I can say that despite the unfortunate recurring circumstance of low numbers, this scenario and ECA have both had their great moments, both flying and planning as a GL. For instance I have three German pilots in my Gruppe, and it is always fun hearing them and immersing myself. I even had one speak to the other in German during the tank battle in the coordination frame! That was great.
This is why I love scenarios, and in particular early war scenarios. Rangoon was a blast, and I really got a sense of what it was like to truly be outnumbered and outclassed. Flying those P-40s to the edge of their ability trying to defend this incredibly important objective while the CO was almost yelling over teamspeak "everyone needs to get back to Rangoon NOW, large force of betties and Ki-45s inbound".
Same thing with BoG, writing period-correct After Action Reports after each frame, and being able to name my plane. And The Final Battle, where while the scenario was hypothetical, you could really feel the desparation that the Luftwaffe would have felt, the exuberance of an early, quick victory and the exhaustion of eventual defeat.
That's why I was so ticked when coral sea was cancelled. I get so immersed in Naval Aviation, and I would have been leading wildcats for half the event. I went as far as to set up optional training sessions for my group, to learn the tactics of James Thach. We would have been using the real tactics.
That immersion I think is starting to come back. It was great with ECA but I think the incorporation of the ground war, as in previous events, is a great thing. I love being able to fly 109s in a similar manner as they would have been in this stage of the war. I think people should definitely give this a shot.
Despite lower numbers, I think scenarios are as good as ever, and will get even better