Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: anton on October 06, 2004, 09:37:31 AM
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Grunherz asked why we hijacked his thread, so I made the one Hitech locked out of respect for Grunherz request.
It was not in fact a duplicate. But of course if anyone actually took the time to read what was posted, they would be able to decifer the situation for themselves:rofl .
Anton:aok
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LOL, apparently he didnt even read all of the one he locked. Classic! I can hardly wait for the next kneejerk response.
Anton
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Why do you insist on wacking the "knee" ?
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I thought I was respecting Grunherz by evacuating his thread, I really did think it was the right thing to do.
I made an announcement in Grunz thread that I was leaving Grunz thread and if anyone wanted to continue to bash me & my opinion to make another thread. But they chose to continue in Grunz thread. So out of respect for Grunherz I made my own thread.
It looks pretty clear that my opinion is not one hitech agrees with, therefore it should not be stated. When will I learn?
Anton
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INspirational as always Anton. ;)
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To be honest Anton, I don't think HT's initial remark was all that respectful either. To enahnce his remark, maybe he shouldn't bite the hands that feed him.
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Anton: Ill try to explane the problem and let you in on a little online gamming busness knowledge.
To begin with, every one has an opinion but it is my view that opinions with no information behind them are not worth stating.
Simple facts of online gamming.
1. Very few people play an online game for an "extended" period of time.
Customers of any online game have a life cycle.
We could create the perfect online game per any one person’s view. After a period of time that player playing "HIS" perfect game will still get board.
Game play changes can extend the player’s life cycle, but no mater how great of game you create, players will still leave. This is a simple fact and is not changeable. People tend to think if some one left that it is the game's fault. Well in reality it is just the life cycle and not the fault of the game at all.
We have knowledge of the general life cycle of a player, and do our best to extend it, but at some point you reach the point of dimishing returns.
2. Given the above to create a thriving and growing online game, or even a stable player base, you have to continualy attract new customers.
To have a new player subscribe there are basicly 3 hurdles they need to be accomplished.
1. Download AH
2. Create an account and try it.
3. Subscribe after 2 weeks.
If any of the steps are not accomplished you do not have a new customer.
Tracking the number of people going threw each step lets you know how well you are doing on various issues.
Step 1 is primarly by advertising and also the easy of finding the AH download ,download size, easy of instilation.
Getting to step 2 is effected by stablity and compatablity issues, and trusting of service issues.
Subscribing is effected primarly by game play issues.
Once again we track how we are doing on each step of getting a new subscriber.
As to your basic opionion, the reson you got a snippy remark from me , and why I also relocked your thread. Is because basicly the opion you stated would be best just kept to yourself. Because it realy is a totaly uninformed opion.
I realy can't even begin to discussue your opion and debate it with out publishing all our propritary numbers. And I have no desire to inform the world of exat numbers or the online bussness. It would be of no benifet to HTC to publish them.
Hence I am traped to not being able to even disscuss your opion. And to put it bluntly it is realy none of your bussness what HTC does to grow.
Now there are also issues that players have opionions about that can be informed, these are basicly game play issue. When people state there views on what they like of certian game play items. They are valid and somewhat informed. At least they know if they’re having fun or not. But even these opinions are based on a very limited view, they typicly address axtending the life cycle of a player, but quite often at the detriment of a player converting from step 2 to 3. Both issues are valid but you can not ignore the new player issue just extend the life cycle.
In retrow spect I wish I had handled your oringnal post differently. I should have either 1 posted a responce to it simalar to this one. Or just deleted it for thread stealing/flame baiting.
Btw the resone it was flame bait is that it was an opinion that had no knowledge or foundation behind it, it was just an unfounded viewpoint. Like I said before, eveyone can have an opionion, but lots of opions are best kept to yourself. Because all that stateing them will do is create an argument that will in the end accomplish nothing.
HiTech
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Thanks for the insight about online game customer behavior HiTech, it was an informative read.
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Well...everyone is allowed to get snippy once in a while. You're right HT, we are not the business owners and therefore not the decision makers as to which direction the game will go.
I know having played AH for a couple years, small company, generally good player base, often gives you the feeling that you do have a stake in something that really isn't yours. I know the true business decisions are made by you and your staff, and you have been very gracious in the past listening to suggestions.
Oh well...ending this here before I get gushy and someone calls me a fanboi.
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hitech- Thank you for providing a responsible reply. For the record, I based my opinion on the 3 years of gameplay I have in AH & the 3 years of play I had in AW. I didn't realize just how long past my average player life expectancy I had gotten.
I truely hope that KJ is right & that more players will fill the map & essentaily confront the horde. Then I can continue being long in the tooth.
Anton
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"I feel like a number"
Statistically speaking of course....
IKON
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you left out the 4th hurdle:
Player survives confrontation with significant others about new found hobby and is allowed to continue playing.
AH is a great test to see who really wears the boxers in the family.
Remember the picture of the "drug monkey" pushing the lever? I'd love to see one with a j/s and a headset.
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Originally posted by hitech
Simple facts of online gamming.
1. Very few people play an online game for an "extended" period of time.
Customers of any online game have a life cycle.
Well that's true, but there's more. The games themselves have a life cycle, and in many cases players leave because of changes in that life cycle, or because of changes in the composition of the player base over a given period of time in that life cycle, and the behaviour of the player base in that given period of time.
In both AH and WB before that, I have heard the seasoned vets proclaim that the glory days were in the 0.81 beta (substitute 0.81 with any positive decimal value less than 1.0 according to which game you played in beta).
All these games are in a pricing life cycle. I saw somewhere that one of the old DOS sims was $6.95/hour! Clearly, anyone paying that much would have to be very enthusiastic indeed. But times change. The game life cycle continues. No more do we pay hourly. AH has gone from being $30/month to $14.95/month, so now it's twice as affordable. Guess what that means for the composition of the player base? (http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/29/29_1_6.gif)
A game mutates from having a small player base to a much larger one if the game is any good. In the beginning, the participants would have been mad keen with "this new game" that's just arrived. There might be only a handful of players, but life is good, and the players all know one another...
...but then, as the masses arrive, so do the bulletin board whines about gameplay. "Perk this; move that; harden key targets; change XYZ flight model; gunnery sux; give us more maps; move the bases around; ;"...
Suddenly, the game that the vets played in beta no longer exists. Have those vets changed? No, probably not. But many quit anyway when the game undergoes what they feel is one upgrade too many, or because the player base and/or the gameplay have changed beyond recognition from what they recall in the glory days.
I have fond memories of Brand-W c1998-2000, apart from the June 99 2.6 debacle.
But then came WB3. Here is a chronology of the events surrounding its release: - It was hyped up to the nth degree during development.
- The focus was on "awesome" new graphics, but did bugger all about gameplay.
- In the time leading up to deployment, we were shown little tidbits - screenshots - like a dog being thrown a bone from the table - to keep us slavering...
- It was delivered late - much, much later than originally stated.
- After delivery, many players had enormous difficulties getting it to work.
- After delivery, a hard core of players became obsessed about graphic effects, and "skins" - as if nothing else mattered.
Does this ring any bells?
Players began leaving WB3, and many came here. Now many have left here, and who knows where they'll end up. Perhaps in the beta version of another fledgling flightsim. They'll be in there, having a great time, and maybe even the gameplay will bear some resemblance to a WW2 mission...
... but how long will it be before that game's BBS sees requests for target "hardness" to be changed, gunnery changes, damage model changes? How long before someone says "Waaah, I want an LA7"?
...and so the game cycle continues........
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Hitech I really enjoyed the Q & A session at the Con. One of the reasons is the insight I often get from you and pyro on your perspectives of the gaming world and why you all do, (or don’t do) some of the things you do. So often I don’t understand and for the life of me can’t figure out your logic concerning game play issues. Then you guys explain it and it is a sobering experience for me. This post has been one of those enlightening threads due to your taking the time to explain. I for one really appreciate it. :)
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CO CM daddog
Squad Operations (http://events.hitechcreations.com/squadops/index.php)
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Noses in the wind since 1997.
daddog@hitechcreations.com
(http://www.332nd.org/cdaddog.jpg)
I DIDN'T Auger I just misjudged the
the amount of air space I had, while I
was calculating the amout of bullets
I had left to the amount of low
bombers there were. And figuring
the arc of the bullets off the whitecaps.
So watch that augering stuff, thank you very much. - doobs 8/2004 Squad Operations
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Well Stated Daddog.
Thats for that insight HT.
Its amazing what you guys do, even without the "Flippy Thing"
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Anton....go stand in the corner.Dont make me spank you.
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Well Doc, you know me. Occasionally I gotta make em see the forest in between all the trees.
Anton
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Anton......Lets just say I know you ;) Leave it at that :P
:rofl
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Alright, who let Doc out of his padded cell again... Get back in your hole Doc!! :p
Bazi
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NO!!!!!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!I WONT go back and you cant MAKE me!!!! Hey!!!Get your fargin hands off me you bastages you.
Rassum frassum.:rolleyes: