MA Off-peak is dying

[bustr]

As this game has evolved with more mechanisms added on to the burden of base taking and wining the map. We have become more large group centric and stagnant by the growth of the complexity to fight and have fun. Or even what the definition of a fun fight is anymore.

Furballs are group affairs with many not engaging into the fight until they are above 12k and have the comfort of a flock to reduce their personal risk. In many cases lately it's not worth the trouble to engage unless you bring some help. Even if you do, I've observed a new phenomenon that there always seems to be the second or third wave higher up your group didn't account for. It's not worth attempting to return at higher alts to try and furball with the high groups. They just go higher with a second wave higher still.

I'm not sure what has happened to base captures. Only a few years ago we captured many more in an evening than we do now. Today the complexity of the mechanisms have hoards stalled around the maps not accomplishing anything other than using up their evening with no guarantee of achieving objectives that seemed possible a few hours earlier. Stalled achievements directly impact what a person measures as fun. You can make any game just one tooth too many to be pulled, and players stop thinking the effort is worth the reward.

I know we are in a low economic era. I wonder still, how many canceled subscriptions were due to not perceiving enough fun for the amount of effort wasted in the small amount of time each evening they had for the game. Not every one wants to play RISK when all they want to do is have fun for a few hours.

Too many of the solutions from our more enlightened strategists are some form of changing the MA game more RISK centric. Even FSO centric. Most customers are paying for a few hours of mindless fun who play in the MA. Didn't Hitech just recently mention something about players won't use things in the game if they are too complex? So what happens when the game becomes too complex? 

[Butcher]

Too many of the solutions from our more enlightened strategists are some form of changing the MA game more RISK centric. Even FSO centric. Most customers are paying for a few hours of mindless fun who play in the MA. Didn't Hitech just recently mention something about players won't use things in the game if they are too complex? So what happens when the game becomes too complex? 

War in the Pacific admirals edition is one of the most complex games on the market with a great following and fan base. Some people find "War thunder" a nice little arcade game, but still some people prefer more complexity and realism. Some games go all out while other games like war thunder anyone with a mouse can do just fine. Its apples to oranges in my experience to find a gap between the two, Aces high does play out both to a degree.

Falcon 4 had quite a few squadrons that flew 110% realism, I flew it for years on end - I knew hundreds of pilots did as well. Most really just don't take the time to learn that complexity and call it a quit after one sortie.

[Redd]

Sorry Redd, I'll stop hijacking the thread.

Greebo , you can do whatever you want , (a)  you fly a Hellcat and (b) I still owe you for all the awesome skins of yours I use   

[The Fugitive]

no options  have been given that will give an advantage over what we have now.  and what exactly will the score do for me?  will it give me better planes?  more rockets? other than take command of a cv, score is meaningless in this game except for those who like to talk about their "skill".

Who cares what it does for you? You have already stated you like to just login drink beer and hang with buddies. None of these suggest should or would effect you. It's not ALWAYS about you.

some of the ideas proposed to "fight hordes" are funny as hell.  for example the give more perks to fight up and defend the base to "fight the horde".
just some quick things that I see as funny.

  -who gets the most perks?  the first one to up?  what about the second and 3rd who up to defend?
  -what if 20 guys up trying to get the extra perks then realize nobody is going to get them?  there's gotta be a cap othewise everybody will just get perks for upping.
  -in the point above will the first couple of guys who upped then come back to post about how some dweebs are ruining their extra perks?
  -will there be calls on country chanel asking people not to up because there's already 5 defending and you will ruin their perks?
  -wont the extra perks actually contribute to even less people defending so as not to ruin other people's extra perks?

which will bring you back to people posting threads about how so and so is ruining the game by talking crap to others who up and ruined their "extra" perks.

Once up the multiplier is figured much like the perk cost is figured. At that point it wouldn't matter who else ups. On top of that upping against the odds also means you will most likely not last long enough for that multiplier to be enforce very long and when reupping you would get a new multiplier.

you guys need to think a bit more about how your "change for the better" may turn into a "change for the worst".


semp

At least we are thinking, you just ignore whats right in front of your face and post accordingly.

[Threeup]

Redd - good post mate.

Smaller maps fix the problem. I'm not sure as to why the small map rotations were stopped a couple of years ago. That the smaller map kicked in our evening forced crew to fight. Even with 50 people you could find a decent fight.

That being said, sometimes just one v one is the one you chase.

Though as we both saw last night, you and I were only trying to "Spitdweeb" around and the problem was runners not numbers.

Cheers

[guncrasher]

Who cares what it does for you? You have already stated you like to just login drink beer and hang with buddies. None of these suggest should or would effect you. It's not ALWAYS about you.

Once up the multiplier is figured much like the perk cost is figured. At that point it wouldn't matter who else ups. On top of that upping against the odds also means you will most likely not last long enough for that multiplier to be enforce very long and when reupping you would get a new multiplier.

At least we are thinking, you just ignore whats right in front of your face and post accordingly.

we arent at war and this game doesnt affect the world around us.  so it is always about me just the same as it is always about you.  if it wasnt, neither one of us would be paying 15 bucks a month.


semp

[ReVo]

we arent at war and this game doesnt affect the world around us.  so it is always about me just the same as it is always about you.  if it wasnt, neither one of us would be paying 15 bucks a month.


semp

[The Fugitive]

(Image removed from quote.)

LOL!!!!   

[guncrasher]

(Image removed from quote.)

greatest complement you can give, if you cant actually contradict a point then you resort to personal attacks  .


semp

[The Fugitive]

greatest complement you can give, if you cant actually contradict a point then you resort to personal attacks  .


semp

At least his comment made sense, yours..... not so much

[ReVo]

greatest complement you can give, if you cant actually contradict a point then you resort to personal attacks  .


semp

You make it sound as though I have said something unpleasant about your mother.. If my amusing photograph (Which I feel perfectly illustrates your responses.) has hurt your sensitive feelings I apologize.

Every single time somebody starts a thread suggesting changes you pop up with essentially "Game is fine, nothing wrong. If you aren't having fun quit.", when clearly numbers have dropped enough that a lot of us who are left are concerned about it. I think the new terrain engine is amazing and I think it will lure some new players into the game and hopefully bring some of the old ones back. But I also think that without changes to the game mechanics the terrain engine is just eyecandy and that will only distract players from the things that have caused them to leave the game for so long.

[SirNuke]

I think its a bit late for the "don't like the game, leave it!!!", as people now are actually leaving...

I think the off hours map switch should be put in action again, with only small maps for off hours, even if it means playing on 13 years old maps.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Every single time somebody starts a thread suggesting changes you pop up with essentially "Game is fine, nothing wrong. If you aren't having fun quit.", when clearly numbers have dropped enough that a lot of us who are left are concerned about it.

But what's the problem? Clearly people have just followed semps advice so there's no real problem. Right? 

[Hap]

as people now are actually leaving

In this thread as well as a few others, the way folks talk would leave one to believe that subscriptions are declining.  I have no way to know if that be true or false.  I suppose those also who write the same have no way to know either.

Since we're not privy to HTC's subscription rate, why would anyone bother to guess?

[The Fugitive]

In this thread as well as a few others, the way folks talk would leave one to believe that subscriptions are declining.  I have no way to know if that be true or false.  I suppose those also who write the same have no way to know either.

Since we're not privy to HTC's subscription rate, why would anyone bother to guess?

It is easy enough to see. At one time we had over 600 people flying prime time US which brought HTC to the split main arenas. Now we have trouble hitting the "max" number the split arenas had but on a single arena. Look at the scores. If you did capture a single base you would be tied with all the other players that didn't capture a base and that number use to be in the 5000 area. Now its in the 3000 area. There can't be THAT many more people tied that the number would drop that much, so you can be pretty sure that again, the numbers are dropping.

As to the "why", only HTC really knows and that is only if the players leaving answer the exit questionnaire.