How have we lost so many people to this wonderful game?

[Lusche]

I am always curious as to how many folks one person can fight at a time.

A lot of people if you don't limit the concept of "a fight" to pure 1v1 dogfighting.
What held me here for years, even as a lone wolf type of player, was the dynamics of a huge persistant battlefield with hundreds of players and dozens of squads I fought with and against in a myriad of different ways.
I wasn't just fighting by yanking my stick in a duel vs a single player. I was fighting by learning my opponents strategies, by trying to guess their next moves, studying the map for their possible targets, getting to know the modus operandi of those famous landgrab squads & alliances.
Also, fighting those scenario like huge raids was especially fun for me, in particular those escorted high altitude bombing (B-29) raids (or escorting them myself). Oh the memories of a three sector full darbar creeping across the map... 

[The Fugitive]

A lot of people if you don't limit the concept of "a fight" to pure 1v1 dogfighting.
What held me here for years, even as a lone wolf type of player, was the dynamics of a huge persistant battlefield with hundreds of players and dozens of squads I fought with and against in a myriad of different ways.
I wasn't just fighting by yanking my stick in a duel vs a single player. I was fighting by learning my opponents strategies, by trying to guess their next moves, studying the map for their possible targets, getting to know the modus operandi of those famous landgrab squads & alliances.
Also, fighting those scenario like huge raids was especially fun for me, in particular those escorted high altitude bombing (B-29) raids (or escorting them myself). Oh the memories of a three sector full darbar creeping across the map... 

THIS!

Fighting isnt about a 1 vs 1, as so many have said in the past "Thats what the dueling arena is for!". Its about the WHOLE GAME! GVs vs GVS, air 2 air, air to ground, missions, tactics, strategies all of it combined. That is what make this game better than any other.

Unfortunately to see that kind of action you need better numbers.

[atlau]

Agree with you snail man and fugi

[FLS]

I have been playing Aces High for quite a long time... from late 2000? or early 2001? I had way more fun in the original free HTH before it was turned off than I ever had in the Main Arena. There were regulars playing HTH almost every night. Some of them were subscribers. Some of them were top-notch pilots known to the Main Arena and forums. The one good thing about the main arena was the incredible number of people flying/fighting at the same time. The current numbers are horrible. Too low to have the kind of fun the Main Arena is supposed to provide. In its present state, I rarely play AH. If I log in nearly every night, I only have fun maybe 1 night in 10. Whereas I can have fun every single minute of every single night playing DCS World or even the IL-2 Battle series.

While the VR implementation is top notch, I don't see Aces High changing in any way useful or fun to me. When my prepaid 6 months runs out, I will certainly cancel. Unless there is some kind of radical change/massive growth in the community, I doubt I will ever subscribe again.

The players who aren't having fun in the MA have options but they keep going to the MA instead of fighting like minded players in any sort of arena they'd like to set up. 

[Ciaphas]

The players who aren't having fun in the MA have options but they keep going to the MA instead of fighting like minded players in any sort of arena they'd like to set up.

It's interesting, when the MA would see 350-400 people, you would see aspects of the different options available to players. Let's be honest here:

1. Massive squad vs squad battles. I've joined in on several of them wearing the colors 91st and C-hawks.
2. Dueling against other pilots in huge three sided fureballs that had no other purpose than to duel it our with your sworn enemy chess pieces.
3. Selecting vital enemy targets, coordinating with other squads and setting out to break our targets. Almost always getting bounced by the enemy and having to fight our way in and fight our way out.


It's not that the MA doesn't offer these other types of play, it's that the people left for a more "exclusive" experience. I wonder how many people there are that play in scenarios, FSO, other special events that never enter or rarely enter the MA.

Can anyone get that information?


 

[FLS]

In reference to H2H, I believe the limit was 32 players and they usually has less than that. That experience is still possible.

[Shuffler]

The point is that if you are fighting three, your hands are full. If you are fighting five, many start whining about being ganged.

We all would like to see more in the arena. In the end though, with lower numbers, how many can you fight at once? Using numbers as an excuse is just that... an excuse. 500, 300, 150, just an excuse for the real reason a person is not playing.

People get tired of games, in cases where games hold on to folks a long time they lose them to old age and passing away. Some just can't get the hang of it or feel they don't want to play anymore because they can't keep playing at a certain level. In the end most use the numbers excuse or as part of the excuse. They are part of the numbers....

People spend so much time talking about numbers that they are infected with that instead of actually flying. It's like a disease on the BBS and unless something is done about that, the host may not survive.

[Ciaphas]

Not understanding the " using numbers = a crutch" bit. It a simple fact that the other game play types were strong in the MA when the population was larger.

Moving forward,

Petitioning individuals who shifted from an MA existence to an FSO, SEA existence would offer a tremendous amount of information.

I think Hitech should off current members of the board a survey. For members who play the game but have zero presence on the BBS, link the survey in a CB slide out that requires the player to acknowledge, accept or reject participation in the survey.

One interesting things about numbers, they never lie. They may tell you something you dislike but they don't lie.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Slate]

  I had Fun Last Night! I Flew the Midway Snapshot with maybe 14 total players in arena?

 Went to the MA, I had fun last night! 122 players in arena. Killed, Died, saluted.

  This cup of tea is not for everyone and getting players that try it to subscribe because they had fun is essential. I would not mind paying my $14.95 and having Noobs pay $9.95 for 6 months.
  When Billy Mays sold a product it had to be at the proper price point or it would not sell. $19.95 was the top. What is the price to sell AH3 with all the F2P games out there?

 

 

[CptTrips]

The point is that if you are fighting three, your hands are full. If you are fighting five, many start whining about being ganged.

No, Shuffler, that is not the point.  That is your point.  Did you even read what Lusche wrote and make an honest attempt at understanding what he was saying?

We all would like to see more in the arena. In the end though, with lower numbers, how many can you fight at once? Using numbers as an excuse is just that... an excuse. 500, 300, 150, just an excuse for the real reason a person is not playing.

Are you saying that Lusche is lying about the reasons he closed his account?  Or are you saying he is just delusional and you understand better than him why he closed his account?

There is certainly a natural attrition to any game from simple burn-out.  But it doesn't sound to me that is the reason Lusche left.  The numbers, scale, complexity, and variety of gameplay devolved to a point where he made the decision that it was no longer the MMOG he had started paying for.

And old player burn-out doesn't explain why new player conversion rate has gone from ~12%  to ~1%.  So next you will just insult the current market by calling them a bunch of skinny jeans millenials  who are lazy and want everything for free, don't care about WWII and need a haircut and a job!  That might make  you feel better, but it doesn't solve the numbers or revenue problem.

People spend so much time talking about numbers that they are infected with that instead of actually flying. It's like a disease on the BBS and unless something is done about that, the host may not survive.

Perhaps you should just provide a Soviet-approved list of happy-thoughts that comrades are allowed to express without fear of being denounced by the Aces High Political Commissars?

[CptTrips]

A lot of people if you don't limit the concept of "a fight" to pure 1v1 dogfighting.
What held me here for years, even as a lone wolf type of player, was the dynamics of a huge persistant battlefield with hundreds of players and dozens of squads I fought with and against in a myriad of different ways.
I wasn't just fighting by yanking my stick in a duel vs a single player. I was fighting by learning my opponents strategies, by trying to guess their next moves, studying the map for their possible targets, getting to know the modus operandi of those famous landgrab squads & alliances.
Also, fighting those scenario like huge raids was especially fun for me, in particular those escorted high altitude bombing (B-29) raids (or escorting them myself). Oh the memories of a three sector full darbar creeping across the map... 

Common Lusche... you only need yourself and two other players for all that.  Five players would be a gang-bang!  Stop making excuses.   

[TwinBoom]

Free H2H is where I started:

When I seen commercial on history channel I logged on to a main arena to where I was brutally murdered over and over.
I grew frustrated very quickly and almost quit. So I decided one day my love for warbirds was great I logged on again to H2H, it was 8 players Free I believe where I was subjected to same butt whooping's but at a slower pace.
8 player allowed me to learn ACM and hone my skill at a slower pace. Many thanks to Lazer and Shufflers beating me in my old MK5 Spit vs their 38's. I wore grooves in the runway taking off but, I got better with smaller group. As I got better it helped me get hungry for more Targets thus made me pay for subscription. My time in H2H helped me to survive longer in the mains. Then with H2H Training I could further it in main arena without the overwhelming frustration that new players encounter. Im still not he best but, for the most part I can and most will admit I can hold my own in my B-38.       


Mike aka TwinBoom

[Shuffler]

Just so some do not get confused here, as they often like to press their agenda, I never referenced Lusche in my above post. What I stated is my opinion of what I see.... just like everyone else.

Probably the biggest players on now are capture the base types. No problem. Just run with them awhile. I tend to have fun whenever I am on. I prefer fireballs but can adjust.

Twinboom those days in H2H were a blast.

[CptTrips]

Just so some do not get confused here, as they often like to press their agenda, I never referenced Lusche in my above post.

No, you ignored what he said, and went on to claim that anyone who says the decline in numbers has harmed gameplay is just trying to make excuses.

[popeye]

Very late to this discussion, but (based on the online complaints that I was hearing at the time) I'd guess that a lot of AH2 players left during the transition to AH3 because of issues that have since been (mostly) fixed:  trees and clouds.  If the reach-out-and-grab trees, the twigs-that-stop-a-tank, and the frame-rate-killer-clouds had been refined to the present modeling, the transition would have been a lot less painful.

Not sure how to get those who left to give it another shot.