AirwaySim

An official announcement will follow later but AirwaySim's strategy for game worlds will change a bit in the near future.

Besides of the long "main" game worlds that will run for 1 - 1.5 years, we'll start a regular series of shorter games where the overall duration is somewhere between 2 - 4 months. The beginner games (1.5 months / easy) and also occasional themed challenge game worlds will be also present.

Over the years we've had requests for more frequent starts of new game worlds and we'll hope this will answer to the call.

The long game worlds are for the people who prefer playing the full scale of the history, from the 1950s/1960s all the way to 2030s. Of course it's always possible to jump in to these games in the middle too, and hopefully new incentives and features can be brought in to avoid the "fear" of joining a game that's already 50% complete. Because all of the major games have open airports and good opportunities for new airlines.

Originally the plan for the longer games came from the requests that people didn't like to abandon their airline when a game ended for example in year 1999 but would have liked to continue further. The long game worlds will stay as the key & core scenarios of AirwaySim. Plan is to have 3-4 of the long scenarios.

If you miss the start of such a long game and would like to play in some major airport (which are usually difficult and crowded in the long scenarios at mid-point), or perhaps can't commit to a year-long strategy and planning, then these new shorter scenarios will be for you. They will be played in a variety of different time eras and will be similar in difficulty and settings than the long games, just shorter in their duration, similar to what we had in the old days. For example a scenario from 1980 to 2000, another from 2000 to 2020, and so on (these are just examples). It's also a small step back to our roots. The number of these short scenarios will be 2-3 simultaneously when the system gets fully running.

Scenarios will be spaced so that they start at regular and pre-determined intervals and they won't overlap (i.e. two scenarios of short system won't be in the same era at the same time, and same for long games).

Overall plan is to be able to plan & inform of the future game worlds up to 3-6 months in advance, and create a simple and clear system of different playing options that suit for different tastes.

As mentioned, details to follow. But the question is. How shall we name these?

Simple (and perhaps a tad boring):

• Long Game World #1: 1955-2035
  
• Long Game World #2: 1955-2035
  
• Short Game World #1: 1980-2000
  
• Short Game World #2: 2000-2020
  
• Beginner's World #1: 2000-2010

etc.

Or something else?

Other comments and observations are also welcome.


(p.s. this change would, according to the plans, also include some changes to alliances (https://www.airwaysim.com/forum/index.php/topic,77009.0.html) so that they are closely tied together in various game worlds)

Myself would love a 1970-2020 game world!
Probably just a generational thing  :)

Some of my new GW ideas are as follows:

• Practice Stages A and B (these two mega-easy game scenarios last for 3 weeks real time, and restart monthly)
• The Light Zone (this easy game scenario lasts for 1 month real time, and restarts every 2 months)
• Standard Arena (this medium-difficulty game scenario lasts for 2 months real time, and restarts every 3 months)
• Aeromaniacs' World (this hard game scenario lasts for 3 months real time, and restarts every 4 months)
• The Evaluation Challenge (this mega-hard game scenario lasts for 6 months real time so that the skills new players learnt over a course of 6 months and 3 weeks can be evaluated, and restarts annually)

-Emily (age 14 5/6)

Quote from: Sami on January 17, 2019, 12:59:36 PM
As mentioned, details to follow. But the question is. How shall we name these?

Simple (and perhaps a tad boring):

• Long Game World #1: 1955-2035
  
• Long Game World #2: 1955-2035
  
• Short Game World #1: 1980-2000
  
• Short Game World #2: 2000-2020
  
• Beginner's World #1: 2000-2010

etc.

How about Beginners GW, Advanced GW, Epic GW... optionally the last one could be named "No time left for anything else-GameWorld"

I must say I'm a big fan of current GW3's format, start before the 11/09, and go on to 2035. 40 years of gameplay fits me. And it passes through very interesting eras, and allows to toy with the end game wonders(neos, maxs, 787s, MRJs.....)

Quote from: dandan on January 17, 2019, 02:15:38 PM
How about Beginners GW, Advanced GW, Epic GW... optionally the last one could be named "No time left for anything else-GameWorld"

Good idea for the short scenarios, but the last one needs a bit of tuning still  ;D

I second Gazz on the current GW3 format. IMO the 3 staples should be a long game (1950-2035), a "Modern Times" game, ~1995-2035, and Beginners Worlds. After that, I like the return to AWS's roots as well though. Adding back the old DOTM (~1975-2000) and maybe The Jet Age (~1955-1980) would be good as well.

how about a voting system for game duration, as opposed to the fixed 25/30 minutes per day.

I would suggest each player in a GW can have a throttle setting on their control panel, from 1-10. They can change this setting as much as they want during gameplay. Once a week/quarter all the players throttles scores are averaged, perhaps weighted by size, then the period set for the next week/quarter, ie from 10 minutes/day to 30 minutes/day.

As gameworlds get mature then it gets really boring just doing D checks and lease renewals day in day out. It would be good if with consensus the game play could be speeded up. Obviously the first few game years should be 25/30 minute per day.

Simon

Quote from: gazzz0x2z on January 17, 2019, 02:29:03 PM
I must say I'm a big fan of current GW3's format, start before the 11/09, and go on to 2035. 40 years of gameplay fits me. And it passes through very interesting eras, and allows to toy with the end game wonders(neos, maxs, 787s, MRJs.....)

Same here.  The original "Modern Times" games from 1999x that now are GW3 from 199x-2036 have been my favorite since I started playing AWS.

Quote from: ZombieSlayer on January 17, 2019, 03:19:01 PM
I second Gazz on the current GW3 format. IMO the 3 staples should be a long game (1950-2035), a "Modern Times" game, ~1995-2035, and Beginners Worlds. After that, I like the return to AWS's roots as well though. Adding back the old DOTM (~1975-2000) and maybe The Jet Age (~1955-1980) would be good as well.

That's what I was thinking too when I was reading Sami's post.

3 Long GWs - 1955-2035 - Starting roughly 6 months apart if possible?
3 35yr GWs @ 3 month each rotating quarterly. (1950-1985) (1975-2010) (2000-2035)

As far as naming them, perhaps some retro naming with something fresh?

~ For long games: Airline Generations; Birth and Reign; Survival of the Fittest

~ For shorter games: Simpler Days (1950); DOTM (1975); 21st Century

~ Beginners worlds: The Basics; Soloing


Talentz

That's great!

Long ones
I kind of agree with Talentz, long GWs should start roughly each 6 months, so one doesn't have to wait a full year to start, or doesn't have to quit a mid-length GW because a long GW has been announced at the last minute.
Moreover, I think day length should be 25 min from the start: current GW#2, the longest ever, started in june 2017, if I'm correct. And will finish in february. 21 months is a bit long. 15-18 months would be better.

Middle ones
I'd rather say 40 years rather than 20 (as suggested by Sami) or 35 (Talentz). But 35 is already fine.

Scenarii
Then we could have the special scenarios, that would probably be a tad better with 15 years rather than 10.

Quote from: Tha_Ape on January 18, 2019, 08:25:08 AM
current GW#2, the longest ever, started in june 2017, if I'm correct. And will finish in february. 21 months is a bit long. 15-18 months would be better.

That's funny, i was just about to propose an idea of making it even longer by starting in the 30/40's instead, with the same settings :laugh:

Quote from: Jake S on January 18, 2019, 10:15:36 AM
That's funny, i was just about to propose an idea of making it even longer by starting in the 30/40's instead, with the same settings :laugh:

Seems impossible, due to WW2. There would be no traffick in most parts of the world before 1950, and only the USA(and maybe the UK?) would be playable. 1950 was a fun start, indeed. The lack of good planes also delayed competition between players, which allowed a lot of players to build cash reserves that made them unkillable. Which is why so many starters from 1950 are still alive in 2032.

I don't see how to start realistically before 1948, honestly. Both the planes market and the demand would be unmanageable. Unless you forget WWII happened, but that's a big, big biggie.

Quote from: gazzz0x2z on January 18, 2019, 10:37:50 AM
Seems impossible, due to WW2. There would be no traffick in most parts of the world before 1950, and only the USA(and maybe the UK?) would be playable. 1950 was a fun start, indeed. The lack of good planes also delayed competition between players, which allowed a lot of players to build cash reserves that made them unkillable. Which is why so many starters from 1950 are still alive in 2032.

I don't see how to start realistically before 1948, honestly. Both the planes market and the demand would be unmanageable. Unless you forget WWII happened, but that's a big, big biggie.

wellllll.... how many wars have not been taken into account altogether in AWS?
not sure about all these, but the first gulf-war (iran-iraq), the "war against terror" (afghanistan), yugoslavian civil war, korean war, syrian civil war, lebanese civil war,
h***! there is so much demand in yemen, one would consider it a first world country and noone would ever guess that it has been a disaster ever since the brits left aden!
considering all that, its kind of annoying that the second gulf war is really the only war considered and that actually only has an impact on iraq really. even 9/11 is just a bit of a down in numbers for a quarter. except of course for the oil crisis... thats really the only political event with any significant impact.

my preference:
in my opinion, there should be random "wars"... not many, but unpredictable. like "big country invades small one" (where the problem is only in one country), and "two countries fight each other (where the problem is in both countries), and maybe a "total regional conflict" (where demand is crumbling in a whole world area). maybe longer lasting than some "railway-strikes". make them a year or two long sometimes - it will be a hit to the airlines affected, but it will make things more challlenging.

so yes, i would like to see some more upsetting, maybe also random (who will start in iraq otherwise, when they know what will happen!?) events!
and yes, i would like to see 25min/day (maybe in the later stages 20min/day) for a 1925-2025 "a century of airlines" game (of course... more AC data needed for that... Ford Trimotors, HP 42, Junkers G38, Ju90, Avro York, AW Ensign, Boeing 247, Lockheed Electra... but kind of cool idea).
and yes, i would not mind if demand would be lower and more realistic (and a bit more influenceable customers ;) ).

oh, stop, i must be daydreaming again!  :laugh:

Quote from: dandan on January 18, 2019, 11:59:53 AM
i would not mind if demand would be lower and more realistic (and a bit more influenceable customers ;) ).

I second that, how realistic isn't it to have 6 city pairs in Japan alone under 600nm that you would have to fly 75 DAILY departures with A380's in a single class layout to even get close to fill the demand? And another 10 destinations where you have to at the very least have to have 14-21 daily A380 flights?


EDIT: Corrected statement stating there was 12 city pairs that needed 75 daily A380 flights down to 6, and added the last part about 14-21 daily A380 flights after checking up on the latest GW2 data.

How about the weather/hurricane naming system, but with famous aviators becoming the names alphabetically as worlds open. Include some biographical information about them and I would say include a part of the name giving a flavour of the world date wise, much like some of the stuff that has been suggested already by Talentz and dandan.

So it would become like this: "Gameworld Amelia - DOTM" for a shorter one. Amelia be Amelia Earhart of course, with some biographical info about her.

Full Disclosure - I have no idea whether to take this idea seriously or as a joke. I thought maybe Hurricane name system as a bit of a silly joke response and somehow made it more serious with the inclusion of famous aviators.

Quote from: Jake S on January 18, 2019, 05:27:41 PM
I second that, how realistic isn't it to have 6 city pairs in Japan alone under 600nm that you would have to fly 75 DAILY departures with A380's in a single class layout to even get close to fill the demand? And another 10 destinations where you have to at the very least have to have 14-21 daily A380 flights?


EDIT: Corrected statement stating there was 12 city pairs that needed 75 daily A380 flights down to 6, and added the last part about 14-21 daily A380 flights after checking up on the latest GW2 data.

Certainly, the "bullet train effect" haven't been modelled in AWS...  ;D

Rename suggestions:
[Insert famous pilot's name] [mode name] Game Worlds #
Example:
Beginner = Amelia Earhart's Student Game World #1
Short = Will and Orv's Cross-country Game World #1
Long = Jimmy Doolittle's Epic Game World #1
Challenge = Buzz Aldrin's Challenge Game Worlds #1

I am looking forward to the 35 year game, being able to work with everything from pistons to 787's.  It has really been an enjoyable cargo challenge and I would like to see more of those—an all Soviet/Russian challenge, maybe an all South America or African challenge (both continents sadly under represented), maybe an all commuter challenge with tie-ins to major carriers, the ability to merge airlines, and other ideas.  An all China challenge would be fun.

Special thanks to "Gaz" for his tutorials and I am glad to see some young folks with the airline bug and hopefully some more ladies to keep us on our toes.  You have built a great base here and with new technology it will get even better.

Cheers!

More of my ideas are below:

• Just the Beginning (1950-70)
• The Golden Age (1970-90)
• Going Digital (1990-2010)
• The Future is Yours (2010-30)

-Emily (age 14 5/6)

Being a new and more casual player I'm all for having more variety in terms of GW duration. It'll definitely help attract more new players, if that's part of the goal.

Something like:
2 or 3 Long "Die-hard" GWs (50+ game years)
2 Era-based GWs (25-35 game years) - like suggested above by ZombieSlayer, just use a rotation system to have 2 out of the 3 active with a new one starting every 3-4 months
2 Special theme/challenge GWs (10-20 game years)
1 or 2 Beginner "Get your feet wet" GWs (10 game years)

If distributed equally throughout the calendar year it should give us a new GW start every 2 months or so (not counting Beginner GWs).

Also the idea about increasing in-game speed (i.e. decreasing Day length) as the GW progresses is a great one! Start with 30, going down to 20 minutes. Anyway I believe this would be quite complicated, so instead I'd just go with 25 Minutes per Day for the duration of all GWs.

Looking forward to the next Challenge game (after the Cargo one ends). Thanks for the great work of the whole AWS team.

Cheers!

Personally I like the very long game. 1950 to 2035 like the actual GW#2 with predetermined start dates so that is easy to plan to join a new game.


About the names, I prefer fantasy names like those presented here by some players. Don't go with aseptic name like  Long game or Short game.

I particularly like the idea from alvin of the famous aviators.

Quote from: Luperco on January 21, 2019, 09:12:49 AM
About the names, I prefer fantasy names like those presented here by some players. Don't go with aseptic name like  Long game or Short game.

I particularly like the idea from alvin of the famous aviators.

Yeah, but we would need to widen it and not have US names only. Damn, let's struggle a bit against US domination and demonstrate that the entire world participated in this adventure ;)
Pilots, engineers and entreprenneurs alike
Clément Ader, Valery Chkalov, Santos-Dumont, Blériot, Coanda, Mermoz, Saint Exupéry, Ninomiya Chuhachi, Vladimir Kokkinaki, Aurel Vlaicu, etc.

How about these?

• Post-9/11 America (2002-20)
• A New Low-Cost Giant (1996-2010)
• Aviation's Golden Age: The Americas (1959-80) (limited to North and South America)

-Emily (age 14 5/6)

I'd like to see possibly segmented games where you can choose to continue or close out at the end of that era.

Say you have a 1950 beginning but are only interested in the first 15 years. Score can be kept of each 15 year era and you will be given option to continue. — Similarly one can join at anytime within 15 year interval but will only be scored on a completed 15 year intervals (Join 1964 but only scored at 1965-1980 timeframe and any others continued forward if any)

The famous person name theme sounds good. But how can we differentiate the short and long games already by name, so it's immediately obvious which is which?

Quote from: Sami on January 21, 2019, 09:03:41 PM
The famous person name theme sounds good. But how can we differentiate the short and long games already by name, so it's immediately obvious which is which?

First names (short) vs Last names (long)?

Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with the Jet Age/DOTM/Modern Times/Fly to the Future names for shorter games and just appending that to the "Gameworld (Insert famous name here)" works.

Another thought is to take the create 3 categories of short, medium and advanced length, along with a 3 part bar coloured green, yellow and red. The coloured bar acts as an easy way to see the length of a world in a more generic way, without resorting to calling a world Long or Short of whatever. Along with this, a descriptor of the challenges faced in each.

Short - Short Length Gameworld where long term fleet planning is not necessary.
Medium - Medium Length Gameworld where spanning two generations of commercial aircraft, where fleet changes will likely be necessary.
Advanced - Long Length Gameworld which spans multiple generations of commerical aircraft, long term fleet planning and multiple fleet changes will be necessary in this gameworld.

Something a bit like that, although descriptions might be in need of a little work. Beginners World, I would keep calling Beginners World, rather than Gameworld.

With the longer Gameworlds, you could say they are in need of their own name, rather than changing over time, I like "Airline Generations" although, "The Age of Flight," something that signifies the length of time covered without getting a specific as the others.

So a new longer gameworld, could be "Gameworld Amelia - Airline Generations" with a full Red bar signifying the world is of advanced length, along with a description, probably in the "See Details" section, of what that means.

A Short one would be "Gameworld Amelia - Jet Age" for something covering 1955-1976 with a 2/3 yellow bar signifying world is of Medium length, again, along with a description.

I was thinking about 25-year-long gameworlds named by theme. I'd like to play a 25-year challenge because it will challenge us on making good long-term strategy and will take away the boredom that comes when we have consolidated our businesses. The themes would be:

1) The Heyday (1945-1970), covers the boom of aviation, with cheap fuel and lots of inovations coming around;
2) Upside Down (1970-1995), covers the 2 big fuel crisis and the subsequent glorious times of the yuppies;
3) Modern Business (1995-2020), covers the aviation days from right before 9/11 to the current times;
4) Futurology (2020-2045), covers the future. This gameworld could be punctuated by random future events, like new countries being created or merging together, open skies for economic regions other than EU, ccountries requesting chapter 4 and (why not?) some fantasy aircraft being randomly launched...

How about these?

• The Virtual Ryanair (1984-2018) - a special game where airlines must try to do exactly what Ryanair did, between 1984 and 2018, in real life. Restricted to the Schengen area, Morocco, Israel, and Jordan. First airline to join special game must start in Dublin.
• Return of Pan Am (1992-2017) - a special game where the first airline to join must become the new Pan Am by starting with the same routes as the latter did back in 1986. Airport closures may make it less easier than it may seem.

-Emily (age 14 5/6)

Are any of these proposed changes scheduled to be implemented in time for the (new) GW2 which should be on course to start in about 2 weeks?