Can “Realism” Doom IL2:1946?

[WTE_Galway]

Originally Posted by T}{OR

I'll say 90% of them left because of mods. The requirements for equal playing ground are higher on full switch servers.

Well, to be fair, most of those guys that left were probably already considering leaving and the mods were the final straw that triggered the exodus.

Actually, to be honest, in many cases it was clearly not the mods themselves that were the problem. At least not in the direct fashion of "... oh crap mod planes I am quitting online now". What seems to have happened is the mods arrived around the same time as IL2_1946 started to hit the bargain bins at $10 or less and as a result:

Mods + Cheap IL2 = more gamer types and points whores online

Which also meant less demand for online wars, co-ops and historical servers.

Unfortunately the loss of those servers meant the gradual loss of long term experienced veteran players and in some cases entire squads.

Now the veteran long term squad players were replaced with young new "talent". This is often cited as evidence the mods "saved" online play. However unfortunately only a few of the new "turn and burn furball" fans actually stay more than 6 months. So the end result is more fly by night gamer types and far fewer of the core long term players that sustained the game online for 10 years..

- Would things have been better or worse if mods had been somehow stopped?
... I really have no idea, but suspect it would have made little difference.

- Are the mods the reason online play is fading away ?
... Not directly but they were one part of a bigger trend that long term seems detrimental.

- is the future success of IL2 going to depend on easier settings and flying late war and postwar hotrods in unhistorical "WWI style" turn and burn furballs at low level?
... I seriously doubt it.