Where have all the players gone?

[Zacherof]

I look for an opponents flying aircraft with the same skill level as me, using our main rides tactics to have a drawn out fight to the death.

Last guy I ran into was Fbclueles: his ki61 vs my -1A.

Another is Angel. We literally had a 10-15 minute fight in the DA. Re-merging when a "kill" happened

Sometimes you just have to look.


List of guys in game that while no the best, are good in a fight aka will take a minute for them to kill you or for you to kill them

Waxx
Raz299
Nikonguy/RZ237 or what ever it is
Triton1
Alfamega
Mir
Spork
SHawk
Shiv
Specs
Surfinn(when he isn't busy trying to BnZ from 20k)
Jayro(when you catch co alt)
Incrypt
Imadot
Rocky
Doc72Ch
Duk190
Wafer
Bearcat8
Latrobe
Redbull
Angel

and of course myself
and these are just off the top of my head

[iKo]

iKo, I liked your P-51 vs. P-51 vid. 

Off topic question:  your TrackIR setup seems to work really well.  Did you have to screw with any settings, or just default setup for TrackIR?

Yes i did change IRtracker but very little PM me or look me up in game and ill tell you what i did and send you the setup.

[The Fugitive]

Yes i did change IRtracker but very little PM me or look me up in game and ill tell you what i did and send you the setup.

....or you could post the file here, I collect such things.

[iKo]

List of guys in game that while no the best, are good in a fight aka will take a minute for them to kill you or for you to kill them

Come to the DA more I am always there and add me to your list for a   always looking for new blood and good fights.

[iKo]

....or you could post the file here, I collect such things.

Here you go
DL iKo TrackIR setings Here The speed is at 0.4 and 50 smooth and only use the Yaw,pitch and trueview F11 precision settings but the key is to set up all your views in the planes just like you where using a Hat switch with Tracker OFF. This way you do not have to move your whole body around. Only works with yaw and pitch and i tried to set it for 2 types of setting to use all the axis but when you use all it don't go back to just yaw and pitch without rebooting game.

here is my setup home cockpit Shown here Upgraded the X52 stick for a 568 CH combat stick i like better but still use the x52 throttle.

[Blooz]

The same six people still play, they just have fewer shade names.

[Gman]

The gaming industry in general has seen a down turn over the last few years.  Home PC sales have slid their worst in history in the last couple of years, due to Win8 and many other factors.  This all has a trickle down affect to AH I'm sure, in addition to the "in game" reasons that could or could not have something to do with reduced numbers.

Let's face it, it's a niche market, and a VERY steep learning curve.  Not only does a new player need to learn to fly, not an simple endeavor to a newcomer without flight sim or flight experience in general, but then they have to learn to FIGHT, as well as all the little things that make the game work.  In today's first person or real time strategy mentality of point and click, there isn't a lot of people out looking for this type of game.  The one exception to this IMO is the game EVE Online, which to me is far more complex than Aces High ever was to figure out, yet they have over one hundred thousand subscribers at times, with over 30k online at a time whenever I've tried it.  I just don't get it, it's an anomaly to me really, why they can muster such numbers and AH doesn't. 

I'm sure with an unlimited budget, much could be done about increasing numbers with advertising and aggressive marketing, but let's face it, that sort of thing costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, and a company with say 3000 or so subscribers, as good as it is, probably would be hurt more than helped by doing this.  There is also the point about how big you actually want to go. 

[The Fugitive]

12 hour side switch

stale gameplay

competing games with decent graphics AND a much lower skill ceiling (which is what the majority of players seem to desire)


don't get me wrong, i still subscribe and try to fly when i have time...but the first two points i mentioned are big turnoffs fornme when i think 'hmmm...should i fire up AH?'

Hording, HOing and a general lack of sportsmanship. Run away at the FIRST sign of competition. Worst of all....the people who defend such tactics. The game's going to pot and if the players don't change how they play, soon, the only players will be the HOers, runners and their apologists. Once that happens....no AH.

I agree with both of these.

The 12 hour rule just plain sucks. Too many times I'll spend an hour or so just flying a buff or something milking towns or strats just to kill time until a fight breaks our.

Graphics, while to many it's "not a big deal" todays players are much more fickle and block buster graphics are one of the main things they are looking for. Remember, were not talking about why those of us stay, but why more and more people seem to be leaving.

Poor game play, HOing, hordes, poor sportsmanship are all the same thing. We have a lovely little cesspool of toxic waste we play in these days. I'm surprised any new player comes back after their first night of playing sometimes it gets that bad.

[titanic3]

I always leave after a month or two for a while since the gameplay gets stale after a while. It's more or less the same for me everyday, find a darbar, up a plane get 10-20 kills, log and go play something else. I don't know what else they can change to breathe new life into the game besides new planes/vehicles. Graphics? Like that's ever going to happen any time soon. New maps? Newest map by Greebo didn't seem to change much even though it was a decent map. Only reason I come back is because of my love for WWII planes and to see some old faces once in a while.

[moot]

The one exception to this IMO is the game EVE Online, which to me is far more complex than Aces High ever was to figure out, yet they have over one hundred thousand subscribers at times, with over 30k online at a time whenever I've tried it.  I just don't get it, it's an anomaly to me really, why they can muster such numbers and AH doesn't. 

AH universe is much blander, and is below population critical mass (imagine EVE politics with AH population size).  And EVE is pure thinking whereas AH puts all thinking thru hand/joystick buffer.  Just like you can could be good in FPS theory IE video game, but then not manage to translate that in practice IE paintball or actual war.  It just seems too esoteric in an uncool, outdated 1920s racing goggles way.
Also... I reckon for most video game players, weapons that can shoot across half a star system and giant star destroyers and whatnot are just more attractive than vintage prop machines.  Kinda like... top tier video game franchises like F1 or MotoGP etc could keep going and, despite bad physics authenticity, consistently dwarf a small time "generic" race sim like LFS despite latter's premium physics.

[Brooke]

For all of you folks looking for a change of pace, I invite you to fly in "This Day in WWII" events.

Next one is Battle of Britain on August 13 (anniversary of Eagle Day).

http://ahevents.org/events/this-day-in-wwii/604.html?task=view

[Megalodon]

Long time Passing.....

Where have all the Players gone? Long time ago.......

Where have all the players gone.. Picked by Debrody every one.....

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn? ...


Where have all the Fighters gone, long time passing?

Where have all the Bombers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the Jabos gone?

Ho'ed by Bishes everyone

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?



Where have all the good times gone.... long time passing?

Where have all the the buds gone..... long time ago?

Where have all the ole dweebs  gone?

We miss them more than everyone......

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?



Where have all the Defenders gone, long time passing?

Where have all the Raiders gone, long time ago?

Where have all the Best ones gone?

Gone to graveyards, everyone.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?



Where have all the Memorials gone, long time passing....?

Where have all the Scenarios gone, long time ago.....?

Where have all the Great Ones gone...?

If it wasnt for Brooke they would all be gone...


Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they eeeevvvver learn?


 ,

[Ruah]

during summer many people are out and about, traveling, spending time with family, whatever. . . things generally pick back up mid sept/oct.

As for the previous comments about difficulty - it is an asset too. . .

[Bizman]

during summer many people are out and about, traveling, spending time with family, whatever. . . things generally pick back up mid sept/oct.

This. At least for me this has been the reason for almost every summer except for the last one when it was raining most of the time.

[BiPoLaR]

12 hour side switch

stale gameplay

competing games with decent graphics AND a much lower skill ceiling (which is what the majority of players seem to desire)


don't get me wrong, i still subscribe and try to fly when i have time...but the first two points i mentioned are big turnoffs fornme when i think 'hmmm...should i fire up AH?'

This ^
And $15 a month is way too much for AH. This game is way out dated as far as graphics. Same old played out stale maps for the last few years. Same people doing the same exact thing every single night. It becomes very boring after a while.