First, I have no problem with the MAW... a great squad. And I don't care that they used to pork and auger in their early years... many others did too. Though I don't care for arena destruction, others are free to do so if they wish with my blessings. I was a member of the HammerHeads (from the beginning) and they were quite adept at porkage also (it was all that bastage Prowler's fault). But there are a couple things that were said about AW that I want to correct.
Kesmai did not promote nor desire arena capture in their game. Instead, they discouraged it. I worked for several years with Kesmai as a volunteer and was privy to their policies. It was their opinion that destruction of all bases for any country would result in unhappy customers. Imagine a player looking forward to a game in AW all day, only to come home, fire up his computer and find he couldn't play with his buds and favorite enemy because all his country's bases were captured in his favorite arena. Many times Kesmai reps told the players that no one could win at AW. Unlike AH, AW was not a game; it was a gaming resource.
In it's earlier years AW players could only destroy bases (for a half hour), not capture them. Only strategically placed neutral bases could be captured. It wasn't until AW3 that Kesmai included capturable country bases. They still discouraged arena capture, but felt the arenas were so large it wouldn't become a problem. IMHO, they were proven wrong, mainly in the RR arenas, and were constantly resetting arenas when a country's bases dwindled.
Mage is a great guy and did much to make the game enjoyable. But he couldn't satisfy everyone, and many who demanded things he couldn't deliver or the company wouldn't allow, were brutal in their criticizm. I worked closely with Mage for years and can state from personal observation and discussion that he loved the AW community and was very dedicated in making the game better for all. I was very impressed at the patience Mage and Moggy demonstrated in dealing with the volume of whining directed toward them. They weren't perfect, but darn close.
