A comical waste of potential

[Luckas1203]

as many people pointed out this game really missed its point: it should have been an airbase/airwing management based game with air strategies and pilots/plane management at its core. instead you're supposed to harvest food, chop down trees and build sawmills...like, how do you even greenlight such an idea? how do you think "yeah lets make a RAF Airbase building game and have players harvest berries and gather wood".
it should have been a Bomber Crew centered around the base itself rather than the bomber: manage upkeep of planes, fuel shortages, morale of the base crew, defend from enemy bombing and send out missions ecc ecc...
Truly a wasted potential, such a shame.

[Arnoldio]

It's only a game, chill. Make your own, it's easier than ever.

[arbiterin]

Hey Luckas, I can collect your feedback for the team. We keep working on the game to improve the balancing and make the resource management more exciting.

Managing the upkeep of the planes, managing the morale of the base crew, defending your airfield and sending out your pilots on missions is all part of Ground of Aces as well and most of that is already in the current alpha.

Our devs are now working on implementing attacks by the Luftwaffe and defense features like anti-air guns into the game.

[Thahat]

Seconding what OP says, maybe you can still pivot more in thst direction last minute otherwise this will be a flop I fear

[zoeren]

If you just want other games to be copied, play them. I don't know bomber crew and I don't care.
I really like the resource management as a base. Feels way more rewarding to build a base and keep it running

[[8thFLa(A)]VPvt. E.Radberg]

there is already a bomber crew game out there that reflects what you want in a big way

[Terry_Wrist]

Originally posted by Luckas1203:

...how do you even greenlight such an idea?...it should have been a Bomber Crew centered around the base itself rather than the bomber: manage upkeep of planes, fuel shortages, morale of the base crew, defend from enemy bombing and send out missions

Yeah lots of discussion went around in this post last year: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2308690/discussions/0/4511002848509404921/

Sometimes this is the problem with being the developer and publisher.

[GrumpyOldMan]

I agree with the OP.

I see the need for farming resources to be a thing, but instead of cutting down trees on your airbase you should get resources from protecting close by infrastructure from air raids. As your airfield grows you will be able to protect a bigger area and therefore get more resources. Physically farming wood etc. just feels weird and like a totally wrong focus for a game that should revolve around managing an airfield.

Imaging a aircraft carrier simulator where you would need to catch fish, mine underwater iron deposits and recover driftwood in oder to build aircraft ...

[Signal 40]

The fact they've locked the save for "alpha testers"(Which I assume means they paid for something like Early Access) is annoying. What's the point if after 45 minutes, your crew gets bugged and stuck on their cots and you have to start all over again? Gonna stick this one on my ignore.

[TK421]

Originally posted by Luckas1203:

as many people pointed out this game really missed its point: it should have been an airbase/airwing management based game with air strategies and pilots/plane management at its core. instead you're supposed to harvest food, chop down trees and build sawmills...like, how do you even greenlight such an idea? how do you think "yeah lets make a RAF Airbase building game and have players harvest berries and gather wood".
it should have been a Bomber Crew centered around the base itself rather than the bomber: manage upkeep of planes, fuel shortages, morale of the base crew, defend from enemy bombing and send out missions ecc ecc...
Truly a wasted potential, such a shame.

Agreed 100%... next...

[kwegar]

I really like the game so far. Saving would be nice.. limits any real amount of play. If its not for you fine, go play something you like. Food is no issue in the game.. get some grain/tomatos/potatos/beens plant seeds.. then grow tons of food. make a few wells. food sorted. I love what this game has right now. So i guess its for people like me.. building and running a base, sending out planes to do things. I enjoy it. (lots of bugs need fixing. but its an alpha.. no beta, not early access)

[♀⛤WitchyWoman⛤♀]

I agree with OP and have said many times that gathering food and stuff is stupid. Supplies come from the countries government/infrastructure. The game should remove this mechanic because its pointless to this kind of game. focus on the base,morale,security, and repair and upkeep of planes and runways, and ordinance, while you plan attacks etc.

[Terry_Wrist]

Originally posted by kwegar:

I really like the game so far. Saving would be nice.. limits any real amount of play. If its not for you fine, go play something you like. Food is no issue in the game.. get some grain/tomatos/potatos/beens plant seeds.. then grow tons of food. make a few wells. food sorted. I love what this game has right now. So i guess its for people like me.. building and running a base, sending out planes to do things. I enjoy it. (lots of bugs need fixing. but its an alpha.. no beta, not early access)

The gameplay loop SHOULD focus on building and running a WW2 airbase and sending out planes to do things. That's the premise. That's the point that people are trying to make. Sending a WW2 fighter pilot out to forage for water and clay or farming produce is a detachment between the setting and gameplay, and it detracts from the immersion. From last year, my suggestions for the devs were this:

-The survival aspect of this game is weird for the setting. The better suited loop would be to order in the majority of raw resources from outside by truck/train and have onsite production chains that result in production and maintenance of working planes. The planes then provides defence to your external logistics, allowing bigger shipments or advanced resources from further afield to get through to you. While this is going on, you have events and missions to challenge that loop and engage the player.

-It's WW2; have land vehicles. For instance, I'd fully expect an airbase to have trucks or mechanical aids for building, fuelling, rearming, moving supplies and people. It would also allow for greater strategy, such as dispersed vs concentrated production and storage, sending a team to collect far off resources or loading up a truck with building materials before heading out to a new construction.

-War time threats. The bigger you get, the bigger threat you are. This would lead to air raids, which would be countered with camouflage (building materials and trees providing a small stacking bonus so more trees equal more camouflage), counter intelligence, 'going dark' (no production, but threat lowered), air-to-air and ground-to-air combat. These raids and combats would lead to plane crashes, search and rescue, salvage, medical triage, fire fighting and ammo/fuel detonations. Enemy spies and the morale mechanic could lead to food or medicine theft, sabotage to planes or production equipment, and increased threat through intel being revealed. This would lead to the player having the choice to build a 'stealth' base, spread out amongst the trees and catering to smaller planes, or a larger base that is able to defend itself against these threats, but costs more in the way of manpower and resources to maintain.

-A mechanical difference between building materials. Expanding on the idea in the last point, tarp/wood/brick might have scaling camouflage at the expense of lower resistance to flames and bombs.

[Zombo]

I found the gathering was just at the start while you get a small operation built and going. Once the missions start you get deliveries by truck for most of what you need. The food is easy, get a garden going and regularly cook meals. And when deliveries start, you get rations. So the gathering doesn't seem like a big part of the game, except at the start. And considering the way things are at the start of a war, materials and money aren't always ready to go day one. The US sent in construction teams to prepare areas for bases in ww2 - Seabees. They absolutely used local resources whenever possible.

What this game needs in a win-scenario and scoring system. Does it end in 1945?
What would really make this game is some kind of AA shooting mini-game during attacks on your base.

[CMDR Sweeper]

It is a bit of a missed opportunity, however, I am afraid we are too late for a retooling to strike the better potential.
Hopefully the devs can tank the missed potential and can get back on track with the 2nd game and not go under.

[Konisforce]

Woof, absolutely atrocious take. If you wanna play Bomber Crew go play Bomber Crew. This game is WWII X-Com but the focus of base vs missions is reversed.

Other folks here are having gripes that aren't at all appropriate for an Alpha, but a Bomber Crew take is . . . . bad.