The empty runway.

It's been just about a year and a half since World of Warplanes was officially released and the hard times are still going on.

During the Alpha and both Beta phases of testing, radical changes to the flight models of aircraft, including "nation specific characteristics" and the introduction of "compressed altitude" drove away some of those early players. Feeling their feedback and suggestions were being ignored, they left, with very few ever to return.

Later, the game became mired in an abortive launch event called Airborne Challenge (read some of the comments, from the time here http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/290775-world-of-warplanes-event-cancellation/ and here http://forum.worldofwarplanes.com/index.php?/topic/22427-airborne-challenge/ ) and the highly controversial First to the Top contest http://worldofwarplanes.com/news/contests/first-to-the-top/  Things were off to a troubling start.

Then, it slowly got worse. Persha, the studio that created and maintains Planes for WarGaming, continued to make questionable and radical changes with each new update. Weapons are not just toned down, they almost lose all effectiveness. For the sake of "balance", established aircraft are altered to the point where long time players first complain on the forums about the changes, or just leave, saying nothing at all. Aircraft receive new designations that are highly questionable (like my biggest irk, the Hawker Hurricane IID) and long standing issues still remain unresolved.

Despite all of this and more, some of the "hardcore" player stuck it out, learning to adapt to the changes with the hopes the end result would payoff; Clan Wars. An ingame global map where highly experienced players could battle it out with foes of equal or nearly the same skill levels, for the big Gold payouts. While the Clan framework was introduced some time ago now, it too was brought in with much controversy.

First, through the used of Unified Accounts, Planes players who happen to be in a World of Tanks Clan now had to make a hard choice; leave their current Clan to stay playing, leave Planes to keep their position in their Tanks Clan, and so on. The option of using separate Tanks/Planes just wasn't available, so while some chose to stick with Planes either as a part of their Tanks Clan, other left one Clan to join another, many just stopped playing all together.

Then, the arena for these players hasn't even been built. Clan Wars hasn't come to Planes, despite being "promised" for some time. Any WarGaming sponsored competitive events, like Tournaments or other rewarding ingame events have been far and few in between. On top of that, any communication of the concerns of these observations just go ignored, for the most part.

So, from a stumbled launch, poor update quality, slow in coming content and no end game for those more competitive players, why should anybody consider starting to play this game, or comeback after leaving in disgust in the first place?

First, it's free. Yes, there is "paid content", but that is a matter of choice, not a requirement. Two, despite what you might read on the North America forums, the playerbase is one of the nicest I have had the pleasure of being a part of, when it comes to online gaming. Sure, there are a few cranky bad apples, just like a real life family, complete with drama and tantrums.

Thirdly and most importantly, the planes. There are a few other games of this same genre out there, but this one, even with the limitations of the Big World engine and Persha's programing, still captures the thrills of dogfights and flying evasive maneuvers from player controlled enemy aircraft. If you prefer artificial opponents, there is an option for that too.

Just you, your plane and the virtual world. It can be a nice escape from the "real ordinary", despite the technical and corporate issues this game has.