Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Bruv119 on September 22, 2006, 03:25:47 PM

Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 22, 2006, 03:25:47 PM: Personally i like the new changes and I agree with HT's decision to split the arenas.

However, during GMT/Aussie hours there are some glaringly obvious problems.

1. There arent enough players to fill the 3 arenas.
2. People flock to where the numbers are.
3. This always ends up as the late war arena.

Question: why did all planes get re-enabled in the Late war arena?

to me this makes no sense as it is now exactly the same as the old MA and everyone will carry on flying there as before and ignore the EW, MW arenas. Except the guys who want the new challenge and better dogfights.

I'm open to peoples views on how to get around this maybe have one arena with rolling planesets or forced EW,MW, LW arenas By map reset.

Many people who fly these hours are getting seriously cheesed off...

Bruv
~S~
Title: Re: Non USA players
Post by: Clifra Jones on September 22, 2006, 04:30:01 PM: Quote
Originally posted by Bruv119

Question: why did all planes get re-enabled in the Late war arena?

Bruv
~S~

People wanted it.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: rogerdee on September 22, 2006, 04:30:34 PM: you can say that again i love geting on and finding 100 people shared over 3 arenas,even better when u go tom one and it had 30 players and your side is still out numbered 3 to 1
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 22, 2006, 04:55:36 PM: Well clifra just leaves me puzzled why split it into time specific planesets and then not stick to your guns about the whole change.

I guess its down to our community to ditch its association with chess pieces and switch to the side with no players to provide a fair fight with however many people in each arena (thats if your actually looking for a fair fight and not score whoring). The new ENY restrictions should make fighting 5 on 20 ok.

Bruv
~S~
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hitech on September 22, 2006, 05:10:42 PM: Bruv119: I agree that is an issue.

The problem to solve, obviously some people belive , or are having more fun flying early war,mid war, or late war.

Seems to me that the style of play for them are out waying the need to be in one arena.

All I ask is you give it some more time.

I have some ideas on a comprimise at off peek times, but Im not totaly sure how the off peek times will settle out in the end.

I apoligize to the off peek players, because the recent change wasn't realy aimed at that time frame.

If you have ideas other than (turn it back to what it was) I would be glad to hear them.

HiTech
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 22, 2006, 05:26:24 PM: Thanks for replying hitech.

Some players have suggested a rolling planeset with one MA this may be difficult to implement for obvious reasons. (Constant ENY changes, perk rides etc)

The question i was trying to get at was if the late war arena was made late only this will hopefully encourage the more experienced player to go play EW or MW. Whether this can be turned on and off for peak times i dont know.

All it needs is about 30 guys in EW or MW to make it interesting. At the moment its more like 10, 10 and 80 in LW. If the player numbers stay like that everyone will fly LW. Any restrictions on where people can fly will just cause more aggro.

If we give it time and get anywhere near the levels of USA players i'm sure the current setup would work just fine.....

anyone else have any bright ideas?

Bruv
~S~
Title: Non USA players
Post by: knuckels on September 22, 2006, 06:35:49 PM: offer higher perkies for flying EW that may lead a few more your way bruv.......~~knuckels~~
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Sketch on September 22, 2006, 06:47:09 PM: I am with you on this Bruv...

Live in Italy, well for about 45 more days, but anyways... Log on tonight and the is like 30 in EA, 57 in MA and 247 LA1 and 40 in LA2....
Start out in MA and enjoy the fights. The numbers die out a bit so a squadie and I jump to the LA1 and all we get is hordes of 190's 109's and Tiffies..... boring..... Oh well, I guess I know which arena to not go into. Rams, Hoing, Vulching, and porking.... no fun...
Early and Mid Arena's are the best. And when those numbers drop I notice alot of it is the EuroAsian guys... oh well, stateside here I come... :aok
Perk the La7 and Spit 16!!!! :t
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 22, 2006, 06:48:04 PM: do people really care about perks though knuckels?

Its the ones with thousands already that will most likely be in the EW due to finding a nice fight.

Just more concerned with the majority flying LW in my time zones. The two main reasons I think they are is because they want to fly where everyone else is. Or they NEED there comfort planes. Hopefully over time they will disperse but i doubt it.

One of the best ways to create a fight in the other arenas is to fly for the underdog regardless of chess piece. I think I will start to follow this policy with my squad. But others may want to do the same......

I would hate to see the mid arena to be populated by bomber/milkrunners just because they have no opposition.

Bruv
~S~
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 22, 2006, 06:54:23 PM: Quote
Originally posted by Sketch
Log on tonight and the is like 30 in EA, 57 in MA and 247 LA1 and 40 in LA2

Those numbers are fine by me sketch still disproportionate (<--- is that a word) would be nice to see some of those 287 guys filling up the EW,MW arenas.

My post was trying to highlight the earlier non usa times when the numbers are 100 or less total. for example

10am GMT- 5pm GMT
5am EST- noon
aussie evenings

Obviously HT wants to please his biggest customer group but I would say AH is a global community.

Moving to America can't be the only option can it????

Bruv
~S~
Title: Non USA players
Post by: bj229r on September 22, 2006, 07:22:02 PM: Our squad (47 Ronin) jumped to nits in EW for squad night last night--(alas, I was out of town) we are all die-hard Rooks, but you have to make allowances now and then. I expect it would be kinda neat fighting against the guys I've been flyin with for 6-7 years
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 22, 2006, 07:30:32 PM: Well with the new hour change policy and the fact we can fly different countries in each arena I hope more people follow your lead bj229r

The community can only become stronger if we all mix with each other a little more. Rather than whining about hordes or ENY restrictions because your squad is stuck on the team with 40 more players MOVE.

Simple.

Bruv
~S~
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hogenbor on September 22, 2006, 11:42:11 PM: Quote
Originally posted by bj229r
Our squad (47 Ronin) jumped to nits in EW for squad night last night--(alas, I was out of town) we are all die-hard Rooks, but you have to make allowances now and then. I expect it would be kinda neat fighting against the guys I've been flyin with for 6-7 years

It always appeared strange to me that people have loyality for a FICTIONAL country in a game. Yes, I know that people, whole squads even, have been marked traitors after switching sides to balance gameplay. Weird.

Anyway, the summer is ending so I have started playing a bit again. I have the numbers problem too, here in Yurop. With the small maps it isn't that much of a problem but it's a bit like the DA I guess, you fight the same guys over and over again and it's not really feasible to get anything organized. That gets boring too.

I have always been in favor of a rolling planeset, but the majority here seems to demand their favourite ride every time they play.

Don't have a solution, just curious how it will turn out.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Rolex on September 23, 2006, 01:03:01 AM: In a perfect world, filling the arenas would be the best solution for HTC and customers, rather than a technical solution. It's a pretty unique business where customer satisfaction increases by having more customers for customers to shoot at.

For every 100 US-based players, I don't think 70 non US-based players would be an unreachable ratio, for a variety of reasons.

You have enough on your plate right now and this isn't the type of idea you were asking for, so I think it's inappropriate to elaborate on something unsolicited.

I just can't think of a technical change that would solve it, other than having random AI aircraft to shoot at.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Mugzeee on September 23, 2006, 01:20:55 AM: Quote
Originally posted by Bruv119

Just more concerned with the majority flying LW in my time zones. The two main reasons I think they are is because they want to fly where everyone else is. Or they NEED there comfort planes. Hopefully over time they will disperse but i doubt it.

Bruv
~S~

This is a very intriguing paragraph indeed.
"Comfort Planes" is a very intriguing phrase as to its relativity.

Every arena has its "comfort planes".

Let me preface this reply for clarification as to where I stand on the change issue. I have only been against it from the start as to its possible effects on groups of players who have spent years growing close together while engaging in game play. It's a family kind of thing if you will.

Having said that, let me say that I am all for players finding out what it is like to play the game the way I started out playing roughly 10 years ago. It was AirWarrior for SVGA right before AW for windows, followed by AWII, and then AWIII and so on. So the AH2 EW and MW is a very familiar feel for me. But I think we will be hard pressed to pull the larger majority outa their faster rides to experience the early rides if it means long slow flights to the fight and then back to base.

Relative to the old MA with fast rides...the EW will certainly feel slow (boring.) to a lota folks. I personally don’t mind it too much, although I am not content to fly there on a regular basis.

I guess what I am saying is this. If we can get the impatient generation to experience the "Fight" of the early rides without the boring flight getting to said fight, we might be able to start towards your goal.

I think map design will go a long ways towards said goal. If I could design a map that I thought HTC would adopt for the EW I would in a heart beat.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: LYNX on September 23, 2006, 04:28:34 AM: Quote
Originally posted by hitech
Bruv119: I agree that is an issue.

The problem to solve, obviously some people belive , or are having more fun flying early war,mid war, or late war.

Seems to me that the style of play for them are out waying the need to be in one arena.

All I ask is you give it some more time.

I have some ideas on a comprimise at off peek times, but Im not totaly sure how the off peek times will settle out in the end.

I apoligize to the off peek players, because the recent change wasn't realy aimed at that time frame.

If you have ideas other than (turn it back to what it was) I would be glad to hear them.

HiTech

I'm a Brit and off peak split by 3 = less targets + more time to contact. It's slow...... we all agree.

Personally I know of a beat up old truck parked in a field by the side of the M6 thats bill board space is 3.95 per week <$5,50>. A picture of a Spitfire shooting a ME109 and in big letters http://WWW.FLYACESHIGH.COM is all thats needed.

M6 = couple of million vehicles a month. Built 35 years ago and begging for a fourth lane. Arterial motorway Joins the M1 linking middle England to the North West. Passes Birmingham . Middle England Britains largest manufacturing base. Motor industries, heavy industries, aircraft industries you name it, besides all the McD's, call centers, Bank /Insurance HQ's.

Then again a full page add in the Sundays is a snip at $90,000.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Spatula on September 23, 2006, 04:41:36 AM: Quote
Originally posted by hitech
Bruv119: I agree that is an issue.

...

I apoligize to the off peek players, because the recent change wasn't realy aimed at that time frame.

If you have ideas other than (turn it back to what it was) I would be glad to hear them.

HiTech

Think i mentioned it before, but you know how you kick in an extra LW arena once the cap is reached, well how about doing something similar in reverse for off-peak times? Eg take servers away when numbers drop to a min of 2 arenas (one Mid-Late, the other Early-Mid) and use the perk system to balance those two with some tweaking?

So i guess my suggestion is as the numbers drop off, you close the MW arena and extend the time period the other two arenas cover to take up the years the MW arena used to. Then at a certain time or number has been reached, open the MW, and change the LW/MW and EW/MW back to LW, and EW respectively.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: stickpig on September 23, 2006, 04:42:16 AM: I'm in the USA but I love flying to the early morning hrs, so experience the same low #'s. this morning in MW it was me vs 9 Rooks for quite awhile.

MW seems to always have low players in it. I really thought that the MW was going to be the big hit, but for some reason alot of people ignore it.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: BlauK on September 23, 2006, 05:09:54 AM: I'd love to see some overlapping for the time period arenas...
1939 -----------------------1945

e.g.

-----EWA--+++|-----LWA--+++
-----MWA--+++

- free planes
+ perked planes

or with just 2 arenas (thinking the off peek hours)

-----EWA--+++
-----LWA--+++
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Noir on September 23, 2006, 05:22:32 AM: If the EWA and MWA switched to even smaller maps with maybe only 2 sides on them when the number are low (kindof H2H map), it wouldn't be hard to have a good fight and would make an interresting counter proposal to LWA
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Schutt on September 23, 2006, 05:31:57 AM: I think the solution is to find some sort of advertising channel in europe and australia, there are enough guys who would like to play but dont know the game i think.

Might be worth it for that to wait till combat tour kicked off... would target england/germany/spain.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Sketch on September 23, 2006, 05:47:04 AM: What about a bloody TT of FT with bases that CANNOT BE CAPTURED!! Logged on last night and couldn't even go in TT, only would have been a T34, but I still would have liked to have that option.... but the Bish had taken the enitre Island....
It is bad when you try getting away from the hordes and the flat out field porkers but ran into it last night. Oh well.... :rolleyes:
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Noir on September 23, 2006, 05:49:35 AM: Quote
I think the solution is to find some sort of advertising channel in europe and australia, there are enough guys who would like to play but dont know the game i think.

yeah but add non english characters ingame then, nobody from spain or other countries will stick to a game where they can't use their own language. A lot of euro players try the game but a few (rofl) stay.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 23, 2006, 06:06:01 AM: Great posts guys.

let me summarise:

1: New smaller maps were fights can be more easily accessible to low numbers.

2: Bridge the arenas to Early-Mid and Mid-late.

3. Look into a cheap, viable marketing solutions (good idea lynx)

4. Language packs for non english speakers (Japan FA has this, spanish)

Combat tour can surely be used to promote new customers who would then trickle into the main arenas to sharpen their skills.....

Bruv
~S~
Title: Non USA players
Post by: NHawk on September 23, 2006, 06:13:45 AM: Bruv, at first I was kind of surprised that everyone flocked to LW. To me MW has the best matched plane set of all arenas. Inherently I feel the German planes have the advantage in EW. By mid-war most of the allied planes were well matched to the German planes. By late war Germany was falling behind in both quality and quantity.

But then when all planes were enabled in LW, it made sense that everyone goes there. When they did that, they created a mini old style MA.

So, here's an idea for all arenas. What if you take the actual percentage of a particular plane that was made in WWII and apply it to the arenas? Something like the Tempest, we know about 800 were built. For arguement sake let's say that's 1% of overall fighter production in WWII. Apply a 1% limit in the arenas. So, if there are 150 people flying in an arena only 2 Tempests can be in the air at one time. Apply this to all planes and you pretty much even things out. This might cause people to explore the other arenas. And it would provide a more realistic fighting environment.

Or carry it one step further and enable plane sets by country. ie: Axis=Rooks, Allied= Knights, US=Bishops. That also might spread things out a little more.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Kev367th on September 23, 2006, 06:41:40 AM: Quote
Originally posted by NHawk
Bruv, at first I was kind of surprised that everyone flocked to LW. To me MW has the best matched plane set of all arenas. Inherently I feel the German planes have the advantage in EW. By mid-war most of the allied planes were well matched to the German planes. By late war Germany was falling behind in both quality and quantity.

But then when all planes were enabled in LW, it made sense that everyone goes there. When they did that, they created a mini old style MA.

So, here's an idea for all arenas. What if you take the actual percentage of a particular plane that was made in WWII and apply it to the arenas? Something like the Tempest, we know about 800 were built. For arguement sake let's say that's 1% of overall fighter production in WWII. Apply a 1% limit in the arenas. So, if there are 150 people flying in an arena only 2 Tempests can be in the air at one time. Apply this to all planes and you pretty much even things out. This might cause people to explore the other arenas. And it would provide a more realistic fighting environment.

Or carry it one step further and enable plane sets by country. ie: Axis=Rooks, Allied= Knights, US=Bishops. That also might spread things out a little more.

If they wanted to be in the MW arena, they'd be there.
Obviously they don't.
So why add 'blocks' to try and force them there, recipe for disaster.

Tempests are only available LW anyway, your argument has a serious flaw. It's not as though you could jump to another earlier arena and up one.
Same goes for all planes only available in the LW arena, all it would affect is the planes available in LW that are also available in EW and MW.

I feel for you lot over the pond though, this whole [cough] "change for the better" has affected you extremely negatively.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hogenbor on September 23, 2006, 06:58:53 AM: Quote
Originally posted by LYNX
I'm a Brit and off peak split by 3 = less targets + more time to contact. It's slow...... we all agree.

Personally I know of a beat up old truck parked in a field by the side of the M6 thats bill board space is 3.95 per week <$5,50>. A picture of a Spitfire shooting a ME109 and in big letters http://WWW.FLYACESHIGH.COM is all thats needed.

M6 = couple of million vehicles a month. Built 35 years ago and begging for a fourth lane. Arterial motorway Joins the M1 linking middle England to the North West. Passes Birmingham . Middle England Britains largest manufacturing base. Motor industries, heavy industries, aircraft industries you name it, besides all the McD's, call centers, Bank /Insurance HQ's.

Then again a full page add in the Sundays is a snip at $90,000.

Have to say I love this idea... the first time I visited the U.K it seemed to me that I ran into a small aviation museum every day... unintended. (I was testing sat-nav at the time). I guess lots of Britons will like the idea of Aces High.

If the add on that truck draws a lot of attention, you even might get some media coverage out of it.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Kev367th on September 23, 2006, 07:02:03 AM: Think I suggested some time ago they may consider donating a PC with AH2 on it to a museum, and include a skin of one of the museums aircraft in the game.
Sort of "you've seen the plane, now try it" thing, lot cheaper perhaps, reaches the right people also.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: bozon on September 23, 2006, 08:09:27 AM: There's a big market for AH outside of the US. The problem with AH marketing is that EU players (and Israeli players like myself) can only find this game by chance or through a friend.

I found it just by browsing the web, stumbling uppon simHQ.com and there I've read about AH with 2 weeks free trial. Pure, chance. No one I've spoken with where I live has ever heard of this game, though a few Israelies did play this game. A lot more have heard about WWIIOL and played it so I guess this is all about the ads. Also, AH is not listed in most MMO games lists on games websites and in very few sites under flight-sims, unless this is a dedicated sim website.

AH needs wider internet publicity on websites visited by non-US potential players. Emphesize the free H2H and free 2 weeks. This is a big "what the heck, I'll give it a try" factor that can do wonders in bringing in new players and players from different time zones.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hitech on September 23, 2006, 10:21:10 AM: Guess you guys didn't know we did do TV avertising in the UK with a 1 week test run.

I do like the truck add idea, if your inerested in helping coradinate it, Id be more than happy to buy the space at that rate.

Kev: have done that sorta thing also, realy dosn't work very well.

HiTech
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 23, 2006, 10:27:00 AM: I agree Kev a laptop with the game installed on it and a cheap stick is all thats required to get someone hooked.

Obviously Musuems and airshows are the key areas of interest in WW2 planes.

The only problem is how far do you go I would devote all my time to promoting the game in the UK if I was paid a nice salary :)

It would need some sort of voluntary marketing network.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Schutt on September 23, 2006, 10:28:05 AM: As bozon said internet presence is a good idea, need more reviews / places in the free download portals / places in the sim web sites / history web sites. I was really looking for an offline flight simulator that is halve as good as AH and found an online one, eaven better.

But at that time it was kinda hard to find and im not sure if its better now.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: rogerdee on September 23, 2006, 10:42:24 AM: when did you do the tv advert and which chanel was it itv channel4 or channel5 of a satalite tv?

i didnt see it if it was on normal tv i found this game by luck after playing around with combaft flight simualtor online and geting annoued at the few players per room
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Schatzi on September 23, 2006, 10:45:27 AM: I agree. I also think advertising is the way to increase the number in the off-peak hours.

Im not sure on the language pack thingy. IMHO, you simply NEED to have an at least minimum command of the English language to have fun and to even understand the game. I helped a few guys in the TA that knew zero English... never saw them again.... all the help files, additional help pages, info and tactic reviews etc are all in English, so is communication in game (outside of squad channels).

That said, i do not find it much harder to find a fight now then it was with the old system. Granted, now its spread out over three arenas, and you might have to log into each of them to look for a fight that suits you. But i dont see much difference to logging on to 70 people spread out over Trinity, 20 of those in TT, another 20 not in flight, some milkrunning a base way off.....

As for everyone migrating to the LWA in off-peak hours. Yes, thats just like the old MA... but i fail to see how thats different from changing the whole system back to what it was.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Rocket on September 23, 2006, 10:51:05 AM: I get caught alot of times with the same thing. I think over the years I flew with more non US players than US players or pretty close. My work sked is 24 on and 48 off. Now everyone is at work/school in the morning around the house so I get some free time to play. Back in the Beta days everyone flew rook/bish. There was always a fight it seemed like or a small furball somewhere. A few of us switched to nit to be the underdogs :D Had a ton of fun.

How receptive would people be if players = X then the arena shutdown for a few hours? IE. 90 players connected and only the LW open or the EW open or it rotated weekly? Or from a set time one of the arenas close for a few hours to help keep the players together? It is an interesting quandry.

S!
Rocket
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Schatzi on September 23, 2006, 11:04:12 AM: I disagree on closing down arenas on Euro times... why *force* people into one arena just because they fly Euro? Try that during US times and wait for the whines.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: mussie on September 23, 2006, 06:39:03 PM: How to increase player uptake an Aussie view point

Below is what I think would help, this is a quick rough and I add more later depending on how this pans out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First about me
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sex: Male
Age: 30
Internet Connection: Dialup
Location: Australia
PC: AMD semphron 2500 - 512MB Dual Channel DDR400 - 256MB FX5200 Graphics Card - 7200 160GB Primary Drive - 21" Monitor

How Did I Find Aces High:
I found aces High by searching on google looking for MMOLG

Why Did I Choose AH:
1- The free trial
2- No need to hand over my CC details for the trial
(I found WB first and would have downloaded it but it required my CC for the free trial)
3- Have always been a WWII fan
4- AH uses FE hit detection so my ping really does not affect my shooting
(I am on dialup so I was reluctant to play most online shooters cause of LAG...) This was a big part of my decision

Why Have I Stayed
1- FSO
2- My Squadies
3- The fact that I beleive I can trust the guys at HTC to ensure that there game is a fair as possable (ie cheats hacks ect)
4- Its (usually) dam fun
5- Accurate FM (At least from what I know)
6- Community (Yeah some of the community bites but there is a lot of good in it)
7- Player Numbers

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to increase the player base
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PC at Museums Museums, Airshows, Flight Schools ect: ect:[/B]
Bad idea (Sorry just my opinion)
Why:
- AH is to complicated for the first time user they will be put off

COLOR Flyer's at Museums, Airshows, Flight Schools ect:
Excellent Idea.
Why:
1- AH is unheard of in Australia
Proof: I work in the company of fellow geeks (Info Tech) and I have meet only a single person who knows of Aces High, and No one who has played it.
2- We have a number of airshows each year over here in Aus, you would get a exposure to the afficonardo crowd
3- The museum in Brisbane has a Spitty motor hanging on the wall, a small stand with the Flyers there would also attract attention
4- We have a museum with WWII GV's near the port a stand there would also be good.

NOTE: There is a RAAF base close to me (50km away) I think that the RAAF pilots would enjoy the opportunity to practice their skills with out killing each other....

What you need to advertise about AH
The flyer should advertise / include:
1- Include CD that has, the full download, a few movies ect. (too expensive ?)
2- Include a bussiness card that has the Web address ect (that way if they throw the flyer they can keep the bussiness card in there wallet)
3- Advertise: the fact that AH does not need a super computer to run
4- Advertise: the fact that AH does not need a broad band connection to play
(This is important as there are a Large number of Aussies that simply cannot get a better connection than Dialup because of government red tape)
5- Advertise the fact that AH has a realistic flight model
6- Advertise the fact that you guys have been doing this since the begining (CK, AW, WB ect)
7- Advertise the fact that AH has Ground Vehicles
8- Advertise the fact that runs 24x7

I personally would be happy to volenteer to help with distributing the flyers, getting contacts, ect. I also have a laptop (that can play AH but would be better with more ram) and could on occasion (Airshows perhaps? Not that I attend them much) setup a display with the video's running.

In saying all this you need to:
1- Remove the video from the main page or have a Dialup / Broadband option when you first connect.
Why Remove The Video: When I first found AH it was late at night, I was on my chitty dialup connection. I can tell you that If I had had to wait for the main page to load like I do now there is NO WAY IN HELL that I would have sat there......

2- Make the important links on the main page VERY visable:
- Forums
- Help
- Links to other sites

3- Update your links to other sites
Title: Non USA players
Post by: mussie on September 23, 2006, 06:55:04 PM: Additional to: Color Flyers
To allow you to advertise at places like airshows and the museum, perhaps you could offer to either:
1- Donate the first month's subscription (the museum would like that)
2- Advertise the Event / Place on the AH website

Additional to: What You Need TO Advertise:
Special Events:
You need to advertise Special Events. The flyer should have a basic description for each one.
Friday Squad Ops:
"Fly with you Aces High virtual squad in historic scenarios"
Aces High eXtreme Air Racing League:
"Compete in white Knuckle air races, Fly under bridges and through hangers"

VOX ALSO, DONT FORGET THE VOX
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 23, 2006, 06:58:46 PM: Agree with nearly all your points mussie.

More players out of US hours solves the arena problem.

Not to sure about advertising the fact the game can be played on dial up to everyone elses frustration though.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: mussie on September 23, 2006, 07:09:31 PM: Quote
Originally posted by Bruv119
Agree with nearly all your points mussie.

More players out of US hours solves the arena problem.

Not to sure about advertising the fact the game can be played on dial up to everyone elses frustration though.

What do you mean by "can be played on dial up to everyone elses frustration though."

Am I missing somthing ?
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 23, 2006, 07:33:23 PM: sorry mussie i was assuming dial up connections may lead to laggy players but if you can play fine then maybe im just stereotyping...
Title: Non USA players
Post by: mussie on September 23, 2006, 07:56:10 PM: NP
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Spatula on September 23, 2006, 10:02:45 PM: Totally agree with the advertising push. Like in Aussie, pretty much all New Zealander's (even the geeky ones) havent heard of Aces High. In NZ we have (proportional to the size of the country) a very big and well respected Warbirds movement down in Wanaka in the South Island. Every 2nd year they hold a classic warbirds show over Easter weekend at the Wanaka base. Crowds are HUGE. People from all over the southern hemishpere come to see it. The last one was held this year.
Just recently there has also been a sister show North of Wellington (where i live) which happens every 2nd year and alternates with the main Wanaka show which happens end of Jan next year i believe.
My point is, theres huge interest in historical aviation in this country, and thus potentially many customers. NZ is hardly a huge place, and only has 4 million people, but theres still potentially many hundreds of new customers out there waiting to hear of AH II, and most of those will be at those shows.

http://www.warbirdsoverwanaka.co.nz/
Aircraft:
http://www.warbirdsoverwanaka.co.nz/article_2006.asp?id=aircraft

and the Wairarapa show next year (web site under construction)
http://www.wings.org.nz/

These would be total golden advertising times/locations.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: bj229r on September 23, 2006, 10:05:18 PM: Quote
Originally posted by hitech
Guess you guys didn't know we did do TV avertising in the UK with a 1 week test run.

I do like the truck add idea, if your inerested in helping coradinate it, Id be more than happy to buy the space at that rate.

Kev: have done that sorta thing also, realy dosn't work very well.

HiTech

Great Idea! (ummm...just let someone else do the typing;)
Title: Non USA players
Post by: bj229r on September 23, 2006, 10:06:50 PM: Quote
Originally posted by Bruv119
Agree with nearly all your points mussie.

More players out of US hours solves the arena problem.

Not to sure about advertising the fact the game can be played on dial up to everyone elses frustration though.

I've always played on dialup--get about 180 ping..as long as it steady, is not an issue.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: mussie on September 23, 2006, 10:23:50 PM: Hows this for a start.... :)

BTW I sit on a ping of 350 to 400 an like bj229r said if its stable its all good...

(http://members.optusnet.com.au/vstrom/flyer/AHII_Flyer_v1.jpg)

EDIT: I the AH Logo there HT hope thats ok with you
Title: Non USA players
Post by: mussie on September 23, 2006, 10:26:16 PM: Looks good in B&W too

(http://members.optusnet.com.au/vstrom/flyer/AHII_Flyer_v1_BandW.jpg)

AHH CRAP I AM MISSING THE D OFF REQUIRED
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Halo on September 23, 2006, 10:50:08 PM: (quote) So, here's an idea for all arenas. What if you take the actual percentage of a particular plane that was made in WWII and apply it to the arenas? Something like the Tempest, we know about 800 were built. For arguement sake let's say that's 1% of overall fighter production in WWII. Apply a 1% limit in the arenas. So, if there are 150 people flying in an arena only 2 Tempests can be in the air at one time. Apply this to all planes and you pretty much even things out. This might cause people to explore the other arenas. And it would provide a more realistic fighting environment. (unquote)

NHawk, in all the years of debating equitable aircraft availability, this might be one of the most intriguing ideas.

Nevertheless, it might be a real bear to figure out, let alone make work.

It certainly could be ultra realistic. Which probably would lead to unhappiness with too many Bf-109s, P-47s, and other aircraft produced in the largest numbers, often by significant margins over rarer types.

Small numbers, using your examples, could be an even greater problem with small numbers of players, e.g., how many players would have to be in an arena before the first Tempest would be available if it could never be more than 1% of an arena's aircraft? Answer: 100 players to allow 1 Tempest.

So many players in actuality would never be able to fly certain planes.

Great idea, but not sure the varying numbers of players, especially when small, would support it beyond limiting most aircraft availability to the relatively few produced in the largest numbers.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 23, 2006, 11:00:12 PM: Heres a cheaper option that people could do tomorrow.

On your car get a sticker in the back window with the website address on......

"stay clear of my 6" or whatever cheesy one liner u can come up with
Title: Non USA players
Post by: FTJR on September 23, 2006, 11:25:15 PM: The language pack is a very good idea.

At the moment we see about 3-4 Spanish speaking players on our squad channel through out the night. ( how they found their way onto a monolingual Aussie channel is another story).

How about a spanish speaking section on the BB so that the more gifted lingists amongst the community can answer their questions and ease them into the game. Just a bit of that will keep a few and encourage others to join.

Anyone who has ever been to England would realise how absolutely proud/nuts/interested they are in WW2 aviation, so the truck idea would work wonders.

Ditto for the Germans (any broken down trucks out there Schatzi?, oops its Germany I forgot, nothing is broken :) )

How about extending the trial period, to 1 month. Does it cost HTC more money? If not, then an extra 2 weeks would give people who are frustrated and take a break after 10 days a few days to think about their experience then come back for another try.

My 2 bobs worth
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Schatzi on September 24, 2006, 03:47:43 AM: Quote
Originally posted by Bruv119
Heres a cheaper option that people could do tomorrow.

On your car get a sticker in the back window with the website address on......

"stay clear of my 6" or whatever cheesy one liner u can come up with

Hehe, nice idea!
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Nilsen on September 24, 2006, 04:04:55 AM: I found the game by chanse myself. Ive done my fair share of advertising for AH on some of our national online game sites in their forums. Dunno if anything has ever come of it. I think the average age of the players in this game is alot higher than the average age of the peeps that visits those gaming sites so im not sure its the best place to market it even if it is "free".

Maybe HiThech should put up some ads in retirement homes and senior citizen villages. I swear that sometimes when i was online I could hear the life support equipment kicking in in the background of VOX when some of you starts whining :D
Title: Off peak density
Post by: Tilt on September 24, 2006, 05:12:32 AM: The switch went from one to three arenas...............

The mid war arena is the lowest populated so I can only suggest that you drop the mid war arena during off peak hours.

Then in addition "target" the early war arena more accurately.

eg during European "peak" times introduce a BoB/early blitz plane set. (upto summer 41)

RAF & Fleet Air Arm

Spit 1
Hurri 1
Martlett (F4F)
Boston

Spit V (Perked)

Lw

109E
110 C
Ju88
Ju87

109F (Perked)

Utility and gv's

C47
Jeep
M8 (light tank)

No heavy tanks
No Amphibians

Your map would probably be Uterus and run early after noon (CT) week days

In Western Pacific peak times you would have a Pearl/ Midway set

Japan

Zeke
Val
Kate

USA

P40B/E
F4F
SBD
B17

Utility and gv's

C47
Jeep
M8 (light tank)
LVt2

No heavy tanks

Your map would probably be Small ND Isles and run in the Morning (CT) week days.

So each morning as Skuzzy has his first coffee (8:30) he switches EW to early PAC and at lunch (12:30) he switches to BoB/Blitz switching back to standard EW at about 16:30 when he also switches on the mid war arena. Which is how it stays for the week end
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Trikky on September 24, 2006, 05:34:26 AM: AH seems to fly below the radar of the gaming magazines over here (UK) while Warbirds gets a mention at least.

Search for a review at PC Zone (http://www.pczone.co.uk) and Aces High is listed as a PC game, publisher unknown, developer unknown, genre: Sim/Strategy though Warbirds has an admitedly old review (2001), screen shots etc and rates it as the best online flight sim to date.

Not being a marketing guru I dont know if PC games mags readers are the target audience but this seems odd to me.

Only other thing I'd add is the current USD exchange rate with GBP and EUR. It currently costs approx 26 pence a day in the UK and 39 cents a day in wider Euroland. Thats got to be a selling point, nothing costs 26 pence in the UK anymore.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hacksaw1 on September 24, 2006, 11:33:55 AM: My suggestion for the meantime is that when the number of players goes down for a sustained time period to a certain level, say 50 for argument, then the arena map automatically changes:

a) to two countries instead of three

b) to a smaller map with certain bases on each side that cannot be taken, or are very difficult to be taken

When the numbers increase beyond that minimum for a time period, the arena can change back to the larger three country map.

Best Regards
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Nilsen on September 24, 2006, 11:38:55 AM: So you want folks to get booted from their side and possibly plane when the numbers are reached then? Or if you log out and in again? What if you have teamed up with someone to do a mission and you disco. You then risk getting on another team when you log back in.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hacksaw1 on September 24, 2006, 11:54:44 AM: Hi Nilsen - well, Skuzzy changes maps every week anyway. So there could be a warning that a map change is coming in, like there is now.

As far as winding up under a different chess piece, don't think that's too big of a problem. But if a squad is in the arena and it gets kicked down in size, that might be more problematic.

The issue is that very low numbers in arenas make gameplay highly unsatisfying. So, the idea is to increase the concentration of players per side per square km. Smaller maps would do that, as would cutting out a country.

Best regards.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: SlapShot on September 24, 2006, 12:06:00 PM: Quote
Originally posted by hacksaw1
My suggestion for the meantime is that when the number of players goes down for a sustained time period to a certain level, say 50 for argument, then the arena map automatically changes:

a) to two countries instead of three

b) to a smaller map with certain bases on each side that cannot be taken, or are very difficult to be taken

When the numbers increase beyond that minimum for a time period, the arena can change back to the larger three country map.

Best Regards

Not slamming anyone in particular and anyones ideas, but ...

I don't think that a lot of people have a clue as to what it would take (coading) to make such changes.

Development of a change such as this would be huge and the architecture "failure" points are off the hook ... development such as this would take away from development of CT ... which I don't think HT is willing to do at this point.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hitech on September 24, 2006, 12:17:31 PM: SlapShot: Just curious how long you been coding?

HiTech
Title: Non USA players
Post by: 1epic1 on September 24, 2006, 12:23:26 PM: slapshot that wouldnt be hard to do honestly...all you have to do re-write which base gets which county and thats it...instead of 3 countries only 2 are accounted for...there are 2 country maps all over the H2H rooms
Title: Non USA players
Post by: SlapShot on September 24, 2006, 12:23:59 PM: Since 1978 ... started as a BAL Programmer.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: SlapShot on September 24, 2006, 12:28:43 PM: Quote
Originally posted by 1epic1
slapshot that wouldnt be hard to do honestly...all you have to do re-write which base gets which county and thats it...instead of 3 countries only 2 are accounted for...there are 2 country maps all over the H2H rooms

Then add the interaction with the databases and internal tables that contain all the information ... reseting databases in mid-stream along with the finicky-ness of databases ... not for the faint of heart. It can be done, but not without an extreme amount of coading, testing, tweaking, rinse and repeat.

I would think that the problem at hand is maintaining the integrity of the data ... without data ... this game is not a game. So, trying to switch an active arena and its participants between 2 and 3 countries, with regularity would be a nightmare.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: SlapShot on September 24, 2006, 12:52:01 PM: I would like to add that I really have no detailed clue as to how HT has set up this game ... I think I have an overall view, after having some very good conversations with him at 2 conventions, reading various posts by HT over the last 5 years.

I am not qualified to say what HT can and cannot do. I do know that there isn't anything that he CAN'T do ... same is true with any software application ... one just has to constantly determine the "return" for the "effort" when coading.

I was just trying to point out that when some think that, on the surface, something appears to be simple, when you look under the covers and the overall picture ... it's really is not that simple.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hacksaw1 on September 24, 2006, 01:13:22 PM: Hi Slapshot,

Yeah, I work in a leading telcom co that also develops SW for our platforms, including billing solutions for millions of customers. I'm not a programmer but my officemate is. I have an idea of how programming projects are conducted. Bottom line is, ultimately, profit. Hitech asked for suggestions to improve gameplay other than going back to the old MA. So, he may very much be willing to consider the outlay in resources to modify system performance in order to keep customers happy.

Best Regards,
Title: Non USA players
Post by: SlapShot on September 24, 2006, 01:38:20 PM: Quote
Originally posted by hacksaw1
Hi Slapshot,

Yeah, I work in a leading telcom co that also develops SW for our platforms, including billing solutions for millions of customers. I'm not a programmer but my officemate is. I have an idea of how programming projects are conducted. Bottom line is, ultimately, profit. Hitech asked for suggestions to improve gameplay other than going back to the old MA. So, he may very much be willing to consider the outlay in resources to modify system performance in order to keep customers happy.

Best Regards,

True ... very true.

And that is why I said ...

one just has to constantly determine the "return" for the "effort" when coading.

... and only HT can determine that in the AH world.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: LYNX on September 24, 2006, 01:51:25 PM: Quote
Originally posted by hitech

I do like the truck add idea, if your inerested in helping coradinate it, Id be more than happy to buy the space at that rate.

HiTech

On it :aok
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 24, 2006, 04:24:30 PM: Quote
Originally posted by LYNX
On it :aok

Good to see that a thread on this BBS has resulted in progress being made.

~S~ LYNX
~S~ Hitech.

Bruv
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Banzzai on September 25, 2006, 04:15:29 PM: Quote
Originally posted by Trikky
AH seems to fly below the radar of the gaming magazines over here

I Agree with Trikky

I found AH by accident on Google
I'd try and get AH as a demo on a few european gaming magazines
Here in Holland there are (%) more broadband internet connections
per household than anywhere in Europe
the gaming market here is really good for games like
Call of Duty & BF2

Personally i think Credit card usage in europe is not as HOT as in the USA
i'd look at other payment methods like paypal
Title: Non USA players
Post by: LYNX on September 28, 2006, 05:06:13 PM: Quote
Originally posted by LYNX
On it :aok

Umm Warwickshire county council have banned all motorway adds. Safty on the roads blah blah. When I'm back in work, next week, I'll find out about Oxfordshire and Northhamptonshire .

Have some numbers to call about bill board adds. Still looking.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Halo on September 28, 2006, 09:00:49 PM: If you're talking about stationary billboard ads, they're banned in many areas of the U.S. too. However, mobile ads like cleverly painted buses and trucks seem to be gaining favor.

I don't remember ever seeing a computer game advertised on a truck or bus. Could that generate enough return on investment if done in, say, aerospace-oriented areas? Might be fun to test someplace.

But it would take a lot of new $15 a month subscribers to pay for some mobile ads ... the endless hunt for lucrative ROI.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Halo on September 28, 2006, 09:14:16 PM: (quote, Bruv119) Heres a cheaper option that people could do tomorrow.
On your car get a sticker in the back window with the website address on......"stay clear of my 6" or whatever cheesy one liner u can come up with (unquote)

That's a great idea for everywhere Aces High is played. Something like:

Check 6
Aces High II
hitechcreations.com

(First two lines white on olive drab to fit in normal bumper sticker rectangle, last line in yellow in smaller type, readable up close to fulfill curiosity generated by first two lines)

Or similar size for back window decal.

Gotta admit I don't put any bumper stickers or window decals on my cars. But many people do.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: richard_rd on September 28, 2006, 11:45:54 PM: My sugestion for US off peak times,when the total number of players in all 3 arenas is less then 150-200.

1. Keep the LA as is ( 3 sided, no plane restrictions per side).

2. Change the EA and MA arenas to 2 sides instead of 3, and make the sides axis vs allied. I know we already have a AA arena with rolling plane sets and maps and it does not get much use. But it would be an interesting experiment to do for a couple of weeks to see if a constant plane set allied/axis EA and MA might drawa little more interest then the way we do the AA arena today with the rolling plane sets.

3. If the numbers get unbalanced in EA and MA Allied/Axis arenas between the two sides maybe Hitech can allow some AI fighters to randomly up on the front line bases on the short handed side. The coading for these fighters has to be done for TOD anyway, why not use them to balance the sides during non peak hours in the EA and MA. Also be a good place for HiTech to Beta Test the AI fighters.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Bruv119 on September 29, 2006, 01:26:43 AM: now thats more interesting richard.

I always loved the AvA maps and this may be our chance to use them and attract more players from the LW.

Make EW/MW axis vs allies.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Schatzi on September 29, 2006, 03:38:57 AM: Quote
Originally posted by Bruv119
now thats more interesting richard.

I always loved the AvA maps and this may be our chance to use them and attract more players from the LW.

Make EW/MW axis vs allies.

Well, the AvA didnt manage to attract much in the past (and its still up and running now). I dont see where changing the EWA and MWA into two more AvAs would help.

2 sides will always be unbalanced if left alone (outside strict rules like in SEA or Ava).
Title: Non USA players
Post by: hacksaw1 on September 29, 2006, 06:20:42 AM: Schatzi I agree with you that 2 sides won't necessarily be balanced in the current AH configuration. But it is all the more true at this point that 3 sides are more often than not unbalanced in EW and MW.

ENY was/is a good tool for prolonging game play in large population arenas. There, when a team diminishes in numbers relative to the two others it is given advantages that help it recover so that it won't be quickly defeated. ENY does not regulate numbers per se, but only provides a small advantage to a numerically weaker country in order to keep the arena going.

On the other hand, for our current situation of low population arenas I think some other mechanisms are probably needed to balance sides more.

Here are some further ideas.

1)   Modify the high-level GUI of the game so that country names can be changed by Hitech very easily. People have a natural "inertia" against change and if a person has flown 5 years as a Bishop, they probably aren't going to jump at changing sides. But if the game automatically changes country names, then no one can be stuck in their old "country." That might free more people up to willingly balance sides.

2)   Change country names regularly, i.e. when arenas change.

3)   Suggestions for alternative names: Falcons, Hawks, Eagles, Wolfpack, Tigers, Panthers, Lions, Sharks, Rebels, Mavericks, Jokers, Crows, Jaybirds, Hounds, Jackals, Predators, Headhunters, Hackers, HiJackers, Noobies, Dweebs, Robins, Bluebirds, Butterflies, Wannabees, Hasbeens, Deadbeats...

4)   Set up a mechanism that automatically shuffles players like cards during resets, and deals out even sides to the countries.

5)   Develop an algorithm that takes player proficiency into consideration during shuffling and dealing so that overall abilities in each country are relatively equal.

6)   For those who need predictability in life, allow elements of 2, flights of 4, sections of 8, or squads of up to 12 players remain together in the same country even after shuffling, when numbers allow it. Otherwise, shuffle everyone and deal.

7)   When numbers in an arena fall below a certain level, reset the arena and eliminate a country, change country names, shuffle and deal to two sides.

8)   Walkons, after a reset, are automatically shunted to the country that needs another player.

9)   If the walkon is designated in an element, flight, section or squad, the walkon will join them, if numbers permit.

I also agree that advertising will be a very good way to increase the player base. New players do require time to gain proficiency however, meaning their interest must be kept in AH II until they gain proficiency. So some automatic number balancing is probably still advisable for the near term.

While I personally like the AvA arena when there are sufficient numbers, it doesn't usually draw big crowds. It seems that a majority of AH players want their preferred ride over a preferred side.

Best Regards.
Title: Non USA players
Post by: Tilt on September 29, 2006, 08:03:11 AM: Quote
Originally posted by LYNX
Umm Warwickshire county council have banned all motorway adds. Safty on the roads blah blah. When I'm back in work, next week, I'll find out about Oxfordshire and Northhamptonshire .

Have some numbers to call about bill board adds. Still looking.

Noted there were ad boards in both staffordshire (M6 & M6 Toll) and cheshire (M6) unfortunately between my mobile, Jane (the Tom Tom Queen) and Simon Mayo I was not able to note the numbers to call

but here is a link

http://www.advertisingonmotorways.co.uk/