Ok I have asked this question before but here it is again. I do not understand why only 2 maps are used on the online server. I have been told in the past that some maps are error prone, other maps are too large, still other maps simply do not conform to server programming. Thats fine. But here I have compiled a list of remaining candidates. Why are they not used? 1) WBSTHPAC.TRN - Indonesia/Malaysia/Indochina This is a solid map. I know it is not error prone because I played in it while it was used in IEN. I know that it conforms to server programming because again it was used in IEN. It is medium sized. What is the issue with this map? 2) WBTOBRUK.TRN- Tobruk Another interesting map. That was used before. This map does have a large expanse of water but it is not devoid of CVs so that should not be a problem. 3)WBTRN02.TRN-Battle of Britain map (NOT to be confused with ETO map which is much larger) Another great map that used to be used on IEN. Because of the width of the channel, sometimes the CV groups pass through land. This is the only issue that I have noticed. In my opinion, its a small price to pay for the added variety though. I think more variety is something that will help increase roster size. Im tired of the same old BAW and OLDMED. Thoughts?
To be honest, I think some people prefer to have something simple to remember. And two maps are good enough. If new people show up, it'll be less confusing. Most online simulators have only one map where everyone gathers. If we have a good map, we have too many people, and it's too small, I can see moving into larger complicated maps and layouts.
You'd be surprised. Are you married? Well, how many guys like to have the wife completely re-arrange the house every week. I can tell you from past experience, that there were some maps where people refused to fly on the map because of how odd the layout was. The New Guinea was one.
You still have not specified anything. Also I left out New Guinea because many complained that the fields were placed in a "clustered" arrangement. In real life, that is actually how it was because of the rough landscape. But that matter aside, it seems to me like people are complaining because they have not learned all the loopholes or little tricks of the new maps. Some players have been playing so long that they can not bear the thought of figuring things out all over again. They want to retain that experience advantage over newer players forever. Its ok to experience something relatively new and learn again.
I don't need to specify anything. I can say that the maps don't mean a hill of beans to me if they are accurate or not, or how the land layouts are. I spend all my time in the air. Unfortunately, there aren't hundreds of users on here needing some historically accurate map to recreate battles. Those days are gone. Great days I remember. The maps we get accustomed used to are great, some are just plain awful. The maps generated for the server should be targeted for the number of users that actually show up to participate. We don't need We've had three maps for many years. The Small/Big Mediterranean and Pacific maps. This has come before, with little interest. http://forum.wbfree.net/forums/showthread.php?t=38685&highlight=maps And I found your old discussion on the same thing. Should just bump that one back to life. http://forum.wbfree.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36604&highlight=maps Still, the major problem here is that we don't have enough people participating in the arenas.
No need to get emotional man, that is unless you are one of those pilots that my post described. In which case my short response would be "tough luck". The irony of the point that you made is that the lack of variety can actually be part of the reason why the roster is so thin. This is the only multiplayer game that I know of in which a player argues that less maps/terrains/multiplayer environments will attract more people or otherwise keep existing users from getting bored. %) As you say, And this is one of FH's problems.
Emotions are not exhibited by text. Unless you're feeling emotional. This is the internet, ya know. I'm driven and inspired. Emotional? No, I leave that to jacobe, hezzy, higgns, olglry, boa, gawong, abblau, pietas, visloa, flyzzz, thug, and the biggest mental case....flymax. Anyway, if there is a difficult map where you have to fly for an hour to find an opponent, you've already lost it. There's really nothing ironic about this. If there are two opposing fields, less than 5 minutes away from each other, you'll find action. I know. I've been in these arenas for too long to be that naive.
You must not understand the meaning of "irony" At any rate, if flight time is the prime consideration, why is WBPAC3 never used? Don't be pretentious. There is more to the user experience that merely flight time, variety counts too. To magnify a single dimension of the problem is to give oneself an awesomely myopic way of looking at the way the user consumes the simulation
And you're calling me pretentious? You're coming across with adequate pontification. Never said your map selection would be a way to draw crowds. Well, it's your carte blanche. Your deliberation leads directly into a cyclic compendium based off a repository of eclectic conversation. We're getting nowhere without properly addressing the basic issue at hand. We should focus on something that is more important..... >attendance< This is the single dimension of importance. Your doleful ideals of IEN surrealism don't exist here, and never will. And by the way, your prude caricature does not impress me, sir.
We don't know. I used to fly for years on that map in Air Warrior from the beginning. Once they eliminated it, I really missed flying against Pac planes in a small arena. Those were some AWESOME battles. We had some really really good folks and really nice battle strategies. Spent thousands of hours on AW, primarily flying the P-38, because it flew in all theaters. I visited the large European maps, which were huge and maxed out 200 pilots on one map every night. Fighting German and British aircraft took quite some skill. The large Pacific map was nice but, only because there were a LOT of people there. The spitXIV and D9 really put me to the test in the European arenas though. (we fought melee). I missed the cats, so the pacific map is where I hung out. There was one map, where there were only certain aircraft for one side, it was Axis vs Allies map. Only certain amount of late aircraft could be flown, each being destroyed would subtract from the total available. Not many people showed up there. In any event, for WarBirds FreeHost, we tried in vain, asking for something to meet partway that would be similar to the segregated arenas to add to the variety and competition. In a matter of FAIRNESS, PACIFIC planes would only be available where they were issued and the same for European aircraft. As it is right now, we have a complete collage of aircraft to choose from virtually anywhere, Right down to obsolete aircraft like the 109T which never made it to combat but, is launching off of carriers, and Meteors, really now. Jets in unlimited numbers clearing the map drives people out of the arenas every time they show up till the map resets. Snoopy planes, flying way into later war, and from everywhere. There is a considerable amount of unbalance and unfairness in allowing virtually any theater aircraft to launch from any field. Watching an F4F fight a 109 or a Tempest vs a Ki27 just isn't right. Seeing a snoopy plane or Me262 single-handed close a field with rockets or 30mm is plain stupid. But, yeah, a WBPAC3 would be a nice smaller map for small attendances. Wish we knew who was running the show here. This simulator could really have some potential with all the new aircraft models that have showed up these past years. In any event....we tried asking for something to meet partway that would be similar to the segregated arenas to add to the variety and competition. In a matter of FAIRNESS, PACIFIC planes would only be available where they were issued and the same for European aircraft. As it is right now, we have a complete collage of aircraft to choose from virtually anywhere, Right down to obsolete aircraft like the 109T which never made it to combat, nor every took off of carriers but, is launching off of carriers. Jets in unlimited numbers have commonly cleared the map at the end of a campaign. This drives people out every time till the map resets. Snoopy planes, flying way into the war, and from everywhere. There is a considerable amount of unbalance and unfairness in allowing virtually any theater aircraft to launch from any field. Watching an F4F fight a 109 or a Tempest vs a Ki27 just isn't right. A wbpac3 would be a nice smaller map for small attendances. http://www.bobheffner.com/overlays/wbmap.html
I would like to look into the possibilities of using the game source code to create a new maps. That would be difficult but would open up more possibilities. I like this game a lot and hate that attendance has dwindled the way that it has. Although it is worth noting that all games eventually go this route.
You sure? What about football, baseball, nascar, formula racing, soccer, etc. Have they not been around much longer? The concept to me is key. WBFH can be dressed up much nicer than it is. But, getting people in here is the only thing missing. We can create a wonderful rendition of all the maps and nobody shows up to enjoy them. We have to get the PEOPLE here. There are a LOT of people on this planet. I'm sure there are at least 30 or 50 people here among the 380,000,000 folks in the US that would find this simulator interesting and entertaining. I suppose they just don't know, have downloaded the software, installed, logged in, and found nobody to team up with. I wonder what it would take to at least have an arena where there are AI planes flying about, closing fields and capturing them.
Yes I am sure. I meant video games specifically, but a common problem of entertainment in general is novelty maintenance. For sports this means appealling to new audiences and recruiting new players on a continuing basis. This requires advertising to claim hearts and minds as well as youth leagues that arouse interest in the sport. Thats how sports remain novel for decades. For video games novelty maintenance means staying competitive even when newer more "flashy" or enticing games are released. This requires addition of newer features or new maps/player environments. Most often, software companies find it more convenient to simply create a brand new title(WB2005, 2008, etc) than to modify the existing software when the competition exceeds a certain level. For FH, creating a new flight sim is almost a nonoption. This leaves us with the modification path. Upon closer examination however, we find that WB 2.77 has been extensively modified already to create FH (new planes, flight modelling, dot commands, jeeps/tanks, etc). Maybe it is time we use a different engine for the game altogether such as WBIII. My laptop's performance is very suspect though so I (and I suspect other players) would need a new computer in order to participate in that. TabaHost is doing this, I wonder what their roster looks like? I think AI planes in the online arena would not be too difficult, but making them actively pursue the closing of fields would probably be. Then again, CV battlegroups have been modified to attack airfields so perhaps AI planes would not be too much of a leap. Any modification at all still requires developers which is another problem that chips away at FH indiously
So, a new approach. I think new people who find this game/sim will find it interesting, especially if they've not seen a WWII simulator. Some people wouldn't know the difference. The developers have done a great job fixing issues in the past few years to make this a very stable platform for many different operating systems and computers. My thought was that, someone who can't afford to pay or can't justify paying a monthly fee will find this game very attractive. How to spread the word, that's the tough part I think. Think about what we could do. I get some ideas from time to time but, it falls on deaf ears. Maybe exec, flk, gil, archer, and others can help us out when we come up with a good finished new website, and have some people stopping by. Maybe those guys lumbering around in their tanks would like some fresh air....on the wings of a warbird.
tazman, if you have some ideas other than mine in this other thread, post what you think we could or should add to the new website!
