Originally posted by Nash:
Hmm... I *think* what Pyro is saying is not that there aren't enough players to have two arenas... but that with the player base the size it is, no encouragement should be made to split the existing base up into two arenas.
Hi Nash....
I agree, I think that's what he's saying as well, but I also disagree with his basic business premise.
It's flat rate, so who cares whether someone flies or not.
I haven't flown AH in over two weeks, albeit I have logged into the MA, looked around and left due to the same old fantasy MA environment, which forces me to fly and fight against planes of the same type I'm flying. I also have a short patience threshold (call me old and crotchety) for being mixed in with a whole bunch of new guys continually typing "what's this game all about". For me, it completely blows any kind of immersion into AH as a WWII air combat simulation. As a result of this, plus some other issues we've seen lately on-line on the BBS, I have given serious consideration to canceling my account on AH until (or if ever) someone in HTC realizes that multiple diverse arenas build a customer base, not necessarily restrict its growth. Scenarios or CM run events where I have to be someplace at a certain time and date, just don't fit well into the nature of my day job. I need the flexibility of being able to log into an arena on demand.
So, to get my virtual flight sim fix, I've actually been spending $2/hr flying the new WWII allies versus axis arena in WB, which is more of what I personally prefer as an environment setting. I've been having a great deal of fun and hope that they continue with the experiment as their numbers jumped dramatically when it came on-line.
A caveat......just because my personal needs are not being met with the current arena structure it doesn't invalidate HTC's marketing approach, except if over time they lose enough virtual pilots like me who decide that the generalized MA isn't their preference. If time drags on and they don't offer an arena as described, I do believe they will start to see a drain of members who want in essence what hangtime is asking for. I think his request is reasonable and if there was an arena here and now on AH, with settings geared to the WWII realism (allies versus axis), I wouldn't be typing this message contemplating resignation, but be flying AH instead of WB. Yes, the numbers probably would be smaller in both arenas, but overall I would bet the total subscription base would be higher. In business terms 2+2 could equal 5 with two arenas geared to different player skills and demographics. IMHO, I feel it's a shame that such a fine WWII based simulator with great plane/environment graphics, FM and gunnery modeling, plus a terrain editor coming on-line shortly, is wasted by only offering a single arena free-for-all approach. Even Quake and Unreal Tournament RPG on-line venues offer different environments for different tastes. Finally, it isn't that difficult to set up an arena that's already there and empty much of the time to fit this WWII profile.
Regards,
Badger
Looking for a different kind of environment to discuss your favorite on-line flight simulator?
http://www.egroups.com/group/flightsimsonline [This message has been edited by Badger (edited 08-02-2000).]
