A possible solution

[Aspen]

+1

Plenty of new guys want to mess with the game a bit before they start communicating with other players.  An optional tutorial thats easy to find and always available to choose with the basics is a good idea.  Its been tossed around before more than once on here.

Digging through help pages to find something helpful then going back into the game is tedious.  A way for folks to get info and learn while they are in the cockpit would be helpful I believe.  Plus, when you have visual and audio input you retain information better.  If It could be smart enough to know what you are doing wrong on basic things (taking off) and advise a correction real-time that would be a plus.

Real people interacting may be the best way to learn but believe it or not    plenty of folks who play video games aren't great at the social part and have to ease into it.

[Tinkles]

Do this then.  Don't wait for the new guy to ask.  Many of them are too embarrassed to ask.  Find them and help them.  You can see new guys struggling all the time.  You haven't seen their name before, you can see them failing over and over at the same thing, you check their score and see they need help.  Go help them before the ask or quit.

I do 

+1

Plenty of new guys want to mess with the game a bit before they start communicating with other players.  An optional tutorial thats easy to find and always available to choose with the basics is a good idea.  Its been tossed around before more than once on here.

Digging through help pages to find something helpful then going back into the game is tedious.  A way for folks to get info and learn while they are in the cockpit would be helpful I believe.  Plus, when you have visual and audio input you retain information better.  If It could be smart enough to know what you are doing wrong on basic things (taking off) and advise a correction real-time that would be a plus.

Real people interacting may be the best way to learn but believe it or not    plenty of folks who play video games aren't great at the social part and have to ease into it.

Very true.

[USCH]

What if we made it so " two weekers" showed up differently like with an ** or mabe a different color so everyone knew they are new. Just like the yellow rookie stripe on the back of a NASCAR. I know I would be more than willing to help someone who is new if I knew they were..

[mike254]

+1

There are a lot of good ideas here and I'd love to hear what someone from HTC thinks about them.

I've been out of the game for a while now due to college and working but I would love to come back and find the great community that was here when I left the game. I know the community is still great but the low number of players takes away a lot of the appeal for me.

HTC does a great job and I appreciate all of the work they put into the game. I would love to see the types of improvements that is aimed solely at trying to bring in new people and retain them. I think Tinkles has great ideas.

[BluBerry]

+1 great idea Tinkles

[Tinkles]

What if we made it so " two weekers" showed up differently like with an ** or mabe a different color so everyone knew they are new. Just like the yellow rookie stripe on the back of a NASCAR. I know I would be more than willing to help someone who is new if I knew they were..

Agreed, it would be much easier to identify them, this way we can help more

[morfiend]

Agreed, it would be much easier to identify them, this way we can help more

    Ya right,most would take advantage of the new guys and pad their score!


   While I agree we do need to find a better way to help the new guys find the information that's already available. I do know HTC has a utube channel and linking all the players channels to it would make a good start.

  I do think extending the 2 weeks free for an extra couple weeks of TA and maybe the custom arenas or a subscribers custom arena might be of help,however it doesn't really help if their isn't an experienced player available to assist these new players.


  As most know I spend most my time in the TA,usually 2 or 3 hours a night during the week,the last couple weeks I've been pretty much alone in their,ya the usual suspects show up but I rarely see much more that a couple guys in there. Was a time when you'd find a dozen guys in there every night,these days not so much!



   

[Tinkles]

    Ya right,most would take advantage of the new guys and pad their score!


   While I agree we do need to find a better way to help the new guys find the information that's already available. I do know HTC has a utube channel and linking all the players channels to it would make a good start.

  I do think extending the 2 weeks free for an extra couple weeks of TA and maybe the custom arenas or a subscribers custom arena might be of help,however it doesn't really help if their isn't an experienced player available to assist these new players.


  As most know I spend most my time in the TA,usually 2 or 3 hours a night during the week,the last couple weeks I've been pretty much alone in their,ya the usual suspects show up but I rarely see much more that a couple guys in there. Was a time when you'd find a dozen guys in there every night,these days not so much!



   

I miss those days 

[PFactorDave]

    Ya right,most would take advantage of the new guys and pad their score!

Maybe the New Guys should only be obvious to pilots on the same country.

I would rather have a system that gives long time players who volunteer to have access to the info so they can reach out to new players.  Think Trainers Lite.  Welcome wagon types.  Help out with the easy stuff and refer the new guys to trainers for the harder things.

[bustr]

Old Timers are always free to put up missions, then announce on range that they would like all 2 week and newbie players to join. Most Old Timers want nothing to do with the newbie irritation for their $14.95 short few hours of fun each evening. The secret to Dogfight originally creating what we eventually called the "vTards", is he offered new players something that would make them have quick successes in the game if they followed him.

Most vets I've observed in the MA over the past decade or more, while they are in the depths of their AH cloitus fix each evening. Squelch newbies and avoid them other than as score padding.

I've always wondered why Trainers don't pick a side in the MA each evening and put up missions specifically for 2 weekers and newbies? They could probably use CM text to ask newbies and 2 weekers to change sides and join their missions. Possibly even talk a few vets into joining along so the score hookers won't have a totally free lunch. Can you imagine a rookie's mission that the score hookers are waiting for and the muppets are tagging along with the mission. Now that would be Jurassic minnows slaughtering Neolithic predators.

[Tinkles]

Maybe the New Guys should only be obvious to pilots on the same country.

Fair enough.

[Tinkles]

I bump this, because I think it is needed and vital if HTC is to get more subscriptions (and we get more targets  ).

[PFactorDave]

I bump this, because I think it is needed and vital if HTC is to get more subscriptions (and we get more targets  ).

Well, I think the more subscriptions piece of the puzzle is going to be tied more to the terrain graphics update.  And maybe some marketing pushes.

[Tinkles]

That may be true. That will definitely get their interest. However, when they learn they have a steeeeeeeeeeep learning curve ahead of them, and see it isn't "run and gun", will they stay?  Do they have anything there at their disposal that can be accessed at anytime that they can utilize to their advantage? No.  Sure, we have trainers, but as said before; they have lives, and other things to do. They can only show up at certain "set" times, like an 'appointment' system.  Even then, those new players would have to go to the forums and search through all this, mostly unorganized, material to get what they need to start.

So why not have something there that can be used at all times, even re-played or re-done if they so wish?  Then if they want to pursue further, then they can catch with a trainer (if they can even find out how to!).

Perhaps, having a custom built mission that would be part of the default download, that would be a guide to the basics of flight, and vehicle/naval warfare?  That would show, at the very least, how to take off, land, etc.  Then at the end (or somewhere on the clipboard) show them where to get more in-depth knowledge from trainers (and have a list of people there who would be willing to assist, if online).


I think the mission part at the very least, is possible.  IT would explain the simple "basics". The voice/chat system, what all the channels do (what the colors mean), etc.  I am not asking for HTC to play the game for the player. I am simply asking them to make a tutorial (the mission part is sounding more appealing the more I think about it), that would help newer players get into the Aces High "realm" and be able to at least do something for themselves.


Like I said before, I think having a mission-like setup for this 'tutorial' would be the easiest thing to implement on HTC's part. Since we now have the capabilities to do it, it would be easier than making what I originally planned (although I still think my original thought would be good, I think this is the easiest and least vexing for HTC to implement as of this time, amongst all the other projects they are currently doing).

I hope that HTC reads this, and at least gives it a thought.

 

[The Fugitive]

I'm sure HTC has read your post, they are very good at keeping up with whats going on on the boards..... replying.... not so much 

When I was unemployed for a bit I made a number of flash videos like this one http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/fugitivesflashtutorials/split_s.swf . I had always hoped to build an interactive on where a player would be able to click and move through the video learning things as they go like many of the games have today. It would be a huge project and take a lot of time to get it done.

The problem is this game unlike many has so much more to it than a bunch of button pushes. A training tutorial like the walk troughs other games have only teaches that, button pushes. This game has more in that you have to control your plane in 3 dimensions WHILE fighting someone else who is doing the same. The dynamics and the control is so much more. This is where most people have to come to grips with continuing or quitting. A short tutorial isn't going to help people over that. And yes it would have to be short as if you had it long enough to really help most people would have quit out of it to move on to a game they could "play" instead of learn.

I don't see HTC "forcing" people into a training tutorial. At best I can see the first screen opening up with links to the training pages, the BBS, and the "YouTube" channel they are making. At least this way new players are made aware that there IS a trainers page, there IS a BBS with help, and there ARE videos posted to see how some of these things are done.