Up til now....

So, after playing out over a dozen battles in Update 2.0, here are some of my thoughts, for those of you interested in reading them.

While Conquest isn't an original to Planes concept (quite a few people out there are quick to point out another game of this genre that has the very same thing), it does offer an alternative to the same old - same old Team Deathmatch mode that has been the mainstay to this game since it's inception. However, the grievous error came by forcing it as the only choice to play the game, turning off and away quite a few members from an already small playerbase.

Although too late to suggest and implement now, but perhaps having both modes available as a selectable option (as seen in other WarGaming titles) and collecting statistics from those player choices might have smoothed out the current mixed emotional situation before it even started (if Deathmatch is just on a temporary hiatus and will return in the next few updates from now, making an announcement about that very soon might also help matters).

The removal of Birthday Missions (although announced to return) was enough reason for some people to not login and play for a bit. With no goals to try and complete, why bother?

As for the gameplay itself, I have gotten used to the ingame changes to how the aircraft fly and perform (more or less) and configured my controls to offer up results that nearly mirror my 1.9 settings as close as I can get them. I can't understand why they were reset or who thought that was even a good idea to do so, but I just quietly fixed the problem and moved on.

For me, there is a lot of missing information from my screen as I try to do battle in 2.0, that was there in 1.9 and before. I certainly hope this is also returned in a near future update as a form of partial restoration or a selectable option from the Settings menu (I may consider installing a mod that does this, from a trusted source of course). Some people can honestly relate to just how critical it is to know particular things concerning the aircraft, it's current state and knowing who/what is going on in the environment around them, it's been know to be a game changer.

There are some superficial things I really like (such as the former El Halluf, now just known as North Africa, complete with pyramids) and some I don't (a few enemy planes I have shot up and caused them to explode right in front of me, at very close range, left me seeing spots for a few seconds). Some sounds and music are an immersive improvement, others are just downright annoying.

I find myself with agreeing with many others that this does feel like an unfinished product and a lot of work needs to be done to it yet. Some players may return in future updates, if some of what I covered above (and more that I haven't) happens. Others have had enough, their patience finally running out with this final straw for them and have left, perhaps for good.

In the meantime, I will still play here and there, waiting and seeing what will happen next.