Where have all the players gone?

[Wiley]

32-player is OK, but it, too, but a whole dimension less than what AH can offer.  BF1942 or Quake are fun, but are in comparison popcorn.

For people who feel like you, that's true.  I'm also of the same opinion.

There are however, a lot of people who like the 32 player get into action fast, have a clear objective, and the 16v16 battle somewhat resembles a fair fight, at least by numbers.  That's something that AH doesn't do spectacularly well, and to a good number of people that's a hindrance to their enjoyment.  I personally prefer open world, but not everybody does.

Wiley.

[DmonSlyr]

Well having a way to open personable servers like Head 2 Head offered but with a larger cap of players might be a good idea! A lot of those head 2 head maps could be put to good use and would be a lot of fun to play smaller fast action arenas like Head 2 Head offered. The way I see it, the MA is just too big of an arena for new 2 weekers to comprehend. Like solar10 said, his kids didn't want to play it because it took them 15 minutes to fly to a base only to get shot down instantly. For real I just hope people are reading what I am saying about this because I know it is true and I only want this game to succeed.

[chris3]

moin

the problem with that, do you want to play aces high if it becomes so arcade? We need to find a way to get in both, the older play style and the sty for the new generation.
imagine if for example close airspawns would be posible to an anymy base, that would be horible and would kill ouer old comunity stille.
But maybe we could bring in mobile airvilds wich could be placed by a big me323 or we could transport mobile vehicle spawns, so during the game its posible to bring in somthing like short vehicle and aircraft spawns, but sure this places would be realy wak and need to be devended :-).

cu christian

[thndregg]

If AH became more arcade, and less historical (you can't have both), then my choice would be to leave. Part of the draw to this game for me is the suspense and anticipation of something that may or may not happen as you commit to a sortie, a mission, etc.. I might just be a milk run, it might be a tough fight to get through, it might result in getting yourself shredded out of the sky, or you might get pretty damn lucky and return to base with several kills under your belt and sweaty palms as you say "Whew!"

It takes patience and flexibility in thinking to find all this out- something not everyone can commit to.

[Arlo]

If AH became more arcade, and less historical (you can't have both), then my choice would be to leave.

Maybe there's confusion over what is arcade for other games and arcade for AHII. With an arena that has external views enabled, fuel and ammo use set to unlimited and stall inhibitor/combat trim default, that would be rather arcadish. The question becomes, then, is this enough of a draw for the WoW/Warthunder crowd? They have all that available now, don't they? Plus they have fluffy graphics.

For me (like you, it appears) AHII represents the perfect match of playability and realism. I'm leaning toward marketing/guerrilla marketing to increase numbers. Hitech is a rather small company, compared to many. A 10-20% increase may be all that's needed to insure AHII will be around as long as Dale and company have the desire and endurance to keep it that way. For that matter, the summer drop in numbers may not be the crisis some would have it be. Currently, AHI/II has had a longer shelf-life than AWI/II/III (and I personally think that says a lot - during my short time playing AW, I was quite devoted).

I'm reminded of a story about a little chicken that was concerned about the sky .....

[Wmaker]

Currently, AHI/II has had a longer shelf-life than AWI/II/III (and I personally think that says a lot - during my short time playing AW, I was quite devoted).

Air Warrior was first introduced in 1986 and closed its doors in 2001, ~15 years. AH went to open beta in September 1999. There's still a short while to go before AH goes past AW's time.

[Arlo]

Air Warrior was first introduced in 1986 and closed its doors in 2001, ~15 years. AH went to open beta in September 1999. There's still a short while to go before AH goes past AW's time.

Very short.  And EA hasn't tried to buy AHII yet (thank Cod).

[Wiley]

If AH became more arcade, and less historical (you can't have both), then my choice would be to leave. Part of the draw to this game for me is the suspense and anticipation of something that may or may not happen as you commit to a sortie, a mission, etc.. I might just be a milk run, it might be a tough fight to get through, it might result in getting yourself shredded out of the sky, or you might get pretty damn lucky and return to base with several kills under your belt and sweaty palms as you say "Whew!"

It takes patience and flexibility in thinking to find all this out- something not everyone can commit to.

While I'd hesitate to use the word 'historical' for the way the LWMA operates, I agree with this sentiment.

You and your buddies create your own situation based on what's going on in the arena at the time.  The only other sim I know of that has similar gameplay to AH right now is Warbirds.

If AH goes away, it's either WB's or one of the round based options like WT.  Neither of those is attractive to me, and that makes me sad.  Unfortunately the open world sandbox style of gameplay seems to me to be getting less and less popular as time goes on.

Most people want to be told 'This is what you need to do for the next fifteen to thirty minutes to win.'  Most people want some semblance of a fair fight.

Both of those things lower the experience for me, and make nearly every fight the same.  I guess that's what people want, simpler, more repetitive gameplay so they have a better chance of improving.

'But Wiley!' I hear somebody say, 'If we just add the round based gameplay alongside the current game it'll bring in a bunch more people and everyone will benefit!'

I disagree.  Bringing in round based stuff would bring in a bunch of new people, but I'm pretty confident it would make the current style arenas a ghost town.

Wiley.

[Megalodon]

A 10-20% increase may be all that's needed to insure AHII will be around as long as Dale and company have the desire and endurance to keep it that way. For that matter, the summer drop in numbers may not be the crisis some would have it be. Currently, AHI/II has had a longer shelf-life than AWI/II/III (and I personally think that says a lot - during my short time playing AW, I was quite devoted).

I doubt it... The shelf life? not quite and AW had 4 <we were on Milinium>  when did AW start? 86? to what Dec 7 2001? 15 years?
AH came out in 2000? beta in 1999?  
HT came out with AH2 in 2005? so ... 2010 should have been AH3?... and would be working on AH4 for release in a year and a half?

I remember hearing about the new game AH... at the time we said the same thing about it...."Ah ..AW is the best...we are all gonna stay here" ...some were migrating to AH back then....we see the same situation again with AH <being the old dog now> and "the new games"



Nope, He says he can turn this game up but it will blow every 1 out of the Air, ...well he better turn it up quick or every one will be gone

 I was just looking at their website there at WT they have russian english and ...what? Polish? ... Who woulda thunk it.. the poles like to fly?  


I wanted to see if the had the D5 with 20mm's ...yep they have 5 ju87's... then p-63....yep... Flippin 5 versions of the He-112... you kiddin me ??.. 2 versions of the Boomer...D520,,, all the Itallian stuff...5 zekes...not that I care about them.....



$600 at NewEgg,

[Arlo]

HT came out with AH2 in 2005? so ... 2010 should have been AH3?... and would be working on AH4 for release in a year and a half?

.........

Nope, He says he can turn this game up but it will blow every 1 out of the Air, ...well he better turn it up quick or every one will be gone

 I was just looking at their website there at WT they have russian english and ...what? Polish? ... Who woulda thunk it.. the poles like to fly?  


I wanted to see if the had the D5 with 20mm's ...yep they have 5 ju87's... then p-63....yep... Flippin 5 versions of the He-112... you kiddin me ??.. 2 versions of the Boomer...D520,,, all the Itallian stuff...5 zekes...not that I care about them.....



$600 at NewEgg,

  *ShruG*

[gyrene81]

you looked at their development tree...there aren't that many aircraft active yet. they have some seriously dumb fantasy crap in there too, like a german p-47 and a japanese corsair. and    a good percentage of players think the planes flew in combat in squadron strength.

[DmonSlyr]

I definitely love the realism and simulator style of AH and so happy that it is the way it is with the big world map, do what ever you want, type format.

I probably couldn't play WT because it takes the fun out of actually using real combat maneuvers, stalling, and using gas and bullets wisely.

Maybe AH could focus on making the overall big world map a tiny bit smaller, that way it forces fights all around the map, it still would be big enough to do a jabo mission and take a base out that is not busy, but at the same time causes bigger furballs, higher SA, and less time sitting in the tower looking around for a fight, because there would be less bases to take off from.  Yeah base taking might be a bit more difficult but it would make game play more fun and have a higher rate fights/flying to an enemy base.

[Solar10]

I have attached interesting article from 2007, and although dated it brings up many points that are being exploited today in not just the gaming industry but also the workplace as a whole.  Gamification is the adoption of gaming techniques in the work place that will generate rewards for employees that trigger the very addictive chemical Dopamine in the brain.

Here is an excerpt:
"The genesis of this reaction may lie in the neurotransmitter dopamine. A number of studies have revealed that game playing triggers dopamine release in the brain, a finding that makes sense, given the instrumental role that dopamine plays in how the brain handles both reward and exploration. Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist collaborating with the Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics at Northwestern University, calls the dopamine system the brain’s “seeking” circuitry, which propels us to explore new avenues for reward in our environment. The game world is teeming with objects that deliver clearly articulated rewards: more life, access to new levels, new equipment, new spells. Most of the crucial work in game interface design revolves around keeping players notified of potential rewards available to them and how much those rewards are needed."

If you create a system in which rewards are both clearly defined and achieved by exploring an environment, you’ll find human brains drawn to those systems, even if they’re made up of virtual characters and simulated sidewalks. It’s likely those Tactical Ops players in an fMRI machine were able to tolerate the physical discomfort of the machine because the game environment so powerfully stimulated the brain’s dopamine system."

We are all addicts of dopamine.  I real life it is a chemical reaction that produces euphoria and a desire to repeat what you just achieved but something that you may experience just a few times a day.  In the gaming world you get the same reaction multiple times an hour.  It's that buzz you get when you get a kill, complete a sortie, flight tight to your wingman, etc.  that generates the desire to do it again.

Games that are successful maximize the generation of this reaction.

The secret will be how will Hitech maximize this for the new players, the intermediate players and the experienced players.  I think the most satisifed are probably the intermediates players (Also known as horde  ) at this time.

Here is the full article. http://discovermagazine.com/2007/brain/video-games#.Ue6sAhY9mcM

Sorry if this is 

[Megalodon]

*ShruG*

I doubt it... The shelf life? not quite and AW had 4 <we were on Milinium>  when did AW start? 86? to what Dec 7 2001? 15 years?
AH came out in 2000? beta in 1999? 
HT came out with AH2 in 2005? so ... 2010 should have been AH3?... and would be working on AH4 for release in a year and a half?

I remember hearing about the new game AH... at the time we said the same thing about it...."Ah ..AW is the best...we are all gonna stay here" ...some were migrating to AH back then....we see the same situation again with AH <being the old dog now> and "the new games"



Nope, He says he can turn this game up but it will blow every 1 out of the Air, ...well he better turn it up quick or every one will be
gone...



............................. ..Insert Break Here......................... .........


 I was just looking at their website there at WT they have russian english and ...what? Polish? ... Who woulda thunk it.. the poles like to fly? 


I wanted to see if the had the D5 with 20mm's ...yep they have 5 ju87's... then p-63....yep... Flippin 5 versions of the He-112... you kiddin me ??.. 2 versions of the Boomer...D520,,, all the Itallian stuff...5 zekes...not that I care about them.....



$600 at NewEgg,

[gyrene81]

I probably couldn't play WT because it takes the fun out of actually using real combat maneuvers, stalling, and using gas and bullets wisely.

in arcade mode, mostly true...the mouse mongers have a bit of an edge but someone with some know how can generally out do them. in the other 2 modes...it's pretty much the same as ah. their "realism" is no icons, no hud, no arcade help and no hud. one trick is when you land to re-arm, the entire runway is a rearm pad, and you can change your loadout as well as fuel time.