Since AH3 went live I've seen on average country numbers like (23, 30, 50), (42, 42, 36), really late at night (5, 10, 9). ENY came about becasue this kind of number pattern (300, 25, 20). From there the game kept growing numbers and ENY had a usefulness. Today, until maybe 225 players in the MA, ENY does nothing but kill activity that is otherwise needed to promote more activity that day and in future days. When there is a lot of activity it attracts activity and when it carries on long enough to be a norm, players come in looking forward to more of it. As far as I can see from all of my lurking to help me design terrains. A maximum of 120 players at prime time, ENY has no purpose. If anything unless numbers are at the higher end of 120, the ENY punished players still roll on punishing the low numbers ENY rich players. Or you see more GV activity until things change.
120 players as a prime time max is not enough players for uber planes; tanks or the lack of to matter to impact things like 300 and more. Maybe it's time to adjust the player max count in the MA to something that does not impact 120 people's time. In the last year I've seen 225 one night before SFO with everyone warming up in early war rides. We still took out the late war monsters as part of that warm up along with stopping heavy bombers.
Always wondered if ENY used as a carrot to even things up wouldn't have worked more judiciously by removing late war rides from everyone equally? Then it never really worked to help numbers choose to even things. So the stick was loosing uber ride privileges for awhile and often the high numbers side or sides just upped a slightly slower hoard and marched on. Numbers in the end mattered what ever ride you are in.
