CT needs more pilots...

[TexMurphy]

Hia guys.

Im relativly new to the game. I flew 2 weeks 2 years ago, 2 weeks 1 year ago but now Ive come back and actually subscribed.

The reason Ive never subscirbed before is that Im not really fuzzy about the bish/rook/knight setup. For me personally it feels just so wrong to have all planes on all sides.

I mean when I fly my YAK wtf am I shooting at another YAK for and not at that 109 that is flying next to me?

Just doesnt make sence to me.

Im trying to ignore that fact, pretend that everyone around me on my team is flying planes from my nation and since I fly russian planes its not that many enemies in same planes. Im actually considering flying italian planes just to get more imersion of fighting the enemy.

Really CT should be my home. CT is what makes sence to me, my interest in history and combat.

Though the big problem there is just sooo few pilots in the CT. I dont know if its a time zone issue since Im in europe but I never see more then max 20-30 pilots online.

I mean the england france map is soo cool but its so hard to find fights. And when in a great setting like this one has to spend time searching for battles it kills of the imersion of fighting WW2 as well.

It becomes more a "training ground" in a historic setting then AH in a historic setting.

Its such a shame because Id love to fly big scale combat in the CT.

What I wonder is if there has been any consideration put into how to boost the number of players in CT?

Tex

[Furball]

A few of us in Hornets want us to have a squad night in the CT every week.  Hopefully we will be able to sort something out, that would be fun and help with numbers a little.

[CurtissP-6EHawk]

Welcome to the CT and I hope you stay. This is an issue that has been and is still discussed. "Why the CT" "What is the CT" etc.

The MA is an arena where guys can log on and shoot at something and capture fields.

The CT was not intended for that. However, what we do have is a mini MA were guys just want to up and furball without having to use thier brain to put all the information together to fly a mission.
i.e radar, bar dar, icon settings, haze (vgisability) etc. Fights are hard to find as they should be. There is more to the CT than just shooting at something.
This normaly happens at 9pm or so on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Try it.

[CurtissP-6EHawk]

I guess what I wanted to say was that during squad nights there is a mission subject. Each side sets out to accomplish a givin task. This task may or may not include dogfighting. What is neat is to be flying among a formation of 15 fighters, look down and see 5 fighter (no threat to the mission) and hear them on the buffer crying about us not fighting. This also goes the other way, look up and see 25 planes fly over you just to pass and be gone.

I on the otherhand faught 10 or so fighters alone while escorting buffs. I couls have been shot down at any time. Although I was a pain in thier arse, I was no threat to the higher and faster LW fighters. IN other words, they did not weaist thier time shootinmg me down. Thier mission was to shoot down bombers, not fighters. I did my job, they did thiers. To many this is boring, to us few it is not!

[TexMurphy]

CurtissP-6EHawk

What I ment by fights beeing hard to find is not that I just want to be able to launch and kill stuff.

Though what I dont want to be doing is spending 2 hours searching through the entire region to find an air field that people are flying from.

For me its been like this so far:

1. Over chan 1: Hia guys where you basing out of today?
2. no response
3. Ok Ill fly a patrol and see if there is someone who needs my help.
4. No response and no result from my patrols
5. Log of and either play in the MA or go play Jumpgate.

So what I mean is that its hard to find people to work with, not necessary find a fight as in a dog fight.

Im one of the people who does enjoy missions, though I do know enough about how gamers work to know that too hardcore realistic is very niche.

While I do enjoy relaism over arcadeish shoot and capture I do enjoy to play with alot of people. I mean realism is nice but when its just 5 planes defending england from 5 german planes in the battle of england one can throw realism out the door, right?

The problem Im having atm is that the MA is toooo far out to the arcade style for me and the CT is too low on numbers.

Maybe what I should be asking for is a change to the MA and letting the CT be hardcore realsim area with a niche following because it has good place.

What I wouldnt mind was if the bish/rook/knight setup just had planes divided between them. So that there would be a difference to beeing a bish, a rook or a knight. For there to be something to be proud of, for there to be something to take pride in achiving. Beeing a really good bish pilot. For there to be some sence of rivalery.

I know its very hard to ballance things when you limmit access and I know you couldnt ballance things by just dividing the nations.

Though with the sheer number of planes available Im pretty sure that if one put his head into it abit one would be able to achive pretty good ballance between the nations. Its always easier to ballance when there are alot of items then just a few because then each side can have something that fits the individual player.

I think the main reason for MA beeing the most popular arena is that players can fly the planes they are good at there. In CT if someone wants to fly a N1K and there isnt a scenario with Japs running they cant fly their favo plane.

Another alternative to dividing up the planes in the MA could be to now and then throw in a map that is more historic and having it be axis vs allies with all the planes in it. So that in the England france map allies could fly all allied planes and axis all axis planes.

While still painfull for the historical nerv it would at least for me be much more fun.

Tex

[storch]

Hello Tex,

The CT can be a place of some very intense fight irrespective of the overall numbers you may see when you log on.

The skill level of the average player in the CT is somewhat higher than that of the average MA player.

CT players generally take their gameplay seriously.

I would suggest joining a squad though you will seldom see any vvs set ups.  In AHI there was an excellent Fin/Rus map made by Kanttori that was one of my personal favorites where the featured aircraft on the allied side typically were both Yaks and the La5 as well as the occasional Hurri and P40.

Stick around get a feel for the place.  Sadly most of the action occurs at around 0300 GMT so it will be tough for you to find game play at 2200 GMT (1700 EST) but I'm usually on at that time as are others.

I'll say Hi if I see you on.

[Sable]

Keep in mind that the current CT setup has full radar and icons.  I can't say I love these settings, but it makes it very easy to find the other guys and fight them.  

Has that Baltic map been brought into AH2?  That was a great map - I'd love to see it again.

[CurtissP-6EHawk]

Oh yes, I understand.
When you log in give the arena a few secs to load up. After you dont get a response on ch1, use your other resources. Look at roster and find out how many are flying on the opposite side. Then look to see where the bar dar is. Do you know what the bar dar is?  Each map has its special place for furballers or fighting. On the BoB map, it is always mid the English channel. During the PTO map, currently "The Slot", keep an eye out at the front line fields. Most of the time you will see a small red square in a sector for at least one to two enemy aircraft.
Seldom do I eve log on and ask where the fight is. I use the resources givin by HTC to find the enemy...kinda like in real life.

I can usualy tell whats going on by who is flying. You get use to who does what. You have your dedicated furballers, field attackers and those that find a quiet field to attack. That is what is so sweet about the CT, it has personality.

[CurtissP-6EHawk]

Originally posted by Sable
Keep in mind that the current CT setup has full radar and icons.  I can't say I love these settings, but it makes it very easy to find the other guys and fight them.  

Has that Baltic map been brought into AH2?  That was a great map - I'd love to see it again.

Full Radar is misleading.

Mr Fork has it set to what he calls Full Radar.  Dots still only show up inside a radar (coverage area) circle. Its just that the coverage area is set to a larger radius in the BoB maps. Even in the Main Arena, there is NO FULL RADAR were you see a dot no matter where it is!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ergRTC]

CT is the  best you are going to get (except when it is not pto).  


I have not flown in the MA in over a year and dont miss it.  I dont play much anymore, although I love to play, but if it were the MA I would have quit ages ago.

I use this attitude towards the CT.  

If nobody else is there, what the hell is wrong with me?  I should be out doing something.  At that point if I really want to fly, I just do it, somebody always shows up to shoot me down.

[B17Skull12]

Euro hours are't real a CT strong point.

[VWE]

B nice if the CT had its own plane set. That might be a stretch but at least examples of some aircraft you would only see in the CT.

Wanna fly a PBY? Go to the CT... Wanna fly a Swordfish? Go to the CT...

[Arlo]

Well, it's kinda that way already, VW. Not the "exclusively available part" but ... stuff is flown and enjoyed here that just flat doesn't get flown and enjoyed in the MA. Which is my basis for telling players who constantly throw in "well it'll be a hangar queen in the MA" argument into a plane modeling discussion that the fuggin' MA has all it'll ever need already.

Model planes for historical matchups ... period. That's what AHII needs.

Then it'll still be .... wanna enjoy flying a Beaufort or a Swordfish or the I-16? Come to the CT!

p.s. What'll get more pilots to try the CT is HT bumping the CT arena to the top of the selection list for a month and a couple hundred eager beavers click on it instead of the MA and a third of `em go ... "Whoa! Cool!"

[eskimo2]

Originally posted by TexMurphy
Hia guys.

Im relativly new to the game. I flew 2 weeks 2 years ago, 2 weeks 1 year ago but now Ive come back and actually subscribed.

The reason Ive never subscirbed before is that Im not really fuzzy about the bish/rook/knight setup. For me personally it feels just so wrong to have all planes on all sides.

I mean when I fly my YAK wtf am I shooting at another YAK for and not at that 109 that is flying next to me?

Just doesnt make sence to me.

Im trying to ignore that fact, pretend that everyone around me on my team is flying planes from my nation and since I fly russian planes its not that many enemies in same planes. Im actually considering flying italian planes just to get more imersion of fighting the enemy.

Really CT should be my home. CT is what makes sence to me, my interest in history and combat.

Though the big problem there is just sooo few pilots in the CT. I dont know if its a time zone issue since Im in europe but I never see more then max 20-30 pilots online.

I mean the england france map is soo cool but its so hard to find fights. And when in a great setting like this one has to spend time searching for battles it kills of the imersion of fighting WW2 as well.

It becomes more a "training ground" in a historic setting then AH in a historic setting.

Its such a shame because Id love to fly big scale combat in the CT.

What I wonder is if there has been any consideration put into how to boost the number of players in CT?

Tex

You will find the quality of fighting in the CT is pretty good.  Even though the numbers are not all that great, how many guys do you think you can fight at once?  I've been flying in here for years and I'm pressing my luck to fight more than 1:1.

Don't be concerned about the numbers, just find the fight and enjoy.

eskimo

[B17Skull12]

CT needs a He111 so darn bad.

VWE why not make the CT its own game?