So I'll weigh in here as a "noob" to the game.
First...never played AH2. I'm a Warbirds transplant--why did I leave? Because of low numbers and crappy game play (one person field closing and captures with no Strat at all)...
So Rapier has some valid concerns---
He cites low numbers...and I'm ecstatic to see more than 7 online in the morning, and "holy moly! 186 people online in the melee with almost that many in an event...at the same time!!" It is all perspective.
With the varied styles of game play available, people gravitate toward what they are good at--and some are good at all--and some are the guys who think the wright brothers should have stuck to building bicycles--but it is what it is.
So Dobs opinion (that and $3.50 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks):
So this started as a fighter sim, and should keep its focus as fighter sim. That doesn't mean exclude, ignore, or degrade the non-fighter players...just means the heart and soul of the game are in its fighter roots.
Missing in gunnery--yep..I miss....alot! Why? Because the gunnery here is more realistic than where I came from, and from what I've heard, more realistic than AH2. I think the bullets are closer to "right sized" now hence the difficulty.
Graphics are nice, but as pointed out, are not the end all, be all of "OUR" generation of cyber pilots...we grew up with pyramid shaped mountains, land was green, water was blue, and 1024x768 on a 17" CRT was rocking it. However, the new generation looks at game and goes "WOW!! LOOK AT THOSE GRAPHICS!!", and then reads the specs to see if their system will run it....caveat being Minecraft:)
But honestly if your computer is struggling to run this game...you are WAY behind in keeping up with current tech. You don't need a cutting edge card...you don't need the newest bestest CPU....you just need 2012 technology to play. If you are a golfer and you have been playing for 5 or more years, I've bet you bought another set of clubs already...if you are a simmer..this is your hobby. Support yourself in what you do (hard part is getting the missus to agree sometimes!).
Finding a fight has not been an issue, although sometimes it seems I have to go a little further to get one. But that is part of the game. HiTech has done several things to "promote the fight" in the game...with DarBar being one of the best.
Does the game have quirks...yep! Water is one of them...but by god, I have a cross check that would make a rat with ADD and Parkinson look tame when I'm fighting over it....
But in the few weeks I've been here (Just completed week 3), I've found that Hitech is making constant, customer driven changes. We find a bug, he fixes it. In the hierarchy of software development, you have "Must Fixes, need to fix eventually, and "enhancements"". So he is going to fix the Must fixes first, and then prioritize resources on the next two.
I'm willing to go along for the ride and pay my "movie ticket and drink" price for a months worth of entertainment....
Cheers!
Dobs