Titanic everyday? Yep!

[grizz441]

What does this change have to do with there being a small/large map during off hours?  In the previous set up the off hours map size was either large or small, same as now.  HTC can't cater to the minority group, and switching arenas in the middle of a fight just kills momentum, I'm sorry Euro guys.  You'd be better off launching an Aces High marketing campaign in your respective countries and getting more players to join the game so there will be more players on during your times.  I'm sure Hitech Creations would help those of you who are serious about it.

[Lusche]

In the previous set up the off hours map size was either large or small, same as now.  

No, it was always and exclusively small.

I'm sorry Euro guys.  You'd be better off launching an Aces High marketing campaign in your respective countries and getting more players to join the game so there will be more players on during your times.  

I still think most players at off hours had always been US

[grizz441]

No, it was always and exclusively small.

Was it?  Well that explains the whines then. 

[Lusche]

 

[Bruv119]

off hours for the last several months has had what I would class as small maps.   At least the 60 or so people could find a fight easier.

The fights are still there on a large map but it is usually only one base per front.   Whilst the guys who do want to take bases will go out of their way to capture the undefended ones.   The avoiding combat issue will rear its head again if a large map stays stagnate for weeks.  

On the other hand players could reset it easier off peak when no-one is there defending.   Time will tell, then HTC can act again IF needed  

you've suggested some more marketing outside of the US before and it could bring in a bunch of new meat but if someone really wanted to find a game like this it wouldn't be THAT hard to stumble across it, so you would have to assume that everyone who wants to play cartoon planes already is.   The "console" type players just wouldn't be prepared to pay the monthly subscription for any serious amount of time (in my opinion).

[LLogann]

In plain English.... actually, in your case, the Queen's English will do, how are the base takers trying to avoid a fight?  I could have sworn it was the defenders, not the attackers, that are avoiding a fight.  

If you asked somebody that has never played this game, they'd probably agree with me.  It isn't the base takers responsibility to defend.  

  Whilst the guys who do want to take bases will go out of their way to capture the undefended ones.   The avoiding combat issue will rear its head again if a large map stays stagnate for weeks.  

[Bruv119]

maybe I should have said the base takers that try a different field at the first sign of defence. 

Still the facts remain.  A large map off hours will result in increased milking, rampant captures of un-defended targets and very little actual fights with human vs human combat.   Sounds great 

Variety is the spice of life or so they say.  My point was that if the maps do change frequently, so we have small and large ones in equal measures, I'm sure this will do alot to attempt to please everybody.

[Shane]

The new term is Gigahorde.  Carry on....

<cough>   TerraHorde   - as in terabyte... as in terrain, as in terrible....

[LLogann]

Fair enough good sir!   

maybe I should have said the base takers that try a different field at the first sign of defence. 

Still the facts remain.  A large map off hours will result in increased milking, rampant captures of un-defended targets and very little actual fights with human vs human combat.   Sounds great 

Variety is the spice of life or so they say.  My point was that if the maps do change frequently, so we have small and large ones in equal measures, I'm sure this will do alot to attempt to please everybody.

[Meatwad]

SWEET! Might make me resub again

[Babalonian]

It's barely been 24-hours, really guys?... remind me again why I'm naturally patient and outgoing for EU and Aussie players?

CALM DOWN AND SIT IN A CORNER!

Please let HTC have a chance to see how happy we (West Coasters) are with not having to switchover and pause/stop our fighting in the middle of our evening indulgence before you guys b!@#$ so much they change it back and we get stuck with it that way forever (something (pardon the irony) "a few" of you guys actually WANT?! )!

[muzik]

Well, well, well. Looky here. AH going through another genesis.

I have noticed some of the ankle brigade have deserted the "caps are good for the game" wagon even if only to call it temporary and blame it on the summer or the economy.

LOL at Kappas "what are we gonna do if the numbers go up"

having a large map during "off hours"  will kill off the remaining non-American players.   I hope it doesn't but the only thing that makes sense is to keep the boot option but swap the size of the map when the numbers call for it.

I really don't get your logic here. If I'm not mistaken, there has been one group or another that complains about every single map we have. My question is not directed at Bruv, but everyone who wants a small map at night because they don't like the large ones.  

Why would you ask for more arena switches knowing they are pissing people off already, including many of you? Why don't you just ask for a special arena that has a map that suits you every time you're not happy with the selection offered?

Why didn't the Euro players jump ship years ago in single LW when they didnt like the late night map?

And again some of you have stumbled over the issue and failed to see the real problem and the possibility there might be another solution. That issue is the same one that allows conditions for hording to exist as well as being the problem you face at your peak times.

Without any base caps on players, every man on them map can go where ever he wants. People tend to either horde or milk run. There seems to be very little in between except during peak hours where you might have a few smaller groups working on their own.

During peak US times, it results in major hording and during peak Euro times there aren't enough to horde so you get sporadic engagements because people spread out too far killing any hope for decent size fights.

As long as were talking about numbers, I think every Euro player knows damn well that the arena switching caused a lot of players to just quit for the night because they didn't want to wait for numbers or deal with the switch. And you want to keep switching? I'm guessing you will see a 20 to 30% increase in numbers of players just because many will not decide to log off because of arena switch.

And that's not even half the issues and benefits of a base cap. Are you one to claim lag issues in the large furballs? Do I need say more?

Then there's the vastly different strategic game that would exist if an entire country weren't allowed to concentrate their forces at a single location. The list goes on, but I'm not going into all of it.

Don't even get me started about the "cesspool."

All in all, harsh as it might sound, Sunbat is right that the few people that are upset because they cant find good fights on large maps during peak Euro hours is the least of the problems. First thing you should do is endure the map rotation. It doesnt matter if you are for or against the split, you will there will always be times you can't have what you want. The second thing is realize that it's not the map that is the problem and start looking for solutions to the real problems.

htc has been pandering to the minority for too long already and yes it is selfish to ask for something that benefits a vastly smaller portion of the community if it has a negative effect on the majority.

We used to have 2 arenas during busy hours and 1 during the quiet hours.

Now you want to go the other way? 1 arena during the busy hours and 2 during the quiet hours?

I think we should take it further:

1000 people online: 1 arena
500 people online: 2 arenas
100 people online: 4 arenas
10 people online: 27 arenas

GOOD LORD, please don't give them any ideas.

[Lusche]

Why didn't the Euro players jump ship years ago in single LW when they didnt like the late night map?

I can speak only for myself.

- When I came to AH almost 6 years ago, the player number had simply been much higher, generally twice as high at the lowest offhours time as they are today. Years ago, numbers rarely went below 100, lately we had below 50 players, low point I personally witnessed being somewhere around 35.
- Last autumn I actually did jump the ship because I wasn't able to find sufficient action anymore. That's been partly due to low offpeak numbers on large maps in general, was well as the more & more defunct caps mechansim which kicked in at 7pm my time. The offpeak arena brought me back into the game.


But as I said earlier in this thread: The situation now is fine for me. While I would prefer to see small maps during off hours, it's not worth the hassle now that we got the single arena back, and both sizes of maps being in the arena rotation. Overall this is much better for the game in general.

[ghi]

I  While I would prefer to see small maps during off hours, it's not worth the hassle now that we got the single arena back, and both sizes of maps being in the arena rotation. Overall this is much better for the game in general.

I agree,the best maps are still the old ones; Baltic, Small Isle ,Uterus,Mindanao; keeps players concentrated on a small front line, i can find always some action and fun even with low #s. 

[muzik]

- When I came to AH almost 6 years ago, the player number had simply been much higher, generally twice as high at the lowest offhours time as they are today. Years ago, numbers rarely went below 100, lately we had below 50 players, low point I personally witnessed being somewhere around 35.

- Last autumn I actually did jump the ship because I wasn't able to find sufficient action anymore. That's been partly due to low offpeak numbers on large maps in general, was well as the more & more defunct caps mechansim which kicked in at 7pm my time. The offpeak arena brought me back into the game.

But as I said earlier in this thread: The situation now is fine for me. While I would prefer to see small maps during off hours, it's not worth the hassle now that we got the single arena back, and both sizes of maps being in the arena rotation. Overall this is much better for the game in general.

I remember those days. I could log on any day of the week at 2am, my time, and find a hundred guys online with plenty of action going on.

As far as guys jumping ship goes, I couldnt say how many have left because of the arena splits but in that regards one of the biggest problems is the lack of real change in this game.

This is basically the same game as Warbirds and Air Warrior 15 some-odd years ago. Not going to dredge up old wish lists, but it seems too many people think it's all about them and they have not a single stitch of creativity in their rock. I cant count how many times I see "-1 it adds nothing to game play but updating my _____ will change the game forever."

OBVIOUSLY, top of the line graphics are not what has kept people in this game for a decade.

It's about time they stop making new planes for a while and start thinking about a richer more developed game that sometimes forgets the fact that this is "all about air combat" and remember things like getting shot down behind enemy lines and waiting for hours or days to get picked up or having to E&E was part of that experience too. Not to mention a far more complex and involving strat game that has the potential to attract players with no interest in flying what so ever. They need to take some stock broker advice and diversify.

I would prefer you get the maps you want too, but I don't think more arena switching is the the answer to your problems or AH's.