MA Off-peak is dying

[pembquist]

Yes exactly, most times I played lately I was asking the opfor why don't they log off and play offline if they want to fight auto ack with no opposition. Completely senseless and stupid.

Did they answer? I don't think I would call it senseless it's just a different card game that you would find boring. I'm guessing that it is socially rewarding to work together even if the opposition is close to non existent. I'm not saying its good for game play over all but I think it is a valid way for people to entertain themselves.

[Hap]

I'm guessing that it is socially rewarding to work together even if the opposition is close to non existent. I'm not saying its good for game play over all but I think it is a valid way for people to entertain themselves.

Firstly, for those around the world where their prime time is the dead of night in America, the best idea in my addled mind to increase the fun for their prime time hours is to recruit amongst their friends to subscribe to AH.

Secondly, it seems to me that "game play" as used in Pembquist's sentence is . . . is . . . well I don't know what to call it.  I understand entirely what "to work together" means.

So what is "game play?"

[The Fugitive]

Did they answer? I don't think I would call it senseless it's just a different card game that you would find boring. I'm guessing that it is socially rewarding to work together even if the opposition is close to non existent. I'm not saying its good for game play over all but I think it is a valid way for people to entertain themselves.

That is why hording can't be removed from the game. It would be like taking away GV's it's part of the game now. So how to bring the scales back a bit more level?

I agree with Lusche, scores and perks don't effect ALL people, and for the reasons he stated. I do believe that more people take scores and perks into consideration than they admit and those are some that can be "rewarded" with more by using a C202 or a P40.

Firstly, for those around the world where their prime time is the dead of night in America, the best idea in my addled mind to increase the fun for their prime time hours is to recruit amongst their friends to subscribe to AH.

Secondly, it seems to me that "game play" as used in Pembquist's sentence is . . . is . . . well I don't know what to call it.  I understand entirely what "to work together" means.

So what is "game play?"

It's "how" the game is played. Today it is turning more and more towards the only battles you see are hordes rolling bases. A few years ago it was NOE after NOE until HTC changed the DAR. Long ago it was missions like we ran in the Mafia where we had de-ack teams and high alt buff runs hitting 2 and 3 bases at once either to capture or prep for capture. Where planning was paramount to create these great missions we would run on squad nights.

Game play changes as the player base changes. The old days we were into the "history" of it, then came the "kids" running NOE's avoiding all fights, now its the hordes overwhelming the fights. Between the economy and this type of game play that seems to bore the heck out of people quicker after which they move on to another game the numbers are dropping much quicker than they have before.

[Hap]

Well, I agree with you Fugitive.  I don't think all that many agree with us though.

What this reminds me of is around 2004 the big tool shedder furballer thing when all the changes came down.  What I fancy, and might be entirely wrong, is a good number of posters who talk about game play (not you mind you) are looking for the ideal set of circumstances that would create air to air fights that meet their internal wishlist of what "good fights" are.  Those posts don't sound like posts from folks who love country tactics and country victory.  Again, I could be as wrong as wrong can be, but that how it sets with me.

[pembquist]

So what is "game play?"

By "game play" I guess I mean the totality of the play experience of all players. If, for instance, you were to take steps to remove the rewards experienced by those described as horders, (such as removing the ability to capture a base,) while you might increase air combat you would diminish game play. A prominent feature of AH is its breadth of game play. It is very much a persistent sandbox with little structure. In my opinion this is the defining characteristic of its game play and I don't think it is appreciated as much as it should be. Despite its challenges I think it affords a broader and therefore superior experience than games that use structured mission based design. The fact that it can encompass structured mission based design, (special events,) while maintaining space for more anarchic activity is an example of what makes it good.

[BaldEagl]

you already get more points for upping ew and mw planes anyway.

No, you don't.  If you kill someone you get more perks but plane choice has no effect whatsodever on score given the same nuumber of kills in each.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I never said I disliked the idea.  but the idea without specifics is just a brain fart.  people need to really think about specifics and how it will affect the game for all. I have pointed out some reasons why that is a bad idea.  you want to look at another idea?  ripley's idea of making the c202 give you 100x points.  do you really think that it's gonna make people up swarms of ew, mw planes in the ma just because it gives you more points?  cause I have some land in the ew and mw arena to sell you.  you already get more points for upping ew and mw planes anyway.

semp

As already pointed, EW birds do not give any score multiplier, they only gain you perks faster which alone is obviously not enough of an incentive to use them on wide scale. However if your score would REALLY be dependent on them on a scale of not going anywhere in rank just by flying tempests...

People use lawndarting etc. as it is in order to accumulate points faster. So why wouldn't they gain a score multiplier by fighting in a lesser plane? Late war birds would lose a lot of their appeal if they didn't give you practically any score. And then there would be an easy learning curve towards the more challenging planes (if you want to rank high that is). I'm sure most noobs would want to find out ways to rank higher in the game, using late war birds would leave them at the bottom scores (rightfully so IMO) so they'd quickly learn that in order to step up the score ladder they need to learn to fight with harder planes.

The increased use of EW birds would also turn the game more towards turn&burn instead of 'hover at 20k, zoom for a pick, extend for a sector then return for the next pick' that MA is now.

[phatzo]

That's what we had in Warbirds and it worked well.  With lower numbers three countries is one too many.

and then they would do that stupid four country thing with about three people on each side.

[SirNuke]

It's mostly about psychology, and relatively little about score or perks...

Ok then what about simply adding system messages for towns changing flag color? LIke "A86 town flag is not white anymore!" and award perks to the players in the vinicity? You could argue perks could be easily farmed that way, but you'd have to be near the hot spots to get them.

[guncrasher]

People use lawndarting etc. as it is in order to accumulate points faster.

in other words you have no idea how the score system works 



semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

in other words you have no idea how the score system works  



semp

Probably better than you do. They choose to lawndart instead of flying back to save time, they might get killed on the way back anyway. They get a lot of score even if they suicide.

[Pawz]

Something I was thinking about after I posted in another thread.

The game is really struggling at the moment in the off-peak hours.With 50 people logged on the MA is not much fun .When you look at country numbers
there are about 30% of people "in flight" . So they are either in gv's or sitting in the tower looking for something to do , or afk.

The usual pattern is a bunch of gv'ers wandering around somewhere , 10 people in buffs bombing strats and undefended fields,
leaving about 6 or 7 people flying fighter planes looking for some sort of fight or engagement.

So what typically happens is I log on - look around the map  - see occasional little blips of radar across the map  (buffs usually)
so I either log off , fly around for a while bored , or go make a coffee , (1 more sitting in the tower).

I know people whine about the old days all the time , but this didnt happen in the old days because "everyone" was flying a plane.

So I was thinking of a couple of solutions.


1. Numbers in MA hit < 75  , GV's are unavailable.

and/or

2. Numbers in MA <75 , Map switches automatically to a small map (finish the war - give everyone some perks)


This problem at the moment is self-perpetuating , less people in the air = no fights = less people logging on to fly.

I know this will probably sound silly to some an unplalatable to others , but I can't see the numbers heading anywhere but down given where they are at now. At it's heart and soul Aces High has always been about Air Combat , we need some off-peak.


The game used to have a pretty strong community of people outside the US flying in off-peak , along with the shift workers an US night owls , they are dissappearing.

I shall be back in a week to give you those early morning kills against my G wagon redd and my new digital storm comp.

[Redd]

I shall be back in a week to give you those early morning kills against my G wagon redd and my new digital storm comp.

Will be good and bad to see you Pawz   

Some good fights tonight , couple of handy shades floating about

[dirtdart]

Maybe we should cater to the console crowd with airspawns et al. While Tt on oz kansas provides instant fight for many, it also sucks up numbers to fight the war. When the rooms took all of Tt it seemed the numbers online dropped. What kills me are the guys on 200 bragging about killing a fight, they don't realize by getting people who seek that fight to log .... A lot .... They kill the game. In every ma map there must be places where furball era and gvrs can fight that is not tied to the overall war effort. Make the central v bases on Tt maps uncaptureable. Bring back a fighter town with airspawns.

The solution is not looking at how to retain it is in looking at how to draw.

[Tinkles]

Maybe we should cater to the console crowd with airspawns et al. While Tt on oz kansas provides instant fight for many, it also sucks up numbers to fight the war. When the rooms took all of Tt it seemed the numbers online dropped. What kills me are the guys on 200 bragging about killing a fight, they don't realize by getting people who seek that fight to log .... A lot .... They kill the game. In every ma map there must be places where furball era and gvrs can fight that is not tied to the overall war effort. Make the central v bases on Tt maps uncaptureable. Bring back a fighter town with airspawns.

The solution is not looking at how to retain it is in looking at how to draw.

The current maps aren't designed for airspawn combat.  For example smpizza. Even if you had an airspawn into the middle of tanktown, what if one of the enemy airspawn fields were captured?  Does that make it so that the nearest airfield of that side becomes an airspawn ?  That would make it so the next enemy base would have to be an airspawn to balance it out, otherwise it would give them an 'unfair advantage'.


While I do agree that sometimes it is hard to find combat, and sometimes time consuming to reach a fight only to have it die a few moments after getting there.  It wouldn't be beneficial (in my opinion) to have air-spawns in the MA. 

Not only that, in order to cater to the console crowd, you would have to make the gameplay much much easier, making the learning curve that of perhaps... walking up stairs with flip flops.

Eh, to be honest, looking at many of the games that have come out for 'this generation' it is sort of a hand-held experience, one way or another. Which isn't something that HTC is known to do (they still don't have a tutorial of basic things for the game that are a necessity to play!).  Many games have a simple "press this that and the other to get your character or vehicle to do what you want".  Sometimes happening each time you get into the vehicle, or after you respawn (like in Halo 4).   


And check out this for anything else.

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,356382.0.html