Open Letter as sent to Hitech (from me, a Bishop)

[Karnak]

Zazen,

I have seen countries in all "reset corners" win resets.  It is not an automatic loss.  It is a disadvantage, but it can be overcome.

I've never seen the noodleula country on Mindindao(sp?) get reset though.

Originally posted by Pongo
Some truths must be stated. This system punishes some players for flying well and rewards others for poor flying. Many people will never see this as fair or reasonable.

I disagree with this.  The new system is neutral in regards to skill levels.

Good points about attrition and the value of success though.  I do think that this genre of game needs a refreshing of the gameplay.  I would suggest someting, but I have not been able to come up with a workable solution that I like.



Oh yeah, F-86 and MiG-15, ummm, bad idea.

[Pongo]

No it isnt neutral. I didnt say "all" but good players are punished and bad players are rewarded. There is no way arround it.

[Shane]

Originally posted by Karnak
I've never seen the noodleula country on Mindindao(sp?) get reset though.

i have, at least once.

[Zazen13]

Originally posted by Shane
i have, at least once.

Yup, I've seen it once too. Once out of 3,422 times. It's a fortress of solitude for the most part.

Zazen

[Zazen13]

Originally posted by Karnak
Zazen,

I have seen countries in all "reset corners" win resets.  It is not an automatic loss.  It is a disadvantage, but it can be overcome.

Very, very rarely. 9 times out of 10 the country in the reset corner gets reset if there is one, no matter which country it is.

Zazen

[SCDR]

Originally posted by Edbert MOL
Cut the kid some slack will ya. When I was 16 it was all I could do with my $3.35/hour job to afford to put gas in my car and take my girl out for a movie and fast food. I was even supplementing my income by mowing lawns. All, as you say, without bills. I cannot imagine having been able to scrape up a grand for some computer game. Although now that I think about it I probably put that many quarters into the Ateroids machine

  I did cut him some slack. I was hopeing that he might realize
that some of us have bills and to fork out over a grand, just to
play AH2, is not really an option. Buying any upgrades, like a new
vid card might not be an option for some people either.
Asteroids?!?!  Where? I wanna play!!

SCDR

[F1Bomber]

Not that this post makes any difference. Seeing that alot of people are talking. So i will just say my bit and be done with it.

I dont want to tell anyone how to run there company, its there and pretty much i am just a user of the system.

Originaly, the masses were not a problem in aces high 1. The reason why they were not a problem is because we had an ability to remove strat or other important facilitys off the enemy. One being the best example of fuel. Now aces high 2 introduced a new method of fuel management, though this mainly removed the most effective way of controling the front lines of batttle. What the direct result of this was, that all countrys had planes avialable 24/7 at 75% fuel at min. The new fuel burn rate was suppost to fix this issue, but again players had unlimted supply of air craft and numbers can run over the map.

To counter this problem, the eny value was added. Though with the some direct results.

I will just jump to the point of my whole article. By removing the ability to disable vitual enemy resources. Other options had to be investigated to stop the number of players constantly upping.

I'm a strat player and pretty much i do agree with the new system implimented into aces high, through i do agree that the reason behind the implimtation of doing it was to restore what the original strat system did. But this time, its just in an more automated process.

Hitech, its just my view on the situation can you tell me if my view is correct? or am i missing a large piece of the picture?

F6Bomber.

[KurtVW]

Originally posted by hitech

Some post never siece to amaze me at the length people will go to support a position. The premiss of KurtVWs argument is that having unbalanced sides is realy all about increasing a pure "Skill" game. Does anyone else besides me see the absurdity of that arguement.

People have choices to make things more fun for everyone.

1. Squads could choose a different night to fly.
2. Squads could talk to  squads in the smaller country to get them to fly the same night as they did.
3. They could change countries.
4. They could view things as a challange to win with lesser aircraft.

Because to date almost all post on this subject can be sumbed up.
"I want to fly my plane, for my country any time I feel like it" with out the least thought as to how that effects things.

HiTech

HiTech, if that's what you got from my post then you may not have read it in the spirit that I wrote it.  I actually don't mind the ENY changes... They are a little frustrating sometimes, but its ok.  I enjoy the occasional challenge of flying an early war bird with less capability.

Anyhow, later in the day I got an email from Skuzzy in response to this original post/email and after thinking about it I realized that the one true solution to the imbalance isn't a difficult code change at all...

Simply don't display the numbers per side.  You see, they breed a defeatist attitude... people log in, see they are out numbered and log off... Or they see that team X is stronger so they go there...

Take the numbers out of the game altogether... Everyone will know that the fight seems tougher some nights than others, but at least they won't just think "Oh, the rook hoard again.. I'm logging off"...

Hard numbers are bad... For instance, you show the FPS in the video data..  People ***** about not getting 50 milliion FPS... Take it away and the average person won't complain till it goes under 20 fps.

Giving useless statistical information to people who improperly interpret it is the real problem here I suspect.

Think about it... Please.

[TBolt A-10]

Originally posted by TBolt A-10
Edit for flaming everone.

I'm sorry, but that's a HUGE overstatement.  

[NoBaddy]

Originally posted by TBolt A-10
I'm sorry, but that's a HUGE overstatement.  

Perhaps...but, it is funny.

[MOIL]

Nice Oct

"I could give two ****s about your business. It has zero impact on this game. Your unhappy customers are HTC's fault?"

And it states I said this where?

"How the hell are we supposed to interpret your rants then? You love the game, and yet you rip it left and right - any chance you get it seems - and you question why others might get that impression of you?"

Now everything I post is a "rant"  Rip left & right, you gotta be kiddin me, I don't question it any more than anyone else questions a post or chimes in with their 2cents worth

"Let me make this clear Moil, you cannot win this argument. Not with the post from which I've snipped these quotes. Your view is skewed and biased"
 
It's not an argument,  skewed and biased to you maybe

"There have been some louder, more obnoxious players to venture through the game over the yeras, but the community was able to control them, or send them packing. Not likely anymore. The community is saturated with the little a-holes"

Give'um a good talking to and let them know just how it's going to be here!!! Not like they send any money to HTC or anything

[jetb123]

Kurt wins everybody esle go home.

[KurtVW]

If only it were true Jetb.

I've been called a lot of things in this thread... I think my favorite was condescending...

I liked the part about programmer's of other types of programs not being qualified to make comments about gaming... That programmer clearly writes for a limited audience..

Users of a program, regardless of the program's intent are slanted to one side or another.. They want features added, or removed.  Its not like gaming is unique somehow...  I enjoyed his presumption that I write small code for a small user base.  That was fun.

The output of that program can be statistics, video games, database...  But still you have a pile of unhappy users and a pile of happy ones.  

Regardless, in Todd's opinion I am not qualified to have an opinion.  And as he told me that, he called ME presumptuous ... Presumes I am unqualified... then tells me..  Big Grin.

Anyhow.  Thanks to those of you that support my thoughts.. HiTech will do as he pleases and Rightfully so.. It is his program.  I just hope that our thoughts have influenced his future ideas... Frankly , due to the pure volume of responses, I'm sure at some level we have... And that is all that I wanted... A good discussion about where this game is headed.

I'm sorry to anyone who felt I was heavy handed in my wording... Its my character fault.  But it doesn't make my ideas irrelevant.

Take care all and thanks for a spirited discussion.

[jetb123]

Well I think Kurt said nothing wrong. IMHO he voice alot of guys thoughts.

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by KurtVW
Regardless, in Todd's opinion I am not qualified to have an opinion.  And as he told me that, he called ME presumptuous ... Presumes I am unqualified... then tells me..  Big Grin.

[/b]

I didn't say that you were unqualified to have an opinion.  You qualified your own opinion when you stated that you were a programmer as if this somehow gave you extra leverage to comment about game design issues.  It does not; it gives you no more leverage than it gives me or anyone else in this thread.

Game design has been around for centuries.  Some individuals designed chess and checkers, and they did this, strangely, without the help of programmers.

-- Todd/Leviathn