Actually Gook, pvp back then was pretty meaningless. Because of the ship-loss bug, wasn't it set so that you didn't get downgraded after getting blown up? That's the main reason why I never went on the early CW servers. I just didn't see the point.
Now, pvp means that you can contribute to your side's victory by killing important ships, or you can secure a hex from enemy ships, allowing your side to take it unmolested. Can't see anything more meaningful than that.
Remove the rose-coloured glasses, you solicitor, you
Ship loss bugwasn't a bug as such it was more to do with connection issues than anything. In AF when you lost a ship you were busted down to an FF. CW1 &2 were the servers where when you lost a ship you didn't get busted down, not AF.
Sorry I don't agree with current "meanigful" PvP, just having a late 200 slug fest in BCHs with unlimited BCHs availble (or whatever current top ship alloed is) is no better than, and IMHO worse than the older set up. Just an opinion.
The glasses may be rose tinted, but the view is better to me, I do not expect all to agree, but I know some do. Now where did I put those wrapround mirror shades
I typed a reply this morning before work, didn't take for some reason.
I did say the no downgrade of ship was on CW servers, sorry I didn't make that more clear. Iirc, BBJ and Skull weren't at all happy with Af server, thus they started their own.
I'm pretty sure if you lost your ship on AF, you weren't dropped down to a frigate. I lost several C7s to the ship-loss bug (you know, the Hand of Bethke bug - it was not all connection issues by any means - seeing that it could happen in solo missions), and usually ended up in a D5W. Some players even ended up in a base lol, which they exploited by trading in for lots of prestige.
Now, I see you harping on again about the 200 late syndrome. Cast your mind back a little way to GW1. Remember my one cat stand against 7 Kzinti players one evening? What kind of BCH was I in that night? I wasn't. Other examples: AOTK, my Rom command cruiser v Fluf's DN. Can't remember the planet name we were fighting over, leetak maybe?. I engaged him, and hurt him for a long time, during which the Klingon forces managed to keep hold of the planet. Repeated it later with a Hawk against his CVA, and later still with a KCR (yes a BCH that time).
RDSL had VCs for Cls and up. A great idea (glad I suggested it years ago). It had The Slot, for Cls and smaller. All meaningfyl pvp that didn't mandate a BCH fest.
Now, you are partly right in that servers usually become a BCH, BCV <insert big ship type here>. that's because the tendency of most players is to get into the biggest ship possible. As for why that is, who knows. Been like that since day 1 of D2, so it's not an effect of VCs for pvp in the current era.
You say the current implementation is worse than the days of yore. Why? Because one could run cheese fleets back then, to make up for lack of skill, just use massed drones and/or ai fighters/pfs to do your fighting for oneself? As opposed to now, where skill actually matters?
It would be an interesting experiment to put up a server just like the old ones, with no CnC restrictions, no VCs, none of the rules we have now, and see what turnout it gets, and how much fun would be had. Oh wait, there was one of those recently, called Red Alert. A fine place to play, or so I heard.