Active Players

[Eagler]

As stated they can't purchase their advantage in AH so they go where they can

AH takes way too much time and dedication to get good at that the average medicated ADHD subscriber wants to invest..

Yes some are prettier than AH but their a2a isn't any better and that is all that matters to some of us

Eagler

[Spikes]

He could have used the opportunity of the Steam launch to add in a FTP subset of planes in the Melee.
He chose not to because he doesn't want to.
That is his choice, but it is an intentional choice he made, so no, it was not all completely out of his hands.

He made a conscious design decision.  Would it have made the difference? No way to know now.  But it was, by a vast majority, the single most common complaint on the Steam page.

I've got no idea how much work it would take to re-code whatever has to be done to allow accounts without a paid subscription to access the arena but only have select planes available. I suspect it isn't easy and wonder if even if there was a desire to do it, if it's worth the work to appease words on the steam page.

[DonWayne]

You would have to start with one or two planes with nurfed guns. Then buy your way to being good like in war thunder.

I beg to differ, in WT premium planes are still BR rated accordingly, they just offer a premium boost, skill still takes the cake

[CptTrips]

I've got no idea how much work it would take to re-code whatever has to be done to allow accounts without a paid subscription to access the arena but only have select planes available. I suspect it isn't easy and wonder if even if there was a desire to do it, if it's worth the work to appease words on the steam page.

I didn't comment on the difficulty.  Since he wrote the whole game himself, I would assume it is within his capabilities.

I stated I didn't know if it would have made a difference.  I do believe it would have avoided the most common complaint and confusion which immediately turned into a feeling of bait-and-switch.

What I was pushing back on is that everything was out of HT hands and he was a helpless waif and the mercy of the winds.  He could have made a different decision.  He made a choice not to.

I think WT (which I don't like) did have a deeper understanding of a new customer psychology and how to play them to get the most subscriptions possible.  I don't like micro transactions, but I do think they were smart to support a subset of FTP planes.  Many players probably started out thinking they would only ever stick to the FTP and eventually they slowly convinced them.

When AH started out, they made a really bold step at the time to go flat rate because they realized the hourly model they used to do was dying or dead.  They saw the writing on the wall and took a big risk with flat rate.  They sense the market had shifted.  It paid off. 

I don't think they have the same insight (or no longer are willing to take the risk) that the simple ole two week trial and then subscription is dying as much now as hourly rate was then.  WT realized that and adjusted.  AH hasn't.

[Lusche]

You would have to start with one or two planes with nurfed guns. Then buy your way to being good like in war thunder.

That not how War Thunder works at all.

[Lusche]

I think WT (which I don't like) did have a deeper understanding of a new customer psychology and how to play them to get the most subscriptions possible.  I don't like micro transactions, but I do think they were smart to support a subset of FTP planes.

I wouldn't call it  'a subset' of free planes - almost all planes (& tanks or ships) are free. And the smaller subset of premium objects don't let you magically rule the battlefield.

[Eagler]

Issue with free to play planes in MA is that no one flies those early planes in MA now..for good reason, most die in them repeatedly...

Imagine the new guy cruising around in the 109e only to get killed in two seconds by the ah vet in the 190D..

It may make them quit even sooner than 2 weeks

Eagler

[CptTrips]

I wouldn't call it  'a subset' of free planes - almost all planes (& tanks or ships) are free. And the smaller subset of premium objects don't let you magically rule the battlefield.

Point taken.  I knew that had some amount of FTP, but I'm not knowledgeable on the whole system.

[Spikes]

What I was pushing back on is that everything was out of HT hands and he was a helpless waif and the mercy of the winds.  He could have made a different decision.  He made a choice not to.

I don't think anyone said he was helpless or that he is/was not capable of making the change. Again, only he knows how much work it would've taken to completely rework how a portion of the game works to appease the wording on the steam page.

[CptTrips]

Issue with free to play planes in MA is that no one flies those early planes in MA now..for good reason, most die in them repeatedly...

Imagine the new guy cruising around in the 109e only to get killed in two seconds by the ah vet in the 190D..

It may make them quit even sooner than 2 weeks

Eagler

You think that's worse than thinking there is a FTP portion and then being told that there isn't once you've installed?  (Well not in a sense they would accept as FTP.)

I think a noob is going to die in a EW plane as fast as in a pony.  It would be a while before they could even make use of a higher performance plane.

And there are players who would even have fun just flying goons with troops\supplies or M3.

Anything to lure them into not uninstalling as soon as they get that two-week trial and then subscribe message.  I suspect at the point they get that dialog popup, 99% decide on the spot to uninstall before they even get to the arena. 

What other solution do you have to put sufficient players in the arena?  More player videos?  Hand out some t-shirts at an airshow?

The biggest problem with AH now is lack of warm bodies in the arena.  FTP helps keep WT populated while they try and convert subscriptions.

[CptTrips]

rework how a portion of the game works to appease the wording on the steam page.

Another way of phrasing that is to satisfy the current market's product expectations.

No law says you have to, but no law says people have to play your game.  You may not care how players reacted, but those reviews are written in ink and do the game no favors going forward.  They will continue to warn away players who read them for years to come.

Anyway, I don't care.  Believe what you want.  It would probably be too late to make a difference now anyway and the Steam launch is water under the bridge.

[Dadtallica]

What about people like me who like the game as it is including the size player base?

[CptTrips]

What about people like me who like the game as it is including the size player base?

Then you are in luck.

[DonWayne]

I must add that War Thunders premium planes are more fun to fly in most cases. There's always something special about them that makes them worth the money, I've spent $35 on a single plane before, the DO 335 B-2, an absolute beast of a warplane, would be fun to see it I AH

[DmonSlyr]

Well here's the thing:

It's not a bait and switch necessarily in the sense that any of them could have opened a custom arena and had players fly in there all for free right? You see, that's exactly what H2H was, which is what lured me into the game. For some reason match play arenas like many other games just haven't picked up speed. Is it because it's on another tab on the top of the clipboard and no one recognizes it? They only see the MA with #s and think that is the only place for online game play.

Those guys should have opened a custom arena and brought all of their friends but I guess didn't care enough to figure it out? Which is strange to me because so many other games have dedicated severs for matches.

The MA is just not for everyone. The special events hardly get recognized on steam. I can't even remember if I even read anything about them in the comments. I don't think any one gave them a long post about their greatness. I just dont understand why match play style arenas haven't taken off here? I do miss the h2h style of play and it was great for newbies, but it seems no one understood them when steam popped and they all thought the Main Arena was it. The MA is extremely tough for new players who don't understand the game and timing of it all yet.