CAPS

[Traveler]

Traveler your notion of 2 low population arenas being unhealthy isn't supported by anything. Your notion that there is an exact population number when the arena switches from healthy to unhealthy is nonsense. It should be obvious that booting everyone in the middle of prime time is a bad idea.

They currently boot everyone during prime time when a war is won.  And it's Hitech Creation's notion that there is an exact population number when the arena switches form healthy to unhealthy.  They have stated that as a fact many times.  I'm just saying that when a you split a low number total population it is not creating an enjoyable playing environment.  50 total players split is not very enjoyable. 

[FLS]

I understand your point about enjoyable but that's not the same as Hitech's use of unhealthy. I have never seen Hitech state that there is an exact player number where the arena becomes unhealthy. The off peak arena switch is time based so that the most players benefit from it and the fewest players are inconvenienced by it. Your point seems to be that while it's impossible to have a system that suits everybody it's possible and desirable to have a system that suits you personally.

Winning the war should not even be in the same conversation. The fact that it also involves a reboot is irrelevant.

[Traveler]

I understand your point about enjoyable but that's not the same as Hitech's use of unhealthy. I have never seen Hitech state that there is an exact player number where the arena becomes unhealthy. The off peak arena switch is time based so that the most players benefit from it and the fewest players are inconvenienced by it. Your point seems to be that while it's impossible to have a system that suits everybody it's possible and desirable to have a system that suits you personally.

Winning the war should not even be in the same conversation. The fact that it also involves a reboot is irrelevant.

I never said that I wanted a system that only suited me. While I have never seen a number published, I have read the state by HiTech Creations that the environment with one main arena the population reaches a mass that makes the environment unhealthy.  That mass has a number.   What I am saying is that if the purpose of the split is to ensure a healthy environment and for most of the day in a single arena 120 people have been playing and that environment is healthy.  Then split the arena based on total population.  Not time of day.  If 120 is healthy at 4:59 PM it should still be healthy at 5:01 PM.  Except now it's been split into two arenas with 60 people each. 

[FLS]

I understand. You want to reduce to one issue. The number of people in the arena. You don't want an additional issue, the best time to split the arena, to be a factor.

[Blooz]

I never said that I wanted a system that only suited me. While I have never seen a number published, I have read the state by HiTech Creations that the environment with one main arena the population reaches a mass that makes the environment unhealthy.  That mass has a number.   What I am saying is that if the purpose of the split is to ensure a healthy environment and for most of the day in a single arena 120 people have been playing and that environment is healthy.  Then split the arena based on total population.  Not time of day.  If 120 is healthy at 4:59 PM it should still be healthy at 5:01 PM.  Except now it's been split into two arenas with 60 people each. 

OK, cool. So you're flying a mission and going to do good things and the arena you're in hits the magic number just as you get into position to attack and does the lock and dump.....then what? You run here and start another thread?

[james]

Caps suck, but it's what we have. One day there will be an alternative. One day the fanboys will agree with the regular players and a big beam of light will guide the game to perfection for all  . Doesn't pay to argue it either way. Play where and when you can and have fun, it's a GAME not a simulator after all is said and done. Stop posting in here and go play for fun instead of a score that no one will ever bother to go look at anyway. 

[Traveler]

I understand. You want to reduce to one issue. The number of people in the arena. You don't want an additional issue, the best time to split the arena, to be a factor.

But that is the issue, at least according to what HiTech Creations has published about it.  They very clearly state that when the population reaches a certain number that the arena becomes unhealthy.   While I have never seen it, It must happen.  All I'm saying is that the splitting or join of the LWA be based on total numbers, not time of day. 

[Traveler]

OK, cool. So you're flying a mission and going to do good things and the arena you're in hits the magic number just as you get into position to attack and does the lock and dump.....then what? You run here and start another thread?

That's exactly what happens right now.   If you happen to not be aware of the exact time of day and it's approaching 5:00 PM.  You may very well join or start a misson and be right in the middle of it when the "Arena closing down in 5 Minutes"  warning comes on.   I"m just asking for an adjustment in how the decission to split or join an arena be based on the one thing that actually causes the problem as defined by HiTech Creations.
Total Population numbers, not Time of day.

[FLS]

But that is the issue, at least according to what HiTech Creations has published about it.  They very clearly state that when the population reaches a certain number that the arena becomes unhealthy.   While I have never seen it, It must happen.  All I'm saying is that the splitting or join of the LWA be based on total numbers, not time of day. 

I think you're misunderstanding Hitech's point. It isn't that X is a healthy number and X+1 is unhealthy. Your idea requires an exact number but Hitech's solution to an unhealthy arena only requires that a range of numbers from 200-800 is split into 2 arenas because somewhere in that range there is a problem. The exact number is likely to vary according to the character of the individuals in the arena. Because of individual differences in players you could have a small unhealthy population and a very large healthy population but you can't code for player maturity. If you look at total population numbers and new subscriptions you can estimate a general daily population range per arena that doesn't inhibit growth. Since there isn't an exact number of players requiring a split then the question of when to split the arenas becomes the time when it will cause the least problem.

[Blooz]

If you happen to not be aware of the exact time of day and it's approaching 5:00 PM.

  <looks at clock in lower right corner of monitor>
  <looks at alarm clock on dresser>
  <looks at wrist watch>
  <looks at cell phone>

umm... yeah...clocks, man...they're tough to find.....

[SlapShot]

Sooo ... is this something that you need help and training with to understand ?

[Traveler]

Because of individual differences in players you could have a small unhealthy population and a very large healthy population but you can't code for player maturity.

I have never seen HiTech Creations post anything that stated that there was an issue with small numbers in an arena being unhealthy.  While I have seen many postings about large numbers and people being attracted to the highest population arena and it becoming an unhealthy playing environment.

If you look at total population numbers and new subscriptions you can estimate a general daily population range per arena that doesn't inhibit growth.

Not aware that HiTech Creations publishes the number of new subscriptions  or publishes any financial information at all.

I think HiTech Creations has a very good idea at what number the environment becomes unhealthy and could use that as a method to determine if the arena should be split or joined.   Of course that would require programming and code and cost and I can understand why they would select the easy way out and base the split on  time.   I would just like to see that changed.

[The Fugitive]

It's all ready setup with population, both high and low, taken into account. This is what sets up the timing of the opening and closing of the arenas.

When the numbers in the split arenas become too low and create issues with playability they close the split arenas and open the off hours arena. This "time" that they have picked to do it is for two reasons. 1) it's the general time of day EVERYDAY that the population drops to these numbers (HTC has the numbers so I'm sure they have it pin pointed pretty well) and 2) they give a "set time" so that the players can set up there "last minute base grab" missions  No it so that the people will get trained to know "when" the switch will happen, and plan accordingly.

The change from off hours to split is thought out the same way. As the number approach that magic number that makes the arena become unhealthy they switch it back to the split arenas. The timing again is set due to at least two factors. 1) Like the change to off hours, it's to give the players a time that they can plan their missions around. Being the same time each makes it easyer to get us to. and 2) the timing of the switch is again tied to the population numbers. It is set to when the numbers from the US are loggin in with big enough numbers to bring the population number in BOTH arenas up as quick as possible. Do the switch earlier and it takes FOREVER to build numbers in the arenas to make it fun. Do it later and you run into that unhealthy arena problem again. Again, I'm sure this is based off of HTC numbers that they have available, but we don't.

Having the arenas open and close as the number move up and down all day would be more frustrating than it is now. Closing out an arena because the number fell a bit too much would piss the people off that were having fun in that arena, and opening a 2nd arena when the numbers climbed a bit would suck because you couldn't count on the numbers climbing quick enough to make it fun for those going into the second arena.

[Lusche]

think HiTech Creations has a very good idea at what number the environment becomes unhealthy and could use that as a method to determine if the arena should be split or joined.   Of course that would require programming and code and cost and I can understand why they would select the easy way out and base the split on  time.   I would just like to see that changed.

That would suck tremendously. You need dependable and predictable time schedules to plan your sorties, particularly bomber missions. Imagine staying in the tower because "at this time usually the switch is coming soon" - and it doesn't. Or on the other hand having bad luck and being surprised by an exceptionally early switchover while being several sectors deep in enemy territory.