Minipily

I'm glad to finally see some organised play coming along, hopefully EU2 can become active again. One suggestion I'd personally opt for in some ops is when there are multiple objectives in the field, keep the troops out in the field and have logistical assets come out to rearm them so they can go straight to the next mission, or have a debrief/brief out in the field. This just changes things up so it's not always going to be back and forth between base in a helicopter, certainly on EU1 and AWE I found that about 15-20% of my play was just sat in a helo. Either way, looks quite fun. I might come along.

Ok

You literally sumarised EU1 perfectly.

Of course not.

I remember last time it was literally everyone voted yes and 1 person voted no. That one person that voted no was Colsta, who owned AWE and therefore wasn't allowed. What a great community decision. Hopefully this time we have an unbiased, proper poll for this. So far, it seems good.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this vote, it's humbling to see the community come back together to express their views with so much passion for what they believe is right. Thanks GhostDragon for hosting the vote, it's good to see a big step taken forward in the evolution of AWE. Very much looking forward to being able to play again! Apart from the occasional MSO, I am extremely starved of some good ArmA III Modded Gameplay. P.S: From the looks of it, Strict Limitations has won the poll. Do not feel disheartened if you voted for Casual Limitations, as myself and Johnson could not state enough, Strict Limitations IS STILL Casual Limitations but with the additional bonus of having the flexibility to play under Strict Guidelines when the time arises. If this change is implemented properly, you will still have Blufor, Opfor and Greenfor factions with all equipment in that sector free, these factions can be chosen at times when a majority of players wish for that additional freedom and may also be a good starting point if players are skeptical about joining. Either way, Strict Limitations in my humblest opinion is by far the best way to go, it's better to make everyone with that mindset happy rather than 50% of the community happy, and even then, those without the mindset have the open factions until they start coming around. Again, looking forward to the revival of AWE and cannot wait until the next update, I sincerely hope all the staff come together to get it all planned out and get development underway as soon as possible.

Oldie but a goodie

Indeed, I am pleasantly surprised at how many people have come together to discuss. Keep this up and we'll have our community back. I think really, before we go throwing the server back up, its best that a direction is set out. Success comes through planning, and it is exactly that which is needed to prevent what happened in the first place, the server becoming stale and dying. Here's hoping everything works out well!

I believe there is a post about it called "The Future of AWE" In a nutshell, the server was shut down because the community had all but wittled away and with no activity, there was no reason to keep the server up. If there was any economical reason behind it then I'm not sure about that, as I was under the belief that EU3/AWE was also running off the flagship server that EU1 and 2 is running off. Hope that gives some insight.

This. Please all remember, you will still have ALL of the gear that you will get with casual limitations, just not all at once. This is good, because rather than be spoilt for choice you will get a chance to try everything in a longer timeframe. Meaning, you are less likely to get bored of the server feeling that you have "tried everything" in 10 minutes opposed to spending a longer time on the server to have a chance to try everything. This keeps the community together, and excited each restart for something NEW. On the talk of gear, lest we forget. AWE is not about gear. AWE is about community and gameplay. AWE should not revolve around "dress-up warfare." It should revolve around the specific gameplay, teamwork, communication and orchestration of how things are done. I know I may contridict my point about "AWE does not exist, it does not have a preset method" but, dare I say, this method is the most original and the pillar of all things great that the server thrived on and was built upon. So please, remember. Gear is secondary, gameplay is primary! Please don't see the server as just a quick "5 minute dress up warfare AO" and instead see it as a "long term, large scale fight based upon tactics and communication." See it this way because it is different and challenging, not simple and boring. I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we'd like to see the server last.

The replayability rate is great for EU1, but its the community behind it that im concerned about. I too used to play every day on EU1 pre EU3, but I didn't play for the community, I played because it was a server I was used to. This goes against the philosophy of what EU3 was, but if thats all people want to see the server as in the future, so be it. It isn't my choice to wait for I&A4, if staff had made up their mind we'd have the mission up now, and myself and Johnson would have gladly taken mission development lead. However it's not our prerogative and it is my general understanding that what Ryko wanted, was the wait until his mission was done and used that across the board. If I'm mistaken in this line of thinking then okay I'm mistaken, but why is the server down? If it was up to me personally, I'd use a simplified version of I&A with minimum script useage or work from scrap upon another mission template. The mods will be kept simple, if it was up to me I would use ACE, ACRE/TFAR and RHS and leave it at that. Those 3 mods already provide you with hundreds of hours of fresh content, those 3 mods alone got me 3000+ hours out of the game and I'm still not bored. Mainly, because I know the best ways to utilize them, and that is not using everything all the time so that I get bored and throw the toys out the stroller. And thank you, I didn't mean to insinuate that you had voted, I was just reiterating the points of outside players voting. I'm not against you, and I'm not slating EU1. EU1 is a workhorse for AhoyWorld. I just feel that AWE and EU1 should be different things, and that AWE should be doing something fresh this time around.

To just make things a little more transparent: Strict limitations would still technically have casual limitations included, as Johnson previously stated, there would also be a "NATO" or "OPFOR" or "GREENFOR" faction that would allow all weapons and equipment within that sector, and this could be a good starting point that would slowly bring the casual players of EU1 to a slightly more strict environment over time, at their own pace. We would never throw people into the deep end, the server at the end of the day is about having fun and we'd still 100% honour that by allowing this faction, and once the players are more comfortable they can be slowly brought into the slightly more strict environment so our forces would be united under one banner. This not only prevents possible teamkilling but also unites the teamplay so that two squads are not completely set apart in capabilities. I can understand the concern of starting player numbers and wishing to gather players from EU1, I believe that's the core point of the casual limitation vote. However, do not fear that strict limitations will strip player numbers. Our MSO used a strict limitation system and many of our players, at least 50% in fact were from EU1 and they still enjoyed themselves. Implementing strict limitations is not all about throwing one into the deep end, it is about slowly washing that mindset over them in their own time until they are comfortable with the play style of the server. A time when strict limitations did have a bit more testing was during some of AWE's last game nights, and it was these game nights that revived the community of the server to a more healthy number. However, this was too little and too late to make a difference. Don't feel pressured that I am trying to change your vote, I still honour your choice. I am just hoping to shed light on a few of your points from the other perspective.

Forgive the tone is I sounded like I was calling you biased, I was not. I was just suggesting ways to keep everything under an unbiased control, thanks for acknowledging that.

Keep things professional. I'm well aware that EU1 is a workhorse, but what I am saying is that players alone does not dictate that a community is truly successful. What I am saying, and I'll keep it simple, is that the community should come together that bit more. I don't mind EU1 having the natural essence of players coming and going, doing as they please similar to joining a random server, that is fine. What I would prefer to see however, is people to come together more on AWE and do away with the casual "easy come, easy go" atmosphere and stick around with something original. The gameplay can still be familiar, but would do better to be more original and slower paced compared to the faster paces, less original styles we see on EU1. I'm not slating EU1, it's a fun server but it's almost impossible to see the differences between that and the various other Invade and Annex servers people have to choose from. Yes, no one will be 100% happy with AWE, that's the entire point we've been making. Cater to specific people with the like mindedness to bring about some originality rather than create a simplistic server with little orchestration. If said people from EU1 would actually like to become regulars of AWE and play together, that would be entirely fine, what myself and others want to see is some community and they can add to that. But, if said people from EU1 are not even interested in AWE, then there's no reason for them to be included. This entire thread is the start a direction, or at least I hope it is. For a long time AWE lost its direction and tried to constantly change to meet the needs of what little people it had left playing, then it passed away. What myself and others want to see is a specific direction chosen, one which will STICK. Once that direction is chosen and firmly put in place, it will be easier to control what is done with the server to prevent the anarchy that came before. Sure, a simplistic casual direction could work and I'd be willing to try. I just don't like walking in circles. I agree with you, that something should be done and done fast. You are right in that regard, dare I applaud this expert thinking? It seems we're still waiting on the I&A4 mission, I can't think of any other reason why AWE is so delayed. But while we wait for this messiah mission, it can't hurt to talk as a community and choose a direction we all agree on, dare I also suggest a meeting again so parties can express their points and perhaps we can actually choose a good direction? Transparency was one of the recent changes to AW, no? Because I am sick. and. FUCKING. tired. Of the amount of witch-hunting, hatred and spite that is being thrown at each other. Myself and "those lot" as we're known, are not trying to rip the server apart for our own agenda. We just want our golden server to be brought back up with its usual original design. Now I am not afraid of a bit of change, and having the server cater to a wider general easy play audience. I just want it to work, and I have seen these casual modded servers before (trust me, the amount of times I've been banned, one desperately looks for what he has sadly lost) and pretty much all of these servers were dead. Now, I can see the thinking here, cater the server to casual play so that we can try and get a steady flow from EU1. I remember this exact thinking back in 2015 and unfortunately it didn't work, but second time is the charm. Again, I'm willing to try something new, I'm just afraid it might not work as well. But ignorance is bliss, and perhaps I am completely wrong. I'm willing to accept I'm wrong if it does turn out to be a success, but the success I'm looking for isn't players, it's community. All me and @Johnson want to do is revive the server in the communities best interest. Again, we are not COMPLETELY AGAINST the idea of a casual limitations server. We are just, simply, seeing the wider picture of community success within a stricter atmosphere rather than a player success through casual. And yes, I do partially agree that you can still have a community success through just simply gaining those easy come, easy go players. It just means that there's a wider mindset between players that often means the rules need a bit more enforcement and pushing. I am talking from experience of what I've seen. Yes, you could say the poll looks a bit like Brexit if you want, I prefer to say the poll looks like the community attempting to make a decision. It's hard not to take offence when you call my deep concerns for the community "bullshit" but I can understand if you too are feeling railed about the current goings. Don't claim that I "know nuttin." Though, like myself and @Johnson suggested. If you have no reason to get involved with AWE then it may be suggested you refrain from the poll, I can understand if you want to support one side but that doesn't equate to much if you don't plan on playing on the server. This just brings us back to that "Brexit" ordeal like you were saying. I mean this will full respect of course, I just want to see a poll not be biased in any way. I'm not trying to defend my vote out of spite, I just want to make sure we keep a good footing. I can see now that the vote is slowly tipping in the favour of casual, if that's the direction the majority of the community wants to go that is fine, I just hope the casual limitations are handled out well and for the betterment of the server and its community. Democracy is a funny system. So again, if casual is chosen in the end then so be it. But, let's get AWE going in the right direction next time. I'd suggest the rules take a good look over, the staff are picked not out of personal preference but experience during the entire field of AWE (it takes someone that has seen what AWE has come from to see where it should be going) and that the mission works well. I don't doubt I&A4, I'm sure it'll be pretty nice, I just hope that it works well for AWE in the modded sense. Hopefully this all pans out well, I'm not a pessimist. I'm still optimistic that whichever direction is chosen, something good can happen; AWE will be revived.

It would be nice also, if there was an option to see who has voted. At least, those who have voted could list their opinions in the comments that would be nice also. This is only because I fear that some people voted on the poll, have not or will not play on AWE. This would cause a huge data anomaly as @Johnson previously mentioned. It's imperative that the poll remains unbiased and based upon the very community that will play on the server in question, and not friends who are just helping with the votes out of spite for the other side. So far the votes seem to be quite close, I just hope that the poll will be closed on a specific time frame to prevent bias. Closing it when the vote falls on favour of a perticular side would be pretty scummy compared to choosing a preset timeframe to close the vote. May I suggest the end of the upcoming week at a perticular time? @GhostDragon

I am glad that this is finally being brought to light though, at the end of the day the Community should at least have a say in what is happening. I hope that things can be worked out, I do honestly feel that a stricter environment is not only a more original environment but also one that is better for this server and community. EU3 or AWE was always about Freedom, yes, but too much Freedom leads to utter Anarchy. There's still Freedom with stricter limitations of course! We can even have a PMC faction that caters to a wider scope. Stricter limitations just means that people stay together in a similar gameplay pattern which helps the teamwork bond. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes, and I do hope that I&A4 is a turn around for this community.

I believe with limitations, we get a broader horizon of gameplay as we get to be limited by the very limitations certain militaries get. This not only enforces better teamwork, the core point of EU3 since I personally witnessed its birth, but also brings about new gameplay that is engaging and exciting compared to having everyone thrown at you at once, which would quickly make the server become stale which is exactly what happened in the first place. Learning from our mistakes is paramount. The server should not cater to everyone, but more rather specific individuals that see the benefits of teamwork over casual gameplay where they can do as they please. For example, 77th JSOC cater to specific people yet both of their servers alone see more activity than AhoyWorld, something that was actually really rare back when there was more of a sense of competition between the two. EU3, or AhoyWorld Enhanced, does not exist right now. So, as a result, we should be able to make it anyway we like. There is no "preset" measure of what the "server is". So, this is a great time to start fresh and get it right this time! Alongside quite a few others, I personally see that making a stricter area that caters to specific players would do much better than a casual environment. Dare I say, that numbers do not mean community. Just because a server has more people playing does not mean you have a community, it just means you have players on the server, many of whom do not care about said community. Look at EU1 for example. It's important to build that community we once had back up, I felt deeply disheartened to see what the server was becoming over the years and seeing how we needed to cut the Teamspeak shorter, the AhoyWorld Forums were hardly getting used and the Discord/Telegram is mainly catering to a specific few individuals rather than a large scale community discussion. MSO was something myself and a few others built, a server to cater to specific individuals rather than anyone, and still that server did really well and dare I say that the community there was larger than that of AWE in its final days. That is actually quite sad. Make AhoyWorld Enhanced a community server, not a modded EU1. I, among others, would be sad to see something become unoriginal from which was once incredibly original. Hopefully this post makes a difference, polls amongst literally anything else that happens here seems to be a sensitive matter, which is a shame. I would like to see the community come together. I'm not saying that by making this server cater to specific people that only specific people can join, I'm saying that these people should adopt a specific mindset. Again, having literally everything for free will get boring and the server goes from teamwork to playing for themselves, which is what happened with EU1. For example, people have the freedom to fill up car full of AT and depart on their own, there is no teamwork in this and therefore would no be a fit environment for AWE. Instead, people should be limited as to what they are able to do, so that people are forced to play together and act as a team. Teamwork breeds Cameraderie, Cameraderie breeds Community.

??

Your first mistake was claiming there was something wrong with AhoyWorld, it's fine I'll have you know, look at the statistics. Community is ? You're in the wrong place I'd argue, there are better alternatives. I mean this with upmost respect obviously.

That one's up for debate really. I believe NATO had been involved or at least had CSAT do the work for them. Overall, CSAT are actually pretty good and NATO have done just as much perhaps even worse than them, certainly up there with the AAF. Just surprised as to why some many people view CSAT as the "baddies" :V

I suppose I could join, sounds interesting. I saw that "APEX REQUIRED" message for CSAT so I'm assuming that some members will be CSAT, in that case, I'll swim home. Suppose I'm interested in NATO but if those slots are taken I suppose I'll go CSAT and put Mr "$20 trillion dollars in Debt" back in his place. I also see that CSAT is killing the population? I've been playing a mission recently where CSAT have also been doing that, I have no idea where people have been getting the idea that CSAT kill civilians though haha.

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A revised modset with more emphasis on using ALL of it would be excellent. I.E if maintaining RHS, then use ALL of RHS rather than just Blufor. Playing as Opfor and Greenfor is very fun and some of the gamenights we did where we played as forces such as CSAT and Serbian Armed Forces were some of the most popular gamenights in a long time. Looking forward to seeing what gets cooked up this time around.