Community Preference Initiative

[mxmadman]

The Monologue: (Optional)
Let me explain where I'm coming from: I've just finished work. I'm sittin' here enjoying an adult beverage and thinking about what I want to do in Clod but can't. I have just a short amount of time to play (today I do, but not always), and I'd like to jump in multiplayer and have some fun before I log off to do other things.

But when I jump into the ATAG server, I end up flying around almost aimlessly chasing around 'Yun'ku's 88!' or the more popular, "...got a guy out of in front of me here.. somewhere" from a helpful teammate on TS3.

I do this for a long while. I normally end up running out of fuel, and/or being so devastated by flack, that I must return home. Sometimes, I fail to even spot the notorious "Yun'kuh" or the even more illusive 'random unidentified guy in an unidentified location', let alone get a good fight out of him.

If I do manage to get in a fight I have to immediately dive below him, if I'm not already. Is this a great tactical move? Not even close! I have to dive below because I can't keep him in sight if he's against any background other than sky.

Then I get frustrated and, generally, fire up another sim. This isn't a knock on the game, and it's not an insult to the ATAG server. I love the ATAG server preferences on occasion when I have a lot of time to burn and I'm feeling rather patient.

Which brings me to my real point: we need more variety in the multiplayer choices. To be more specific, the variety is already there, we just need people to populate the servers.

The Facts:
At about 7 PST and later on Monday March 26, 2012
Il-2 Sturmovik 1946 (Hyperlobby - 170 Users in-game):
Most Popular Servers:

1)Skies~Of~Valor
21/50 Users - Disabled Realism(meaning these things are allowed): Player Icons, External Views, Hud Icons, Map Icons, etc.

2) =IRSS=Dogfight 4.11m
16/40 Users - Disabled Realism: Hud Icons, Map Icons, Player Icons, etc.

3a) -=PLR=- Server
12/20 Users - Disabled realism settings include : HUD Icons, External Views, Map Icons.

3b) Fun~4~ALL~411
12/37 Users - Disabled Realism: (almost everything, this appears to be a "newbie server") Player Icons, Hud Icons, Map Icons, All possible views, etc.

3c) Spit_vs_109_Mod
12/90 Users - Disabled Realism: None. This is the only populated "full realism" server, and it's tied for third most populated in Hyperlobby at this time.

Rise of Flight:

1) New Wings - Novice Battlegrounds
31/65 Users - Disabled Realism: Very little, as implied by the novice part of the title. Notably including all object icons.

2)Syndicate Full Realism (+AI) (website omitted)
26/61 Users - Disabled Realism: None, as titled implies this is full realism. It's also the only populated full real server in RoF currently.

3) Flying Circus
2/65 Users - Disabled Realism: All object icons, engine warm-up, and padlock.

Aces High:

482 Current Users - This is more of an MMO, so "realism settings" are as created by the developers. However, object icons - "VIEWING ENEMIES ON YOUR HUD IN YOUR BRIGHT RED LETTERS" - are ENABLED and at very high distances. This is by far the most online users of the examples, and in fact is more current online users than all of Il-2 Sturmovik 1946, Cliffs of Dover, and Rise of Flight combined.

Aces High uses a similar HUD style to Clod(with Object and other Icon's enabled). It's 98% text based and displays enemy aircraft in red. You immediately identify friend and enemy, just like with Clod's interface, and it also tells aircraft type and distance.

The Initiative:
Let's start dogfighting in the North American primetime's! (MST, PST, etc...)

Judging by the numbers I just pulled for this - ridiculously - long forum post, people want to dogfight. Object icons, Map Icons, and all of this lead to several things. More fighting being the main one. You're average sortie time drops. You're average kills per hour soars. This is not a surprise to any of you I'm sure, people want to relax and get their game on, especially on weekdays.

More people want to play these (niche) games with those icons on, in total.

These servers are already active, online and available every time you go to client search, but there's only one problem. They always have users ranging from 0/50, to 3/52. So you join ATAG, because that's an epic experience sometimes (great server, and I love it) and play, or if you want to get into a dogfight right now!.. you go back to single player, or you go to another sim.

This has taken far too long. I'm gonna make this shorter by just saying JOIN ME ON and try to unite guy's to get a consistent game together!

It has 'No Object Icons', 'No Map Icons', and 'No Map Path' Disabled. Complex Engine Management (CEM!) and Engine Temperate Effects, are ENABLED! It's still a sim even if you're aren't straining your eyes so hard you're running for the Clear Eyes after each dogfight. I'm not trying to say those options are bad, there is just no denying that this is a dividing option as far as game experience goes (see game user stats above).

TLDR:

Let's start doing more fighting and stop LOOKING FOR DOTS! Atleast on the weekdays. Preferably during North American prime-time (give or take a few thousand miles). And start using the guns on the aircraft more often!!!



Please feel free to give ideas, post criticism, and whatever else pops into you're noggin'. If you're like me and you want to get into more fights, even if it means seeing bright red letters telling you where the enemy is on your screen, post here and let's try to get something together and perhaps people will join when they see other users online.

Flying in no particular direction! Waiting to fight! I'm pretty bad, so it's easy kills!

Be prepared for the old regulars to say, "Go play Halo" or "Bye Bye".

Good thread, quite eye-opening.

[GF_Mastiff]

except @ 0800 PDT there was over 47 in Cliff of dover on ATAG

[mxmadman]

Originally Posted by GF_Mastiff

except @ 0800 PDT there was over 47 in Cliff of dover on ATAG

What exactly is that an exception to? I'm already aware of the fact that ATAG is the most popular..?

And @Spec Jockey, I'm trying to play CloD! I don't know why people would want me to leave just for trying to get guys interested in the same things to meet up.

Originally Posted by mxmadman

What exactly is that an exception to? I'm already aware of the fact that ATAG is the most popular..?

And @Spec Jockey, I'm trying to play CloD! I don't know why people would want me to leave just for trying to get guys interested in the same things to meet up.

Posting all that info makes things "too easy". Like an arcade game.

[mxmadman]

Originally Posted by speculum jockey

Posting all that info makes things "too easy". Like an arcade game.

Yes it makes.. spotting enemies "too easy". I don't play this game to see who's eyesight is better. I'm not playing a black dot tracking game.

Edit: You're also implying that Il-2 1946 is an arcade game, and Aces High.. RoF I might agree with you on. As stated before, the most popular servers in those games are with the settings I'm endorsing.

[SKUD]

meh
No icons for me, kills the experience. More mission/scenario tools so we can have objective-based play. How about damage scoring, make it fun for bombers and the fighters will come.

[salmo]

Spare a thought for the Aussies at GMT+10. When we're online most of the US & Europe are offline which makes a bad situation much worse. We regularly see just 2-6/99 players in ATAG & similar in Repka#1 servers.

The problem isn't so much the time-difference for us, it's the lack of a critical mass of players who play the game. This will not improve until the game is fixed & (perhaps) becomes more popular.

I'm extremely disappointed in the direction the game development is heading. I do not think that the old IL2 development model (serial releases of different theatres with expanded game content) is appropriate for todays sim market. I believe that community &/or third party involvement in expanding/improving game content while 1C & the Dev's work to improve the game core is the way to go. The sooner the Dev's release SDK's & open the game to user-made content the better.

[mxmadman]

Originally Posted by salmo

Spare a thought for the Aussies at GMT+10. When we're online most of the US & Europe are offline which makes a bad situation much worse. We regularly see just 2-6/99 players in ATAG & similar in Repka#1 servers.

The problem isn't so much the time-difference for us, it's the lack of a critical mass of players who play the game. This will not improve until the game is fixed & (perhaps) becomes more popular.

I'm extremely disappointed in the direction the game development is heading. I do not think that the old IL2 development model (serial releases of different theatres with expanded game content) is appropriate for todays sim market. I believe that community &/or third party involvement in expanding/improving game content while 1C & the Dev's work to improve the game core is the way to go. The sooner the Dev's release SDK's & open the game to user-made content the better.

Look I totally agree with you. The servers are never full. Its a self-perpetuating evil - empty servers means people don't want to join.

The demographic is clearly posted in my original post. More people prefer object icons, and I believe its because it is a direct cause of more engagements.

If we can keep a server populated that more people enjoy, they're more likely to play multiplayer. If they play multiplayer, they're more likely to join ATAG and go full realism at some point.

Right now we're asking anyone who joins CloD multiplayer to take a plunge off the deep end. They're coming from 1946, from Aces High, and from Rise of Flight. I've already shown what most of the folks prefer.

CloD offers exactly what they're looking for, but there are no populated servers running it, therefore they just play single player or quit. No one is going to try to do what I'm doing and actually get one of those servers off the ground. We don't exactly have a huge pool of players, so I think it takes advertisement like this thread.

I appreciate everyone different preferences, this is why 'preference' is in the title. I'm simply endorsing the more popular one so that we might actually get people into MP who don't enjoy the full realism of ATAG - because there are more of them.

[CaptainDoggles]

Dogfight servers (and especially airquake servers like Skies of Valor/Skies of Fire) are good if you just want some quick turn+burn, but as soon as F6 is enabled, bouncing someone is no longer possible unless they are a noob. For me, bouncing someone unawares = good job Doggles. When the guy sees me coming = way to go Doggles you messed that one up.

So, that rules out icons and F6 servers for me.