Here we go! Uh, this is going to be busy and full of opinion (controversial)…
There has long been the debate of whether to make the game more realistic, or more easy to use.
So, your opinions here!
(Olof, Jettuh, EG0611, ATCT (Tag the bot!), Rubble) these are the active figures of authority I could think of, you may add more.
But first, we will use the primary method of gathering opinion information, Polls!
Simplicity
Realism
0voters
This mostly translates into whether you prefer jet/prop aircraft using different kinds of fuel, or to have it separated by GA/commercial. Or to have international flights be only for large aircraft, and so on…
*Note to said figures of authority, feel free to delete this post if it violates the forum policy, I made a quick readthrough the FAQ and didn’t find anything…
I’m sorry, I generally refrain from tagging developers, for my defence I will say that people tag Olof all the time…
Cough
@win_win cough I remember you tagging Olof often recently…
*No offence intended.
The problem with “Hard if you can” is that you can’t all of the sudden supply GA jets with Jet A-1. The only difficulty change is starting money, there isn’t a change in mechanics, which is what some people want.
I personally have no problem with whatever you choose, I like the current balance… But as said, some people may want it differently.
I created the poll so we can have an idea of what people prefer, you may want to direct people from the steam discussion to get a better idea, I would even go as far as to say that I’m not trying to get anything said.
Well, in a certain way we are able to pick our difficulty by deciding how big the airport will be. We can stick to a small GA airport, decide only to accept small planes but we can go for the big infrastructure as well. Nobody forces us to build a certain airport that needs all servics, correct. This is nicely done, yes. This is working as intended. Amount of money from pure sandbox to having different budgets is also o.k.
What irks me is doing stuff wrong IF we do it. So for me, it is wrong fuels used, what triggers me currently. The game depicts 2 fuel types (realism) and then does something strange by - I cannot say else - a whim, because the one-timer of tutorials will confuse players when between servicing 5 flights one lands, that cannot be serviced with the current infrastructure. Instead of doing things wrong, why just internally disable flights you cannot fuel? Frankly, who lands a plane on a place where it cannot refuel?
The game is complex and rich I’d like it to stay that way. And I like new features adding to that richness, meaning giving depth to the game. Realism creates immersion and this is what I need from a planning game. Being a tycoon game does not automatically mean it has to be simplified. A-Train series would qualify as a tycoon game as well, and heck do they have a steep learning curve. Cities: Skylines has a steep learning curve. And Airport CEO has simulation parts. It simulates operating an airport. It simulates passengers going round, aircraft landing and taking off. It is neither a pure simulation nor purely a tycoon game. It is a good balance between those - it has both parts. Realism is not necessarily evil. Anybody knows the Silent Hunter series? You could totally fire torpedoes which aimed themselves with the help of assistant systems, but you totally could turn them off and calculate everything yourself - everybody happy. But this is where this game is different: you can choose in the options-menu to have realistic aiming or assisted aiming even granularly done. If we had the option to pick for instance ‘realistic services’ versus ‘simplified services’, everyone could pick their game. The realists had their GA Cirrus fueled with Jet A-1 again and the others have their simplicity. Yet, we do not have the option and this is the problem.
Skylines doesn’t have a steep learning curve. It’s relatively easy to build a megacity… If anything has a steep learning curve, it’s Transport Fever, where early starting dates will be disastrous for beginners.
From my experience in ACEO it’s hard to start a new airport (layout and lots of R&D), but after a certain stage (5 gates) it becomes easy as you already have a layout and the ability to build large organized terminals.
In short, what you are suggesting is a “Hard Mod” which would change multiple mechanics to allow for more realism (and difficulty) if desired by more advanced players.
I consider Skylines easy to learn but hard to master - even more true with more and more DLCs enabled. But this is a good thing. A good game is easy to learn, correct. Chess is rather easy to learn - but to master it? This keeps it interesting. If a game is easy to learn and stays easy, then it can be a problem, if the challenges vanish. But well, your mileage could vary on that one.
I definitely agree with this part. To put it in numbers, I had to put 1000 hours into Factorio before I mastered the game. Space Engineers took me 500 hours and Worker & Resources: Soviet Republic has taken up 200 hours now and I haven’t reached the end yet. On the other hand I have clocked 232 hours on AirportCEO and feel like I have done everything I wanted to do. Sure I enjoy new updates and sometime try a little bit of a different design, but I only change a design because of aesthetics, not because it optimizes my airport.
If feel like things are relatively easy to set up, and optimising gives little return. Hence, there is no reason to optimise and reiterate previous designs into something ‘perfect’. There is no perfect Airport in AirportCEO because essentially everything functions just fine.
Alpha 36 will have airport disruptions, and maybe after release we’ll get something like: Old times DLC with old planes old styled buildings furniture services etc, and maybe cargo DLC, but speculation is not a good thing so we’ll live and see.
I admit I tag many people for help, or to help other people.
Anyways, many good points were made in this conversation, although I don’t know why you made this in feature voting? I believe ACEO is a game where you can control the complexity really well. Especially with a “simulation mode” that you can change in-game, the Devs have really made the game adaptable to all players. Many other games like ACEO have to cater to the large audience and I think with such a large community working together and an already thought through a game that really makes aviation so intuitive is already a feat on its own. As already mentioned there are many variables that make this game complex, whether its the variety of items and services you want your airport to have or the size of your airport. So my final thoughts are that this game is one of a very adaptable line of the game, and even as complexity rises that just adds to more variables, it is also a good learning tool.
Starts an interactive tutorial. {name-of-tutorial} can be one of: tutorial, advanced tutorial.
@ATCT roll 2d6
3, 6
@ATCT quote
You’ve got to follow your passion. You’ve got to figure out what it is you love — who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams. — Oprah Winfrey
Yeah, I don’t think bots are willing to comply with your request. Maybe R7D project Automation will solve the issue. @EG0611, can you please close the topic. Robots are not taking over the world yet.
has been pressed.
I remember you tagging Olof often recently…
3, 6
You’ve got to follow your passion. You’ve got to figure out what it is you love — who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams. — Oprah Winfrey
You may rely on it