What is ENY?

[Mongoose]

  Ok, I looked around, but I wasn't able to find a good, complete explanation.  What is ENY?  And why am I suddently unable to take off in the plane I want?

[Delirium]

ENY is a server setting that encourages even teams. If that doesn't occur and the sides remain uneven, it minimizes the better performing aircraft on the side that has more players.

[Mongoose]

   Ok, that helps.  Buy why am I sometimes unable to fly my P38 at one field, but I am able to select it at another field?

[Delirium]

That sounds like you're either trying to take off at a field that has no fighter hangers or you're at a vehicle base.

Check the chalk board in the tower as you go to the airfield, it will tell you what part of the airfield is currently unavailable.

[Jayhawk]

ENY covers the whole country, so it won't be a base to base thing.  So it's possible you are trying to up at a field with no fighter hangers or at a v-base or port as Delirium says.  It is also a possibility the ENY changed in that time you switched fields.  ENY is set of number of people on each country, since that number is constantly changing, the ENY will constantly change.

[BaldEagl]

I noticed that the original intention of ENY hasn't been mentioned.

ENY was initially implemented as a method of determining/generating perk points used to fly perk planes.  If you shoot down a high ENY pane with a low ENY plane you don't get many perk points, but if you do the opposite you get a lot of them.  If you fly a perk plane the cost is deducted from your current perk balance if you lose the plane.  If you land it safely you retain your perks.

ENY was later implemented as a means of balancing the arena so that countries on the plus side of a large population imbalance had the lower ENY ("best") planes restricted.  The ENY balancing factor fluxuates and in extreme cases can restirct players to only the highest ENY aircraft.  To see current ENY restictions imposed open your clipboard and select country status.

[ImADot]

If the plane you want to fly is red, it's unavailable.  Either because hangers are down (as said before), or they aren't available in the arena or enabled at that field (163, 262, 234, etc.).  I find it helpful to show "enabled only" in the hanger.  Even if it is listed as available, you may not be able to fly it because of ENY, as you have found out.  There are different messages/indicators as to the reason.  Listed in red and "you cannot fly from this field" (or whatever the message is) is different from "Planes of 10ENY or less not available" (or whatever), when you try to spawn.

ENY is meant to balance the arena by giving players the choice of flying less uber planes (because they have superior numbers compared to the other sides), or switching to the lower-numbered side to balance the numbers and fly their uber plane.  Problem is...too many people have an unnatural affection for their "country", will refuse to switch sides, and come here to complain about how "ENY is teh suk" and they should be able to fly whatever plane they want whenever they want.

You just asked the question, so don't read anything into my last paragraph as being directed at you.   

[Mongoose]

Thanks to everyone for the explanations.  I guess I have just had some bad timing.  There have been two different occasions where I was trying to take off from a field where I know that fighter hangers were available.  In fact, other planes were in the process of taking off.  But when I tried to take off, I got the message that planes with ENY lower than XXX were not available.  When I switched to a different part of the map, suddenly I could take off. 

Just strange timing, I guess. 

In any case, thanks for the explanation.

[boomerlu]

I'm curious about this on two related points:

1) What does ENY stand for?
2) What is OBJ?

[Lusche]

I'm curious about this on two related points:

1) What does ENY stand for?

Enemy value.

2) What is OBJ?

While ENY determines the amount of perk points you get for killing other players, OBJ does the same job for determining perk point gain for killing objects  (hangars, fuel tanks, ships and so on)

[boomerlu]

Thanks! I was always curious.

[Wreked]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Me163 is ONLY available from a few fields - I never fly it so not sure which ones. Trying to take it from other fields will get you the "reded out" indicator in the hanger line up.

OBJ <---learned something today - thanx

....cheers eh!

[Jayhawk]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Me163 is ONLY available from a few fields - I never fly it so not sure which ones. Trying to take it from other fields will get you the "reded out" indicator in the hanger line up.

OBJ <---learned something today - thanx

....cheers eh!

You are right about the 163, they are usually only available at the rear bases, usually around HQ.  Now someone correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like they are only available at uncapturable bases.

[Lusche]

Now someone correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like they are only available at uncapturable bases.

No need to correct you

[Lepape2]

No need to correct you

I tried to fly one (163) from an uncapturable base a couple days ago and the plane was "reded out" too. I tried the other two and weirdly, only one of them allowed 163, thankfully, the closest one to the HQ where some bombers where IB.

I thought the same thing, but that event proved me wrong... correct me too if i'm wrong