loss of members

[Slate]

    Dangle a carrot, F2P ww1, When the noobs get a taste of AH they will hunger for more. Let the addiction  begin like any good dealer. 

[Lazerr]

H2H was a good tool to get into the game before coming to the MA to get whaled on by vets.

[LilMak]

Problem with H2H was some if us spent years there because we were getting our fix. Think I made it a week before the withdrawals started giving me the shakes and I paid up. Think HT should consider what cable companies and dating sites do. Have random, free to all, weeks advertised to get people hooked.

[Traveler]

    Dangle a carrot, F2P ww1, When the noobs get a taste of AH they will hunger for more. Let the addiction  begin like any good dealer. 

WWI, that was a arena well worth the investment.  I haven't seen anyone in the WWI arena for more than six months now.  I'm sure it is being used, but that was a business decision that didn't pan out very well.

[FLS]

WWI, that was a arena well worth the investment.  I haven't seen anyone in the WWI arena for more than six months now.  I'm sure it is being used, but that was a business decision that didn't pan out very well.

I think bombs and targets would perk up the WW1 arena. Also using scout aircraft in reveal the location of ground targets would create historical conflicts beyond simply dogfighting.

Btw you can't bail from the WW1 aircraft.   

[Ack-Ack]

Not going to happen.  It still remains a game of capture the flag.  If the road system and river systems remain meaningless, that is they can not be used to develop strategy ,   there are no required bridges that must be held or destroyed to help one defend or attack the enemy. 

Imagen if the road system leading to the town created chock points that could be defended by infantry and tanks, with air support.  That bridges along this road system would require a new type of troop to repair or rebuild, like combat engineers.  Bridges that could be attacked  and destroyed by Troops or aircraft. 

A resupply system that actually impacted  game play with each airfield or Vehicle base having its own supply depot that was connected to the main supply system and transport trucks and C47s ,  resupply trains , moving supplies between depots.  That each side could attack and attempt to interrupt the supply, more targets to attack, more targets to defend, more fights. 

Changes to the game itself.  Perhaps an association between hangers and the type of aircraft available at that airfield.  Hangers that perhaps could be rebuilt  or repaired by the combat engineers stationed on that field.  With each hanger supporting a defined set of aircraft.  Supply enough combat engineers to a base and the destroyed hangers would recover in half the time.

My fear is that after all is said and done, we will end up with a air combat simulator with pretty grass and sky with sunsets and the game will still be the same old capture the flag game play with nothing new in game play.

The road and train system are being re-worked and HiTech has mentioned about using the bridges as choke points (though not destructible) to help funnel the action of the GV war.  Not sure if the new road/train system has been implemented yet, think that is planned for later down the line.

[bustr]

Traveler install the beta, go offline and up at A1. Fly over the village with the maproom that has a river ringing it. Count the bridges which are the primary way to get at that village from the ground. There are new bridge objects in AH3 waiting for rivers. Taking part in the beta would have kept you updated on more than these whizzing matches about AH3 "what if's" if you wanted to do more than attack Hitech with any opportunity you can leverage.

You can install the beta and open the skin viewer to review all objects available to AH3 as of that patch. There have already been some in depth discussions by terrain builders and Hitech about the new bridge objects in the beta forum if you bothered to read in there. Hitech has been very supportive of their questions and fixing issues they find.

[Brooke]

WWII is the optimum Goldilocks zone of air combat.

[Chilli]

WWI, that was a arena well worth the investment.  I haven't seen anyone in the WWI arena for more than six months now.  I'm sure it is being used, but that was a business decision that didn't pan out very well.

Several things can attribute to low numbers, but I have to say it was indeed worth it (and I hardly ever fly there). 

First, if you ever are able to fly there with more than 4-5 people it is a blast.  The pilot animations, graphic details, WWI aircraft flight model and plane damage model were all advances.  The team fulfilled one of the most wished for wishlist items, confirmed by a survey of then active players.

As for not panning out, only when the Main Arena is shut down or resetting will you see other arenas with significant population (excluding special events arenas).  The learning curve with WWI aircraft might actually be higher than AH2 WW2 aircraft.  Due to the flight characteristics, a new joystick mode needs to be setup.  And there is the obvious, an unpopulated arena will most likely stay unpopulated.

[Vinkman]

I'd love to think that tweaks to game play and Graphics will solve the numbers issues and I pray it's true. But I wonder if the art of aerial combat in piston engine fighters with machine guns is something that only appeals to a group of people over a certain age.

The new generation of gamers has no idea why it would be interesting to them. The Genre is losing its base because we're all getting older, and unfortunately fewer in number.

I think we are simply a dying breed. 

[Brooke]

I think we are simply a dying breed. 

With the number of people who play the various WWII air combat games, I think we are actually OK -- thankfully for me (since I love this genre).

Our biggest issue is that lots of people play the other ones compared to this one.  We have to figure out how to get some of those people over here.

[Max]

  We have to figure out how to get some of those people over here.

Spread the gospel and teach the noobs. Would love to see some form of H2H return with AH3. I know for a fact that used to work more effectively than the 2 week free trial as far as ultimately turning spectators into customers.

[LCADolby]

WWII is the optimum Goldilocks zone of air combat.

1939- 1943  <G>

[The Fugitive]

Spread the gospel and teach the noobs. Would love to see some form of H2H return with AH3. I know for a fact that used to work more effectively than the 2 week free trial as far as ultimately turning spectators into customers.

I doubt we will ever see the free H2H arenas any more. HTC moved them to the secure side of the server so only those with a subscription will be able to use them. A stand alone H2H setup won't work either as Im sure HTC won't allow their software to be outside their control.

No what we have is what we are GOING to have at this point.

What they are going to need is a build up of anticipation for AH3. They will have to drive this and along these line we can help. Once they hired someone for the "Social network" side of things I thought they were moving forward. They even started up loading more pictures and videos, but have since dropped back to nothing.

They are going to need a build up of info and posts to generate more interest in THIS game over the others. We can help here by retweeting, reposting, liking and so on. No one knows when AH3 is going to go live except HTC.... even they I'm sure couldn't pin point a day if they had to. The point is they should be able to narrow it down to a season, maybe a month.  Count backwards from that a few weeks and start pushing the info out on social media. Pictures, videos, and most importantly ACTION!

No more videos of sunrises, no more videos of the scratches in the canopy, ACTION! While the accomplishment of the HTC staff in building a great graphics update is awesome, people want action! Bombs hitting builds, bombs hitting GVs, planes firing on planes, stuff blowing up.

Our job, re tweet the posts, like the post and share, even if it is only with guys we know already play. Other friends of theirs will see them and it may start a conversation in different circles.

A few weeks before the release HTC should launch what ever "Ad Campaign" they plan to launch. Update their front page on the web page with some flashy art announcing the launching of AH3! Big and bold FREE! 2 weeks is ok, but Id go with 4 myself. Give these guys use to WarBlunder some time to see how much better AH is for flying. Give the guys World of Tanks a chance to see how big the battles CAN be.

In the game, there has to be more monitoring. We have too many bullies here. MODs do the best they can with the few that seem to be on these days. We can help here too. .report xxxxx Remember it, and use it. You see someone bulling a newbi, REPORT IT. Friendly banter is ok and is expected, but harassing players is out of the question. Any one remember the movie "RoadHouse"? The bar starts out as a dive and ends up..... once they get rid of the low lifes and top notch party place with a waiting line to get in. Report the lowlifes and before you know it they wont be chasing away the new customers.

You want the game to be better, to succeed as AH3? Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

[LCADolby]

No more videos of sunrises, no more videos of the scratches in the canopy, ACTION! While the accomplishment of the HTC staff in building a great graphics update is awesome, people want action! Bombs hitting builds, bombs hitting GVs, planes firing on planes, stuff blowing up.