HTC/Pyro ... I believe that the spirit and intentions of this competition were honorable, but if you really think about it, it is very exclusionary, and I feel, its a slap in the face to the rest of us that play your game to its fullest.
You are offering cash prizes to a very select few, who are the smallest contingent of your Aces High population. You are encouraging the "score mongers" to find new ways to finesse the scoring system and then reward them for it. Just rip thru your database, get the last 12 months worth of statistics, average out your numbers, and send the checks out to these pilots now. "Dollars to Donuts", they will be the same pilots that will rise to the top of your scoring platform for the next 4 months anyway. Yes these guys are great pilots but they only play one facet of your game, which I think is the smallest part of the Aces High story.
I think the largest contingent of pilots in Aces High play the "complete" game, and these players will NEVER reach the top 15 spots no matter how good of an air-to-air pilot they are. This is due to the fact that these pilots will be flying bombers, running JABO thru laser ack, upping from and defending fields that are under attack, de-acking bases, sinking Carrier Groups, trying to clear a guys 6 who has 5 cons chasing him, and participating in Ground Vehicle battles. You will not find your top 15 score mongers participating, consistently, in the above mentioned scenarios and especially now that there is a cash award at stake.
If you want to run a "Top Gun" Air-to-Air competition, fine, but at the same time you should offer a JABO competition, a bombing competition, a de-acking competition ... you get the idea. Offering this one exclusionary competition is thumbing your nose at the rest of us and our participation in Aces High.
You have KOTH .. why don't you redesign that platform to achieve the same purpose. Whomever wins the most amount of KOTHs in a month wins the $100.00 and the next top 14 pilots that achieved the most kills within the month get the $50.00 ... Giving money away to those who participate in an event such as that is more palatable and is a true competition. You either win/kill or lose/get killed ... under controlled conditions, no vague/hazy gaminess to that.
If this competition is a marketing ploy, it will appear good from the outside, but those of us on the inside might/do think differently. If you have money to give away, then give it to the "HTC Employee of the Month" if you don't already do that. Your employees are the real "Aces" of Aces High.
Before anybody posts ... "Your sour grapes cause you will never get into the top 15 spots" or something in that vein ...
I DON'T CARE !!!
I don't need HTC's money, I have plenty of my own. I rather enjoy GIVING HTC $15/month to subsidize the development of the "Internet's Premier WWII Combat Experience" and not have my money given to "score mongers".
This post is not intended to be a slam, but rather my own personal view on an idea that has all good intentions, but really wasn't thought out to completion.
