Warning for Hitech

[Virage]

In regards to the community not being 'Fun', I believe their are two main contributors.

1.  Rank on Roster.  Although I believe rank and stats should be kept for the players that enjoy it, but putting it on the clipboard has brought out the worst in competitive nature within the MA.   For example, if you don't have a good score and are not part of a squad (ie new) you are treated as a leper.  Many 'stress out' or 'burn out' doing non-fun things just to get a decent score.  Access to stats should be tower only and rank/score on the web page for those who enjoy it.

2.  Vulching gameplay.  This is related to the rank issue.  IMO the majority of pilots log on, look for the biggest green bar and fly to the closest Vulchable field and fight 15 other pilots to spawn camp.  This does not promote a 'fun' atmosphere.  Faster healing ack and moving capture points further from fields may help.  For each enjoyable Vulch experience, you are ruining someone elses enjoyment.  This can't be good for the community in the long run.

[funkedup]

Originally posted by Furball
I have noticed many many people getting frustrated and tired of this game.  Seems that many people have cancelled their account already, and many others are considering to do so

Go back into the archives of the forum and you can see posts just like yours going all the way back to the earliest days of post-beta.

The reason for this is that vets will always be whining and quitting.  It's what they do.  When you play a game addictively for years it is natural to get tired of it.  So the most experienced and well known players are always the most likely to be frustrated.

The more you play, the better you get, the less challenge there is, and the more opportunity there is to observe flaws (or percieved flaws) in the game.  Furthermore, as your death rate decreases and you become more skilled than all but a tiny fraction of arena denziens, it becomes more and more likely that your deaths will be caused by flaws (or percieved flaws) in the game than by your own mistakes or enemy action.

The only way to keep vets from eventually getting to this stage is to constantly update the game.  HTC did a great job of this for 2 years and then they realized they needed to make a major change to keep this thing going.  And by all accounts they are busting their tulips to make this change.  Don't play it if it's not fun for you, but if you're on the fence then I would counsel patience.

[ZENMS]

I flew AW from 95 til almost the end... missed it by 3 weeks, after many many rants to EA about shutting it down etc....

Anyway, AH is a great game, dont get me wrong. It has the most flyable FR settings I have seen. AW's FR settings were overkill, you could go into a spin by sneezing!

As for my history knowledge on AH, it is just what I was told the only time I ever had to call in on a tech support issue... as for Hi and Pyro ever fly AW, I do not know.....

I remember the first time I joined AH it looked too much like WB, cockpits of some of the planes, and they have improved that some, still have a hard time reading gagues in many of the fighters. AW had great cockpit art, for the most part.

As for a RR arena, I think it would be great, but change is part of a game, business and life. I didnt start this thread so dont think I am complaining about the game, I was just making a suggestion(S).

I flew with Arlo the other night and had lots of fun, thats what games are for. He was nice enough to explain some of the features of the game, and kill me LOL! But it was fun, and I think AH is a fun game.

I will not comment about any of the game play items that some of the others have expressed to be changed, because I do not know that much about them. What I didnt like before, when I was a subscriber, was the perk points. I still dont like that idea, but if after my two weeks, if I decide to subscribe I dont have a reason to complain. If you dont like something, email them directly, shut up, or cancel your account. You hate your long distance provider? Get a new one. Your bank charges too many sur-charges, take your money elsewhere... This game is the same thing... if you dislike something bad enough, complain to them directly, not on a MB... if they ignore you, take your $14.95 elsewhere. Simple eh?

Most AH pilots want FR, thats great! I like FR, it is more of a challenge. I also miss dogfighting in a vader! LOL! I still have to get my stick setup, figure out just where the sweet spot is for aiming, and where all the commands are.... But once I work through it all will be ok.

I still think they need to promote this game more, but there is a downside. I have been playing RTCW for the past year and a half, and then a month or so ago they released ET, a free online game only. It brought so many new players, the servers were packed with noobs. It really frustrated a lot of us (team kills out the wazzoo) but they have learned or moved on... Promoting AH would get you more people to shoot at, but then ya got people doing stupid things too..... Oh well... games go on!

[mia389]

When can I be a vet?

[SlapShot]

"2. Vulching gameplay. This is related to the rank issue. IMO the majority of pilots log on, look for the biggest green bar and fly to the closest Vulchable field and fight 15 other pilots to spawn camp. This does not promote a 'fun' atmosphere. Faster healing ack and moving capture points further from fields may help. For each enjoyable Vulch experience, you are ruining someone elses enjoyment. This can't be good for the community in the long run."

Vulching is perpetutated by those trying to up at a capped field.

Was flying at a capped field last week ... one guy must have gotten killed at least 30-40 times before he could even start his engine. It was laughable.

Making the ack heal quicker ... if there is a real vulch cap on, that ack will be dead in 15 seconds or less and the vulchfest continues. How does moving the capture point farther from the field help stop vulching ? I don't see the logic in this.

You want to stop vulching or ruin a vulchers day ? ... DON'T UP ... simple as that.

[bustr]

Originally posted by Virage
1.  Rank on Roster.  Although I believe rank and stats should be kept for the players that enjoy it, but putting it on the clipboard has brought out the worst in competitive nature within the MA.   For example, if you don't have a good score and are not part of a squad (ie new) you are treated as a leper.  Many 'stress out' or 'burn out' doing non-fun things just to get a decent score.  Access to stats should be tower only and rank/score on the web page for those who enjoy it.

I concur with this as a recent newbie. Though I played AW off and on from 1987 when I would sneek on with my room mates account up into the 90's when I had my own. I stopped from 99 till this year. I had a re-learning curve, was treated as an outsider by squads, and got ganged as a lone eaglelett. I did not understand the scoring system, no more than I did in AW. I just love to fly and rumble. Things like the Frenchy challange are a more constructive motivation for scoreing. Everyone who takes part wins eventually with bragging rights, stories, and just being there in that Pig Jug.

Fortunatly 2 good things happened to me in my AH experience.

1. The Free Birds Missions. The Free Birds invite everyone and make the MA a great community experience for newbiees who join their missions. Their missions are always big, lotsa fun and very well run. And the newbiees after that can hang out with anyone who has an FB on their name to get help, learn how to play AH, or get encouragment.

2. Twitchy invited me to "Pigs On The Wing". Working with a squad, I now get swamped less because we share the hoard and the killing.

I have to admit that my score may have helped me gain acceptance by vets in the MA. That sounds elitist, but as humans we unconciously keep score on everything we do in some manner. Even if AH is only virtual, Warriors tend to be more interested in hanging out with those who "Can Do", measure themselves against equals, and grow by challenging superior Warriors.

Other than knowing how many K/D I get in a night or month, what is the score for anyway? AH has a forever war. So what does the score get me besides peer acceptance, bragging rights, and some interesting philosophical discussions on human nature?

[Furball]

Originally posted by ramzey
in 1-10 scale of whine i rate this thread to 20

As i said earlier, im not whining im looking for suggestions, so please, before coming in here on your high horse, read it properly. thx!

Anyone have any ideas how to make this game fun again so we don't lose more people? without the need for a huge patch (as of course HTC are working on AH2)

[NoBaddy]

Originally posted by mia389
When can I be a vet?

When yah learn all there is to know about canine enemas .

[_Schadenfreude_]

Originally posted by ZENMS
If you really want to develope a good player base, a loyal player base then HiTech should have flown AIr Warrior. Yeah, yeah, you guys we on the War Birds development team, and got smart enough to leave and create AH.

However, what you failed to learn, is how to make a game fun. WB isnt that fun, the graphics still bite.....


AW had the most loyal group of customers (ok pilots for the undeducated ).. sure we would get tikced off at GS, EA, or even AOL and quit... then in a week be right back apologizing to our friends as they ragged our butts.

Fun=kills. PERIOD! Create a "Relaxed Realism" version, as AW had, and let the hardcore pilot wannabe's live for FR as usual. This will get many new clients, and give the ones who are not yet skilled a place to fly, where they can do more than become points for someone else.

You asked I spoke.... I gave Mage lots of input over the years, whether he ever listened to it, who knows... LOL!

But seriously, add a RR version, and by god get the word out... Doesnt HiTech have a marketing person there? I saw one little blip in a game mag, and that's it for AH.

So if a "relaxed version" is the way to attract people why is is that
Fighter Ace has 110 people online in the crayon room and AH has 450 in a room?

Relaxed settings are for children who confuse flight sims with first person shooters.

[Arlo]

Nonono .... MA will become AH's RR.

[SixxGunn]

Relaxed Realism in AH?

With STALL LIMITER and COMBAT TRIM already available to whoever wants it in the arenas, WHY?

Technically its already a mixed mode arena. Those that have it enabled and those who dont.

AW and WBs had a major rift down the middle of thier communities because of the RR and RM arenas.

I think HiTech and Pyro have the right idea. One main arena, one community.

I just hope that the 2 seprate "main" arenas in AHII doent start a big rift.
At the start of AHII most everyone will fly TOD mainly because its new.

Then the groups that like the have all fight all main arena style will move to AHII CLASSIC (AHII vesion of what we have now).

The groups that want an RPG, mission oriented, historical matchup and all the other things like attrition and limited to one plane type will stay in the TOD arena.

[Arlo]

Ya think?

hehe ....

ahem ....

[Sixpence]

Originally posted by _Schadenfreude_
So if a "relaxed version" is the way to attract people why is is that
Fighter Ace has 110 people online in the crayon room and AH has 450 in a room?

Relaxed settings are for children who confuse flight sims with first person shooters.

No kidding, that's why I left fighter ace, more of an arcade game than a flight sim. I cancelled my AH account about a month ago. I got excited about a new map test room only to have the 2 year olds spoil it. That was it for me cause the game got boring. I'll be back when AH2 is available.

[Manedew]

Frenchy's Award was a fun thing to try for this tour ..... (but only lasted 1-2 weeks with only 100 kill cap[if someone else tries what frenchy did , you might want to consider a larger kill requirement .... 100 is just too easy ])

Things like this keep me intrested .. or flying 'hard' planes to live in ... like the jug -- I'm waiting for AHII like the rest of you , but iL2,wwiiol,WB's, etc  just doesn't tickle my pickle;

Frenchy had mad fun trying to win it.

[bfreek]

maps are killin this game