Follow up on "Were did everyone go"?

[FLOOB]

According to HiTech, a lot of new players try Aces High every month.  But they don't stick around more than 15-30 minutes.

We need to make Aces High more sticky to new players.

I think the majority of all new players are going to leave the game within ten minutes no matter what happens. I think the problem is that we need a bigger net.

Maybe if the AH YouTube channel was about wwII aeroplanes instead of about AH the game.

Ads on the history channel too expensive? Make your own history channel on the YouTube. Nobody watches tv anymore anyway.

[CptTrips]

I was fairly certain your interests and mine ran the same direction, AH-wise.

Why would you assume that because I have a preference to simply look at the reality of a problem with cold hard logic and not through a haze of delusional feel-good my-favorite-pony-rainbow wishful thinking, that I don't still want to see AH succeed.

Problems are not fixed by closing your eyes, holding hands, singing Kumbaya, and thinking happy-thoughts.

Problems are fixed by looking at them unflinchingly, no matter how ugly, formulating a solution, then executing with relentless determination.

If you don't have the courage to even face the problem, then you can't even start.



 

[CptTrips]

Too lazy. Once they saw they could not buy themselves king.... gone. That and no free handouts.

AND they won't stay off your lawn!   

[CptTrips]

Sorry bro.  This game is dated and would need many more than 400 players to save it.

Coogan

Well that 1% would be 400 new players every 90 days.  That would be 1600 new subscriptions in a year.  I don't know how you do that, but it that isn't salvation, it would do until salvation comes around. 

[Arlo]

Why would you assume that because I have a preference to simply look at the reality of a problem with cold hard logic and not through a haze of delusional feel-good my-favorite-pony-rainbow wishful thinking, that I don't still want to see AH succeed.

Problems are not fixed by closing your eyes, holding hands, singing Kumbaya, and thinking happy-thoughts.

Problems are fixed by looking at them unflinchingly, no matter how ugly, formulating a solution, then executing with relentless determination.

If you don't have the courage to even face the problem, then you can't even start.

What is with you? No, seriously. Did I manage to trip your 'Arlo is against facts' button when all I've been saying is that hardly anyone in the community actually has access to them? I'm not the fellow you've suddenly decided to imagine me to be. Have a drink and relax or sumpin'. 

[CptTrips]

What is with you? No, seriously. Did I manage to trip your 'Arlo is against facts' button when all I've been saying is that hardly anyone in the community actually has access to them? I'm not the fellow you've suddenly decided to imagine me to be. Have a drink and relax or sumpin'. 

I know you mean well.  I really do.  And Shuffler too.  And you are both really loyal to the game, and that's great.

However, ......   Nevermind.  More power to you, brother.

[Lusche]

I think the majority of all new players are going to leave the game within ten minutes no matter what happens. I think the problem is that we need a bigger net.

Maybe if the AH YouTube channel was about wwII aeroplanes instead of about AH the game.

If the retention rate is to small, a bigger net won't you do any good. Bigger nets are more expensive, no matter where you lay them.
Youtube, that ain't free either. Just think how many unique viewers one would need (only a tiny fraction would ever even look at the AH website) to make a notable impact we all dream of.

[ccvi]

it has to be action packed, all else is secondary. Did you play Battlefield 1 ? Everyone running around with a submachine gun

Same thing in AH. Everyone is flyin the Brewster and other obscure planes that were produced only in small numbers.

[ccvi]

If the retention rate is to small, a bigger net won't you do any good.

Maybe it's not the size if the net, but what gets stuck in it. If it catches a kind of people who are clearly not going to be interested, size does not matter.

[Lusche]

Maybe it's not the size if the net, but what gets stuck in it. If it catches a kind of people who are clearly not going to be interested, size does not matter.

But the retention rate of people who are interest is what's being too low. People who are downloading and installing the game are not staying. That's the problem.
So if only 1 out of 200 downloaders actually subscribes, the net is quickly getting inefficient, as only one in hundred(s) getting caught by the net will even consider to download.

The Steam launch was really an eye opener to me. It brought buttloads of interested people to AH (not just 'gamers'). They did not stay.

[FESS67]

But the retention rate of people who are interest is what's being too low. People who are downloading and installing the game are not staying. That's the problem.
So if only 1 out of 200 downloaders actually subscribes, the net is quickly getting inefficient, as only one in hundred(s) getting caught by the net will even consider to download.

The Steam launch was really an eye opener to me. It brought buttloads of interested people to AH (not just 'gamers'). They did not stay.

I think this has been done to death many many times and I do not remember ever seeing a reasonable discussion or brainstorm around why potential subscribers do not stay.  What I do see a lot of is accusations of the 'potentials' being too lazy, too stupid, not interested in WW2, not willing to pay...etc, etc.  OR, maybe it is HTC's fault because he does not do X, Y, Z...etc, etc.

There may well be elements of truth in all of the discussion points or it may all be Internet blowhards spouting BS from their own partisan viewpoints.

My view is that the community.....yes, YOU GUYS...are not helping.  I have never, in a combat game, experienced so much running, hiding, sneaking, <insert preferred adjective> as I did in here.  No wonder people do not stay, your welcome is to hammer them on the fields, pick and run them in the air and hide in bushes to snipe them on the ground.  THEN, you scold them for not knowing what to do, how to do it and to add insult to injury you accuse them of being lazy when they throw their arms up and say "I am out".

HTC has a part to play for sure in the way he allows combat to happen, or not happen, in the environment he creates however I do not think any of you should be surprised at the lack of players when playing is simply not fun for MOST of the people that play it.  Remember, you have lost many many veteran players as well so the issue does not just lie with the new guys.

[CptTrips]

But the retention rate of people who are interest is what's being too low. People who are downloading and installing the game are not staying. That's the problem.

Exactly.  Hitech stated himself that new player conversion rate is the primary problem.

Don't mean to jump on ya but on this rare occasion I want to point out how mistaken almost all people on this board are about the dynamics of AH.

In the last 100 days aprox 40,000 people have installed Aces High, 20,000 new people have created accounts and entered an arena. Of the people entering the arena 65% are gone and do never reenter by the 10 minute mark of being in the arena. 75% are gone after 30 Minutes.

So when some one makes a claim that changing to 3 hours will have a measurable impact on attracting new subscribers it makes me 

Don't begin to think I don't that I ignore the issues.
The release a few weeks ago was a huge change to how the mouse system works, in an attempt to improve the 75% leaving before 30 minutes of play.

So were the new training video systems. Also not only about 15% of people who try AH have Joy Sticks. Right now Aces Highs biggest issues is conversion rates of players trying the game to players subscribing. For some reason I am not setting the hook quickly enough that a player is having fun when first trying the game.

We used to run between a 10 to 12% conversion rate from entering an arena to subscriber. My goal currently is to substantially raise my current conversion rate which is around 1%. And I do not think the driving forces of that conversions are things like how long between country changes.

My next attempt is to try get free Match play populated. I am doing so by creating tournament structures. With prizes in the future.

HiTech

So with an inefficient conversion rate, advertising costs become proportionally more expensive because it costs more to acquire each customer.  At some point it is a financial loss because they cost more to acquire than they will return in revenue, on average.


However, it seems we are getting a lot of eyes on the product.  It just seems that the current market, whether you like it or not, is not finding the current feature set compelling enough to subscribe.  So we can just insult them, and that may sooth our ego and make us feel better in the short term, but that doesn't solve the problem.  People need to decide, do we want to feel good short term, or do we want the solve the problem?

Or maybe we just want to stick our heads in the sand and pretend the problem doesn't exist?  Because that too can feel good...in the short term.

 

[Arlo]

So we can just insult them, and that may sooth our ego and make us feel better in the short term, but that doesn't solve the problem.  People need to decide, do we want to feel good short term, or do we want the solve the problem?

Or maybe we just want to stick our heads in the sand and pretend the problem doesn't exist?  Because that too can feel good...in the short term.

Your recommended practical solutions that you highlight in your post without personal insult and purely without ego are somewhat underwhelming, sir. I've read it three times now and couldn't  actually break the code and find them. Humbly and with hat in hand, could you present them plainly for all to see? 

[The Fugitive]

I think the first thing that needs to be done is make mouse and game pad flying as easy as joystick flying. When you log in you should be able to control a plane first flight off the runway with either setup. The majority of gamers dont have a joystick and flying with a mouse or gamepad right. ow takes hours of tweaking and  hunting for  information on HOW to set it up so it is usable. Use other games as a model to make a default setting so these guys can launch in the first 2 minutes with out any work.

Second set a free set of planes allowed in the MA. If you can fly for the first month or two for free with a limited set you may get hooked and upgrade.  It also adds numbers to the arena which down the line will add more numbers.

third,  add content. use social media to build anticipation of a release every 3 to 4 months of a plane, vehicle  or new map.

Hows that for practical solutions?

[Arlo]

I think the first thing that needs to be done is make mouse and game pad flying as easy as joystick flying. When you log in you should be able to control a plane first flight off the runway with either setup. The majority of gamers dont have a joystick and flying with a mouse or gamepad right. ow takes hours of tweaking and  hunting for  information on HOW to set it up so it is usable. Use other games as a model to make a default setting so these guys can launch in the first 2 minutes with out any work.

Second set a free set of planes allowed in the MA. If you can fly for the first month or two for free with a limited set you may get hooked and upgrade.  It also adds numbers to the arena which down the line will add more numbers.

third,  add content. use social media to build anticipation of a release every 3 to 4 months of a plane, vehicle  or new map.

Hows that for practical solutions?

I like most of it but I'm not sure HTC can practically add a new model every season of the year. That's a heavy workload for a shop his size (my unskilled opinion). Maybe 6 months? That's half the rate you suggest but a lot faster than current.

Someone mentioned earlier about target marketing the history geeks of the flight sim community by creating professional looking media clips, each one featuring a plane already modeled in AH. That's 100 right there. Adding vehicles and ships would make even more. Say, for instance, the P-40 with public domain original footage featuring the most interesting information about its capabilities and the units and pilots that flew it. As the video clip plays it can slowly begin to transition to how it was modeled for AH and have the historical portion switch back and forth with in game clips.

As stated, the product should be presented as professionally as possible with narration by volunteers with the most appealing 'voice actor' qualities. If any music is incorporated it should be from the WWII era. The game logo should be the only logos used other than possibly squadron markings for that specific plane.

Bearing in mind that this would be a community driven project, we would still need to present them for AH's approval and initial presentation but once the official OK is given I would suggest players share them on their FB pages, Twitter and whatnot to increase their circulation.