If you guys started to play WB around the 2000s, like myself: what a change. WB 2.XX, you want nice landscape? Go visit the national gallery. Want all all sort of vehicles like trucks and tanks? Well, go play tanks: this is an AIR WAR waiting for you.
Was the 4 color island arena (symetrical...) a "simulation" of anything that really took place in WW2 ? Who gave a dam! Once you managed to hit FLY (yes: airstarts), real mode or easy no matter, you been certainly blown up within seconds: THAT was the simulation. I tried maybe 100 times (paying per minute not to forget!). Then I figured I need to learn and find out how to live and take part in the fighting, at least for a little bit. THAT was the simulation.

Today I spent an hour or more in the new main arena, combined arms if you want. GVs with icons. A little white crosshair to show where my bomb would hit. RAdar and channel 112 info all over. Drones to shoot. Success from the beginning. DAR map shows required targets. Impressive landscape (compared to WB 2,xx well, maybe not the desert...), nice plane skin. 2 or 3 other gamers on, all doing their own thing, with success.

Why does it feel so much more like a game than WB 2,xx did? I know I know...the numbers issue. Will they increase? Make it easier, instant success, more numbers. I know about that theory. Another theory was: if ppl can play it with their mobiles, they will mass up. I dont know if that is happening allready, usind android. But sounds plausible. Is it happening? And can the mobile users be merged into a main arena?

To feel like a simulation, we maybe dont need more gaming options, but more AIR WAR goin on. I dont vote against the combined arms gameplay, good thing: point system has reset too. Just wanted to let out how much WB has departed from being a simulation.

That's an open ended question...

What warbirds needs more than anything else is numbers, people, players.

The game maintains a small regular USA participation but that is it unfortunately.
If you log on at what should be peak European times there is literally nobody on at all.

With so much free to play content out there, they no doubt are going to struggle to get new people to sign up for a monthly subscription based format.

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Internally: The work being done now(better late than never) that needed to be done to retain old timers, not being, or not possibly(insufficient resources), done at the time it would have forestalled losses(we did get a little prettier stuff). Stagnation of development in strat. The graphics(AC excepted) are a turnoff to newbs, plain and simple. As stated, much prettier free stuff out there. A few poor management decisions WRT arenas, not being undone when they may have had a chance at reversing the losses. And endless tangents to the above. All led to the numbers problem, which allowed what are insignificant problems(Always been there) with play styles to loom large via lack of dilution.

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"will it go 'round in circles"

I didn't have a lot of time, but it was interesting... killing what I thought were AI, turned out was a player.

Very different from the old MA, the targets were harder to find bases were harder to close. I sort of liked the fact either side could capture the base.

The air side of things seemed slow, but there weren't a lot on, I had to leave just as the numbers built up.

If this game was promoted AT ALL, numbers would sky rocket. There are two main websites that are basically the official database of all computer games in the world. This game was not registered on either of them. I had to add this game to those websites myself just to be able to stream the game and list the name of the game in those streams. Basically, if you weren't playing this game twenty years ago, you don't know it exists. This game and this website don't even pop up on google. Some serious SEO work is needed. And that won't happen unless someone is given access to the website to work on SEO. I don't think Bill realizes how much money this game can still make for him if he just took the time to do all the FREE things that could help get people into the game.

What happened? What drove most of players out? One word: Hacks!

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I swear it wasn't my mistake...

Ien drove most of the players away, period. They couldn't or wouldn't accomodate what the community was interested in seeing developed. They changes in the name of realism, tjat actually made things less like reality, predominately in the areas of bombing results. Then, later in the game, further tinkering of the types that ultimately killed the WW2 arena were applied to the sole remaining arena with the same results.

The sad part is early on a few simple reversions to older settings would have better addressed player discontent, but hubris on the part of iEN, and later, those given the keys to the kingdom brought about the current state.

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"will it go 'round in circles"