Better Game Play or More New Planes?

[Midnight]

It seems a classic question in every AH development cycle is what new planes are going to be added, or what new planes people would like to see added. Another common thread is suggestions for gameplay improvement.

My question is, which is more important to you

A. Better gameplay (whatever your idea of that is)

B. More new Planes.

Personally, I don't give too much care to new planes, because with the same gameplay, the new planes become old very fast. Almost every plane built during the war was built for a different purpose or specialized role. AH doesn't have any real gameplay that requires a specialized role from any particular plane, and as we have seen from recent months, AH gameplay is trending downhill towards simple pigpile missions to capture bases.

Anyway, new gameplay is what I am hoping for more than any new planes or vehicles, both in the new TOD and for AH Classic.

Now Q3 is right around the corner, so I imagine that the HTC staff will be revealing something about AHII during the convention mid-July. It's been very quiet from them lately, so I am hoping for something good.

[AHGOD]

I prefer new planes.  I also prefer planes that are not in other sims, right now we have the same planes that can be found in every sim to date.  I would also enjoy a change in play as well, but planes are more important for me.

[oboe]

I'd much prefer more new planes.  Its hard to control gameplay, because people will still do what they want.   Look at the current strat for example - trains, truck convoys, etc.   Very neat opportunity for interdiction missions, but does anybody really do them?    Instead I see B17s and Lancs flying over enemy fields at 1,000 ft dropping their loads just before the entire flight is wiped out by ack.   And I understand lately the B17 had been discovered to be an effective anti-shipping dive bomber...

Unless the new planes are significantly better then the Spit IX, the LA7, the P-51, or the N1K, they're not gonna change the MA much.  But they would make the CT settings more enjoyable and I'm sure make more events possible.

[Midnight]

Originally posted by oboe
...  Its hard to control gameplay, because people will still do what they want.   Look at the current strat for example - trains, truck convoys, etc.   Very neat opportunity for interdiction missions, but does anybody really do them?....

That's exactly my point, oboe. The reason nobody goes after supply convoys or factories is because they have ZERO effect on how the rest of the war progresses. The whole zone supply system is essentially useless as well. Why bother organizing huge raids to kill a factory or several factories, when all you have to do is capture one field to control the entire zone?

A change in gameplay is what is needed. Something that will shift the focus of the war from constant JaBo raids on enemy fields to more strategic actions to try and knock out the enemy's infrastructure.

The way it is now, the only time players bomb factories is for score padding and only if thier country owns the field closest to the factory, making attacking it a quick and simple venture.

I would like to see something where factories are placed inside enemy territory, and able to be defended by nearby airfields. Then if the factories get destroyed, the enemy will see the supplies made by that factory start to diminish.

[sax]

Then along come the suiciders to take out facrories , spoil the furballers fun , furballers try to make a common sense post , along comes Beetle and hsubert , thread becomes more of the same , HT ignores more of the same, ect , ect , ect.

[nopoop]

Originally posted by Midnight
A change in gameplay is what is needed. Something that will shift the focus of the war from constant JaBo raids on enemy fields to more strategic actions to try and knock out the enemy's infrastructure.

Infrastructure ??

Not on the same page here. I'm not trying to win the war that never ends, I want to log on with some friends and have a few laughs and have some good fights.

Balance to make both achievable are where the game needs to place itself. I must say it does a pretty good job of it. If your idea of infrastructure is going to in effect, "pork" a countries resourses as I think your meaning, it has no place in the Main.

That would be reserved for AHII.

In the mean time if your bored,  throw the oxygen bottle away come on down in the weeds and play. Different game down here. Alot of fun, never boring. Might hurt the k/d a bit, but with your hair on fire you can pass on the haircuts.

[mia389]

my answer is''A'' change of gameplay.

I first came to AH with a feel of a simulation but then seemed more gameyer as I played through out the last months. If I want simulation I goto the CT and feels alot better.  I would like to see bugs fixed and possibly mess with the perking system alittle better and stuff like that. I dont like seeing the mass gangs to get a base but sometimes you have to or you will have dozens of seafires and hurricanes up if you dont get cap. I understand AH is what the comunity makes it though. New maps are great as well. Love the new one. I would like to see some kindof of system that would  make a player value his life alittle better, so you wouldnt have as many HOs and have divebombing lancs on a cv. The ganging thing wont stop and is a good tactic to take a base but would be cool if some kindof thing only let so many cons in a sector hehe. my 2 cents
                           FBsmokey

[Innominate]

Perhaps im ignorant about this but,
Why can't we get both?

It doesnt take a programmer to build a new plane, and it doesnt take an artist or flight-model designer to add new gameplay features.

[Rutilant]

AH2 is simply the new version, 2.0. 'AH2' includes both the MA (AH2:Classic) and the TOD (AH2:Tour of Duty).


So, yeah.. We're gettin new gameplay.. So i want new planes.. and I -DON'T- want one 'superior' to te current dweeb planes.. I want.. Something more along the lines of the P61, B24, Yak1, earlier P38 versions.. Heck, maybe even a biplane or two, and loads others..

So yeah.

[Midnight]

Originally posted by Innominate
Perhaps im ignorant about this but,
Why can't we get both?

It doesnt take a programmer to build a new plane, and it doesnt take an artist or flight-model designer to add new gameplay features.

Yes, but it takes a programmer to program how that pretty new plane will perform and to operate all it's features.

[Widewing]

I would vote for game play.

Things that in my opinion, need attention:

1) Damage model: Be it aircraft, ships or vehicles, it needs improving.
2) Realistic gunnery models: I saw a guy lose a wing to a B-26 at 1,600 yards, that's about 600 yards beyond the effective range of an M2 BMG firing at a moving target with ring and bead sights. Do the ballistics math and add in normal bullet dispersion associated with hand aimed gun mounts and you will see that this is virtually impossible in the RW.
3) Zoom mode: Disable guns when in zoom mode. No one had telescopic gunsights unless they were trained snipers. If you're that blind, see an opthalmologist (Fluff drivers will whine about this one).
4) Triple A: Harden the field acks.
5) Why is it Buff bombs arm when dropped at 500 feet, and Jabo bombs do not? I watched a formation of B-26s drop bombs and kill a CV while at just 400 feet. I know his altitude because I was on his six shooting.
6) Fix the VOX bug that causes the constant outages.
7) Consider requiring 11 troops being the minimum for a field capture. This will cut down on the single player milkrunning of bomb VH, or kill town, auger and grab troops. If he has to make two trips, the town or VH will be up before he can return. Late-night milkrunning on the big maps is rampant.

There are other issues relating to scoring and flight models that could be mentioned as well, but the above 7 items are a good place to start.

I think game play issues are of greater importance than increasing the number and types of aircraft available.

My regards,

Widewing

[Sandman]

Oh yeah... give us more planes to leave in the hangar while everyone goes for the fastest available planes.

That'll do it.

[Murdr]

Game play.  Thread subjects overwealmingly point toward that.

Nice list widewing, two questions.

3)I can shoot a real gun and hit the target without knowing the exact distance due to depth perception.  If I did know the exact distance it wouldnt mean squat to me unless I was like hunting out in Montana where you could be firing very long range.  Dont you think zoom is a fair trade to compensate for not being able to model true depth in the sky where there is no background reference?

7) What would be the incentive for a pilot to be goon #1?

[Mini D]

What makes you think the two are exclusive?  Seems there's guys that make the planes and guys that make everything else.

MiniD

[lazs2]

gameplay is affected by opportunity.   the new maps are terrible... they have allmost no opportunity for a large segment of the playerbase to have fun... the furballers are left with nothing but an easily killed cv to fight from/to.

change all the vehicle fields to combined fields and "gameply" will improve.  Unlike the so called strat guys.. the action guys simply need opportunity and they will make their own fun.

The strat guys depend on depriving furballers of a place to fitght because they know that any close fields or cv will cause a huge group to gather and have (gasp) fun while not listening to the several generals of the day or participating in "missuns" to fly around killing defensles toolsheds and maybe getting to fight over a few scraps now and then.
lazs