I'm not going to get Hot n' Heavy into the ENY debate here but I want to point out a few things. The core problem and misjudgement on HTC's part is very simple. HTC was banking on a substantial number of players being more loyal to a specific aircraft than to their friends of years to over a decade in many of instances. Now, anyone who has been WW2 sim'ing for over a decade could undoubtedly kick serious bellybutton in a Cheerios box if it had wings and some guns. The limiter is in actuality having only two effects:
1) Pissing alot of people off and not just Rooks, Bishops have similiarly high ENY penalties Monday nights, Knights Thursdays.
2) Causing people to simply log-off and do something else when penalized.
Effect #1 does not change the balance of anything it just makes paying customers unhappy (major business blunder).
Effect #2 does help balance in a limited fashion but anyone who is so dissatisfied they'd rather log-off than switch countries or fly a lesser plane probably isn't going to pony up his subscription fee come renewal time either (business blunder).
Aces High is a product, to be sure, but it is also a 'private club' of sorts. We pay a membership fee to fly and chat with long-time friends. Aces High is unique and set-apart from other FPS's because its basis is historical and therefore tends to attract alot more adults, hobbyists and enthusiasts of the genre and subject-matter that have inter-woven relationships extending far further back in time than AH itself. Your typical 40'ish adult with a career and family has only so much discretionary free-time. We choose to spend that limited free-time playing Aces High because of a love for the subject matter, of flying generally and because of a deep repore with and loyalty to our old friends. We are not particularly interested in 'meeting new people' or 'mingling' as Arlo suggests. We know everyone, at least in a cursory way, through inter-country chat, personal experience/interactions and this message board. All we want to do is to spend time with our friends enjoying our collective hobby together and we don't mind paying whatever for that priviledge.
This whole ENY thing was put into place because of alot of 'pissing and moaning' (and cancellations I presume and hope as doing something this drastic just because of whiners would be rediculously stupid on HTC's part) about Rooks' Sunday RJO as it continued past Rooks' period in the numerical bucket (we were never given a reprieve from this by HTC we dug our own way out over time and with alot of concerted effort). We haven't had an RJO since the weekend the ENY thingy was introduced. I have even noticed several Rook squadrons moved their squadnight off of Sundays to help to ameliorate the situation. If anyone pays attention to the average roster numbers you would realize our numbers this Sunday were not actually above the average prime-time numbers for any country for any night of the week. The only difference was Knights and Bishops had far fewer people than they typically have during prime-time evening hours. This is not something I think Rooks, or anyone, should be punished for either by being forced to switch countries or by having their options curtailed. The problem is not Rooks numbers on Sundays, we no longer even attempt to field the 300+ we used to, the problem is Bishops and Knights are NOT playing on Sundays, exacerbating their own plight that would actually be non-existant if they simply fielded the same numbers they do the other 6 nights of the week.
That being said, as far as I am concerned, personally, the ENY thingy makes little difference to me, only one of the 4 aircraft I fly is under ENY 20, and I have an affinity for several aircraft with ENY ratings of 35+. I can kick just as much bellybutton in a P47D11 as I can a P51D, it's not going to have an appreciable effect on my impact upon the enemy, nor anyone else with my experience and skills. What it does is make me feel an even stronger bond, comraderie and sympathy toward those also suffering this form of 'persecution' for no other reason than simply having superior co-operation and country character appeal. This has the net effect of making myself and people like me even less likely to switch countries for any 'altruistic' reasons. HTC and the rest of you need to realize it's not about the 'planes' we fly that makes us Rooks, Bishops or Knights, it's about the 'people' we fly with and the relationships we've built with those people over the years.
I come from an AW background that lasted from 1992 to 2001? when EA killed it. Never, ever, not even once was any kind of 'balancer' of any sort put into effect in the entire 10+ year history of AW which had far, far, far more subscribers than HTC ever dreamed of having. There was ebb and flow, there was natural shifting by those who liked the underdog side, there were the fair weather flyers that liked the advantaged side, but in the final analysis the numbers always basically evened out in the long-term using the exact same 3-country system. A heavy-handed approach that attempts to coerce people to not fly with those they would otherwise choose to fly with just builds resentment, dissatisfaction and a general apathy toward those that impose it. (business blunder)
The argument HTC came up with for this imposition was that no other FPS games allow complete, unbridled freedom of choice as to side selection. Well, that may or may not be true but, those games are largely populated by children, with no social bonds or long-term interpersonal relationships and no common affinity for anything in particular other than video gaming generally. They have no real community per se, they have no con's, they usually do not even have a central message board or chat room interface and if they do it is nowhere near as active and comprehensive as this one is. You are comparing apples to oranges, this is not 'like' other FPS's and should not be dealt with in a similiar fashion. Other FPS are only popular for a short period then quickly die out as the next best, greatest FPS is released and takes its place, unlike AH and AW before it which enjoy an incredibly high-fidelity, loyal and long-term customer base. Does HTC REALLY want AH to become like every other FPS? I think NOT!...We are adults for the most part, hobbyists, arm-chair historians and professionals with only one common desire, to enjoy our 'private club' and the company of our long-time friends with WW2 Air Combat as the back-drop.
Peace out!
Zazen
