WB as long as I did because of the S3 games. The Special Events, SL's and EMCs were OK, but not a patch on the S3's... Which isn't to say the S3's were always perfect, there was the occasional experimental one that went horribly wrong, but the immersion levels the Janitors (S3 team) managed by good game design using a product like WB2 was incredible.
WB3 was simply dire when first put on public release. It quite simply wasn't enjoyable, and I stayed up until the "test S3" that the Janitors ran to see how well a real one might go. Those owning WBs have quite simply had some very strange ideas about what makes a good WW2 online combat flight sim. It isn't bazillions of polygons in possibly technically brilliant ultra-detailed 3D models, it's great gameplay and adequate graphics. That brings in lots of players, so long a the price isn't exorbitant.
AH graphics may be a tad old hat compared to the likes of say, IL2, BUT - IL2 isn't MMOL, and the graphics are "of a piece", that is to say, they don't jar, and unlike WB3 when last I saw it, they do lull one into suspending disbelief and thus allowing one to get immersed into the game instead of thinking "that looks OK but that doesn't" all the time. I don't understand folks claiming AH has a steeper learning curve than WB, as the FMs seem similar (certainly similar in difficulty) to those in WB2.7. The only thing I've found significantly harder in AH is carrier landings.
For my money, HTC has been doing right nearly all the things that the owners of WB have been doing wrong for so long. Long may HTC continue to keep up the good work! The only downside to AH for me has been that the "serious" side of the community isn't quite up to S3 levels yet, but I'm sure it'll get there before long. There's some good folks and some good units out there, and the CMs doing their best to put on enjoyable games for as many as possible. Not forgetting the many people that work on terrains for the rest of us to play in.
By the by, WB3 development has started to look mildly interesting, from what I've heard about it. And I'm not entirely happy with the AH experience, either. But it's still the best MMOL WW2 combat flight sim about at the moment IMO, and if you like flying bombers, the new bombsight system is a breath of fresh air compared to the silly laser-bombing that went before in most games. It used to be that WB was the game that other developers had to try to beat. Now, methinks it's AH that sets the standards, at least insofar as the actual software of MMOL WW2 combat flight sims goes.
Esme
