Top pilots get perkless aircraft for next tour.

[Chalenge]

There are a number of issues in the game that have nothing to do with the way the game is designed. Primarily, the goal of the game is to piss people off. This has nothing to do with score. The problem is that the goal of the designers of the game is to attract players to the game. This in some ways conflicts with the primary goal of the game, so the designers have in effect designed a game that is conflicted of its own nature. This is further aggravated by the fact that 5% of the users monitor the boards and decry any and all suggestions that are made that might improve or degrade the game, either one. The result is that the forums are primarily used as a sounding board for ideas that largely are ignored, and as a place to make 'look-at-me' posts that do nothing whatsoever for users. So, in the end the wishlist forum has become the one topic that shines as a primary example of what Hitech should never do to his game. This is evident in the selection of less than 1% of wishlist items actually being adopted, which I see as a good thing.

[ReVo]

Nope, not remotely.  I have the one guy who actually counts in the same corner as me on this one, HiTech.

As a note, game bulletin board messages are a terrible way to gauge what the player base actually wants because the participants are usually about 5% of the player base and are self selecting.

My guess is that you're actually in HiTech's corner, not the other way around.

[Karnak]

My guess is that you're actually in HiTech's corner, not the other way around.

I didn't say it was my corner.  I said he was in the same corner, and yes, it is HiTech's, but I am not there because it is HiTech's, I am there because I think that is the correct position.  I have disagreed with HiTech on other subjects.

[ReVo]

I didn't say it was my corner.  I said he was in the same corner, and yes, it is HiTech's, but I am not there because it is HiTech's, I am there because I think that is the correct position.  I have disagreed with HiTech on other subjects.

Most people aren't going to leave because they can't watch their score anymore. They may threaten to but at the end of the day they'll just grumble a bit and find something else to occupy themselves, hopefully something more constructive.

My issue with score is this: Aces High is in my opinion essentially a sandbox MMO. No we aren't playing WoW but the game does rely mostly on players to generate content. Score adds absolutely nothing to the game, and in fact encourages players to be timid, thus reducing the amount of content.

[danny76]

Most people aren't going to leave because they can't watch their score anymore. They may threaten to but at the end of the day they'll just grumble a bit and find something else to occupy themselves, hopefully something more constructive.

My issue with score is this: Aces High is in my opinion essentially a sandbox MMO. No we aren't playing WoW but the game does rely mostly on players to generate content. Score adds absolutely nothing to the game, and in fact encourages players to be timid, thus reducing the amount of content.

This is the whole issue as far as I can see. In terms of score 95% of players will never see their names on the home page. My score last I looked is as low as its ever been. 137 I think. After 8 years of playing.  I doubt I will ever get as low again. Now I have barely played this month but have got lucky with a couple of base captures and the like. As far as I can discern, to get a top score you need to be either exceptionally timid and careful, which adds nothing to gameplay, or you have to be exceptionally skilled, in a Bruv sort of way.
The vast majority of us are not exceptionally skilled, so by definition, in order to get a good score we have to fly timidly and therby add little to gameplat.
Removing score would I believe, lead ultimately to more cartoon combat, which let's face it, is why we aren't all whizzing around on Flight Sim X.

[Debrody]

No.

It would make it very easy for those who make the top spot to keep the top spot indefinitely.

qft

[asterix]

-1 for the original wish.

It might possibly, maybe, bring back players who enjoy *Gasp* fighting.

But I understand your logic. I too enjoy flying around for an hour chasing people back into their ack so they can save their precious score.

And what is this under your messages? 

Me:Aw screw it, i'll just drag them through the ack.

Anyways, I have used the ack to clear my 6 more than once and I wasn`t thinking about the score when I did that. I just didn`t want to be shot down. Taking away the score wouldn`t change anything in that respect imho. After gaining some experience you can pretty much tell what you and your aircraft can do and when the situation is or is becoming hopeless. In that case why not dive down and reset the dogfight or let the ack get rid of the enemy.

[Karnak]

Most people aren't going to leave because they can't watch their score anymore.

Would you bet your company on that?

Of the status quo the same can be said, and have evidence to back it up by being the status quo and having the subscribers in question still be subscribers, that having scores won't cause the anti-score people to leave because there is score.

[BluBerry]

Would you bet your company on that?

are you trying to say the company is at stake if they remove score?


 

[Karnak]

are you trying to say the company is at stake if they remove score?


 

Subscription numbers have been falling steadily.  When they reach a certain point HTC will close up shop.  We may be near that point, we may be a ways from it, we don't know.  HTC does, I am sure.  Why make a change that might get us closer to that point or might get us over it?

So, would you risk your company on such a proposition?  It is easy to risk somebody else's company which is why I ask if you'd risk your hypothetical company on such a guess.

[Tinkles]

Subscription numbers have been falling steadily.  When they reach a certain point HTC will close up shop.  We may be near that point, we may be a ways from it, we don't know.  HTC does, I am sure.  Why make a change that might get us closer to that point or might get us over it?

So, would you risk your company on such a proposition?  It is easy to risk somebody else's company which is why I ask if you'd risk your hypothetical company on such a guess.

Isn't there a way to make a compromise on the score that would keep those who play by their score (and possibly attract more) while still keeping those who could care less?

I've made many suggestions up and down these forums and gotten very little in terms of response, at least in a normal sense. -1 or "NO's" don't really tell me why or how the idea is 'flawed'.

[Lusche]

My issue with score is this: Aces High is in my opinion essentially a sandbox MMO

And score is  part of the sandbox. It's juts another thing that offer itself for the players to explore or ignore. And the latter one is very easy to do, as anyone around here for some time knows that being featured on the homepage is being totally irrelevant to the large majority of players and you don't get any real 'advantage' from having a high rank. Literally nobody cares how often you have been #1 in this or that.

So it's just one of many things that can individually motivate a player for some time. And the more different things in AH to explore and draw motivation from, the better for the game.

And for "timidity by rank"... that's most of the time just cheap and convenient jab. Once you get a somewhat better rank, about everything someone doesn't like about you or the way you are flying is suddenly attributed to "score", no matter how nonsensical that connection really is.

Players go for the fight or avoid it for any reason on any rank position.

[Lusche]

Isn't there a way to make a compromise on the score that would keep those who play by their score (and possibly attract more) while still keeping those who could care less?

We already have that compromise. You can go for a good score, but it doesn't mean anything. There virtually is no downside for the individual player if he totally choses to ignore the rank thing entirely.

[Lusche]

Give the top ranked pilot mandatory 40 ENY equipment for the subsequent tour.   

  

[Karnak]

We already have that compromise. You can go for a good score, but it doesn't mean anything. There virtually is no downside for the individual player if he totally choses to ignore the rank thing entirely.

Exactly.  If you couldn't care less, then....just go and care less.  That it matters to you means you do care in a hostile fashion.  I don't care about score, so I just ignore it.  It isn't hard to do.