saw this today lol
The following was just emailed to every Warbirds and DOA account holder for which we have a valid email address. It will soon appear on the Web page as well:
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Dear Warbirds Player,
This email is to announce our future plans for the Warbirds community and explain upcoming changes to pricing that will affect Warbirds customers. While formulating these changes we have considered our current and future player base, your suggestions and comments and the overall goal of being able to provide the most detailed, realistic and fun online multiplayer flight simulation on the market today.
We are pleased to announce, to those previously unaware, that iEN's former CEO J.W. "WildBill" Stealey is back in the CEO position. His commitment and enthusiasm for Warbirds is unparalleled and that means great things for Warbirds and the community! To begin with, each week on Thursday afternoons expect to see your favorite Warbirds development team members flying in the virtual skies; here's your chance to shoot down WLDBIL, ICEMAN, DEVINE and the rest of the iEN crew. WLDBIL will soon be accepting sign-ups for "Kill-Bill" where you can fight him one-on-one for a FREE month of Warbirds! (Limited to the first 5 each month. Then you can't do it again for 12 months or until WildBill cries "Uncle.") We are also planning special events to begin in March that include prize and t-shirt giveaways, the return of KIL-ME and more. Also on March 4th, the setup of the current Air Combat Arenas (ACA) in Warbirds 2.77r3 and WarbirdsIII will be expanded to include 1 bomber and field captures.
On March 4th, 2002, WarbirdsIII will be released into "paid production". The March 4th release of WarbirdsIII will include the new KAGA aircraft carrier with player manable guns, new planes, MAC OSX support and a host of other advancements. Since the March 2001 Open Beta release of WarbirdsIII there have been over 300 fixes and improvements, many of which are detailed in the changes.txt file in the WarbirdsIII folder. The entire Warbirds team is committed to producing the best simulation possible and many more additions and improvements are already underway including the Tunisia terrain, completing the plane set, improving strategic gameplay, texture improvements and more.
Members of the newly enacted Player Development Corp. have already added new special effects and new aircraft skins suitable for online play and are poised to provide even more exciting player created content for our favorite sim. In addition, our CM's who host player run events have new tools to enhance realism and gameplay. We now have CL's (players with "*" in their handles) to assist pilots online and as always our elite Trainers (players with "=" in their handles) are available to provide expert flight instruction and guidance.
Very soon we will provide you with details of how to participate in our new "Tell a Friend" recruiting program. If a current player gets a new player to sign up for a Warbirds paying account, iEN will credit the current player's account based on which type of account the new player creates. For example, if the new player signs up for an unlimited $24.95 account, iEN will credit the referring player's account with $24.95. We are excited about giving our current customers the recognition they deserve for sharing the Warbirds experience with others.
On March 4th, when WarbirdsIII is released into "paid production", the pricing structure will change as follows. Please note that no plans will be changed automatically and billing of the new rates will not affect current subscribers until their first billing date after March 4th:
A new $19.95USD plan will be introduced. Subscribers who choose the $19.95 plan will have 15 hours of "free" access to all arenas in Warbirds 2.77r3 , WarbirdsIII and unlimited access to all arenas in Dawn of Aces and other ACA- type arenas that will be up soon. The 15 hours are calculated by cumulative time spent in ANY Warbirds "pay per hour" or "charged" arena (all arenas except for the ACA and Training in Warbirds 2.77r3 and the ACA and Training in WarbirdsIII). A popup will remind $19.95 players if they are about to enter a "pay" arena. After the 15 "free" hours, players will be charged $1.99 for any additional time spent in any "pay" arena.
Current subscribers on the $24.95USD plan (unlimited) will see no change in their billing or subscription rate. You will be able to access and play an unlimited amount of time in any arena in Warbirds 2.77r3, WarbirdsIII and Dawn of Aces.
Current subscribers on the $9.95USD plan will have unlimited access to the Air Combat Arenas (ACA) in Warbirds 2.77r3 and WarbirdsIII and unlimited access to all arenas in Dawn of Aces and other ACA-type arenas that will be up soon. This plan also provides 5 hours of "free" access to all "pay" arenas in Warbirds 2.77r3 and WarbirdsIII ( all arenas except for the ACA and Training in Warbirds 2.77r3 and the ACA and Training in WarbirdsIII ). The 5 hours are calculated by cumalitive time spent in ANY Warbirds "pay per hour" arena as described above. A popup will remind $9.95 players if they are about to enter a "pay" arena. After the 5 "free" hours, players will be charged $1.99 for any additional time spent in any "pay" arena.
In Summary:
1) Best Plan-The Platinum Plan: $24.95 unlimited play in all current arenas! Best for all WarBirders!
2) NEW Gold Plan- $19.95 per month for 15 Free hours. $1.99 per hour after 15 hours of play in any charged arenas. Unlimited access to ACA arenas.
3) Silver Plan- $9.95 per month for 5 Free hours. $1.99 per per hour after 5 hours of play in any charged arenas. Unlimited access to ACA arenas.
Most of our players will see little or no effect nor will they have to make any changes to their accounts. This is an effort to provide a lower cost, fly a medium amount, $19.95 Plan for some of our mid level, regular players and to provide a low cost, no hourly charge easy arena for bringing in new players (the new Air Combat Arena with a bomber and field capture)
Warbirds undoubtedly has the finest community of any massively multiplayer online game. With your continued support and valued input Warbirds will continue to soar high above the competition.
WarBirds III: Best Simulation of 2001 - Mac Game Database
WarBirds III: Best Online Simulation for 2001 - Simulation News
WarBirds III: 5 out of 5 stars September 2001 - PC Pilot Magazine
"Online Fight Sim of the Year" 1999 and 2000 - Dogfighter.com
"Best Online Flight Sim" 2000 Runner Up - SimHQ.com
"Excellent Online Multiplayer Combat Simulation" 1999 - FlightSim.com
WarBirds "Online Game of the Year" 1997, 98, 99 - PC Games Magazine
"Online Game of the Year" 1997 - Computer Games/Strategy
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To change your plan on March 4th, or if you wish to cancel your subscription prior to that date, please follow the directions on the web page at
http://www.ient.com/warbirds/support.html Please remember that iEN will *NOT* automatically change any player selected plans and that any changes will not be made until your next scheduled billing date. If you wish to cancel you need to specify *WHEN* you want the account canceled (immediately, 2 weeks, on next billing date, etc). As soon as the new plan is available (but no later than March 4th) we will notify you.
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Iceman iEN
Community Events Manager
[This message has been edited by Iceman iEN (edited February 20, 2002).]
IP: Log
