InA game balance

[Violee 77]

So I have been on a 2 year hiatus from Arma 3 and have just come back to my favourite community on the internet, and something foul is afoot.

 

Of course we are talking about game balance, over the last 2 weeks since ive been back and playing daily. i have noticed a nasty issue affecting the minority of players who play helicopter pilot.

This is of course in relation to the Y-32 - Xi'an  ;

This is a excellent aircraft that has unmatched speed, capacity, versatility, survivability, and its fun to fly if not challenging

These reasons above are exactly why it should not be in the standard helicopter rotation, even the long timer VTOL transport rotation.
This aircraft when in semi-capable hands fills the operational capacity for 2 other helicopters if not 3. its short return times, overall attractiveness to the infantry at HQ and AO evac, ensures that it will be filled up long before any other airframe at the almost exclusivity of the pilot flying. This excessive utility and pull makes it so any other pilots whom were once flying non stop and having work to do suddenly all have reduced roles, leading to much longer idle times, lower pilot efficency and for those who care about it, a unbalanced leaderboard.

Not to mention, the reason why everyone play videos games; Personal enjoyment. lowers for everyone but the person in the VTOL. this alone should be reason enough to consider removal from the standard vehicle rotation. 

I suggest that the Xi'an be placed as eighter a very rare spawn, once per restart cycle or less, or moved to a more frequent reward spawn with its gunner seat and armament adjusted for game balance (See current jet loadouts).

I believe this small change with upset some of the dedicated VTOL bois, but in the short and long term will improve the fairness surrounding air transport and stop people from getting bored.

[Yeet 193]

I personally fly the Hummingbird, and I really enjoy doing so but the Y-32 and its somewhat 'mediocre' spawn rate + its challenging nature means you don't see them often used because usually most people crash them before they get out of base. The only real person who can use it effectively is Persona Non Grata..

I don't feel as though when someones in the Y-32 I have a 'reduced role', I feel like I'm flying a helicopter as I usually do just without as many passengers.

Also in regards to you saying "Not to mention, the reason why everyone play videos games; Personal enjoyment. lowers for everyone but the person in the VTOL.", I think for me myself, (maybe I'm just some weirdo) my enjoyment level doesn't change whatsoever whether I have a full heli or just 1-2 people. 

I think people who play I&A as a pilot, play it so they can have the enjoyment of flying helicopters in a virtual world. I don't think that is effected by having whatever amount of people in your helicopter. 

Or if you play so you can get that #1 rank on the transport score leaderboard, just turn on stamina, lock first person and hop in a Huron/Mohawk..

I can agree that the spawn rate might need a little bit of a tweaking, maybe a 20-30% spawn chance, but having 1 per restart doesn't sound fair for the people who actually want to fly it. Sometimes when I hop in TS I hear people asking 'for a go' on the Y-32, it's not like its a generally hated air frame, most infantry enjoy seeing it at base because its fast and efficient transport. But if you fly well and gain a reputation for being a good pilot, you'll be stealing just as many passengers from the Y-32 as it steals from you..

(Also, nice to see you back, I remember trying to stack helis with you at one point)

 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Yeet

[Mann 39]

I agree for the spawn chances for the Xian to be lowered but making it a "Once per restart" vehicle seems too impractical. Even a 20-30% chance spawn chance is great and fairly balanced change, as said by Yeet. Also having the the Xian is really useful when doing a evac when the server has a high amount of players as the Xian fits around 16 people. 

The regular issue for people disliking the Xian (in perspective of a pilot) is that you don't as many passengers when waiting on a helipad which leads to less transport points. If the pilot is keen to using jets, this means may take longer to get a sufficient or satisfactory amount of transport points to earn better jets. It is pretty much a chain reaction for grinding for transport points.

1 hour ago, Violee said:

the reason why everyone play videos games; Personal enjoyment. lowers for everyone but the person in the VTOL. this alone should be reason enough to consider removal from the standard vehicle rotation. 

Personal enjoyment really depends on the type of person you are in I&A: If you enjoy flying to an AO and back for fun and Personal enjoyment regardless of passengers, the Xian may not be much of an Issue. If you are grinding for a better jet, You may dislike or like the Xian depending on if you know how to fly it or get your hands on it. If you prefer taking people to an AO and back and find Personal enjoyment and satisfaction when dropping off preferably medium to large amounts Infantry, you may dislike the Xian. Personal Enjoyment is different for many people and really isn't a solid sole reason for the removal of the Xian.

 

[pkisbest 198]

Yeah I’m more of a “transport points for Jet person”. So when a Yian shows up, I just turn my engine off :P

[BigRed 133]

I'm getting the popcorn, Persona will be kicking down the door soon...

[pkisbest 198]

But speaking on Balance, I personally believe the amount of Verona AT Gunners needs to be decreased exponentially.

 

Despite tanks being the theme of the dlc, as soon as you get into an AO, a single Verona kills ya after firing a few shots. @Fitz

[War Machine 40]

What would be more fun is seeing a flight of nostalgic Vietnam War era like heli's: the Hellcats. I suggest that Ghost Hawks should be replaced by these heli's (in both Tanoa and Altis server). It would make the pilots more busy due to the low capacity of this type of aircraft. I would like it to be the armed version with mini-guns on both sides and is colored in olive green; although, if you could implement a skin that would be sick. However, that is just my opinion and personal taste.

[M9' 169]

It is possible that we run some kind of 'Vietnam War era' event in the future, where we restrict weapon and vehicle choices down to a select few deemed appropriate, however not only would such an event likely prove difficult to run, I am certain that any such significant restrictions would not align with the vision maintained by I&A staff for any long term execution.

For the current setting that I&A is built in, the Ghost Hawks are damn near perfect, and I, personally, would be saddened to see them replaced. This kind of change is something that seems more appropriate applied to our Tanoa server, rather than our Altis server, however I doubt it would serve either as well as you'd think. Pilots being 'more busy' isn't necessarily a net benefit, as not only do Ghost Hawks make up merely most (and not all) of the aircraft spawns (limiting the effect of replacing them), but the entertainment value gained from playing the role is also effected by factors such as server population and distance from airbase to AO, whereby changing the aircraft spawns can have little to no effect at all.

Additionally, I'm not the biggest fan in the world of giving every heli pilot an armed aircraft, as not only would it make maintaining our current ROE a nightmare, but it would also have the undesired effect of drawing pilots towards combat roles, rather than transport roles, further complicating the issue.

Custom skin implementation for the hellcat is something we should probably look into further, but I'd much prefer to restrict it's access to our lovely donators as a reward for supporting our community services.