Arena cap is getting out of hand

[PuppetZ]

Here is my 2 cents on this.

Did you notice how HT is talking about subscription? From what I've read so far on the subject and according to HTC, the split occurred to keep the competitivity level acceptable. As someone here already mentioned, this game is BRUTAL. And some player are very good at what they do. Better than any new comer is. I mean someone totally new to online flight sim like this. In an heavily populated arena, new comer just become cannon fodder for the better sticks simply because there is too much 'predator'. Spreading the total population over 2 arena allows for more player to play all the while easing the learing curve a bit for the new guys out there(like me), because they don't get jumped every 5 min by an angry mob.

I remember maybe 2 years ago coming to AH and being completely put off. Not by trash talk or ganging/hordes and whatever else. Just the sheer difficulty of the game. Why? because unlike a single player game, in AH odds are not stacked my way. And I had actually had to learn an think just to get to survive. I would be very surprised if 1 out of 10 trial become subscriber.

Of course HTC is trying to make as much money as they can. Who would not? But on another level, They are trying to make the game as enjoyable as possible for more people. And make the community grow. It's what is called progress. Maybe you are nostalgic of when there was only 1 big arena but that's not healthy for the community  HT told us. He has a lot riding on this decision since that's what he do for a living. That's too bad that sometimes you can't get to fly with your buddy. I would be interested in you recording the number of times you get to fly where you want vs the number of time it does not, tough.

Sometimes if a company want their product evolve, they have to make some unilateral decision about their product and where the company want to go with it. That's what is meant by : don't ever listen to your customer. The bottom line of this is : are we profitable and does our company grows. If yes, complain about how the change in the product changed the way they used the product are inevitable but not relevent in the least and should not even be taken into account in making a business decision. Change must be imposed, not suggested trough a poll. That's what HTC did. And they have numbers to back the fact that it was the right thing to do since it made their numbers grow.

This as been discussed sometimes already and we, collectively are going to need to just get over it. It's not going to change back to the way it was.

I acknowledge that there is a limit to the optilmal number of player a particular map can support. As the community grow so should the maps.

[moot]

Are you both drinking from the same well?  Local ENY would do nothing to curve down the hoards, just as it does nothing to curve them now. 

Dunno about the horde comments, but I don't see what negative consequence there'd be from local ENY.

[grizz441]

Dunno about the horde comments, but I don't see what negative consequence there'd be from local ENY.

Tbh I've kind of swung both ways on this topic, assuming it could be coaded to work the way we all envision it to be working which in itself would be quite an undertaking.  It would be great for furballers/predators/fighters.  Absolutely fantastic.  However I wonder how it would affect guys that don't have the experience necessary to compete yet.  They need the easy mode planes and they need more friendlies around to become somewhat successful in this game.  If they don't they will just move on.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of the most important things a new player needs to stick around is success in the game, whether that be helping his country take a base, running supplies, or killing a bad guy, his time in aces high can't just be an epic failure otherwise he will quit.  And limiting his choices in the hangar will significantly reduce his chances of being successful.  Remember, a newbs $15 is just as valuable as a ten year vets $15, and I think local eny would cripple the newer players.

[moot]

Ok, so truncate the ENY scale to positive only?  Local ENY would bottom out at 1. This same positive-only rule of thumb works for the game in general. IE incentives not penalties, any time it's possible.

[grizz441]

Ok, so truncate the ENY scale to positive only?  Local ENY would bottom out at 1. This same positive-only rule of thumb works for the game in general. IE incentives not penalties, any time it's possible.

Sorry I didn't follow, you talking from a perk bonus perspective or from a plane limiting perspective?

[The Fugitive]

Any one else notice this?

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,309083.0.html

I was surprised to see how much this changed things. I stayed in the "off-hour" arena almost until it closed due to the bish horde trying to grab one more base. When I went to go to the split arenas orange was at 200/200 and blue was at 80/150. Jumped in blue and after an hour or so the population was higher but still not high enough to bump orange open. Ended up getting bored with blue, couldn't get into orange, and just called it a night. Funny think was watching people login in and out trying to change the numbers  Normally I don't have any trouble jumping from one arena to the other and back looking for fights.

[moot]

Sorry I meant local ENY perk point multiplier, not perk price modifier.  As far as perk prices go for newbies, flying in the horde isn't how they'll get all that much better.  Maybe for the very first rungs up the ladder to pick up on others' examples but that's it. Switching countries is the solution to what's IMO a non-issue - being restricted from easymode planes.

The two problems happen in the same world, they can't be taken in vacuum to decide which one is more important. IE the horde problem is a problem for newbies on the underdog team too, and they're not 'less equal' in the right to a fair chance at a good fight.  Newbies on the steamrolling team have no easymode planes, newbies on the pancake team have the odds against em even in easymode planes.

Either way you look at it, I don't think local perk point modifier hurts anyone or anything.

[Rob52240]

I'd like to try having 1 large map late war arena during prime time and a smaller map for off hours.

[PFactorDave]

Tbh I've kind of swung both ways

STOP THE PRESSES!   

[grizz441]

A random minor idea I just had.  How about when an arena is within 5 players overcapped it shows numerically on the arena screen, if it is any overcapped than that it simply says Full.  That way if it is close you can exit/enter until you can get in, if your heart so desires and if it says Full, just spare yourself the futility and go to the other arena.

[DREDIOCK]

Just a thought that I know will never fly (no pun intended) but a thought nonetheless.

How about ENY based on player score/rank. Where, The better score/rank you have. The more difficult it is or the less available the EZMode planes are. Or have the EZmode planes available by perk cost only with some sort of sliding scale as far as what planes get perked.

Example. Everyone would start each tour the same with all planes available to them either at no or low perk costs, (exceptions would be planes like the 262.)
As a player gets better. Already perked planes would be perked even more. Ezmode planes would start to be perked. As the player gets better yet. Either the EZ mode planes would be removed from his selection entirely or would be perked to a much greater extent and other planes previously unperked would now be perked. and so on and so forth.

If it is truly the pilot and not the plane. Then the uber sticks should have no problem with this as no plane would immediately be denied them. They would simply have to put some of their perks at risk.
Then you would have more top notch players in 202's and FM2s rather then spit 16s and F4u1-Cs.

[james]

take away the spit 16 and ill have nothing to shoot though 

[moot]

It'd be a kind of lowest common denominator treatment.  And it'd feel like being in a rolling planeset arena.  You couldn't fly what you wanted when you wanted to.  Because you play "too well".  It wouldn't be fair.  You would be penalized for merely doing better than others - it's a relative scaling scheme rather than absolute.  IE you don't even have to play genuinely well, just better enough than others.

[DREDIOCK]

Another suggestion that I know wont fly. But I honestly think is the best solution for dealing with new players so they dont gt completely turned off within the first few days.

  Steal a page of sorts from the AW playbook (with major improvements) and have a score limited newbie arena whereas newbies could opt to go to that arena to hone their skills against each other until they reach a certain level of proficiency to be determined by their stats( Possibly a formula of hit % and KD ratio combination) before being forced into the MA.

  Now they could still opt with a warning message as to what they might be in for to forgo the Newbie arena and just dive right into the MA. But I think that many newbies who would otherwise be deterred and turned off to the game by the extremely steep learning curve in the MA might be more inclined to head back to an arena untill they reach the determined time or score level thats not full of aces that seem more like gods then players where they might be able to progress and learn against people more or less at their own level of experience and skill level at their own pace rather then just say "screw this its too hard"

  This arena should be named something enticing like "Aces High Basic Combat Academy"  and have a strict side limiter installed and a minimal of captureable bases and have those bases remain captured only for say and hour before they revert back to their original team because this would be about learning some of the nuances of the game and not purely for conquest.

   Maybe dumb down some of the damage model and get rid of PWs so they wont die quite as easily from mistakes but will be able to learn what a bad mistake is. Maybe for that damage thats dumbed down, have the option of having an instructor like sound file to let them know "Dummy if this were real, you woulda lost a wing" or "If this were real you would have collided and gotten yourself killed" Or, "Pay attention! you just killed him but you also killed yourself"

And maybe a keyboard command that would bring up a list on the clipboard of common commands such as how to start your engine,drop bombs, etc.

The idea being to help players familiarize themselves with the game while going up against other players of varying skill levels but not so skilled that they dont stand any chance at all.

You could even have Vets volunteer to enter the arenas on a limited and side based level to help and teach and organize the basics. To prevent abuse. Trainers ammo would be severely dummied down and would be limited to an even number per side.

Next up we could rename the current TA to "Advanced Fighter Combat Training Academy" for those that want ot go and learn under an official trainer advanced fighter tactics. but with a warning that unless you've completed basic training AFCTA wont be very helpful to you.

The names of these places are almost as important as what they are there for to give the customer a sense of . "hmmm. Now that sounds interesting"

Tell me. If any of you were new,Which one would you rather go to based on name alone. "The Training Arena"? Or  the "Advanced Fighter Combat Training Academy"?

To a new customer. Presentation is everything. This applies to any business. I dont care if its Aces High or a janotorial servise to clean toilets.
Hell, it was proven in the 70s that you could sell people a rock in a box if you just presented it right.
Followed closely by content. As was also proven with "The Pet rock" Not even always content LOL

But here we actually have content. What want is people to come. And then want to stay once they have. the problem is cept for diehards or people already with some flight sim experience in depth. You could be taking some people who barely know an elevator from a landing gear and throwing them into a place where many people are so far advanced they seem unreachable.

Yet, if you provide them with a way to learn how to  get part way up that mountain. They might be less inclined to give up
A Newbie arena would help. And a proper name for it might entice them to check it out.

[DREDIOCK]

It'd be a kind of lowest common denominator treatment.  And it'd feel like being in a rolling planeset arena.  You couldn't fly what you wanted when you wanted to.  Because you play "too well".  It wouldn't be fair.  You would be penalized for merely doing better than others - it's a relative scaling scheme rather than absolute.  IE you don't even have to play genuinely well, just better enough than others.

No. Unless they went with outright denial of planes based on score. You could still fly whatever plane you wanted. You would simply have to put some of your perks at risk to do so.

Tell me. is it fair for an uber stick to fly an EZ mode plane against a newb? In those circumstances. You might as well award the uber pilot a kill bot. Because thats what it amounts to

Again. If its truly the pilot and not the plane. Then the less uber plane shouldn't matter

(I could get really sarcastic here. Not against you Moot. But in general. But I wont)

It doesnt matter anyway. While I would LOVE to see this tried. There is no way HTC will ever do this.