Zup,
I disagree that distance shooting was more luck before. Maybe bigger screens has an advantage though (easier to see that one pixel to line up). But there was a definite skill, and some people had it finessed. (Just not me, at least not all the time - I really had to be in the zone.)
As for chasing, before, I knew when I made a bad move being chased by a good pilot, and blammo, down I went. I also knew when I made a good move or they made a small error, and there they would be, near my sights for a split second - it would then take a *skillful shot* to bring them down. But now, the planes are so big, that last skill to take them down can be done with eyes closed, no matter who it is. Same with them taking me down, at least according to them. The skill needed has been substantially reduced, to the point that it seems random, and oddly frequent, for both pursuer and pursuee.
And this IS with upgraded players (we do ask). Killing un-upgraded players is of course super easy, and it's much harder for them to kill me. I ask because I don't want to take undue advantage.
Maybe we'll get used to it, and start to discern the new skills needed. But I really doubt it. It's just too big now. Maybe split the difference, or go most of the way back to where it was, if there's a lag issue with going all the way back.
Manfred