Players killing game with boring play

[Shane]

This has been on ongoing issue, most notably in the mornings where one side will often outnumber the other two sides combined.

What makes it truly lame, tho' is the fact the high number side will continue with those odds for a significant chunk of the morning and early afternoons.

Easy to find action for the other two sides, right?  No.

What happens is the high number side will be all in vs one of the weaker sides, rolling their bases (can't really defend 2 or 3 vs 10+)

Once they get 25=30% (or more) of one side, they switch to hit the other side - but cannot win reset because by now numbers are picking up for the other two sides.  The side that was rolled earlier has no opposition and starts rolling back some of their bases while the high side continues that all-in vs the other side.

By early evening. both of those small number sides have more balanced numbers and are hitting that high number, making them feel like they're dealing with a 2 vs 1 situation when they created it themselves with their all-in vs one side instead of a more balanced style of game play.

This has slowly resulted in less numbers in the mornings which has a spillover effect towards afternoon/evenings.

Boring horde play is what will kill this game (and is doing so.)

There's a solution, but it requires decent players to implement.

[DmonSlyr]

Yup, I am with you 100%. It's very stupid the situation in the morning. I'd consider it basically "gaming the game". Especially with that picture of the #s you just posted. And it absolutely creates the bish getting double teamed more often than not in evenings, leaving no fights for knits vs Rooks. That that being said, the last couple of nights have been pretty fun. Though I've noticed the bish being double teamed way more often than not in the evenings. Then you have the super squad in the AM basically ganging every plane that rolls making it absolutely no fun to fight.

Add in yak3s and 190Ds, or other top BnZ fighters that should be lower ENY like the La7 and Nik, and it creates very boring gameplay for those just trying to get a fight in. It's no wonder why players log in the morning, you can either get ganged by 10 BnZ falcons, or go bomb a field by yourself on the other side. FUN!!

The whole thing about "noobs should get easy mode planes" is a fallacy IMO, because top vets also fly these planes negating any noobs ability to be successful, since a vet is much more aware of how the plane flies. A top vet in a 190D is wayyy more able, than a noob in a spit16. Add the vets who fly Yak3s and spit16s, and a noob isn't going to have a chance no matter what they fly. That is why I personally believe that the majority of super late war planes should be perked atleast 5 perks. It would very much reduce the usage of top tier planes, giving noobs more of a chance to get kills against slower planes. These BnZ and run monsters are not necessarily good for player retainage, IMO.

[Shane]

And here we are 4 hrs later.  If you recall the first image posted showed zero bish/knit action... this one is similar in that regard while bish have 20% rook bases and are still hitting rooks all-in.

What happens next is bish will shift to all-in vs knits, leaving those few rooks to try and take back a base (which can be easily defended by a few spare bish, if they even bother to...)

As more rooks log in, they'll be taking back their bases while bish all-in vs knits.  Boring to be a rook in either situation, but it's just as easily knits being in this position (all depends oh how bish start the day vs knits or rooks.)

Often morning knits and rooks will simply give up and start fighting each other, leaving the horde unopposed (you'd think they'd get bored of it, but no, they don't possess enough decent players to implement the needed solution.)

Side switching does nothing when the switcher merely moves between two grossly outnumbered sides and only leaves the side they left short of a resource.

Switching to 2-sides will not alleviate this problem.

During the early evenings when numbers are more balanced, the situation of one side facing all-in and the other facing minimal opposition the game play remains largely stagnant and boring, except to the players that created this situation to begin with - they feel justified in doing what they do in the mornings because they're being "ganged" in the evenings. 

Circular reasoning doesn't allow for them to see the solutions needed.

[Shane]

And so it begins.  Bish have 27% rooks bases and have shifted to hitting knits.... looks like rooks have thrown in the towel completely (see image) and aren't even bothering to try... understandable.  Too bad this has created a knit eny situation which makes it harder to do any kind of operations against the larger bish horde.

Knits probably have enough to slow the bish horde for a bit until numbers start to even out.  But the way things are going this will become less and less of an occurance... because...

People quit games because they get bored - it's always been as simple as that. (Well sometimes, money and system issues, but they tend to come back if they can amd haven't gotten bored.)

Boring players with boring gameplay are killing the game. 

Solutions exist but the boring players are incapable/unwilling of making changes.

[CptTrips]

Hence the magical, self-balancing power of 3-sides.

If there are 2-sides, how does one side get ignored?

[Shane]

Hence the magical, self-balancing power of 3-sides.

If there are 2-sides, how does one side get ignored?

The number imbalance will remain which will drive away people because it's boring being outnumbered ALL the time, which is what would happen.

Nice try - you a bish, perchance?

The solution(s) exist, but the players needed to implement them don't because they won't.  Boring players.

[DmonSlyr]

The number imbalance will remain which will drive away people because it's boring being outnumbered ALL the time, which is what would happen.

Nice try - you a bish, perchance?

The solution(s) exist, but the players needed to implement them don't because they won't.  Boring players.

I had a post last month or month before about "what can players do to make the game more actionable". There weren't many comments. My issue was bascially exactly what you are pointing out, because this was also consistently what I was seeing.

[Shane]

It's been noted several times over the past year or so... I've always called out weaksauce game play, whether as an individual or as a group...   I used to call them castrati, now I just call them losers and that's what gets me butthurt muted by snowflakes, lofl.

Boring players = boring game play = dying game.

I'll often just bail out now because I've found actually trying and reversing gets the weaksaucers running to ack or help, or both.  It gets boring, but I'm not yet bored of calling out weaksaucers.

I had a post last month or month before about "what can players do to make the game more actionable". There weren't many comments. My issue was bascially exactly what you are pointing out, because this was also consistently what I was seeing.

[JimmyD3]

And you think it will be any different with 2 sides?? A whine has been recorded X 3.

[Shane]

That's also what I said... I never suggested 2 sides... ever...

I additionally said solutions exist, but the players capable of implementing them can't or won't... 

And you think it will be any different with 2 sides?? A whine has been recorded X 3.

[CptTrips]

Any solution you think you have that depends on the players voluntarily resisting the impulse to maximize their competitive advantage by what ever means the game allows, is magical thinking.

You can only change the pattern by changing the coad or HTC policy.

Nothing voluntary will work.  Not everyone will agree to abide by your rules.

[Shane]

That is also exactly what I said... several times.

There's a solution, but it requires decent players to implement.
Circular reasoning doesn't allow for them to see the solutions needed.
Solutions exist but the boring players are incapable/unwilling of making changes.
I additionally said solutions exist, but the players capable of implementing them can't or won't... 

So let me reiterate - I'm not yet bored of calling out weaksauce play. I will let them know exactly what I think of their gaming ethos.

Have you ever bothered to read my sig lines below? 

Any solution you think you have that depends on the players voluntarily resisting the impulse to maximize their competitive advantage by what ever means the game allows, is magical thinking.

You can only change the pattern by changing the coad or HTC policy.

Nothing voluntary will work.  Not everyone will agree to abide by your rules.

[CptTrips]

And you think it will be any different with 2 sides?? A whine has been recorded X 3.

Why do you think it would be worse with two sides?  Which would be better?  19 vs 9?  or 19 vs 4?

Bottom line is that 3-sides doesn't prevent imbalance and and 2-sides won't cause it any more than 3-sides.

[DmonSlyr]

It's been noted several times over the past year or so... I've always called out weaksauce game play, whether as an individual or as a group...   I used to call them castrati, now I just call them losers and that's what gets me butthurt muted by snowflakes, lofl.

Boring players = boring game play = dying game.

I'll often just bail out now because I've found actually trying and reversing gets the weaksaucers running to ack or help, or both.  It gets boring, but I'm not yet bored of calling out weaksaucers.

Yeah, I've been working on my defensive tactics to be able to sucker them in a little closer to be able to get a shot on the overshoot.

That's about all you can do these days, unless you climb to 25k in your noob BnZer and do the same to them, however that just increases the problem and causes more to do the same.

[CptTrips]

There's a solution, but it requires decent players to implement.

I'm saying if you have a solution that requires voluntary compliance to anything other than an HTC official rule, then you have no solution at all.

So what is your solution?