FREE Aces High? New way to get fresh players?

[Wiley]

That's simply untrue.

No, it's not.

Wiley.

[DmonSlyr]

No, it's not.

Wiley.

So the #s decreasing from 300 a night to 150 a night is all because of the cultural change and not do to certain gameplay changes? Apparently you haven't listened to very many squads and their reasons for leaving.... It must all be a false reality.

[Wiley]

So the #s decreasing from 300 a night to 150 a night is all because of the cultural change and not do to certain gameplay changes? Apparently you haven't listened to very many squads and their reasons for leaving.... It must all be a false reality.

I've listened to enough peoples' reasons for leaving.  Very little in this game has changed in gameplay since I've been here.

The main reason numbers have dropped in my lowly, non-ace player opinion is because at its peak, AH was pretty much the only thing going that offered good online multiplayer PvP in WWII aircraft.  People tolerated gameplay elements they didn't like because it was the only option that was decent.

As time went on, options became available that were either F2P or one time pay, that had gameplay that more people were looking for.  That's what caused a lot of the player bleed.  When there's an F2P option that's "good enough" in the minds of a player, why would they subscribe to something else?

Fewer people playing at a time gradually snowballed because the Melee doesn't work unless there's critical mass in the arena.

Edit:  And my point in the previous post was, your gameplay abilities lend precisely zero more credibility to your opinion than anyone else's.  You're just another player.  You've never built a game, you've never built a company.  You've got an opinion, just like everybody else.

Wiley.

[Chilli]

There is some meat to feed on with the comments about difficulty in learning to setup crucial gaming parameters.

How to make things easier:

Choice of Field of View settings.  Not saying they are wrong, but even with TrackIR, situation awareness is greatly handicapped.  Perfectly in tuned FOV may better serve the veteran player.  I know this is beginning to sound slightly arcade but beginner, novice and expert modes could be one click video settings at the log in screen.

I would not encourage any player to play with a mouse, but if they chose to do so, an AI wingman instructor may aid.  BBosen did very well at creating staged missions, so I think that is in the realm of additional help to new players.

Various other ideas along that line of thought, but these are heading into the wishlist area of topic. 

{snip}

Fewer people playing at a time gradually snowballed because the Melee doesn't work unless there's critical mass in the arena.

Wiley.

Wiley has just about summed up European / Non US time zone game play, where the need for player infusion is MOST evident.

[DmonSlyr]

I've listened to enough peoples' reasons for leaving.  Very little in this game has changed in gameplay since I've been here.

The main reason numbers have dropped in my lowly, non-ace player opinion is because at its peak, AH was pretty much the only thing going that offered good online multiplayer PvP in WWII aircraft.  People tolerated gameplay elements they didn't like because it was the only option that was decent.

As time went on, options became available that were either F2P or one time pay, that had gameplay that more people were looking for.  That's what caused a lot of the player bleed.  When there's an F2P option that's "good enough" in the minds of a player, why would they subscribe to something else?

Fewer people playing at a time gradually snowballed because the Melee doesn't work unless there's critical mass in the arena.

Wiley.

Well I actually agree with you on that, pricing and competing games do take some players away. But there's no reason why AH should not be completing with those games with much bigger #s. I love the MA for what it is because it's very random and not fair. It's very challenging. But certain inaction in areas, or action that does more harm than good (like 88 guns on fields, or town resupply being gamed) and another small tweaks that make it harder for bombers to want to spend the time, or harder for fighters to find action, have really done a number. Most things can be adjusted without any coading at all. Many of those squads would not have left it they weren't so fed up with tiny nuances that makes the game play frustrating or unbalanced.

The reason why I think the MA should change to a small arena during off hours is because it would snow ball action the right way because people would have bigger fights in a more dense area. This would increase those #s until it could sustain a bigger map.

[Wiley]

The reason why I think the MA should change to a small arena during off hours is because it would snow ball action the right way because people would have bigger fights in a more dense area. This would increase those #s until it could sustain a bigger map.

Because obviously these people that spend all their time avoiding combat in off hours would suddenly want to fight because the map is smaller?

Wiley.

[AAIK]

During the player high/boom that piqued in mid 2008 the economy was undergoing a housing bubble in which people were spending alot of money.

The economy has yet to really recover since then and many people are in debt and unable to afford luxuries like AH.

[DmonSlyr]

Because obviously these people that spend all their time avoiding combat in off hours would suddenly want to fight because the map is smaller?

Wiley.

Maybe they arent "avoiding" combat on purpose. Maybe they are sitting in the tower looking at tiny dars figuring out where to take off and fight. Maybe they are attacking a base in hopes of getting 1 or two people to roll. A smaller map would leave smaller area to fight, and thus make it easier to find action and keep the action rolling. A large map desaturates an area and thus you have small fights spread all over.

[Wiley]

Maybe they arent "avoiding" combat on purpose. Maybe they are sitting in the tower looking at tiny dars figuring out where to take off and fight. Maybe they are attacking a base in hopes of getting 1 or two people to roll. A smaller map would leave smaller area to fight, and thus make it easier to find action and keep the action rolling. A large map desaturates an area and thus you have small fights spread all over.

And how does that balance against the complete loss of ongoing momentum on the map that would occur if the map changed arbitrarily to a small one at certain times of the day, and again when it switched back to a large map?

Wiley.

[nrshida]

  Hehe, I was poking fun at Violator's actual claim to be a Pro in another thread, I didn't think he would believe me.

There's only room for one Pro in this town! 

[DmonSlyr]

And how does that balance against the complete loss of ongoing momentum on the map that would occur if the map changed arbitrarily to a small one at certain times of the day, and again when it switched back to a large map?

Wiley.

IMO, people would be happy that the map was changing to a smaller one as the #s decreased for the off hours. It's sorta like how the map gets won during off hours and people will log back on to the MA, but with a smaller map suited for the off hours players. It could be from 3AM est. To 3PM est. This would make the fights seem bigger and it would make the map more actionable.   

[TheBug]

You're just old and grumpy Wiley.  I bet you're not even on Snapchat.

[Wiley]

You're just old and grumpy Wiley.  I bet you're not even on Snapchat.

I've been old and grumpy since I was 12.  But I'm... I'm cool!  I have the Tweeter and the MyFace!

IMO, people would be happy that the map was changing to a smaller one as the #s decreased for the off hours. It's sorta like how the map gets won during off hours and people will log back on to the MA, but with a smaller map suited for the off hours players. It could be from 3AM est. To 3PM est. This would make the fights seem bigger and it would make the map more actionable.   

What you're talking about would be effectively the same as changing the map every 12 hours.  No continuity beyond that time frame at all.  I think that would have an extremely demotivational effect on most people who are about the war.

Wiley.

[DmonSlyr]

I've been old and grumpy since I was 12.  But I'm... I'm cool!  I have the Tweeter and the MyFace!

What you're talking about would be effectively the same as changing the map every 12 hours.  No continuity beyond that time frame at all.  I think that would have an extremely demotivational effect on most people who are about the war.

Wiley.

Not necessarily. You could also have a small map arena for euro members besides the MA. I'm suggesting like 10 bases on each side type of deal. Sorta like they size of Europe compared to the US. 

Edit: tbh, the reason I don't think the Mid or Early war arenas took off was because the maps and base distances were just too big and far to spur fights.

[Ack-Ack]

While that is great and all and I encourage people to learn.  Those same people would play Aces High for a month and think they understand the game play mechanics and offer suggestions while not really understanding the game flow very well.

Speaking as someone with far more "experience" than you do in these types of online games (started playing AW probably when you were still in diapers) and someone who has been working in the game industry for over 25 years, I would rather listen to the person that has learned and has a degree in game design over someone that has absolutely no clue.  But that's just me.

It's like hiring an engineer with a degree who has little experience and saying that their opinion beats an engineer with 20 years experience in the business with no degree.

Terrible analogy. The majority of the people getting degrees in game design/development are gamers themselves with vast amounts of "gaming experience".  It's laughable that you think your game play experience somehow makes you an "engineer with 20 years experience in the business but no degree", especially since you have absolutely no experience in the business...zero...zilch...nad a...nichts...akukho nto.

The guy with the experience will understand the business far more than a guy with a degree and no experience in the same business. And while I don't know coading and how AH operations work, I do understand how the gameplay flows. It appears to me the "experts" that have influenced Hitechs decisions on certain game play mechanics and marketing on steam have actually done more harm to the game than good. Which is evidence by the #s and some very big squads packing it up and leaving. It's laughable that you'd take the advice of people who probably don't understand the game, over people who take it very seriously inside the game and took the time to understand it.

HiTech, the creator of Warbirds and Aces High doesn't understand the game or business?  As far as I know, it was HiTech's decision alone to go on Steam nor did he solicit any advise from the community about going on Steam other than making a post that he was considering it.

My ideas actually do make sense because players once again, are over whelmed by the size of the MA. A smaller arena would give them the ability to learn the game easier. It's just common sense. It's what AH is really missing. A smaller second arena would go a long way in providing support to those players who are trying to understand the game. This is a solution with virtually 0 coading or marketing efforts. You both are missing the point. I'm not saying that other issues can be solved through better coadind and tutorial videos. But I think AH is missing a bit opportunity to provide a fun place for people to learn the game and be apart of the combat without having to fly around aimlessly in the MA.

No, your ideas make zero sense because you completely and willingly ignore the main reasons why the majority of new players through Steam didn't stick around either to complete their free trial or afterwards.  Do you really think your ideas will work if those barriers still remain for new players?