So this is what I don't get...

There is alot wrong with multiplay, obviously the sound issues and also the engine speeds seem to be well off, floating ships (in air not on sea), disappearing contacts, regular disconnections / lag issues, whether this is a steam issue or more bad coding no-one knows. It all mounts up to a frustrating experience - hence very few fly online. As an example two nights ago 22 people in the entire world were playing CLOD multiplayer, World of Tanks 38,000.