Ability to buy more perk points

[flyndung]

my point is what games out there use the subscription method anymore? i'd can't seem to recall one that does anymore. that being the case, why did they abandon the subscription model?

[guncrasher]

they never had a monthly subscription model to begin with.  what they did is give you crappy planes/tanks to play with if you wanted to have a better tank either you had to play with better tanks for 2 months to get enough points to upgrade and once you were fully upgraded then you were playing against tanks that were superior to you.  it was a never ending story.  either you paid gold to upgrade to played forever to get enough perks to upgrade. or get stuck in lower tanks./planes.

semp

[Arlo]

Comparing business models of games designed to attract a player base that mainly consists of kids that gotta borrow their parent's credit card (or ask for a point card to be bought for them) who have short attention spans and the constant need to make those 'micro-transactions' to have the advantage over Jimmy or Johnny or 'Deatheater69' .... to Aces High .... comes off a bit insulting. Their successful business model is based on their customer base. This customer base is a bit more sophisticated and won't put up with it. So your suggestion, in my opinion, is to get rid of one loyal base to try to attract another (which isn't really all that much into true sims or WWII or mature communities*).

*This community may have it's moments of immaturity but, by and large, it has a rather mature base.

[bustr]

Have any of you bothered to check the Texas gambling code to see if pay to win would be looked on as gambling? That would restrict AH to a customer base of 21yrs and up if gambling is legal in Texas. Or, if Texas does not allow online gambling, do they see pay to win as online gambling?

After all Texas is a whole other country from the USA.

So before any of you burn the text editor while lighting your torch and sharpening your pitchfork, look up the legal statutes to eliminate that possibility in Texas.

[Arlo]

It's not that much of a legal concern in the U.S., in general. Texas, likely, least of all. It's more an EU thing.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.843644-Free-To-Play-Games-Face-Tougher-Regulation-In-Europe

I'll stick to it being more of a community relationship with the game developer thing.

[APDrone]

If a buy-perk plan is ever installed, I want a 'Circle of Protection: bought perks'  that I can purchase with earned perks to prevent damage from aircraft using 'purchased perks'.

So.. I want to roll some B29s using my earned perks.  I fork over another 10% perk cost to make the planes invulnerable to any plane that was launched using any 'bought perks'.

Now.. one could be mean and simply not indicate such a protection was in effect, but that would lead to one helluva chorus of 'rubber bullits'.  Instead, perhaps the icons of protected craft appear different to those flying bought-perk aircraft. .. perhaps we should call them 'Short Attention Span'? 

So, as I'm tooling along in my protected formation, a SAS plane approaches. As he gets in icon range, my icon would appear .. only to him.. as a different color than the normal baddies.. perhaps a pink aura.. or maybe plaid..  or..  how about chartreuse? That would indicate to the SAS plane that there's no point in attacking as no damage would be dealt.   

This protection could only be purchased with earned perks. And it would be a zero-return.  Call it insurance.  You burn the 10%. So a B29 run on an evenly-balanced evening would cost at least 30 perks and as much as 330 perks.. assuming you bumped into the Pigs on one of their blow-dryer squad nights.. 

Oh.. and this would bring up the necessity to track bought perks vs earned perks.   I would suggest earned perks be 'green'..and bought perks be 'brown'. 

[Randall172]

that defeats the purpose

by earning the ride you are in, you most likely have a skill advantage over anyone who would have to buy perks.

if this is implemented this would just allow those with the money, to splurge and spend money to support the game.

let htc harvest those whales among us for the $$

[Arlo]

Dale has morals and standards as well as a connection with the community. If it was just about the money he would probably do what everyone else does and market AH as a suck money scam.

[stabbyy]

or....simpler solution... you don't buy perks..at all..you just get say.. 150/450(for formation)/150 at start of each tour/monthly(or maybe bi weekly?) you are already.. paying afterall would let.. you take up 1 really expensive ride or 2-5 cheaper ones

[Arlo]

What if Dale actually designed the perk system to keep Aces High from becoming jet-rocket-superfortress high 24/7?

[stabbyy]

What if Dale actually designed the perk system to keep Aces High from becoming jet-rocket-superfortress high 24/7?

most people auger b29s on take off(never gets old)
most people auger 262s diving in(painful to watch)


even if they were free.. people would still struggle flying them

reality is.. way perk system is...if you are not completely dense and semi competent.. you can amass more perks than you will ever use..(like these guys with 18k fighter perks)....the game is already that way.. if people wanted to fly those.. but.. they dont

[Arlo]

most people auger b29s on take off(never gets old)
most people auger 262s diving in(painful to watch)


even if they were free.. people would still struggle flying them

reality is.. way perk system is...if you are not completely dense and semi competent.. you can amass more perks than you will ever use..(like these guys with 18k fighter perks)....the game is already that way.. if people wanted to fly those.. but.. they dont

You're describing veteran players, many of whom are adults who have been playing this game for years and likely some others before. An influx of, dare I say, the WoW crowd (be it 'warplanes' or 'warcraft') brings with it a sense of entitlement via daddy's (or mommy's) credit card that rack up micro-purchases so fast your head would spin. Ok, revenue, great. What about liability (whether legal or not - you know, moral)? 'Junior! My credit card statement has several small purchases totaling $180.00 dollars for ... 'Aces high?!' Whereas - 'Junior, my credit card has a charge of 14.99 for 'Aces High?' Dad, may be glad it's just a monthly subscription without nickle and diming the public for more. Hell, he may sub, himself when he finds out folks older than him enjoy the game.In the other scenario, if daddy's smart, he'll cancel the card, be careful not to give the new info to Junior, and cancel the account, immediately.

Not to mention (but I will) that even though Aces High reserves the right to make changes to the game (including business plan) it already has a long established base that enjoys this method so much that many very casual and occasional players maintain accounts for months where they don't even log on but to perhaps check on the account. The only reason mine lapsed, recently, was lack of attention due to busy life issues when I wasn't logging into the game, at all. There's more support than meets the eye on a week day MA roster head count. And that support is for Dale and the way he supports his own player base, I'd say.

So, yes, I believe selling perks would be bad because of the problems it can cause when micro-purchases get out of hand. I believe too many free perks would lead to uber plane chaos, changing the game in an unanticipated way, related to the wish.

(The above is my opinion, preference and predictive take on the situation and does not reflect, in any way, the opinion or plans of the owner and programmers of Aces High.)

[popeye]

-1

Like we need more 262s polluting the game???

 

[flyndung]

so other then the veterans that play, you think a subscription based model is gonna gonna bring in new clients? what if your a work during the week and you get 1-2 days during the weekend to fly, paying 15.00 for roughly 4-8 days a month and probably 3-4 hours at most each day. so that's 12-36 hours of flying for 15.00/a month. on average how long does it take to earn enough perk points to fly the higher end perk planes? now if this person is just there to have fun and play a new game and he's getting blown out of the sky by 2+ year vets in a matter of mins. (This game doesn't take in for account in skill level-it throws you right into the teeth of the enemy) are they gonna play very long to wanna earn perk points? why haven't they already joined on to play now? all AH3 is AH2 with better grapics.

[Arlo]

Yes, I think a sub based game is gonna bring more clients. Quality clients.