I played 4th edition for the first time - here are my thoughts.

[Beoric]

"Players like combat" is not the same as "every plot is resolved with 3 or 4 level-appropriate combats per day". That's a rather huge difference. Also, whatever makes you think that players who want lots of combat play at level 1? Why on earth would they?

In 1e? When they are 10 years old and trying to figure out the game? Because the players handbook expressly told them to.