New GV dar

[molybdenum]

 
AHIII....amazing platform. Potential off the charts............but I am afraid until there is cooperation and working together attitude, this sim will dwindle down to a core level of players....and acquiring new 'long term' players will be next to impossible.

AH seems to be trying to cater to a core audience in order to bring in new blood of a similar ilk at the expense of players who don't meet his "core" definition.  I could easily be wrong about this, but if I'm not...

The problem with bringing in new blood to AH3 is the steep learning curve + the expertise of long term players. ANYone can be a bomber pilot with a minimum of practice; most anyone can GV effectively with a little less practice. But honing fighter skills takes time and equipment many of us do not have. I suspect that a major reason Steam initiates did not stick around after the free two weeks is because they were guppies thrown into a shark tank and there was no entertainment value in being snacked upon.

So! My (biased) conclusion is that HT needs to move AWAY from the vocal, loyal fighter pilot minority that wants fresh blood to feed upon and toward a more all-inclusive milleu in which all aspects of the game are promoted, none at the expense of the others. As long as the game exists there will be long term, relatively high-skilled fighter pilots with whom to fight, though nowadays you need to look harder for them than before, But to build a critical mass of new players you have to make them LIKE the game. And they won't like it if they just keep getting killed over and over. And that's one reason why the GV dar has to go. It is far too easy to kill a GV even as it is if you know what you are doing. Why make it orders of magnitude even easier?

[1MADDOG1]

GV Dar, one of the reasons I just cancelled my subs.

[Ciaphas]

Why though?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dundee]

8thJinx wrote..." The ultimate goal of it should be to increase interaction, yet not cross the line into crushing how the game is played based on what you choose to fly or drive. "

Totally agree.

Here is my opinion....take it for what it's worth.

Aces High III is an amazing simulator with tons of potential.....but as we are all witnessing, our community is dwindling. Opening up the Steam doors was supposed to inject a new life into the sim, but as we see by numbers and comments in here, this is not the answer to growth. A strong community and fairness in game, is what people seek.

I have been a customer of Hitech Creations since 2001. Flying AH, as with most in here, has become a daily routine and for the most part, an enjoyable pass time. But.....as with everything, there are areas for improvement.

There are some apparent issues, in my humble opinion, that is causing the 'player' to leave Aces High. ***Please...do not take this as an attach on AH or Hitech and his work. My intent is constructive feedback, as this sim and community matters to me.

Several issues plaguing AH ......

Documentation

As I read comments, and see "in game" help requests, I am always bewildered how a new player has a chance to survive, unless he/she gets attached to a Squadron that is willing to train them.

Two years ago, I started working with the 49th Fighter Group. At that point of time, I had 14 years under my belt and where I thought I was functional, I soon learned that there was much game information that I was NOT aware of.  DOT COMMANDS for example. What great information to have at hand while you play the sim. Structure down times, Country factory down times...etc...all available to players that are AWARE of it. 14 years I spent hours in this sim, and it has been just that past two years where I learned about and how to use dot commands. Now, unless I missed it....I have never seen these command listed on the Hitech Creations website or in my enrollment documentation. Here I was....14 years in...and I had to wing up with another Squadron just to find out about this in-game ability. Now take the new player into consideration.....how is he going to stand a chance against us Vets....when we have all the tools in OUR toolbox and they are flying on a wing and a prayer.

ALL customers should have the same information available to them, if we expect any kind of fair playing field. We are all paying customers and we all deserve the same product for the $14.95 a month subscription. The customer should not have to "make friends in game" in order to have ALL the options of the sim available to them.


Constant modifications to Ground Vehicles...and how they can be seen

Well...this is an interesting topic. Years and years....the ground vehicles in AHII, pretty straight forward. Players that liked to GV did...and people that like to fly...did.

Then the 49th Fighter Group introduced a whole different tactical approach to Aces High. Those of us that have been here, we know what they did. For those that are new, the 49th would mount up in a set of tanks, and drive for 2 hours across a sector or two....and skillfully commence an attack a Strat or Headquarters.

As I started working with the 49ers, I soon realized that there was much more to this sim, than basic fur balling. These guys were taking the sim to another level. Drive for 2 hours, sometimes more, to a target and effectively take it down. Sounds like a great addition to the sim....right?   Well...... as we all know.....not well received by the players on the other countries. Players complained that the 49er's were ruining the game and it didn't take long, before Hitech Creations stepped in...and started putting obstacles in place, to deter the 49er from dropping the enemy HQ. 1st I think he changed the hardness so that it would take excessive amount of ordnance to drop it. The 49ers came back.....delivered that new raised ord requirement to target, and once again, people complained and HiTech stepped in again and I believe that time, lowered the downtime from 180 min....to 5 min. Essentially killing the 49er's approach to the sim. One of the largest Squadrons in game, if not the largest.........and Hitech did exactly what 8thJinx said we shouldnt do....crush how the game is played, for over 50 players. It could of been a good thing, you know.....maybe Hitech could of worked WITH the 49er....seen the potential to add to the sim....and then come up with a logical solution. One that would work for everyone, but what happened was......the ones that complained we taken care of, and the 49ers activities.....were crushed.

What confuses me is......why discourage tactical game play. Yes....HUGE inconvenience for the enemy when HQ gets dropped. War is HELL.....and having the enemy attaching your factories and HQ does have impact on the overall war. I think the problem was mainly because the people that are flying (furballing) would of have to stop their activity to contend with what the 49ers was delivering. I do understand their frustration, as there was no defense capabilities at these facilities. So....the player would have to fly into the strat, just to defend it. Time consuming and not the most effective way to defend a valuable asset....like a country's factorys or Headquarters.

So...what would of been the better solution? How about this....why not just put DEFENSE capabilities @ the HQ or Strat??  ie: vehicle hanger, man guns...etc.....and then.....DEFEND your country's assets. It is easy to complain about something, much harder to address the issue with a contructive mindset. Complaining to the developer of the sim and getting settings changed, IMHO, was a terrible solution. The owner of this business just CRUSHED the 'legit' gameplay of many many of his customers. What happens when a service provider makes their customers unhappy and the customer feels he/she is not valued......... they leave. 

Think if Hitech put in those defense capabilities at HQ and Strats, how COOL that would be. Players would then have defense capabilities, as we do with air fields and vehicle bases. We are trying to simulate an era....and what real country would have zero defense at a HQ, other than auto ack. Put some MANNED GUNS there. Vehicle Hanger so the enemy can roll tanks to DEFEND. Isn't that the name of the game?  But....Hitech Creations choose to use settings modifications to deal address this situation and an opportunity was missed to enhance this sim. It really is too bad.

It now seems that every possible thing is being done to help the player that is in the air, easily find you on the ground. Speaking as a guy in a tank....this is not good for my longevity.  I need more concealment abilities, as to survive the ever-life-ending dive bomb from a tank hunter. Hitech put in a pile of trees, which helped us.....but then when the players that were not willing to invest the EFFORT to find you, they complain....and once again....settings and adding unrealistic DAR systems....to help easily locate your position. Sorry....but it just CRUSHES the idea behind tanks. Concealment is a huge part of our survival. In WWII.....was there radar so Aircraft could locate tanks? No....they needed to WORK and LOOK for tanks. Not rely on a clipboard information system, that allows a player to pinpoint my location....and therefore kill the element of surprise.

Conclusion


So back to 8thJinx's comment..."The ultimate goal of it should be to increase interaction, yet not cross the line into crushing how the game is played based on what you choose to fly or drive........  Well, the 49th tried to encourage interaction and hoped you folks would of defended, instead of complaining to AH HQ. After all....are we not all here, to battle each other.....hopefully on a even playing field.

We all have different interest, within the sim....but ONE thing we all should have in common....is to want to enhance this sim and community. Players/people want to be ensured that there is fairness and that they are part of the process. Customers matter. Without customers, you have no legs to have a successful business. Customer's feedback....priceless. I have been a paying customer for a long time. I just wish there was a safe place to provide constructive feedback, without the backlash one usually gets here on the forums. 188 posts is all I have over here....as it has been my experience that if you post anything on here, and try to point out areas for improvement.....the regular trolls will be first in line to jump all over you.
 
AHIII....amazing platform. Potential off the charts............but I am afraid until there is cooperation and working together attitude, this sim will dwindle down to a core level of players....and acquiring new 'long term' players will be next to impossible.

There is room for both air-jocks and ground pounders......but lets not put limitation barriers on one of the two groups. Work WITH the people that love to GV...and see what ideas they have, then find a fair, logical solution. Do not just crush their passion to be tankers.

Peace,
capera

Well said 99Capera.... well said

[thndregg]

Well..  this sure ain't the same crowd as AH2. Almost no one left with the patience to play how scores of us played in GV's, bombers, fighters, etc..

Something was really, almost mortally lost in the transition to 3.

A series of risks were taken, and it has taken a huge bite of player base from the game.

The recovery is much slower, if at all existent, than the transition from 1 to 2. I remember those days.

Just posting a bomber mission of only five players does not draw anyone from the "line of ants", fight. (That's literally what it looks like on the map, to the point of "what do we do now?" if the spawn chain ends.)

Extremely few of the current generation appreciate the patience it takes to open a new front, throw the enemy off, be unpredictable, provoke a new fight, or simply the concept of "It takes starting from point 'A' to get to point 'B'. You can't just spawn in there".

I really miss the days when we had folks like my old BOPS XO "Shubie", who would entertain us with little historical tidbits behind some the aircraft & vehicles we would take on missions- even the old hangar queens.

Sigh..

[molybdenum]

GV Dar, one of the reasons I just cancelled my subs.

You're porkypig and crew, right? I switched to bish to give a rook a couple of perk tank kills so he could get an achievement and saw two (now fellow) bish GV icons NE of the port. Of course I didn't say anything to anyone, but I was very surprised you'd even try a take like that with the new GV dar thing. I'm guessing it didn't go well...

I'm hoping HT swiftly realizes what a bad idea this was and gets rid of it. You won't be the only one gone if he doesn't.

[1MADDOG1]

You're porkypig and crew, right? I switched to bish to give a rook a couple of perk tank kills so he could get an achievement and saw two (now fellow) bish GV icons NE of the port. Of course I didn't say anything to anyone, but I was very surprised you'd even try a take like that with the new GV dar thing. I'm guessing it didn't go well...

I'm hoping HT swiftly realizes what a bad idea this was and gets rid of it. You won't be the only one gone if he doesn't.

Yep, that was me in the TigerII and a M3 with sups. It was a waste to bring it up but wanted to prove a point. Wasn't long before there were 6+ peeps involved in the search. Those guys didn't even bother to drop some KY with all those eggs.    Anyway, too much has been fixed that wasn't broke starting with HQ down times to the Vehicle gaydar. For some of us older folks, it's like when Ford went from the Mustangs to the Mustang Ghia, a great concept, to something unrecognizable and undesired.

[Max]

GV Dar, one of the reasons I just cancelled my subs.

Sorry to see you leave the game Maddog. You were always a snoutful of giggles. <S>

[popeye]

Yep, that was me in the TigerII and a M3 with sups. It was a waste to bring it up but wanted to prove a point. Wasn't long before there were 6+ peeps involved in the search. Those guys didn't even bother to drop some KY with all those eggs.

That was a hoot!   

 

[Dundee]

Yep, that was me in the TigerII and a M3 with sups. It was a waste to bring it up but wanted to prove a point. Wasn't long before there were 6+ peeps involved in the search. Those guys didn't even bother to drop some KY with all those eggs.    Anyway, too much has been fixed that wasn't broke starting with HQ down times to the Vehicle gaydar. For some of us older folks, it's like when Ford went from the Mustangs to the Mustang Ghia, a great concept, to something unrecognizable and undesired.

Sadly your not the only one who thinks that way, nor are you the only one who has left this game for all those reasons......and I'm sure there will be more in the future

[Devil 505]

Bunch of guys quit a combat game because it's harder or them to avoid combat. That's addition via subtraction in my book.

 

[Zoney]

Observe, adapt, overcome.

[Dundee]

Observe, adapt, overcome.

We do...........then they change the game, enough is enough

[wil3ur]

I still say, the way the majority of people are playing now days avoiding any combat, bailing at the first sign of adversity, changing where an attack is going because there's defenders...  hiding and spawn camping to show how 1337 your skills are etc... that we need a co-op arena with drones that only do loops like the offline arena so all the guys can get together, club seals, sneak bases without opposition, and avoid combat at all costs while still looking cool to their buddies.

I think this would solve all the current complaints.

[RODBUSTR]

 want easier gc v gv or ac v gv. simple.........less trees.