6 hours

[wil3ur]

With the 12 hour rule in place to keep people from mass switching sides as a war nears its completion to collect free perks in effect, I really don't see why there should be any limit on switching sides.  There's something already available to prevent abuse, and judging by the vast numbers of people who refuse to play other chest pieces, really only effects the people who would actually change sides to help balance the game.

I can see having an hour or 30 minute cool down to prevent people from switching sides just to grief missions upping, but other than that, I see no real good reason why there should be anything preventing someone from switching sides.  It seems to me it caters more to the people who think there should be some "Loyalty" to the country and want the game to prevent "Defections" than actually preventing any sort of abuse or disruption of the game itself.

Perhaps lower it to 1 hour, but also make it so you cannot switch to a side with ENY in place.  So if there are 110 bish and only 40 knights and rooks, you can't switch to bish because they're already supersaturated...?

 

[hitech]

I am looking at it from a team/group perspective I believe.  Again, if the conditions which encourage the switch in the first place (reduced numbers on one team), then exist again in an hour on the team 2 where the player switch to, why is he then prevented from accepting that "encouragement (eny)" a second time?  Are the conditions not the same as when he switched the first time?

This is specificallly what makes people log off IMO - they can switch to take advantage of ENY or finding a fight once, but then they are stuck there for the rest of the playing session, and when the same conditions that existed before exist, they can't react to them/

1.
Because with out  a shock absorber the oscillation in side balance would be far worse.
2. A deterrent is needed to prevent people from changing sides at will to prevent other game play abuses.
3. In my view I should go back to the 24 hours. The goal is to never have ENY kick in by dampening out oscillation over time.

HiTech

[Gman]

It must be a difficult problem to solve - how do you encourage teamwork and squad based play, yet at the same time try and balance a 3 side game in terms of numbers, all while not frustrating the individual players looking for action, the vocal minority among us who continue to whine about this subject.   

[Mister Fork]

Maybe Hitech the time limit on switching sides should be lifted if someone wants to switch to a side where they're currently underwater from a numbers perspective.  I.e. Bish is at 120, Knights at 140, and Rooks at 80 - and the ENY is in play for Knights, if anyone wants to switch to Rook, the time limit is lifted to switch to a low numbers side?

[hitech]

Maybe Hitech the time limit on switching sides should be lifted if someone wants to switch to a side where they're currently underwater from a numbers perspective.  I.e. Bish is at 120, Knights at 140, and Rooks at 80 - and the ENY is in play for Knights, if anyone wants to switch to Rook, the time limit is lifted to switch to a low numbers side?

Think long how this could be abused, I have said why at least 5 times over the past years.

And now I'm done with this topic. Unless something entirely new is thought of which I highly doubt will happen.

HiTech

[Gman]

1.
Because with out  a shock absorber the oscillation in side balance would be far worse.
2. A deterrent is needed to prevent people from changing sides at will to prevent other game play abuses.
3. In my view I should go back to the 24 hours. The goal is to never have ENY kick in by dampening out oscillation over time.

I'm glad you've posted this.  Most players aren't rule breakers, so number 2 comes at a cost, and that's threads like this, and a percentage of players who play a certain way - the a2a only focused type players  IMO - will be frustrated by the reality of what the rules impose. 

Number 3, again, IMO these threads always bake down to "the numbers", and again, HTC is the only one that can really understand that data, and I do understand that a longer time period = less ripples in the pond.  Still, even to that there is a cost, isn't there?  Otherwise it'd be in place already I'd assume.

IMO considering how complicated a system it is to create rules for, the game has done very well in maintaining a balance, especially during peak hours.

[Mister Fork]

Think long how this could be abused, I have said why at least 5 times over the past years.

And now I'm done with this topic. Unless something entirely new is thought of which I highly doubt will happen.

HiTech

Agreed. Dead horse. Wish there was an easier way to deal with it.

[100Coogn]

Make it 1 hour.
By the time a player has changed countries and played for an hour too many things have changed anyways.
Easy-Peasy

Coogan

[DmonSlyr]

I still think the 3 hour time is the best option. It would still limit spying. It would make it so players who want to play all day in a furball zone can switch if the fight and #s change. If I switch to a side with a good furball and action that I enjoy, I'd have 3 hours to fight with them. By then, anything could change.  Secondly, if I switch to the low #s side and or the good the furball side, and the tide changes 2 hours later to put me on the high #a side with the hoard now. I won't be able to switch to balance the fight or go fight somewhere else if there is no fight on my side. If I cannot switch and there is no fight on my side, I'll probably just log off. Now I could go fly 15 minutes to a base to hopefully get some rollers, but that is hit or miss, especially if they #s are low. I truely think 6 hours time switch does get more people to log off rather than be able to switch to the site that has the best fights. If they switch and the tides change. There is literally nothing they can do...

[Wiley]

Think long how this could be abused, I have said why at least 5 times over the past years.

And now I'm done with this topic. Unless something entirely new is thought of which I highly doubt will happen.

HiTech

Kind of out there, but I don't think I've heard it suggested before.

What if you had the option to switch sides as a "limited participant" on the side you've switched to?  If you choose to have this enabled, after you switch for the first 6 hours you can only see enemy radar/bardar, you can't see/interact with CVs, or anything that would give you an edge if you were to switch back.  Only have the ability to launch from a base that's within 30 miles of a flashing friendly base.

Reduce the time to switch back to your home country for limited participants to something less.  Your "home" country where you'd have similar behavior to how it works now would basically be the last one you spent 6 hours on.

It wouldn't give you any more information than you could get from your side, and would give the guys who are bored and switching for a fight all the info and ability they need to find one.

Wiley.

[G0ALY]

While I switch countries pretty frequently, (When one team is seriously outnumbered I tend to jump to it.) Part of me would like to see that your country change request takes effect only when the current map resets.

[CAV]

24 hrs always worked in AW........

I played from 1992 to the day EA killed Airwarrior and never needed to play any other side than Bz..... just saying.

CAV

[SQUAT!]

Think long how this could be abused, I have said why at least 5 times over the past years.

And now I'm done with this topic. Unless something entirely new is thought of which I highly doubt will happen.

HiTech

it is still abused with a 6 hour wait. was with 12 and would be with 24. a time period is necessary with that i agree. just trying to understand why 6 hours when 3 is plenty. shorter wait would be more likely to help eny issues. a simple email or report would fix the abusers as it has in the past. but hey it's just my $15 a month. im sure customer service is a top priority with you 

[ONTOS]

6 hour wait is a good wait.

[grizz441]

I always felt that 12 hours was the same as 24 hours because, it's rare to play for 12 hours straight. 6 hours would be the same as 24 hours for me if I ever came back. Log in at 6pm after work, decide to switch sides at 7pm and I can switch again at 1:00 am? Nope, I went to bed 2 hours before 1:00 am and won't log in again until 6pm the following day. At some point the number of hours between side switching is the same difference as "1 switch per day" for vast majority of players.