Is Aces High II soon to become just a memory of good times past?

[Randy1]

I think if HTC developed a focus on their niche in the market, they would press the simulation aspect of the game.

I can't say for sure but I bet the percentage of players in AH that are pilots or flown planes in some manor are much higher than other online games.  That is a big deal in market information.

I look forward to the new graphics but HTC should have a game plan to start adding new targets like planes at airfields to strafe, convoys, and trains to enhance the simulation side of the game and be proud of their future prowess in air and ground combat simulation.

A little ad Like Graphics are nice but more real pilots choose AH.

[Latrobe]

Imagine you're looking for a good WWII fighter plane game and have no idea what's out there.
Do a google search for WWII fighter plane games, any combination of words, WITHOUT using the words "Aces High".

That was quite interesting to search. Aces high 2 never came up no matter what I typed in, even when I tried to be very specific or try to nudge the search towards Aces High 2. Found a few BBS's where people asked about WW2 fighter sim games and everyone in them were recommending Il2 and War Thunder. Heck! Even World of Warplanes and Blazing Angels were talked about! Aces High just doesn't come up in WW2 fighter sims talk. That, along with the major lack of advertising of this game, is really taking it's toll on this game. The only way people find out about AH2 is if someone who plays it tells them about it. I really hope that once HTC gets the new terrain engine out and start working on updating the last of the AH1 modeled planes that they do some HUGE advertising. One thing that AH2 has that no other game can match is it's massive multiplayer enviorment! Literally HUNDREDS of players on ONE server! That's something that really gets people interested in a game and AH2 is the only WW2 sim that I have heard of that has this. Every other WW2 flight game I've tried has had a 16 or 32 player cap and that gets boring after a while with the low numbers. Even better is AH2 also has land and sea combat as well. They're by now means perfect at all but it adds so much more to the game than just air combat.

[Wiley]

Imagine you're looking for a good WWII fighter plane game and have no idea what's out there.
Do a google search for WWII fighter plane games, any combination of words, WITHOUT using the words "Aces High".

First result for 'wwii fighter games' yields this, which has AH listed, but I get what you're saying.  WBs was easier to find with other searches, and there's something fundamentally wrong with that statement.

The problem is, we're a specific niche within a niche market.  The vast majority of us don't want the full on DCS style simulation, but we also don't want pants-on-head arcade dweebery either.  We exist in this weird twilight of wanting (ok, projecting some of my personal desires, but I believe many if not most are in the same vicinity) a high detail flight model and high detail damage model without the finicky bits like engine management and manual trim only.  Sure, some want this game to be more arcadey, some want it to be more simulation, but most who like it the way it is just want what's there improved, if anything.

The only other game that is remotely similar to this one I'm aware of is WB.  Everything else is either too far on one side or the other of the sweet spot that gets me paying my $15 a month.

Free vs $15 a month is also a tough thing to sell over.  It's just the way it is, this game will never be broadly popular because it has a learning curve, a cost, and requires a fair bit of commitment to be anything other than a target drone for most.

Wiley.

[Babalonian]

Then again it could just be summer.  Anyone here for more than a year knows AH is unique for having a slight decline of players in the heart of summer.

Stay calm, grab a steak, light the BBQ, and see you in September.

[Brooke]

Stay calm, grab a steak, light the BBQ, and see you in September.

Come light some BBQ's with us in "the Pacfic War" scenario right now!

[Randy1]

Free vs $15 a month is also a tough thing to sell over.  It's just the way it is, this game will never be broadly popular because it has a learning curve, a cost, and requires a fair bit of commitment to be anything other than a target drone for most.

Wiley.

A good marketing person would take what you said Wiley and turn it into a positive spin. 

AH can't compete with war thunder on graphics and shouldn't really bet the farm on the new graphics.  Its a simulation game where war thunder is just a game that looks like a simulation.

[Skyyr]

That was quite interesting to search. Aces high 2 never came up no matter what I typed in, even when I tried to be very specific or try to nudge the search towards Aces High 2.

And that's surprising? This website has non-existent SEO, as well as very, very poor UI/UX. Most don't realize that you actually need a content and SEO/SEM strategy to get to rank.

[Wiley]

A good marketing person would take what you said Wiley and turn it into a positive spin. 

People want easy, no thought required gaming.  They want fairness.  These are things that are counter to how this game is designed, period.

Wiley.

[Skyyr]

Free vs $15 a month is also a tough thing to sell over.  It's just the way it is, this game will never be broadly popular because it has a learning curve, a cost, and requires a fair bit of commitment to be anything other than a target drone for most.

The learning curve isn't an issue. There are players that are attracted to competitive games, as there are ones who avoid them. Neither is the cost, except to young kids and those who might not have $15 a month, but those people typically don't have gaming computers anyway.

The biggest reasons that this game is failing, from the perspective of someone who is both a programmer/developer, as well as a digital interactive team manager, are:

1. Accessibility - the game is incredibly difficult to set up for an average user. Want hi-res graphics? Download that separately. Want better sounds? Find them yourself and then install them - don't mess up or you'll have to reinstall the whole game. Even the download button is relatively low-key. As a rule of thumb, if you can't point an organically-referred user to the direct download link within 3 seconds, you'll lose them.

2. Lack of high-end demoable gameplay - There's nothing on the site that actually shows users what gameplay looks like. Sure, there's fan-films, and there's screenshots, but nothing that shows the user what the game looks and feels like. This does two things - causes many users to be disinterested, and it causes the users who do follow-through to have false or non-existent expectations.

3. Graphics - Simply put, they suck. War Thunder uses a graphics engine from 2008, so stating that graphics are tied to ultra-new tech doesn't cut it. Enough said.

4. Accessibility in-game - Finally, if a user manages to deal with all of the above, then what? Now they have to set up complex views, buy software/hardware, etc. Simply put, while many of you hardcore and long-time users don't think much of it, you are a minority. A dying minority. The majority of users need to be able to control the game with minimal additional accessories. Most players who come to this game, at most, own only a joystick (if that). Dependencies on hardware and complex setups only deter new users.


Each of the above points acts as a filter, removing more and more players through each successive hurdle, until there are very, very few left. Those that make it then face a steeper learning curve, a hard-to-use UI, etc.

Streamlining the website for accessibility (easy to do), putting together some amazing footage/gameplay - not the usual crap, but something visually amazing that sucks the player in (example: Str8 Rippin Halo 3)  (also relatively easy), updating the graphics (already underway), and fixing the ingame UI and removing the in-cockpit views only (moderately difficult) would go a LONG way for the game's longevity.

[zack1234]

The game is not hard to set up

I can set it up

Hardware is the major issues for new players ie joysticks

[bustr]

And then this would be "Skyyr High" and no longer "Aces High".

Seems like you should take this up with Hitech in person Skyyr if your credentials are as impressive as your focus is to change AH into your image. Removing in cockpit only views. Now that would be a whole can of unintended consequences along with making it easier for some players to not have to learn SA or ACM and just focus on grief with their running. It got the IL2 changed from a bomber to an attacker. But, then you are free to move over to WT since much of what you are taking umbrage with AH is the heart of WT.

So why not simply open a wish stating you want Hitech to copy WT and stuff his physics engine into it?

[Skyyr]

And then this would be "Skyyr High" and no longer "Aces High".

Seems like you should take this up with Hitech in person Skyyr if your credentials are as impressive as your focus is to change AH into your image. Removing in cockpit only views. Now that would be a whole can of unintended consequences along with making it easier for some players to not have to learn SA or ACM and just focus on grief with their running. It got the IL2 changed from a bomber to an attacker. But, then you are free to move over to WT since much of what you are taking umbrage with AH is the heart of WT.

So why not simply open a wish stating you want Hitech to copy WT and stuff his physics engine into it?

You seem to throw a lot of personal comments in there.

I never claimed my credentials were "impressive," I'm simply stating what is known to be industry standard. HiTech could easily run an A/B test and see if what I stated is correct (which it would be). None of it is ground-breaking or super-secret - it's simply how the web is analyzed today. Any legitimate web or interactive consultant would probably suggest the same as I have.

Nothing that I stated is game-changing, with the exception of cockpit-only views. For you to state that any of those changes, including other in-game views, would change this into WT, or "Skyyr's High," it makes you look not only unnecessarily aggressive, but uneducated as well.

War Thunder is what it is because of it's F2P model, it's flight model, it's mouse-control model, and it's leveling system. NONE of my changes suggest that, nor are they implied in any way, shape or form. So please, drop the accusations unless you can underline where I suggested anything of the sort.

I have no interest in War Thunder, though their graphics are second to none. My comment concerning War Thunder was to highlight that a lot of technophobes here think that great graphics require million-dollar (lol) gaming servers and setups - that is simply not the case. WT's graphic engine is the better part of a decade old.

Graphics in AH suck because, well, they suck. Defend them all you want, they are still a huge drawback to your average gamer, especially those who aren't experienced enough to know the difference in flight models. Your average new pilot, who doesn't have prior sim experience, is more apt to go to the F2P game because it has better graphics. I'm interested in AH for the flight model, so graphics are actually a tertiary concern for me.

The other-than-cockpit views have nothing to do with griefing, running, or anything else. I run TrackIR - I don't even think about views any more. However, the current view system is archaic in function. In a real plane, it's easy to look around - just reference TrackIR. In AH, it's abnormally difficult without it.

The problem is that your average player has neither the time, the money, or the patience to purchase and set up TrackIR or similar software. This leaves the user with having to map multiple keys to 45* views, which even then has relative blindspots. This leaves new players, and players without time or money, frustrated and more apt to quit.

And in the end, what for? In-cockpit views are primarily for immersion purposes - they offer little practical advantage outside of limiting some shot opportunities.

I'm not advocating anything other than what is known to be conducive to user-experience.

[bustr]

Skyyr you blew a big horn about yourself before you told Hitech his undies are dirty in his house on the PA system.

You threw the rock at Hitech's windows, seems you should have the professional nads to take this up with him in person.

[Fish42]

And then this would be "Skyyr High" and no longer "Aces High".

Seems like you should take this up with Hitech in person Skyyr if your credentials are as impressive as your focus is to change AH into your image. Removing in cockpit only views. Now that would be a whole can of unintended consequences along with making it easier for some players to not have to learn SA or ACM and just focus on grief with their running. It got the IL2 changed from a bomber to an attacker. But, then you are free to move over to WT since much of what you are taking umbrage with AH is the heart of WT.

So why not simply open a wish stating you want Hitech to copy WT and stuff his physics engine into it?

I agree with most of what Skyyr said. There are many steps that can be taken without damaging the game play that would attract new players and help keep them.

Removing Cockpit views I do not agree with. When you fly with the more "simulator" mode in WT you are locked into your cockpit just like in AH. True its not the most popular mode, but it still has strong numbers.

[Skyyr]

Skyyr you blew a big horn about yourself before you told Hitech his undies are dirty in his house on the PA system.

You threw the rock at Hitech's windows, seems you should have the professional nads to take this up with him in person.

I didn't blow a "big horn," I simply stated my experience. That's like saying "As a professional pilot, here's my opinion on flight models." I distinguished that I was speaking from a professional stance on the matter - nothing more. Is there anything horn-blowing about that? None whatsoever.

I also never insulted Hitech or implied it. My observation (and opinion) is simply that the game's support mechanisms have been neglected from a UI/UX and SEO perspective. The fact that the game isn't on the first page for "WWII Combat Sim" supports my stance.

I could go to Hitech, but why? Unless there is some outstanding request for me to do so from him or a large majority of the playerbase, I'd simply be soliciting him. Unless he expresses open interest and I know he wants to pursue the above, I don't really care to go out of the way and create a competitive analysis, do a UI/UX evaluation, SEO evaluation, etc. This game is a hobby, not a job at this point.

Regardless, you completely dodged the question and failed to answer accountable to your claim that I want to turn the game into War Thunder. I clearly outlined that wasn't the case, yet you have yet to even respond. The burden of proof lies with you to prove the accusation.