New players rarely hit the forums let alone people that haven't subscribed yet, most the people here have been here for years.
Outside of overhauling the game into AHIV I think the only thing that can fix declining subscriber base is pricing. HT would have to rethink the price or come up with other pricing options like maybe 6
months for 75$ one year for $100 or something like that.
Not many players want to pay $15 a month for a dated game with a low player base when there are a lot more modern and competitive options out there.
I would also go as far as to poll people why they left the game. Was it Price, Time, Bad player experiences, Technical issues and so forth? See if there is anything "Fixable".
Me, I have time issues. My stay at home daddy days are gone and I must remain gainfully employed until retirement or I win the Lottery. I currently have a huge backlog of games I haven't touched (Phantom Liberty) and I barely have time to play my main Sim let alone AH3 IL2 Arma3 MSFS Xplane etc. (Note AH3 is the only one on my list that has a monthly subscription)
I can't justify making a $15/Month donation for a game I don't play and wouldn't play but a few times a year.
Ya I get it. You're not "wrong".
Everyone has their own reasoning, I'm not sure there is a blanket answer. Frankly I don't like blanket answers. <shrug> I can run polls, but I can also predict reasoning to a point. WAY too much drama negative on the bbs and 200. We hit an ugly peak with YKW, it will take a lil time to get that washed down the drain. The number of threads and incidents on 200 was way to much negative. Unfortunately, many of the attacks have been towards me and then me responding. There was one issue that could not be let go on. IN some cases I had to have my part in it. Many of those former players who came here to use it as a dumping zone while they mind perfect manners in their new game are gone, for now. Right now, as things are calm and a scenario is about to pop is when we should try to draw return players in.
What we have most is return players. Common question is how the numbers are. Numbers breed numbers. Last year when we/I were reporting number rises on bbs, they numbers rose more. If we're telling people numbers suck, they may not even step back in the ring. I studied this last yr. Reporting rising numbers helped a lot. Reporting sinking numbers had the reverse effect.
I'd like to see reporting numbers on nights when they are above 110. Something I should get back to.
I'm looking at it as not having AHIV. But looking to improve numbers to justify the work, >IF< it were possible to happen. It's the return players I tend to target. Most common question I see besides numbers is "is that game still running?".
Marketing is a science.
IMO $15 per month complaint (.50 cents per day, the price of one happy meal) is a bit over blown. I think this applies more to those who do play multiple games. I only play one game, so 15$ is a sneeze.
I remember last yr I was told I'd never increase much in numbers, which is exactly what they are when I started right now. We went from 112 to 160-200. Doing zero and the YKW nonsense we dropped back down to where we started. I've recently help a cpl new players too.
I guess what I'm saying is,lets refrain from negative post about low numbers and broadcast when they are high. It's just a tweak.
I totally get the limited time thing, my job is bat-sht crazy on hours. I hit retirement Feb1. I need something to do, so I'm selfishly hoping I/We can get things a little back in order so I/we have something to do.
That said, there was NO WAY, I was going to advertise and bring new/return players just to see the YKW nonsense and chase them off. Right now is a good time to make another attempt.
Remember, I worked on AW until the last minute. I have nothing to lose but time to try it again. <shrug> plus it keeps my mind active, a form of therapy I guess.
