Hey one more thing, what the hell is a Nutter ??
Someone who logs insane numbers of hours on a server. Thus, the label "Nutter".
Fluf used to be the king of it, I'd say LordKrueg has taken his place. There are a number of others around too. Ask DieHard about "The Big Gulp"...
Part of the draw of hex flipping is simply the camaraderie of flying co-op missions with your buds in the wee hours, sharing a happy buzz, and scheming on overall map strategies. When doing a lot a hex flipping, when you do finally hit a PvP missions, its quite the adrenalin rush. (I know, I know... get a life... )
In the overall scope of campaign servers, controlling at least certain areas of the map has always been important. Capturing and defending territory also has almost always usually determined the victor in a campaign.
Yes, many prefer the pure PvP over having to fight endless missions vs only AI.
I myself didn't play anything else but ladder leagues from SFC1, not getting into D2 play until long after hundreds (literally) were playing there for some time. I remember many times attempting to log into a server, only to find it had reached it's maximum number and getting the message "Please try again later" and going back to GSA play.
But, as long as there are Victory Points for taking territory on a campaign, there will be the need for players to flip hexes vs AI.
At first, I really hated having to do that, and like many, would log off when that was all there was to do. But, over time, I have accepted this as a "necessary evil" of sorts, and simply do what is needed.
But, Bonk is quite correct, any PvP encounters are still quite exhilarating!