To answer the original question, I do frequent the CT regularly, and I do fly. I fly fighters 99% of the time, as that is where my interests lie.
You want to know how to become a CT staff member? When an opening comes up, you contact the CT staff and Skuzzy and Pyro, and let them know, send in an email telling them your experience in Aces High and what your goal(s) is should you become a member of the CT staff. It is up to Pyro and Skuzzy to select who is on the staff, not us.
Then, after you are selected, you learn the ropes of setting up the arena, you try and come up with setups that are fun for players, you try to achieve some semblance of balance, you submit it to the other staff members for debate or discussion, then you post your proposed setup here in the public forum.
THEN..........when your turn comes up, you go in and begin making the changes to the arena. You spend time going over all the bases and getting everything just right (you hope) and you open the arena to the players.
You come back here and read all the flames and negativity from the players, and you ask yourself "Now what the heck was I thinking, taking this job on anyway?"
Then you go back into the arena about a million times over the week to make sure things are running smoothly and the players are happy and having fun. Some are, some aren't. Again, you question your sanity in ever taking on the job of being a staff member.
Staff members are not always on the same page when it comes to the setups. We are not BORG, we are not hardwired into one another's brains. I find myself 180 degrees out of synch with some staff members when we talk about setups, but we stick together in public and try to present a unified front.
Real life sometimes bites US on the butts, too. Lately, I have been travelling so much with my job that I rarely have the energy, much less the time, to log in and play for long.
Small facts I have discovered while I have been on the staff:
1) The CT numbers have always and will probably always remain less than the MA numbers, due to folks wanting to fly whatever they want when they want, and due to the different settings in the arena, i.e. reduced icon ranges, etc.
2) No setup has EVER pleased everyone completely. There have always been and will always be detractors who chime in and give the usual "this setup sucks" comments. You have to grow a thick skin and get used to it, or give up the position on the staff. If you don't, it will drive you nuts.
3) Setups that failed before to draw good attendance numbers the first time are still worth trying again. The AH playerbase is a dynamic one, and changes monthly, if not weekly. Making a few subtle or not so subtle changes can make a world of difference in how players perceive the setups, and that alone affects attendance as much as the big stuff.
4) Players want to be heard, and listened to, and dealt with as people and players. I appreciate feedback from the players, and I try to gather all the feedback and make sense of it and improve my future setups. Sometimes I am not able to improve things, due to lack of more planes, incorrect or unavailable terrains, etc.
Players who feel they are being listened to and worked with on setups tend to be happier players, and draw more players into the arena.
5) Add facts #1-4 together and you arrive back at the "I musta been NUTS to take this on" mentality and you wanna quit and let someone else give it a try.
