So many variables, so many personalities, so many skill levels all with different approaches to the game like.
Some game for points with pumped chest, some like the whole war concept, some prefer strictly dogfighting, some prefer TnB some lean BnZ, some are intimidated by going up against seasoned vets. No one setting is going to compress it all into one single mindset, nor should it. IMO.
The one who does all the extensive research and practice are enthusiast, others may fall into the gamer category.
Whatever issues in the MA is more due to player over settings. >IMO<
ME THINKS, players who often participate in events learn and practice more organization and discipline than those in who live only in the >"Melee Arena"<.
Difference between chaos and organized chaos.
MELEE
me·lee
/ˈmālā/
noun
noun: melee; plural noun: melees; noun: mêlée; plural noun: mêlées
a confused fight, skirmish, or scuffle.
"several people were hurt in the melee"
Similar: tumult, disturbance, rumpus, commotion, disorder, brawl, fracas,...etc.
a confused mass of people.
"the melee of people that was always thronging the streets"
Point being, most of what is asked for is offered through events, organized chaos. Letting them fade is not a good thing.
Some of these ideas on settings, run a custom event highlighting settings in an arena and tweak it as much as a CM can, run it, and see how players like the settings. if it last 3 days with decent numbers you MAY have a point. It's not going to make the world spin backwards, but what a great testing ground instead of "it all looks good on paper" of repeat after repeat convos that go nowhere. You sometimes will not get the reaction you anticipate, sometimes you will.
Repeat of repeat story
When I had an idea to change the damage model in AW, I was granted that chance to come up with something workable, better. I was even given my own arena to develop and test it. Spent a cpl hundred hours in there, mostly with Grizzly helping me, among a few others.
I/We finally hit that honey spot to get everything we could out of the options we had, and much more realistic. everyone who came and tried it loved it, thought it would be a great change to AW.
First Test was my own a bit lame scenario of BoB, where I tested it with the masses. The scenario/enthusiast types liked it.
I was literally a one man band, also semi-proving one person could run an event. I literally did just that. I don't think it was a great thing to prove because it was followed by several O K scenarios, one could do it, but it wasn't as good as a team.
ANYWAY, So now where going to do a test run it in the Relaxed Realism (more gamers) and the Full Realism (more enthusiast) arenas.
I/We were only 50% right.
FR loved it. They were happy to get anything more realistic, even if they had to change their play to adjust.
RR not as much. It was too realistic compared to what they were USED TO, which means they had to change how they aimed and shot to adjust.
Majority rules
We removed it from RR and left it in FR.
My point is this; we had some seriously good change to the damage model, you'd think everyone would love it....yet we got 2 opposite reactions from 2 different tribes.
What you think looks good in text, that repeats for ever, test it and either press or bury the concept. Human nature can be unpredictable.
See if HT will allow you to run an event to try them out, a Melee type setup.
Prove it or bury it.
Because the complaining with repeat convos isn't serving us well. It tends to have the scent of "don't play this game", outside looking in.
Peace, love and something about tomatoes