Answer is simple - not everyone shares your point of view. I like the idea personaly but frankly i don't think it will work. Look at HA in WB .... it's dying slow but sure death.
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I never paid to fly in Warbirds or Airwarrior. I tried their services for free and found them to be intensly boring.
These "Historical Arenas" that are constantly brought up as examples of why the OAE won't work have NOTHING to do with the OAE at all. The OAE does not require complex historcally based rules of engagement. It is merely a means of...
1. Encouraging pilots to remain alive rather than take unnecissary risks
2. Simulating the value of experience in air combat without requiring skilled pilots to "fly stupid" when they play the part of "novice recruits"
3. Simulating the importance in warfare of minimizing casualties, especially among highly trained pilots.
4. Most Importantly: Increasing the level of immersion by alowing players to live an alternate, adventurous life (or a series of brief ones).
This system can be used in complex scenarios or it may be used in open combat theatres.
I suspect that the reason "Historical Arenas" did not work is due to poor implementation and lack of development/support. However, I have no experience with the specific Historical Arenas you mention. Nevertheless, I stress that Historical Arenas have nothing to do with OAEs.
The reason I have never payed to play AW or WB is because the "games" there are little more than Quake with wings. Its non-stop, empty, meaningless action that's a total yawn.
I have long been a fan of offline, Single Player campaign games, as (until now) they were the only means by which I could have the thrill of living that "alternate life." The challenge of trying to "survive the war" and the adventure of pilot growth and advancement have never been available online.
I will never pay to be a part of any online sim theatre that fails to model pilots. Such a "sim" negates any hope of feeling a sense of true adventure online.
Are there others like me? Are there others that purchase offline sims but never bother playing online? Yes. There are thousands and thousands. Has anyone ever asked those players why they DON'T play online?
I continue to believe that the MOMMENT the "adventure" element is made part of an online sim world, that sim will become THE place to play online - and will for the first time attract both "hardcore" players and many of the offline players. Because it has never been done before, players don't know what to ask for (Untill you've tasted icecream, you're content with fruitcake for desert).
My original intent with the beta-test was to infuse MMP with the "adventure" aspect available only in offline campaign sims such as: Red Baron, Aces of the Pacific, Aces over Europe, Red Baron II/3D, and European Air War.
All of these games have what is often called a "dynamic campaign" where the player plays the part of a single pilot. His job is to carry out his various missions while attempting to survive. This conflict between game goals and survival (married with alter-ego indentification) forms the basis of the adventure.
Without a conflict between game goals and personal survival there is NO ADVENTURE!
As for whether this constitutes "role playing" - I respond that it's actually a reversal of the traditional role playing model.
In games like UO or EQ, the player creates a "character" that has distint attributes and then plays the part of that character.
The OAE has NO attributes ather than those of the player. All OAEs are created alike. The player does not assume the role of the OAE. Instead, the OAE represents the player himself inside the online game universe. Whatever the OAE achieves, it achieves purely by the skills of the player it represents.
Some have expressed concern over the fact that players are attempting to kill off each other's OAEs and that this renders the game too harsh. I counter that war simulations have always been a competitive player vrs player sport. The OAE merely alows the victor to gain some spoils! Is that really such a bad idea?
ISHMAEL
