General Discussion

[hcrana]

Re griping, there's a selection bias at work.  Few people get all riled up and pound off a forum rant about how happy they are.  Good news is no news, or something like that.  For every negative post, there a probably a dozen folks who are quietly content.

[hcrana]

There's a corollary to this in an old Italian saying: Le madri di stronzi sono sempre incinte.  Sad but true.

[captain1ma]

I have loved this game since the first time I downloaded it, got a plane in a hanger, hit the E button and listened to the engine start! whats not to love about this game.

here I am 10 years later, I get to help out one of the Arenas, and I still love it as much as I did that first day. just wish there were more people in the AVA, but short of that, ill play til I have a coronary while playing the game! and I have some shade accounts so I can run around and no one knows who I am!

Jaeger1
CO JG54 "grunherz"

<S>

[jollyFE]

I've been playing AH since like early 02ish.  Seems to go in cycles as far as numbers of players.  I think we are just in a down cycle (hopefully AH3 will bring more back).  Everyone was worried when we went from AH1 to AH2 (I miss the sea monster map and old, old tank town).  The game is still as fun as it was the first time I played it so many years ago. 

[bustr]

There's a corollary to this in an old Italian saying: Le madri di stronzi sono sempre incinte.  Sad but true.

Sadly this is true much of the time. At least under that condition she has an excuse.

[Shuffler]

I've been playing AH since like early 02ish.  Seems to go in cycles as far as numbers of players.  I think we are just in a down cycle (hopefully AH3 will bring more back).  Everyone was worried when we went from AH1 to AH2 (I miss the sea monster map and old, old tank town).  The game is still as fun as it was the first time I played it so many years ago.

Ahhh the octopus, the big beer bottle, and the UFO. LOL

[bustr]

Hey there is still a UFO static object available to terrain builders. You can see it from the AH3 skin viewer if you install the beta.

[Brooke]

Few people get all riled up and pound off a forum rant about how happy they are. 

Listen here!  I am happy with this game!  I love scenarios!  I LOVE AH! 

[MADe]

Listen here!  I am happy with this game!  I love scenarios!  I LOVE AH! 

No disrespect here, but your being a cheerleader. he he
 
I am looking for what it is about flight simming beyond the graphics and the initial thrill.
In order to keep my interest, cuz the game itself can get boring, I build my own flight controller gear. I made up a bunch of noseart. I would skin planes but I'm not interested in only historical accuracy. I have even been learning how to make plane objects. Now most will not go this route, making chits is what I do, but they have a way to keep themselves interested. What is it?

Peeps banking mucho future on VR, well its pricey, u need a modern pc to drive it, more pricier, so is it gonna draw and keep players in AH?
Remember that the basic gameplay will not be changing, once the initial hardware thrill is gone, is VR gonna create player longevity?

My 1 requirement is numbers, I just want what it must have been like. I did the BoB 2 years ago, it was great. My schedule just does not jive with best gaming times. I'm limited to just jumping in whenever I can. 2010 AH had 300+ on average a night, thats diminished a bit. Plus its a squad oriented sport IMO. I want the team work aspect, I have not found a fit yet tho, and numbers are down...................so for me, by hook or crook, AH, HITECH, needs to increase the client base.
 

[puller]

If you haven't found a squad fit you need to hit us up...we'll make it interesting for you...

[Tumor]

What is it that we really want out of a ww2 flight sim?

"We" don't want a WW2 Flight Sim.  "We" want a WW2 themed GAME. 

What is realistically possible to deliver concerning today's technology, with the game plays intent, a multi player flight sim?

We have it.  It can get prettier.  More AIRCRAFT, vehicles, boats, etc... always nice and more better.

How do you keep player interested in same basic game for years on end?

You don't, unless the player is inclined to it already.  Although, "community" weighs in here as a heavy.

How much of flight sims is truly niche play?

What niche?  It's all niche... there's different niches.  There's niches in niches.

Why was it so hard for a large portion of FA players to crossover to AH? to the point that many stopped flight sims or went console and fps's/tanks.....

It wasn't.  They didn't want to.  And the big one... it takes a little effort.

[Tumor]

3.  You probably can't keep a player interested forever unless that player is me or 715b.  We are the only ones I know who are still playing AH and AW before that from the late 1980's.  Most people, at some point, drift off. 

HEY!  Well... 92 here. Signed up as soon as I first heard about AW!!! BUT, I wouldn't have been able to afford that crazy crap before then (not that I could when I started).  I've only taken a few "breaks" here and there, mostly for schule and stuff.

[FESS67]

The simple fact here is that it is a good - even a great game.  The players are killing it.  They will not fight, they will game the game.  THAT is the simple answer and it is within the players to fix it

[waystin2]

1.  I like multi-human on multi-human fights.  I don't have an interest in flying around unopposed on a terrain or flying against AI.  That's basically single-player stand-alone gaming and is vastly inferior to multiplayer gaming.  I vastly prefer many-on-many to one-on-one fights.  I.e., single-player = 1 on fun scale; one-on-one = 10 on fun scale; many-on-many = 100 on fun scale.

This explains it for me.

[Lusche]

The simple fact here is that it is a good - even a great game.  The players are killing it.  They will not fight, they will game the game.  THAT is the simple answer and it is within the players to fix it

Imagine an automotive manufacturer with sinking sales for almost a decade blaming it on the customers...

The customers are what they are. The players are what they are (and actually they have 'gamed' this game all the time). The market is, what it is.
No player can 'fix' a game. If global player behaviors and preferences are actually changing, it's up to a company to adjust for that. You simply can't "change" the players, nobody has that influence, and certainly not the actions individual players can do.
"If just everybody would..." sounds nice, but never works on a larger scale.