What I miss about DOS AW:
1. The HATE
Before the AOL ruined AW, before the threat of lawsuits, before kids got on the internet, before forum moderators, TOS nazis, and "bad word filters", before cheap monthly membership plans, the Hate really flowed. You could say whatever you wanted and the other guy, instead of whining about personal attacks, was expected to fight back with equal vigor. And the watching community cheered them on instead of lamenting the low level the argument had sunk to. Hell, even the Kesmai staff joined in enthusiastically. And if somebody somehow managed to exceed the very wide bounds the times then allowed, the community policed itself with otracism. GAWD, those were some awesome flame wars, especially because the education level of most of the participants was higher than today. Those were the foulest, yet most creative, insults ever fired in anger. I saved some of the truly imaginative rants and reread them in these pathetic, touchy-feely times when I miss the old days. Some of the DoK-GB lovefests still bring a tear to my eye.
2. The Hunts
These were part of the overall Hate. Because the maps were tiny and had less than 100 folks on them, it was pretty easy to find particular nmes. And you had a score card that showed your last 10 kills, so the object became declaring war on 1 individual and then posting up your score card showing how many times you got him. This would often result in, or be a part of, an epic flamewar on the boards, and would be accompanied by entertaining missives on ch 1.
3. The Neutral Fields
You could only capture neutral fields, of which there were only a few on the map, all near the center. Thus, the front lines never moved very much and there was always a huge, constant furball in the center with decreasing numbers to the edges where the FNGs hung out until they got the hang of the interface. No landgrabbing, no strat system, just air combat for its own sake and the personal vendettas arising from it.
4. The Constant Explosions
Every time anybody died anywhere in the arena, you heard the boom, even if you were on the other side of the map. This cued you to look down and see who'd bought the farm. Usually, there was a death explosion every second or so and it gave the arena an attractively ominous feel. You couldn't escape the fact that guys were dying all around you all the time, even if you couldn't see them, and it made you wonder what was getting them and whether it was sneaking up on you. I think it really helped folks get better SA.
5. 12 Visible Planes
There might be 50 planes in the furball, but the game would only show you 12 of them. You had a choice of seeing the 12 closest planes, or the 12 closest nmes or friends. All the planes you couldn't see where there, however, and could kill you if they could see you. This really kept you on your SA toes. On the down side, it caused real problems in scenarios, especially for buffs and their escorts.
6. Theater Maps for Whole Campaigns
For a full month, we had the one EUR map. Then the next month, we had the one PAC map. Only a few USAAF planes were available on both maps. Otherwise, the PAC map was IJN vs. USN and the EUR map was USAAF and Brit vs. LW. So the plane matchups were much more historical than today. Also, by having the same map all month, and the front lines basically static, squads could make detailed mission plans far in advance, listing specific launch fields and targets.
7. Editable Artwork
You could edit what passed for "skins" in those days (actually just graphic masks over part of your monitor area) and use the result in any arena. Thus, you could put squad insignia on your wings, or make your plane look like a car, or add drink holders to your cockpit, etc. Only you could see this, but it was cool. You didn't have to have the new art built into a specific map.
8. The Look and Feel
Graphic refinements and increased visual realism are all very fine. But there was just something about that flat, featureless pooltable ground stretching to infinity and the brown pyramid mountains under that cloudless, monochrome blue sky and the yellow circle that never moved or cast shadows. This sky was filled with crude, very low-count, gray, green, and blue polys somewhat resembling aircraft. It was a harsh, stark environment truly befitting its harsh, stark inhabitants. It was like another plane of existence, a sick parody of the real world, some nameless Hell to which the truly Evil had been condemned to fight their unwinnable, unending war for all eternity, while hurling insults, taunts, and jeers at each other as the demonic Kesmoids looked down and gloated maliciously.
