Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Wishlist => Topic started by: Tinkles on November 25, 2013, 07:20:24 AM
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I think the best thing that HTC can do to make it easier for new comers and to make it so the flight-model doesn't get changed (Which I doubt would happen).
Is to have a tutorial session that happens the moment the new account is made, that shows the basics. Then shows some other things. Like how to do certain moves (obviously not making you a pro in a day) but it could be implemented.
You want to learn how to do a hammerhead? It recommends a plane for you (p38) and then you see a 'ghost' or perhaps an AI with a name, and you follow the AI. They would have a basic tutorial for showing how to take off and land (recommending an easy to fly plane), and showing how to properly aim etc. It could have a list of air combat moves that could be performed, like the scissors, the "rope a dope" etc. Categorizing these moves in the form of basic, intermediate and advanced.
I also think allowing the training arena to be free would be very very beneficial. However, I don't think allowing the Dueling Arena would be beneficial at all. For those who fly in the DA know what I mean. Take channel 200 put it in "all" times it by 2 and you have the DA. Some look for quick fights in the DA and wouldn't want to be bothered by a troll, who is solely there to ruin your day. Plus, I doubt newbies want to go there to be slaughtered by the more experienced.
To balance this 'free' training arena, the non-subscriber accounts would only be able to stay in the training arena for 4 hours max per 24 hours.
Perhaps even going so far as to allow them access into the custom arena but ONLY if someone else (who is a subscriber) 'made' the server.
Just some ideas.
What are your thoughts?
:cheers:
P.S.
Also I think it would be beneficial for HTC to have a list of 'player recommended' hardware for players to read and look at.
From joysticks, rudder pedals to programs/things used to 'enhance the experience' like trackerIR and the Rift. Perhaps even going so far as to recommend computer components (video card, etc) that could run aces high on medium ++ graphics.
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All great stuff as far as I'm concerned...and long overdue.
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Personally, I much prefer the human Trainers who are already present to any sort of hypothetical, canned training program.
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Air Warrior used to have scheduled training nights. Was a boon.
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Would one on one training be more thorough? Sure. There's also the Help & Training section of the BBS and Vudu's tutorials. All great stuff if you KNOW where to find it. Trouble is, many of the 2 weekers don't.
Think back to your 1st online experience after downloading the game. How long did it take you to figure out the "radio", how to select and load out a plane or GV, how to launch from the runway? All simple stuff, once you know HOW.
A few rudimentary tutorials would probably allay a lot of frustration for the 1st time player.
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I believe Vudu15 has videos in help and training covering what you ask.
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It does indeed. Now tell me how a new player, who may not be aware of the BBS, let alone Vudu's You Tubes, finds them.
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Personally, I much prefer the human Trainers who are already present to any sort of hypothetical, canned training program.
I'm not saying that this should replace trainers. But, speaking realistically, trainers have lives and can't be available for easy-access all the time. At least with a small tutorial the player can learn the basics and if they want more information or are interested, the tutorial could have a link to the trainers list (as seen here ---> http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,355650.0.html )
It would at least be a jumpstart. Rather than the ineffective method now, of the player going to the most populated server (late war) to get bombarded with the usual troll responses of "alt-f4 for this that or the other". Or "GO TO THE TA", yet no one is there.
At least with this, they could get most of the basic questions answered, and if interested, could match up with a trainer or someone experienced and get the other bits they were looking for.
There are some who help these guys who ask these questions (I've helped any who I've encountered.. on any side). But they shouldn't have to walk into the arena blind. There should be a default tutorial that is noticeable, giving them a heads-up that what they are walking into isn't going to be a "jump in and play" setting. They will at least need to know a few things before they can even take off, and then the tutorial can ask the player if they want a basic tutorial of flight or GV gameplay. Perhaps even before the flight tutorial giving a brief explanation of each arena.
Just some more ideas. But I think that HTC needs to address this, or at least put something in an effort to help new guys. I know many here would be willing to take a few minutes and help a newbie out. But this would be for those moments when none of those people are online. If we want more subscribers then we have to show that we are willing to help, and this tutorial I think would be a good testament to that.
:salute
P.S.
You guys keep posting so I have to keep updating my posts :lol
It does indeed. Now tell me how a new player, who may not be aware of the BBS, let alone Vudu's You Tubes, finds them.
I think the tutorial could also give links and mention vudu15 (and other community members with youtube accounts, like dolby, latrobe etc) and his excessive collection of helpful videos.
It took me roughly 2 years before I found out about these forums, and I've been playing for 6 1/2 years.
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I think the best thing that HTC can do to make it easier for new comers and to make it so the flight-model doesn't get changed (Which I doubt would happen).
Is to have a tutorial session that happens the moment the new account is made, that shows the basics. Then shows some other things. Like how to do certain moves (obviously not making you a pro in a day) but it could be implemented.
You want to learn how to do a hammerhead? It recommends a plane for you (p38) and then you see a 'ghost' or perhaps an AI with a name, and you follow the AI. They would have a basic tutorial for showing how to take off and land (recommending an easy to fly plane), and showing how to properly aim etc. It could have a list of air combat moves that could be performed, like the scissors, the "rope a dope" etc. Categorizing these moves in the form of basic, intermediate and advanced.
I also think allowing the training arena to be free would be very very beneficial. However, I don't think allowing the Dueling Arena would be beneficial at all. For those who fly in the DA know what I mean. Take channel 200 put it in "all" times it by 2 and you have the DA. Some look for quick fights in the DA and wouldn't want to be bothered by a troll, who is solely there to ruin your day. Plus, I doubt newbies want to go there to be slaughtered by the more experienced.
To balance this 'free' training arena, the non-subscriber accounts would only be able to stay in the training arena for 4 hours max per 24 hours.
Perhaps even going so far as to allow them access into the custom arena but ONLY if someone else (who is a subscriber) 'made' the server.
Just some ideas.
What are your thoughts?
:cheers:
P.S.
Also I think it would be beneficial for HTC to have a list of 'player recommended' hardware for players to read and look at.
From joysticks, rudder pedals to programs/things used to 'enhance the experience' like trackerIR and the Rift. Perhaps even going so far as to recommend computer components (video card, etc) that could run aces high on medium ++ graphics.
+1
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As a start without having to produce and code a tutorial, a selected set of links to already existing youtube videos could be on the homepage. I first tried Ah2 because I randomly saw one of Bbosens's (I think) videos on setting up views. Video is worth a bizillion words.
As a side note, I used MSFS, X-Plane, tried ROF and Mouse Thunder and IL-2 and the thing I can never really get past is the view settings. With AH snap views and a trigger hat combination I actually feel like I can look around. It might be that I didn't invest enough time in the other games to sort them out but with AH and Bbosen's video I didn't have to spend ANY time. Now where is that video? I have no idea.
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I wonder how the game will change if we provided a "kindergarten" for new flyers? I sure there
are benefits and drawbacks. The major problem I see is that there always seem to be more people
requiring instruction than instructors available to help.
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The same "kindergarten" was provided by Kesmai back in the mid-90's. :neener:
Yeah, there's always a disparity between players and trainers. Just another reason to provide some "getting started" preliminaries.
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I wonder how the game will change if we provided a "kindergarten" for new flyers? I sure there
are benefits and drawbacks. The major problem I see is that there always seem to be more people
requiring instruction than instructors available to help.
I don't see that really. I don't mind helping out, and I know there are quite a few like me, who if in an arena and someone needs help, will be glad to help them.
All I see is benefits to be honest. If HTC puts the time and effort to make a decent tutorial that looks good, and informs the player of what needs to be done and how to do it, I don't see any issues with that. If they decide that the game is their taste, then there would be a link (among the many) showing trainers what times they are normally on and if they do 'schedules'. Then, perhaps, a sub-list of those who are.. semi-trainers, or at least assistants. Who don't mind taking time out of their gameplay to assist a new player who needs help.
I would rather have many people requiring assistance with something because they are new. Than hear the current 'elite' of aces high complain of fewer and fewer targets. Not to mention, I think that we need more people in this game than we have now, and if that means I have to invest 1-2 hours of my gameplay every once in a while, for us to get a bigger subscriber base then I am willing to do that.
:salute
:airplane:
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I don't see that really. I don't mind helping out
I would rather have many people requiring assistance with something because they are new. Than hear the current 'elite' of aces high complain of fewer and fewer targets. Not to mention, I think that we need more people in this game than we have now, and if that means I have to invest 1-2 hours of my gameplay every once in a while, for us to get a bigger subscriber base then I am willing to do that.
:salute
Do this then. Don't wait for the new guy to ask. Many of them are too embarrassed to ask. Find them and help them. You can see new guys struggling all the time. You haven't seen their name before, you can see them failing over and over at the same thing, you check their score and see they need help. Go help them before the ask or quit.
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When Combat Tour was in alpha there was a short tutorial you had to complete at the beginning.
ack-ack
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+1
Plenty of new guys want to mess with the game a bit before they start communicating with other players. An optional tutorial thats easy to find and always available to choose with the basics is a good idea. Its been tossed around before more than once on here.
Digging through help pages to find something helpful then going back into the game is tedious. A way for folks to get info and learn while they are in the cockpit would be helpful I believe. Plus, when you have visual and audio input you retain information better. If It could be smart enough to know what you are doing wrong on basic things (taking off) and advise a correction real-time that would be a plus.
Real people interacting may be the best way to learn but believe it or not ;) plenty of folks who play video games aren't great at the social part and have to ease into it.
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Do this then. Don't wait for the new guy to ask. Many of them are too embarrassed to ask. Find them and help them. You can see new guys struggling all the time. You haven't seen their name before, you can see them failing over and over at the same thing, you check their score and see they need help. Go help them before the ask or quit.
I do :aok
+1
Plenty of new guys want to mess with the game a bit before they start communicating with other players. An optional tutorial thats easy to find and always available to choose with the basics is a good idea. Its been tossed around before more than once on here.
Digging through help pages to find something helpful then going back into the game is tedious. A way for folks to get info and learn while they are in the cockpit would be helpful I believe. Plus, when you have visual and audio input you retain information better. If It could be smart enough to know what you are doing wrong on basic things (taking off) and advise a correction real-time that would be a plus.
Real people interacting may be the best way to learn but believe it or not ;) plenty of folks who play video games aren't great at the social part and have to ease into it.
Very true.
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What if we made it so " two weekers" showed up differently like with an ** or mabe a different color so everyone knew they are new. Just like the yellow rookie stripe on the back of a NASCAR. I know I would be more than willing to help someone who is new if I knew they were..
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+1
There are a lot of good ideas here and I'd love to hear what someone from HTC thinks about them.
I've been out of the game for a while now due to college and working but I would love to come back and find the great community that was here when I left the game. I know the community is still great but the low number of players takes away a lot of the appeal for me.
HTC does a great job and I appreciate all of the work they put into the game. I would love to see the types of improvements that is aimed solely at trying to bring in new people and retain them. I think Tinkles has great ideas.
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+1 great idea Tinkles
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What if we made it so " two weekers" showed up differently like with an ** or mabe a different color so everyone knew they are new. Just like the yellow rookie stripe on the back of a NASCAR. I know I would be more than willing to help someone who is new if I knew they were..
Agreed, it would be much easier to identify them, this way we can help more :)
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Agreed, it would be much easier to identify them, this way we can help more :)
Ya right,most would take advantage of the new guys and pad their score!
While I agree we do need to find a better way to help the new guys find the information that's already available. I do know HTC has a utube channel and linking all the players channels to it would make a good start.
I do think extending the 2 weeks free for an extra couple weeks of TA and maybe the custom arenas or a subscribers custom arena might be of help,however it doesn't really help if their isn't an experienced player available to assist these new players.
As most know I spend most my time in the TA,usually 2 or 3 hours a night during the week,the last couple weeks I've been pretty much alone in their,ya the usual suspects show up but I rarely see much more that a couple guys in there. Was a time when you'd find a dozen guys in there every night,these days not so much!
:salute
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Ya right,most would take advantage of the new guys and pad their score!
While I agree we do need to find a better way to help the new guys find the information that's already available. I do know HTC has a utube channel and linking all the players channels to it would make a good start.
I do think extending the 2 weeks free for an extra couple weeks of TA and maybe the custom arenas or a subscribers custom arena might be of help,however it doesn't really help if their isn't an experienced player available to assist these new players.
As most know I spend most my time in the TA,usually 2 or 3 hours a night during the week,the last couple weeks I've been pretty much alone in their,ya the usual suspects show up but I rarely see much more that a couple guys in there. Was a time when you'd find a dozen guys in there every night,these days not so much!
:salute
I miss those days :(
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Ya right,most would take advantage of the new guys and pad their score!
Maybe the New Guys should only be obvious to pilots on the same country.
I would rather have a system that gives long time players who volunteer to have access to the info so they can reach out to new players. Think Trainers Lite. Welcome wagon types. Help out with the easy stuff and refer the new guys to trainers for the harder things.
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Old Timers are always free to put up missions, then announce on range that they would like all 2 week and newbie players to join. Most Old Timers want nothing to do with the newbie irritation for their $14.95 short few hours of fun each evening. The secret to Dogfight originally creating what we eventually called the "vTards", is he offered new players something that would make them have quick successes in the game if they followed him.
Most vets I've observed in the MA over the past decade or more, while they are in the depths of their AH cloitus fix each evening. Squelch newbies and avoid them other than as score padding.
I've always wondered why Trainers don't pick a side in the MA each evening and put up missions specifically for 2 weekers and newbies? They could probably use CM text to ask newbies and 2 weekers to change sides and join their missions. Possibly even talk a few vets into joining along so the score hookers won't have a totally free lunch. Can you imagine a rookie's mission that the score hookers are waiting for and the muppets are tagging along with the mission. Now that would be Jurassic minnows slaughtering Neolithic predators.
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Maybe the New Guys should only be obvious to pilots on the same country.
Fair enough.
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I bump this, because I think it is needed and vital if HTC is to get more subscriptions (and we get more targets :devil ).
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I bump this, because I think it is needed and vital if HTC is to get more subscriptions (and we get more targets :devil ).
Well, I think the more subscriptions piece of the puzzle is going to be tied more to the terrain graphics update. And maybe some marketing pushes.
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That may be true. That will definitely get their interest. However, when they learn they have a steeeeeeeeeeep learning curve ahead of them, and see it isn't "run and gun", will they stay? Do they have anything there at their disposal that can be accessed at anytime that they can utilize to their advantage? No. Sure, we have trainers, but as said before; they have lives, and other things to do. They can only show up at certain "set" times, like an 'appointment' system. Even then, those new players would have to go to the forums and search through all this, mostly unorganized, material to get what they need to start.
So why not have something there that can be used at all times, even re-played or re-done if they so wish? Then if they want to pursue further, then they can catch with a trainer (if they can even find out how to!).
Perhaps, having a custom built mission that would be part of the default download, that would be a guide to the basics of flight, and vehicle/naval warfare? That would show, at the very least, how to take off, land, etc. Then at the end (or somewhere on the clipboard) show them where to get more in-depth knowledge from trainers (and have a list of people there who would be willing to assist, if online).
I think the mission part at the very least, is possible. IT would explain the simple "basics". The voice/chat system, what all the channels do (what the colors mean), etc. I am not asking for HTC to play the game for the player. I am simply asking them to make a tutorial (the mission part is sounding more appealing the more I think about it), that would help newer players get into the Aces High "realm" and be able to at least do something for themselves.
Like I said before, I think having a mission-like setup for this 'tutorial' would be the easiest thing to implement on HTC's part. Since we now have the capabilities to do it, it would be easier than making what I originally planned (although I still think my original thought would be good, I think this is the easiest and least vexing for HTC to implement as of this time, amongst all the other projects they are currently doing).
I hope that HTC reads this, and at least gives it a thought.
:salute
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I'm sure HTC has read your post, they are very good at keeping up with whats going on on the boards..... replying.... not so much :D
When I was unemployed for a bit I made a number of flash videos like this one http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/fugitivesflashtutorials/split_s.swf . I had always hoped to build an interactive on where a player would be able to click and move through the video learning things as they go like many of the games have today. It would be a huge project and take a lot of time to get it done.
The problem is this game unlike many has so much more to it than a bunch of button pushes. A training tutorial like the walk troughs other games have only teaches that, button pushes. This game has more in that you have to control your plane in 3 dimensions WHILE fighting someone else who is doing the same. The dynamics and the control is so much more. This is where most people have to come to grips with continuing or quitting. A short tutorial isn't going to help people over that. And yes it would have to be short as if you had it long enough to really help most people would have quit out of it to move on to a game they could "play" instead of learn.
I don't see HTC "forcing" people into a training tutorial. At best I can see the first screen opening up with links to the training pages, the BBS, and the "YouTube" channel they are making. At least this way new players are made aware that there IS a trainers page, there IS a BBS with help, and there ARE videos posted to see how some of these things are done.
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I'm sure HTC has read your post, they are very good at keeping up with whats going on on the boards..... replying.... not so much :D
When I was unemployed for a bit I made a number of flash videos like this one http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/fugitivesflashtutorials/split_s.swf . I had always hoped to build an interactive on where a player would be able to click and move through the video learning things as they go like many of the games have today. It would be a huge project and take a lot of time to get it done.
The problem is this game unlike many has so much more to it than a bunch of button pushes. A training tutorial like the walk troughs other games have only teaches that, button pushes. This game has more in that you have to control your plane in 3 dimensions WHILE fighting someone else who is doing the same. The dynamics and the control is so much more. This is where most people have to come to grips with continuing or quitting. A short tutorial isn't going to help people over that. And yes it would have to be short as if you had it long enough to really help most people would have quit out of it to move on to a game they could "play" instead of learn.
I don't see HTC "forcing" people into a training tutorial. At best I can see the first screen opening up with links to the training pages, the BBS, and the "YouTube" channel they are making. At least this way new players are made aware that there IS a trainers page, there IS a BBS with help, and there ARE videos posted to see how some of these things are done.
I see your point. I was just thinking it would be easier to make a basic flying tutorial mission-type thing. But even if they acknowledge what you said (training pages, BBS and Utube), that would be a fair to me. At the very least more than what any of us had when we started out.
But I still think a 'tutorial mission' or some sort would still be cool to have :D
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Some stickies in the "help and training forums" complete with screenshots to help new players set up the program, stick, and views would be super helpful since any flying techniques they learn will ultimately be squandered if they don't have a good setup.
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I see your point. I was just thinking it would be easier to make a basic flying tutorial mission-type thing. But even if they acknowledge what you said (training pages, BBS and Utube), that would be a fair to me. At the very least more than what any of us had when we started out.
But I still think a 'tutorial mission' or some sort would still be cool to have :D
oh I agree that tutorials are great, I did make a number of them :) The problem is the time and effort verses the gain and also the chance of chasing away customers is what would hold it back as a "start screen". The pop up on game opening I think would be good to let players KNOW there are options for help IF they want it. This leaves the control in their hands, and doesn't force anyone. Should a video be made that has the full walk through it too should be added as a link on a the start screen, but not forced to be used.
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oh I agree that tutorials are great, I did make a number of them :) The problem is the time and effort verses the gain and also the chance of chasing away customers is what would hold it back as a "start screen". The pop up on game opening I think would be good to let players KNOW there are options for help IF they want it. This leaves the control in their hands, and doesn't force anyone. Should a video be made that has the full walk through it too should be added as a link on a the start screen, but not forced to be used.
Works for me.