The MA Sucks! (or, the continuing story of how anRky finds his own thread)

[AN]

A while back, Westy provided us with this fantastic 'Pasha' post--one of my favorite posts of all time.  For me, it even rates up there with some of Scav's posts, although the tone is quite different.

Whadda ya'll think?

-------------------------------------------

Hampsters Dream -- by Pasha

HAMPSTER'S MAIN OBJECTIVE:
....eEEeee......eEEeee....... ...eEEeee......eEEeee......

1) I will win the war in
BigPac(ie. the main arena)....eEEeee......eEEeee....... ...eEEeee......eEEeee......

Section A: Win the War. (Chewing Aluminum Tubes for Water)

To complete this objective will be easy for me as a rodent, I am naturally
nocturnal. I will fly unescorted buffs....eEEeee......eEEeee.. ...., deep
into enemy territory....eEEeee......eEEe ee......, without
gunners....eEEeee......eEEeee ......, by myself on the
longest....eEEeee......eEEeee ......, most
boring....eEEeee......eEEeee. ....., anti-social....eEEeee......eEEeee......
Point Grab....eEEeee......eEEeee... ... I can think
of....eEEeee......eEEeee..... .

To complete my main objective, I will have to learn a few things to
compete against an expected opposing enemy force of 2 (two), some of these
will surely be ripping my wings, flying in a straight line at an altitude
that is easy to get to in 2 minutes, and finding the "b" key on my keboard,
that is yellow, and orange to match the tunnel, leading to the tower, next
to my water bottle....eEEeee......eEEeee. .....

Section B: I need Points (And Cedar Chips)

I refuse to accept the fact that taking bases was meant to be done by
squads on their squad nites, or impromptu "JAM SESSIONS" put together by
maybe 8-10 guys, making it a team effort, all I really know is you get less
points if you fly with a squad, those bastards end up getting all the
points, besides it is a wasted effort trying to take a base by myself when
there are enemy fighters up.

Section C: Scenario Points don't show in BigPac (I toejam where I sleep)

I would't last 30 seconds in a SCENARIO, besides SCENARIOS HAVE
OBJECTIVES that humans see important, as a HAMPSTER I would be wasting time
in a SCENARIO...... YOU ONLY GET 1 LIFE THERE!!!! Plus you have to accept
orders, just like the humans did in the real war the humans talk about while
I am....eEEeee......eEEeee..... . eating little pellets of compressed
vegitative matter....eEEeee......eEEeee. .....


SCENARIOS ARE A GREAT TIME, TO GET SOME TIME ON MY FAVORITE THING!!!!!!!!!!

....eEEeeeeEe.............eEE eeeeEe.............eEEeeeeEe. ........

I need land, I need lotsa land.... and I know the best time to really get
good at my lifetime ambition, of constantly flying the same mission over,
and over, and over ....alone at 2k in my bomber, is when I am all alone,
when the humans are over in the SCENARIOS, using something they call
TEAMWORK, and some other unknown weapon or something ....they call it
TACTICS over there in the SCENARIO, that is a bunch of crap though, as we
all know, when they return to BigPac, they will see the mistake they have
made flying in the SCENARIO when the find me and two other rodents just like
me have been
"jogging"....eEEeee......eEEeee....... ...eEEeee......eEEeee......

I wish I had known about this game a long time ago in DOS, I may have even
captured every base, and won by now, they had about 6 bases to take, I could
do that in 28minutes and 34seconds!!!! (unopposed, of course)

By the way, In BigPac (ie. main arena) someone told me "IT IS JUST PRACTICE", what are you
guys practicing for anyways?

....eEEeee......eEEeee....... ...eEEeee......eEEeee........ ..eEEeee......eEEe
ee..........eEEeee......eEEee e..........eEEeee......eEEeee ..........eEEeee..
....eEEeee..........eEEeee... ...eEEeee..........eEEeee.... ..eEEeee..........
eEEeee......eEEeee..........e EEeee......eEEeee......


Hard to sleep in the same room while I run in my little wheel, Shave me and
cram me up your ass

The Hampster
....eEEeee......eEEeee......

-----------------------------------------

anRky

[highflyer]

lol... (W)hat (T)he (F)udge?!

[Apar1]

So I guess we won't see you much in the MA then.  

[deSelys]

Can somebody tell me where I can find a Venusian -> English translator?

[Serapis]

That's why I left Air Warrior (Big Pac Land) after 8 years of playing, with no small help from EA in my final days. The P-51 with the ccip bombsight that could single handedly pork a field with one or two bombs, the dogfighting B-17s that didn't lose E in high g ACM, the ability to move around a super big arena and completely avoid any serious defense while still racking up points grabbing virtually undefended bases (all three sides would launch massive assualts in seperate, lowly defended parts of the map). The game had shifted from being a combat flight simulator to some funky RTS deal.

The AH MA is a very similar model, but it has stronger base defenses, less effecive Jabo, and somewhat more-vulnurable bombers (I seem to have little trouble downing one even with a fairly poor approach). These make AH a lot more fun, at least for me. In fact, this is the most fun I've had in an online flight sim since AW went to AOL. I hope AH gets tougher, and not easier, for those who want to milkrun a bogus strat concept. However, I have noticed more of this, in my limited experience, since the price drop. It will be interesting to see what the strat changes in 1.08 provide.

Charon

[ 10-02-2001: Message edited by: Charon ]

[LtHans]

Ok, at first I thought this was a slam against AH and the current Main Arena setup.

Now I figure that it is actually about Air Warrior.

Either way, I think the game is going to change with 1.08 and other versions.  The only way anybody will ever get their personal favorite sim is to make it themselves.

Hans.

[lazs2]

Not sure if I understand yours or westy's coffe house poetry but...

I enjoy the main and don't enjoy scenarios of any kind.  I haven't the patience.   I think the main is best when there are close fields and the fluffs are not involved.   I would like to see more close fields and have them easier to capture but fighters available till the end.   That would be enough "purpose" to keep the fight going.

When the fields are spred out then that is when peoples cowardly nature takes over and they gangbang... Who want's to fly long distances if they don't have an advantage?   it is tempting to go in a large clump and hit the field or defend in a large clump never leaving the safety of the ack.  

With close fields there is usually a lot more planes and confusion with no real numbers advantage or... if there is the field can be abandoned and a stand made at the next close field.   We don't have that option in AH's main right now.   Now, everyone is mourning the few times that there is a good furball at two close fields because some no talent fluffer just dropped the fighter hangers at one of em and so everyone is out looking for another good fight (except bish who think that field capture is better than having fun).

The main isn't practice for anything.... it is an end unto itself.   The fight is the whole thing.  The bigger the fight and the more types of planes in it the better.
lazs

[Tails]

I dunno about you lazs, but the fight isnt the whole thing for me.

Blowing stuff up real good is the whole thing for me. Getting a loaded Lancaster to fly like something other than a grand piano is the whole thing to me.

And this isnt directed to you, or anyone else, but I personally dont care who complains if I stomp on someones furball in the process of blowing something up real good.

I -like- exposions! I -like- leveling airfields, factories, HQs, CVBGs, and anything else that looks at me crooked! I -like- ruining some ground-pounder's day with one egg!

It's been said before, I'll say it again: Fighter pilots make movies, bomber pilots make H-I-S-T-O-R-Y!  

[Westy MOL]

The not too veiled point in that piece that anarky posted is that the MA is literally a hamster wheel. Day in, day out it's the same thing over, and over and over. Just like the hamster in the cage the who pedals his little bleeting heart out on that wheel every minute of every day in the thought he ius actually getting somewhere.
 In the MA the land grab types do the same thinking they are winning some farcical war. There are those who realise it is a game and enjoy the fights, land grab, etc etc. Then there are the virtual hamsters who extoll to thier country men (usually every few minutes and in CAPS) what to do, how to do it, that you shold follow them and cod forbid you idiots are failing to defend the father/mother land as they see it should be!

 In other words, today is not different than the one in the MA on December 32rd 1999, August 23rd 2000 or September 2nd 2001.

 That being said. The hamster wheel, while very repetitious, is still fun for most. Anarky however has hated it for years. First in AW and now in AH  
 
 If folks wanted more they have the CT. The CT is empty. Even though there were 237 players in the MA last night at 11pm eastern there ws still about 10 peopl in the CT. It would seem the greater majority of players have spoken for what they prefer.

 Westy

[ 10-03-2001: Message edited by: Westy MOL ]

[lazs1]

well westy..... my point was that the so called "strat" is mindless and boring not the fights.

The fights in AH can be a blast and with a lot of ac variety and size, they are infinite in their differences... none are ever the same.

Arenas that feature axis vs allied only or distant fields or other limitations that effect the size and amount of combat are..... boring..  The more you limit things like melee (furball) size or type of plane (the most limiting being axis vs allied), the more that the fights become repetious and boring.   No one could even remember all the complexity of an "any plane goes large furball" much less recreate it.   How can you get bored with it?   If I don't suck down a quart of water an hour to kill cotton mouth from the excitement then the game is boring.

The more spred out the fields the bigger the arena becomes in not only line of sight distance but alt as well and the less likely that there will be a large melee and the more likely that the fights will be familiar and thus, in short order..... boring.
lazs

[Westy MOL]

Lazs, I did not write the Hampster Wheel but I know who do and I understand his thoughts behind it. The boredom phase most often inflicts the person who flies a lot or has been flying online games/sims for a long time. I'm neither.  Just in case I read your reply wrong I'm just adding this post here to say that I don't find the MA boring at all for the same reasons you wrote of.
 But I do think of the Hampster Wheel analogy every time some Online high Command Emperor type starts bellowing out on the country channel the where, who and what we should attack, defend or do.  

 Westy

[Nifty]

The CT isn't more than the MA, it's less.  If you think the MA is the same thing every single day, the CT is worse than that.  It's the same thing every single second.  To use the hamster wheel analogy, imagine the hamster just sleeping in the wheel.  That's the CT.  All the CT has is the thrill of shooting down a historically matched aircraft.  There's no scoring, and no way to "advance the war".  I believe the CT is just a very thin shell of what the people who asked for a Historical Arena wanted.  I also believe this will be addressed in some fashion once the dev guys get 1.08 out and running smoothly.

[lazs1]

I believe that westy, nifty and myself are all saying the same thing about this.

I would add that parity is every bit as important as variety.   That parity can be large furballs or it can be a RPS of some sort.   The more spred out the fights the more opportunity for gangbanging and/or alt advantage roulette and.... the more tempers flare and the less fun the whole thing becomes.   The worst situation is large maps with distant fields and plane choice that includes uber planes...  Idiotic perk system or no.   I watched a 234 ruin the fight between two close fields.   He did it with no skill watsoever and all by himself.   way too much affect for the miniscule amount of effort he used.... It was basically a bug in the game so far as i was concerned.   The fact that we don't see it happen that often doesn't make it any less offensive.

Also.... when you have one aspect of the game, like fluffs have so much effect on gameplay for so little effort..... you ruin gameplay and action.
lazs

[sling322]

Ok lazs...I told myself I wasnt going to get involved in anymore of these "buff vs. fighter" debates anymore, but one thing I gotta know....

How in the hell did a 234 ruin a furball?  It only carries 3 500kg bombs which is only enough to kill one FH or 3 ammos or fuels or combination of the two.  I think you are beginning to be blinded by your own beliefs.

 

[lazs1]

sling.. he made about 6 passes and killed the fuel first.  Maybe 2 sorties... I don't know..  At 25% fuel there was no real way to either get to the other field or stay alloft long enough (or high enough) to defend with well.  IMO there are very few people who want to "hunt" a 234.  None were present.
lazs