War Thunder

[Bruv119]

I wonder how many people would pay for perks if HTC experimented on selling them. That might create a sizeable chunk of revenue especially for new (or returning) players who haven't got their own.

HTC could enable a perk stock exchange where loaded players could 'sell' their perks to noobs at 50% discount and HTC would take a 10% profit from each transaction.

I +1 this purely for selfish financial reasons.    , hell give HT 12% 

[Slate]

   Make the ww1 arena FTP then when the noobs get bored of the same old same old they may step up to the other arenas and subscribe. Even EW arena to get them hooked. 

[Fish42]

   Make the ww1 arena FTP then when the noobs get bored of the same old same old they may step up to the other arenas and subscribe. Even EW arena to get them hooked. 

If the FTP gamers are all forced into the WW1 area, they will A) get a false impression, B) have little to no incentive to Sub. If by some miracle they do Sub, what in the rest of AH matches the WW1 area? I guess the dueling arena, but even that has enough differences. They might feel duped.

Its late here and I am just going to cheat and use Extra Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhz9OXy86a0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXA559KNopI

That last video's last point is the most valid. Yes FTP and/or Micro-transaction can be good, but it is not always the right thing for every game.

[HPriller]

My point as is I previously stated.  I like BOTH of these games.  It's not about which game is better, they are pretty wildly different in fact.  But this is ultimately about playerbase and marketing.  Aces High lacks the playerbase to be worth the subscription currently, the last time I was subbed I found it much too hard and time consuming to find any action in the game and this was almost entirely due to the number of other players online.  Personally, I don't see this changing for the better without some change to their marketing strategy, hence free2play.  I can't say whether or not it would be more healthy for the game in the long term but I'd bet in the short term it would most certainly increase both revenue for the game and player base.

I see examples of this all the time, even just recently on Steam, Wakfu was released as a free2play.  This game used to be a privately run subscription based game too, but over time it's playerbase had inevitably declined.  Now it's released on steam as free2play, and BOOM, a huge injection of new players a probably tons of cash for the parent company when even a small percentage of the new players buy whatever starter pack or premium time deal they offer.  Even with a huge chunk of the money going to Steam, it probably made good business sense to do that deal simply because of market exposure.  It's like that TV show Shark Tank where the various guys pitch their company to those robber barons.  Even if they make a crappy deal with the shark getting the lion's share of the profit, the market exposure gained from just being on the show and associated with it catapults their company from some mom and pop niche thing into a household name with so much volume they have to open 3 new factories to produce it.

[Zoney]

Ratsy, thank you, I was way to harsh.

[Ratsy]

After watching those videos I was made to face just how much I don't know about the state of game development today.

I used to understand death by 1,000 cuts as a thing that was bad or at least hyper-cynical.  Somehow the world has changed and games are now are conceived to divest small amounts of money from large numbers players over time.  A formula.  A formula that is wrought with complexity outside of the normal challenges of 'just playing'. 

Like many of you, this is my hobby.  Buying a $60 title, or paying a subscription, was palatable because the product was usually baked, tested, and proven before I got it.  One transaction and done.  I don't want to think about the money I've spent over the years for game products without also considering the pleasure it gave me to play them.  In my mind, there was that balance, and perhaps a level playing field.

This model 'feels' wrong. These games seem to say "something is better than nothing especially if somebody else (through whatever mechanism) is paying for it".  Or, worse, you perceive, by design, that you will never be competitive because you lack the talent or eye-hand coordination unless you pay for your game-leveling micro-transactions. Or even worse, "What are you crying about?!  We gave you a choice!".

Many people my age (old) are buying into this new world, I suppose.  My own wife, traitor, plays Clash of Clans and scoffs at my AH subscription.  I'm officially a curmudgeon.  If given only the choice of F2P, I will not be around any longer.

Still I'm not content to give up on Aces High and hope that a compromise can be found that allows an honest transaction in the face of hordes that demand to die by 1,000 cuts.  Go figure.

Did you know the earth was flat?

 

[Ratsy]

Ratsy, thank you, I was way to harsh.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with passion!

 

[bustr]

Wakfu was released in 2012 targeting millennials who don't have money and have come to expect the internet to pander to them or else. Yes, that is a loosing proposition with generation "give me freebees or screw you". Are you also a Millennial Priller?

And you "specifically" seem to have problems with finding a fight during your prime time. My squadmates from all over the U.S. and myself, up to 2am, sometimes 3am U.S. Pacific coast time, find fights or create fights non stop. It does require letting mini hoardlings gang you to feel safe fighting the later it gets. But, I thought Aces High was all about the fight, if you want to fight.

When Hitech allowed "free" head to head arenas, they turned into idiot "napoleon complex" garbage receptacles and ultimately a testing ground for hackers to capture the coad from memory dumps. You can still find the now infamous Youtube film by the hacker who pulled it off.

Your whole post is just filler to cover your real wish. You want Hitech to make Aces High FtP and you are disillusioned about "finding" combat during your Prime Time. The rest is fluffy repetitious rationalization with some shots thrown in at Hitech because you are unhappy.

[HPriller]

lol I'm no millennial, just turned 37 this month.  I was playing Aces High over 10 years ago.  And I made no shots at HiTech.  I just would like to some change made to make it worth playing again.  The last time I subbed, when I was playing I typically saw between 40-80 players in the main arena split between 3 teams often with a sizable percentage of them AFK or not doing anything.  There's a lot of competition for my gaming dollar and in my book $15 a month for this was no longer worthwhile.  I'm not saying it couldn't be worthwhile as a subscription game.  But somehow the players have gotta be there, and a move to free2play is the only solution I can think of.  Instead of attacking other posters why don't you think of a solution to this problem?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I +1 this purely for selfish financial reasons.    , hell give HT 12%  

That might actually also reduce gamey behaviour on the arena, people would want to fly their perks home to farm them. Less suicide lawndart attacks or bailing.

[guncrasher]

That might actually also reduce gamey behaviour on the arena, people would want to fly their perks home to farm them. Less suicide lawndart attacks or bailing.

let's see should I dive into a red of cons or stay way above and pick then run home land and sell the perks to pay for my second home.  heck I would stay up a couple of hours a day in mw or ew bombing towns to get more perks to sell.


which gamey behavior you trying to avoid?


semp

[GScholz]

Trying to survive and land your kills isn't "gamey". It's what you're supposed to do.

[FLOOB]

If HTC doesn't see an increase in new players, then the current journey to AH3 will not meet expectations.

Don't make the mistake of stating your opinion as if it is a fact.

You know what my expectations are? I expect HTC to upgrade the graphics and then advertise, which will temporarily increase the MA population. I'll turn my graphic settings back down to minimum within a couple days of the update. Unfortunately I don't expect the ma gameplay to change at all. And I expect that I'll still find the arena more fun when there are only 60 players on then when there are 300. When there's 60 players on I can find fights all night because they are fighting. When there's much more than that online they are hording and the rest of the map is empty. You know what I predict if the prime time player population increases? That the horde will be bigger, that's it. If the gameplay stays as stale and as boring as it has become any new players are going to quickly get bored and leave before they have ever had the chance to become adrenaline addicts. Ever get in a dogfight with someone and then they send you a PM telling you that it was the most fun they've ever had in aces high? I've had a few, and then I'll check their stats and see that they've been playing for months or even a year. And that's really sad. They have been playing aces high for that long before they experienced what's supposed to be happening all the time.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

let's see should I dive into a red of cons or stay way above and pick then run home land and sell the perks to pay for my second home.  heck I would stay up a couple of hours a day in mw or ew bombing towns to get more perks to sell.


which gamey behavior you trying to avoid?


semp

The first behaviour is just like pilots did in real WW2. The second is a gameplay flaw in AH that allows people to play against poor AI in an empty arena. People like that should just go play offline, why bother logging in. Besides I don't think bomber perks would seel very well.

[Ratsy]

Don't make the mistake of stating your opinion as if it is a fact.

I think I've made it plain that what I write is my own opinion.  If I got a little lazy in that regard...okay.  Sue me. 

Tipping points are a fact, Floob.  If the current imbalance of turnover continues without mitigation, a profitability tipping point will be reached.  Close the doors.

My opinion again, I think 'everything' is on the table for AH3 which means that some of the cause and effect you predict could be addressed and mitigated.  I've never seen HTC afraid to make tough decisions.  They will do what's right for the business.  A few of yesterday's sacred cows could become tonight's barbecue dinner.

The fascinating thing for me has been the journey to come back up to speed on the business pressures that are driving game development.  Some things that I once regarded as 'laws' or at least 'constraints' aren't there nowadays.  There is much that I didn't know or consider.  The scary part is that I haven't even scratched the surface of it.

I can say definitively, however, I will never buy into the War Thunder way of doing things.  I'm also certain that Gaijin Entertainment will not be bothered by that at all.