Where'd everyone go?

[atlau]

I think something that many players are missing is the feel of being part of a larger war effort where even a new guy can accomplish a minor task but still help accomplish an objective.

When I first started playing something as simple as killing the radar and pulling away defenders to the deck and away from the town as a mission came in right behind gave me a "purpose" in AH even though I'd rarely get a kill. Or flying as bomber escort and tying up interceptors even if unable to kill any of them was rewarding as it gave a WW2 vibe. In many ways I miss those days

[CptTrips]

So ignore my whole post a pick a piece of it.

My post as a whole stands.

I'm not trying to ignore or pick apart your post Shuffler.  I'm just pushing back on the common idea that the evaporation of players from 700/night peak to the current paltry numbers is just caused by those lazy kids nowadays that don't have an interest in WWII.  You aren't the only one who has proposed that theory.  There are many around here that cling to that idea.  I'm not trying to pick on you in particular.

I understand the comfort in that way of thinking.  It absolves the need for any scary changes.  It justifies keeping things just the way that always have been.  Nothing needs to be improved or changed; its just the fault of those damn lazy kids!

At the current rate, I suspect AH will be well under 100 players/night in two years if the trajectory has not been altered. 

Do you expect that trajectory will magically alter itself without any significant changes?  Or are you just resigned to that outcome? 

[Max]

<< At the current rate, I suspect AH will be well under 100 players/night in two years if the trajectory has not been altered.  >>

It's pretty much at that level now and I don't see the possibility of a turnaround unless another gaming company, or equity investor, steps up and does a major makeover of the game. How likely is that to happen? Electronic Arts bought out News Corp, which owned Kesmai (Air Warrior) and did what with the game? Some bean counter decided the numbers (read:dollars) just weren't there. EA shuttered the doors and Hitech Creations had a sudden bump of several hundred new subscribers. Add to that the dawn of the new internet age, and player numbers continued to climb until 2009-2010. Numbers plateaued for awhile and in the last few years, have slowly begun to dwindle. Why they left, where they went...it's been discussed and enumerated to death.

Where we go from here, only Dale knows for sure but my guess is that HTC and the players are in a slow, steady holding pattern until the time comes when the overhead and expenses outstrip revenue. I for one will continue to pitch in my $14.95 @ mo until the lights go out. Let's just play for fun, enjoy the beatings (received or administered) and perhaps say a prayer for a disrupter to come along and shake things up in a good way.

<S>

[Shuffler]

Last 2 days I have had some good fights with Stig and several others. Great fun.

[The Fugitive]

Last 2 days I have had some good fights with Stig and several others. Great fun.

The point is,your already hooked as are a number of us. The  game needs something to  bring in new players, and something to help KEEP new players. If things dont change its only going to be us players that are already hooked and Im sad to say, we seem to be dying off.

[Shuffler]

I came here. You came here. We stayed. New folks don't come here. New folks don't stay.

They are far different..... even if some think they are not.

[The Fugitive]

I came here. You came here. We stayed. New folks don't come here. New folks don't stay.

They are far different..... even if some think they are not.

And back then we were getting new planes and vehicles often. Now we are not and we dont get new players and we dont keep new players. Could there be a connection? I'd say yes, but not the only issue.

If you have a nice hotel on the beech and you never renovate the rooms and it gets all run down, are you going to get new people in? Are people going to stay? Nope. With social media once the word gets out that its crap you have to work 3 times as hard to get them back. The same goes for the game. Its getting run down and has had a lot of bad press on social media. They have to work that much harder now to get players in and to keep them

[redcatcherb412]

The point is,your already hooked as are a number of us. The  game needs something to  bring in new players, and something to help KEEP new players. If things dont change its only going to be us players that are already hooked and Im sad to say, we seem to be dying off.

WWII online with their basic F2P population seem to draw a lot of new blood. They do acknowledge that some subscribers that like the equipment from early war and drop the subscription to continue to play free is an ongoing pain. But, the pain is offset by the many that play free, draw friends in and quite a few bite the subscription bullet to get the candy ie:mid-late war equipment.

From a company perspective I guess the ratio of free players and bandwidth impact vs cost would be a number crunching issue the game owners would have to keep a check on.  Whether that would work for HT would be a poser for him if he ever deigned to try a different F2P model.

It seems the entry into steam started well until the F2P players ran out of 2 weeks and dropped it since the only other option was the full subscription. WW2OL seems to hold on to their green players longer which bolsters game play, but no income until the player becomes so hooked they subscribe. Their basic $5 monthly sub  and a  premium $15 helps too. Not saying that model needs to be tried, but if things die off it is an option to play with. Seems like there is a constant call for longer F2P for AH to try to hook them longer.

The learning curve for both AH and WW2 platforms is quite difficult and benefit by the longer free play time to learn.

[CptTrips]

Last 2 days I have had some good fights with Stig and several others. Great fun.

Hey I had a great time in the last scenario.  Most fun I've had in years.

And both those anecdotes are completely irrelevant to the continued player evaporation. 

I guess you are trying to say it doesn't matter if the numbers keep falling because you can still sometimes run into a good fight, but that is sad, wishful thinking.  The good  fights get harder to find and sustain as the population continues to dwindle.  At some critical colony collapse trip point all the rest will leave at the same time, or HTC will just pull the plug.  Then you will have no good fights.

I not saying that to say all is doomed.  I'm saying problems seldom get solved by people sticking their heads in the sand and angrily denying any problem exists.

The players haven't changed so much as the competitive landscape has.  There are soooo many bids for their limited gaming time and budget.  Companies have to compete for that share much harder now than they did in 1999.  Companies have to be flexible and agile to keep up.  Companies that refuse to adapt, wither.

The Market's preferences are always in a state of flux, and it's never the Market's job to adjust it self to your product.  It's the other way around.  If you want the business, that is.






 

[Tripp]

My boss is an ex-games journalist, likes IL2 and Warthunder. He'd never heard of Aces High. It just needs circulation to a new generation of players and numbers will fly back up. Content releases help, then you have something new to shout about.

Your Boss may be young and not particularly focused on games with the ancient subject matter, NP! I'm interested in your idea of spreading the word among younger participants. What about you and he comes up with a concept or two towards this goal. I for one would be willing to generate content, images or create some web ads if there was some enthusiasm toward the project. Frankly, I've seen this before over in Warbirds and it never got off the ground because seasoned players didn't want to be bothered with newbies or were just plain lazy and would not engage. This all with approval from the AH management could help. 

[Shuffler]

ROTFLMAO


The game is good. I really can't remember a time when lots of planes were added. Early on they added a plane here and there as we had so few.

Just so you know.... nothing we say here is going to change things. HT has to make the decisions. We are along for the ride. Enjoy the moment and fly. Let HT worry about the game.... we pay him for that.

[Lusche]

I really can't remember a time when lots of planes were added. Early on they added a plane here and there as we had so few.

In tour 1 AH had 17 planes. Following chart shows the number of additions per tour over the years:

[Shuffler]

In tour 1 AH had 17 planes. Following chart shows the number of additions per tour over the years:


(Image removed from quote.)

Well done as usual.

[Overlag]

I came here. You came here. We stayed. New folks don't come here. New folks don't stay.

They are far different..... even if some think they are not.

so you are happy playing with only 20 other people?

[Shuffler]

so you are happy playing with only 20 other people?

For game health it needs to meet certain numbers.


To answer your question.... I can only fight so many at a time.

I am not worried about whether or not there are people in another area.