devtrackers.gg
Hey there! Hopefully I can provide a response to a few of your concerns if I might. Thanks for raising these questions and let me address the following:
Based on the data we have from the last 6 months, CVs aren't quite as popular as they were right after the rework, there are certainly more folks playing them than there were prior to it. While sentiment may have wavered over time (the AA changes in the last update weren't performing as we liked), for the most part CV players seemed to either enjoy the new system or have adjusted.
There is animosity from some surface ships towards CVs and while I'd argue there is certainly more is that because of the rework or is that because there were a lot more CVs? Was that animosity lowered after the AA changes in 0.8.5?
Your third point I'm afraid is not accurate. A good chunk of what our team does every single day of the week is read through every single thread and post we can on Reddit, Forums, Twitter, Facebook, etc... and determine common threads to promote to the development team. We do have to take into account people don't like change (it's our nature) but it doesn't dismiss general sentiment.
The changes made at this time with DPS and upcoming AA damage aren't really addressing counterplay but more consistency with interaction between planes and surface ships. Upcoming Sector changes will add that additional layer of counterplay. It's not necessarily meant to provide a complex system but will give you more freedom in how your AA interacts with aircraft.
Again in 0.8.5 the AA changes addressed an issue but we're a little too strong prompting the addition of some health to each plane. While yes 6 months has passed this was a major mechanics change that will now allow us to make more incremental changes until we get CVs where they need to be. We'll continue to announce these changes as they make PTS and we look forward to your feedback on them.