2) Allot of people talking about leaving. Has the game stopped evolving and in so doing keeping people interested. When you are new its a voyage of discovery, but without new developments there is nothing new to learn/master. Is that what is happening and old timers are getting bored?
I don't really see this as a game anymore, and probably many other "oldtimers" don't either. This is a hobby. Not just the physics of it, and the techniques and tactics, but the history of the aircraft, pilots, units, battles, and people who answered the call during WWII. Beyond that the history of the genre itself. It's a social hobby. The fellowship of common interests and friendships are probably just as important, if not more, than the game itself.
I don't expect an endless list of tasks to "master". This is a simulation. The routes to develop are the fidelity of the simulation, and new things to simulate. It's not like a pure "game" where you can just keep adding new levels and imagining fictitious new things to add to the game. No doubt players reach a plateau, and move on to the next game/hobby/challenge, but not all. If HTC wants to move into other era's of air combat, like is often suggested, that's cool. I don't require it to keep my interest.
What I do want is an environment I can log into and have some "fun" at the aspects of AH that I'm interested in on a given night. If I see that goal is hard to achieve, I'll certainly speak up about it. For the most part I believe HTC does a decent job of checking the pulse of the community, and making adjustments when they feel it's needed.
Sorry for rambling, but as it's been said in previous replies...It's about gameplay environment, and not a lack of shiny new toys to play with.
