Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: hazmatt on January 24, 2021, 08:27:23 AM
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I'm curious as to the pro and con arguments for this as I believe it would help the numbers and new player subs, however I'm aware there there could be something I'm missing.
It seems it would get a bunch of planes out of the hanger and if the FTP players could build their perks but not use them until they subbed that it might motivate them to sub.
I know there is a 2 week trial but if I came in brand new I don't think there's much chance of my being successful in 2 weeks.
I know that other WW2 sims have FTP with basic equipment and it seemed to help the numbers as they did away with FTP for about a month in one that I play and they immediately reversed course when they saw the drop in numbers.
Looking for constructive input please...
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Two weeks is to try the game out, not to get successful. There are already areas free to play. Yes no one is in there...... there is your answer.
Of course I may not be around much longer. They killed the only thing that attempted to even sides. Next, purchase code to make you better. Who knows.
Have not played in the last 2 or 3 weeks. Signed on last night for about 10-15 minutes. At least no shark cards..... yet.
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Fair enough. I'm just saying that if I got owned for 2 weeks as a newbe I doubt that I would sub.
You don't think that the reason that nobody is there is because nobody is there? I mean I think more people would be interested to play in an area that had people in it and that would be the main.
It seems to me that there are a few people who seem to be able to influence the path of the game more then others so I can understand your frustration.
I'm just trying to understand why or why not it wouldn't be a good idea to implement FTP in the main, even if it was for a trial basis as I've seen it work to increase numbers in other games.
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2 weeks is not enough, and the way they say it "Free to Play!" does nothing but piss off the new players because while technically you can play for free, there is nobody in those arenas like Shuffler said and the arena where everyone IS you have to PAY for. So to play the real game all you get is 2 weeks and most say "Screw you!" long before that.
I have always thought a bunch of 35-40 ENY planes and vehicles being free in the main arena was a great idea. 5 fighters, a buff, a couple of vehicles including the M3 and the goon should be open and free in the main arena HTC already has the "log in" page setup. All he needs to do is for those with out paid subs have a limited hanger page. Grey out the equipment they cant use so they can see what they are missing. This way playing for free doesnt cost THEM anything but time. It may not look like it will fill HTC cash box, but over time it will help. Less players leaving because of low numbers more new players coming in to test the waters and some WILL subscribe. Even the ones that dont subscribe will help with word of mouth advertising bring in more new players.
Personally I dont see a downside other than the work it will take to setup the "free group" in the login process. Server already are setup to handle 1000 players and all of that background stuff is bought and paid for (I would think)
Two weeks is to try the game out, not to get successful. There are already areas free to play. Yes no one is in there...... there is your answer.
Of course I may not be around much longer. They killed the only thing that attempted to even sides. Next, purchase code to make you better. Who knows.
Have not played in the last 2 or 3 weeks. Signed on last night for about 10-15 minutes. At least no shark cards..... yet.
Personally I dont see a big difference with or with out ENY restrictions. "Sometimes your the hammer, sometimes your the nail" As when ENY was on, you can switch side to find the fight your looking for, or to get away from the one your in.
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I don't think it would be that hard to configure as you have the arena configuration ability already so it seems to me you could have two groups that people who were logging in were part of. One could be FTP with the FTP arena configuration and the other could be paid members with the paid members or default configuration. It seems that way you could even throw in a bonus plane or tank from time to time without much work.
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Two weeks is to try the game out, not to get successful. There are already areas free to play. Yes no one is in there...... there is your answer.
Of course I may not be around much longer. They killed the only thing that attempted to even sides. Next, purchase code to make you better. Who knows.
Have not played in the last 2 or 3 weeks. Signed on last night for about 10-15 minutes. At least no shark cards..... yet.
Shuffler, there is a constant pattern of you having zero tolerance for any new ideas, as if the current plan is working. Quit being foolish. Do you even play anymore?
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Hitech, please consider a trial of this? We love this game with passion but need more pilots ! I will use the forbribes link if you consider....
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Shuffler, there is a constant pattern of you having zero tolerance for any new ideas, as if the current plan is working. Quit being foolish. Do you even play anymore?
Let me know when there is a NEW IDEA.
Not the same old beating a dead horse.
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I'm trying to use defibrillators on the horse not beat it!
What I mean is surely there is some variation of the idea that you might think is doable?
What do you think is the best idea Shuffler?
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I'm trying to use defibrillators on the horse not beat it!
What I mean is surely there is some variation of the idea that you might think is doable?
What do you think is the best idea Shuffler?
Recently it was suggested that time switch to low number side be lowered or negated. That discussion seemed to be bearing fruit. Discussion included HT and they were discussing adjustments based on HT's input.
Nothing will entirely fix the issue. People are broken.. There needs to be something to help with the problem though.
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Good idea.
I also like the idea of a complete perk arena. Every aircraft below 35-40 costs perks to fly, Values of aircraft separated by islands or mountains, that way you can visit each island in the arena and not be outclassed if you dont have the perks. Make the perks available for purchase where it is roughly comparable to a month's subscription for those who don't want to grind for perks.
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Of course I may not be around much longer. They killed the only thing that attempted to even sides. Next, purchase code to make you better. Who knows.
Soon to be back with other mods.
HiTech
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Recently it was suggested that time switch to low number side be lowered or negated. That discussion seemed to be bearing fruit. Discussion included HT and they were discussing adjustments based on HT's input.
Nothing will entirely fix the issue. People are broken.. There needs to be something to help with the problem though.
I remember this discussion and it seems like I good idea.
But without having aircraft restricted by ENY I don't see a reason a person would move. What I'm trying to understand is why one would leave the country that has a massive number advantage to go to fly the same plane against a massive number of enemies. Maybe I'm missing something?
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Soon to be back with other mods.
HiTech
eww, eww, eww!!! 2 weeks? :D
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zero tolerance for any new ideas
Are you speaking of the multiple player made suggestions that are implemented in the next release?
Simply because I disagree with your view about an idea, don't think I'm not always looking for player ideas.
Normally I don't post on topics like this because no matter what I give as reason people in favor will simply ignore my reasons and continue to argue for what they think is a good idea.
First you must realize that you and I do not have the same goals. You goal is to maximize players in the arena. The best way to accomplish your goal is to simply make all free. My ultimate goal is to maximize profits.
But This time I will break the normal and post my thoughts.
I do not believe it would have and positive effect on player conversion. (I.E. convert free to paying player)
Look at the augments in this thread about time to learn and frustration of not getting kills. So now you propose a new player fly a less capable plane to succeed?
And statements like this.
2 weeks is not enough, and the way they say it "Free to Play!" does nothing but piss off the new players because while technically you can play for free,
Are simply way off the mark, if a someone is angry that all parts are not free forever , then they would never be a subscriber no matter what we did. They would also be upset that all planes were not free.
It also ignores how the word free attached to the game entice people to download and try and take a look. If we did not use the free hook then the person you are describe who get pissed off, would never even download the game.
We do not even ask for your name while many free trials require a credit card and will automatically subscribe after the trial. You to come try Aces High no strings attached.
Now also do not think I believe everything is fine. The core issue remains how to raise the conversion % of players who down load to players who become a paying subscriber. With out raising this % any suggestion of advertise increase are not doable because the ROI on the advertising does not make it. We currently get plenty of people downloading and trying the game. The issue is that our conversion ratio is about 1/2 what it used to be. In reality the % is lower then when we advertised a lot, because simply finding us now (with out advertising ) means you are better disposed to become a subscriber. If I can find a way to double that conversion suddenly we are growing quickly again and advertising becomes worth the cost.
My current thoughts involve methods of forcing new players threw automated training thus giving them a felling of progressing and accomplishments before being thrown into the main arena.
HiTech
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target practice !!!!
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Soon to be back with other mods.
HiTech
ROTFLMAO
Seems the other games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V are having major issues online with what we used to call cheaters. Now they call them modders. They are not modders.
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I remember this discussion and it seems like I good idea.
But without having aircraft restricted by ENY I don't see a reason a person would move. What I'm trying to understand is why one would leave the country that has a massive number advantage to go to fly the same plane against a massive number of enemies. Maybe I'm missing something?
That was part of the discussion. ENY would need to be reimplimented.
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Got it. I was thinking this was without ENY.
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Got it. I was thinking this was without ENY.
There is the hard part for me too..... keeping up with all the post in a thread. The older I get, the more mixed the threads become. :aok
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Are you speaking of the multiple player made suggestions that are implemented in the next release?
Simply because I disagree with your view about an idea, don't think I'm not always looking for player ideas.
Normally I don't post on topics like this because no matter what I give as reason people in favor will simply ignore my reasons and continue to argue for what they think is a good idea.
First you must realize that you and I do not have the same goals. You goal is to maximize players in the arena. The best way to accomplish your goal is to simply make all free. My ultimate goal is to maximize profits.
But This time I will break the normal and post my thoughts.
I do not believe it would have and positive effect on player conversion. (I.E. convert free to paying player)
Look at the augments in this thread about time to learn and frustration of not getting kills. So now you propose a new player fly a less capable plane to succeed?
And statements like this.
Are simply way off the mark, if a someone is angry that all parts are not free forever , then they would never be a subscriber no matter what we did. They would also be upset that all planes were not free.
It also ignores how the word free attached to the game entice people to download and try and take a look. If we did not use the free hook then the person you are describe who get pissed off, would never even download the game.
We do not even ask for your name while many free trials require a credit card and will automatically subscribe after the trial. You to come try Aces High no strings attached.
Now also do not think I believe everything is fine. The core issue remains how to raise the conversion % of players who down load to players who become a paying subscriber. With out raising this % any suggestion of advertise increase are not doable because the ROI on the advertising does not make it. We currently get plenty of people downloading and trying the game. The issue is that our conversion ratio is about 1/2 what it used to be. In reality the % is lower then when we advertised a lot, because simply finding us now (with out advertising ) means you are better disposed to become a subscriber. If I can find a way to double that conversion suddenly we are growing quickly again and advertising becomes worth the cost.
My current thoughts involve methods of forcing new players threw automated training thus giving them a felling of progressing and accomplishments before being thrown into the main arena.
HiTech
That last part I think will help a lot. When I first started playing, killing the radar to help the rest of my team make it to target was an accomplishment to me so that even if I died a quick death afterwards I felt like the mission was successful. Teaching newbies how to do some basic missions and how it helps their side (impact to taking out dar, ords, guns, town buildings etc) prior to being thrown to the wolves will certainly help.
Regarding free ENY 40 the question becomes:
1. How many subscribing vets convert to a free account who would normally keep paying?
2. How many vets were gonna quit altogether but would stay and play occasionally in ENY 40?
3. How many newbies who were gonna subscribe decide to keep playing the free version?
And the real question
4. How does an influx of free 40 ENY accounts affect the previous categories? Are more people gonna subscribe or stay if the arenas are full of action of low ENY planes. Will it offset the numbers of people who would otherwise pay but decide to be cheapskates?
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My current thoughts involve methods of forcing new players threw automated training thus giving them a felling of progressing and accomplishments before being thrown into the main arena.
This is an interesting concept. Would returning players have a chance to opt out of this?
About the player numbers and the conversion rate: You don't think that having higher numbers would make more of the people complaining about lack of numbers stay and that some of the FTP players would convert? Wouldn't this increase players and add to profits? I don't have the data that you do so I don't know if bandwidth or some other thing would make this cost prohibitive.
I'm just trying to figure out a solution that could both increase the number of players and the profit at the same time if such a thing even exists.
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Regarding free ENY 40 the question becomes:
1. How many subscribing vets convert to a free account who would normally keep paying?
2. How many vets were gonna quit altogether but would stay and play occasionally in ENY 40?
3. How many newbies who were gonna subscribe decide to keep playing the free version?
And the real question
4. How does an influx of free 40 ENY accounts affect the previous categories? Are more people gonna subscribe or stay if the arenas are full of action of low ENY planes. Will it offset the numbers of people who would otherwise pay but decide to be cheapskates?
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I can only talk speak from my experience so I have no idea what others will do.
There is a game I play and support that has FTP, limited equipment tier and full access FTP.
I have a full paid subscription
I have a limited equipment subscription
and I have 2 free to play accounts.
When I have friends over that are interested to play I let them play my pay accounts and I play one of my free accounts with them. This has allowed me to get some of my friends playing this game on their own accounts.
I'm not saying this would happen here, I'm just giving an example of why I thought it might help in the first place :)
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The free accounts would need to target those people who can't pay but would like to subscribe when they get older. Im thinking the younger generation.. ie kids whose parents aren't gonna pay for them to play. Get them hooked and when they get a job they will pay :)
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Problem really is fixing the mindset of a new player. I have no idea how to fix that. These types of games are just.... hard. That doesn't mesh with the short attention spans and gangs of other game choices out there today that didn't exist back in day. I always figured when I started out in AW so long ago that as hard as this was it sure was easier than the real thing. But I also had an interest in the subject. Been a nut about airplanes since I was a wee lad. Still can't not look up and watch one fly by. That drove me to challenge myself to get better and stick with it. I died and died and died some more! I was definitely a target for a few years (some may say I still am!) but I kinda got past that. Took a while. Ya gotta WANT to get better bad enough to overcome the long period of frustration that goes along with this. The length of that period is up to the player. Even so, that period is gonna equal many months at a minimum. There simply isn't a magical way to bestow "better" on a new player. The planes themselves aren't gonna do it. I think that's where we lose the new players that we lose. This is too hard, I can't win, I'm out. Sound about right? Dunno how to fix that.
And not to mention that, Lazer excluded of course, you're gonna have to buy some kind of stick, etc. Too many things to turn on and off or look around, even with all the automatic stuff we have. Generally, a mouse or a gamepad ain't gonna cut it. Further expense.
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
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Are you speaking of the multiple player made suggestions that are implemented in the next release?
Simply because I disagree with your view about an idea, don't think I'm not always looking for player ideas.
Normally I don't post on topics like this because no matter what I give as reason people in favor will simply ignore my reasons and continue to argue for what they think is a good idea.
First you must realize that you and I do not have the same goals. You goal is to maximize players in the arena. The best way to accomplish your goal is to simply make all free. My ultimate goal is to maximize profits.
But This time I will break the normal and post my thoughts.
I do not believe it would have and positive effect on player conversion. (I.E. convert free to paying player)
Look at the augments in this thread about time to learn and frustration of not getting kills. So now you propose a new player fly a less capable plane to succeed?
And statements like this.
Are simply way off the mark, if a someone is angry that all parts are not free forever , then they would never be a subscriber no matter what we did. They would also be upset that all planes were not free.
It also ignores how the word free attached to the game entice people to download and try and take a look. If we did not use the free hook then the person you are describe who get pissed off, would never even download the game.
We do not even ask for your name while many free trials require a credit card and will automatically subscribe after the trial. You to come try Aces High no strings attached.
Now also do not think I believe everything is fine. The core issue remains how to raise the conversion % of players who down load to players who become a paying subscriber. With out raising this % any suggestion of advertise increase are not doable because the ROI on the advertising does not make it. We currently get plenty of people downloading and trying the game. The issue is that our conversion ratio is about 1/2 what it used to be. In reality the % is lower then when we advertised a lot, because simply finding us now (with out advertising ) means you are better disposed to become a subscriber. If I can find a way to double that conversion suddenly we are growing quickly again and advertising becomes worth the cost.
My current thoughts involve methods of forcing new players threw automated training thus giving them a felling of progressing and accomplishments before being thrown into the main arena.
HiTech
I dont think its that far off the mark. How many people join those other games that are free to play but have all sorts of "buy to win" stuff. Of those players Id bet most of them go into it saying "Im not going to buy any of that crap, Ill just grind my way up". Yet those companies seem to be selling a lot of power ups and keeping players in the game and money in their coffers.
If a player sees what he is missing and the only "power up" option is to subscribe I would think youd get more people moving over to the subscribed side than you think. Even if that percentage stays low, half of that "double" your looking for it is a step in the right direction. Is adding 100-200 new players a month to the "free plane group" going to increase your cost layout? If not you really dont have anything to lose and something to gain even if it isnt that "fix-all" to convert subscribers your looking for.
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Let me know when there is a NEW IDEA.
Not the same old beating a dead horse.
you ever think maybe the same idea 100 times over (that hasn't been tried) might be worth a shot?
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Re: Free to play 35-40 ENY planes good or bad idea?
Just the topic header creates a negative experience alone. How would a new player even compete against the low ENY planes? How would a player with no experience in a high ENY plane compete against a 20 year experienced player in a low ENY plane?
We have experienced players groan and complain in FSO flying high ENY planes.
My vote is bad idea. Any suggestion is better than no suggestion.
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See rule 4
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Re: Free to play 35-40 ENY planes good or bad idea?
Just the topic header creates a negative experience alone. How would a new player even compete against the low ENY planes? How would a player with no experience in a high ENY plane compete against a 20 year experienced player in a low ENY plane?
We have experienced players groan and complain in FSO flying high ENY planes.
My vote is bad idea. Any suggestion is better than no suggestion.
Good point.
Would it be a better idea to have some a limited number across the ENY scale but limit them in some other way such as fuel load-out or ordnance?
Maybe open up 1 of the least popular low ENY planes?
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Would it be a better idea to have some a limited number across the ENY scale but limit them in some other way such as fuel load-out or ordnance?
Sounds like..... Free Yak-3's!! :bolt:
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That's not at all what I had in mind. LOL
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How about an out of the box thought? this may be code prohibitive, but an interesting thought none the less to me. It would be interesting if the new free to play players couldn't be killed in the normal sense. Their icons would be a different color, and they wouldn't die when you killed them, they would grey out for thirty seconds. They wouldn't count as a kill, and they couldn't kill a paying player either, but it would tell them they would have got a kill. No name in the buffer, etc., for either the paying player whacking them, or the non-paying player scoring a theoretical kill on a paying player. That way they could up and not die and learn to fly without being killed ad nauseum, and never getting any stick time, and they wouldn't really kill a player that was a paying player. Let them hear the chat, but not participate. It would give them all the feel, without having the ability to participate. I would think this may make a few want to sub.
I think that may set the hook on a few of them. It wouldn't prohibit them from talking on a squad's teamspeak channel, but they couldn't talk in the game chat system, so if you wanted to bring a friend on board, they could see the game and get the feel without being continually seal clubbed. I would think the players that would want to seal club would tire of not being able to gain anything from attacking someone they couldn't really kill.
What do you think?
ULDieter
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New players get a smaller hit bubble on their planes for a month :D -
I know bad idea right/
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hehehe, we're back to the yak-3's again? Sorry, had to say it, I love yak-3's.
ULDieter
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How about an out of the box thought? this may be code prohibitive, but an interesting thought none the less to me. It would be interesting if the new free to play players couldn't be killed in the normal sense. Their icons would be a different color, and they wouldn't die when you killed them, they would grey out for thirty seconds. They wouldn't count as a kill, and they couldn't kill a paying player either, but it would tell them they would have got a kill. No name in the buffer, etc., for either the paying player whacking them, or the non-paying player scoring a theoretical kill on a paying player. That way they could up and not die and learn to fly without being killed ad nauseum, and never getting any stick time, and they wouldn't really kill a player that was a paying player. Let them hear the chat, but not participate. It would give them all the feel, without having the ability to participate. I would think this may make a few want to sub.
I think that may set the hook on a few of them. It wouldn't prohibit them from talking on a squad's teamspeak channel, but they couldn't talk in the game chat system, so if you wanted to bring a friend on board, they could see the game and get the feel without being continually seal clubbed. I would think the players that would want to seal club would tire of not being able to gain anything from attacking someone they couldn't really kill.
What do you think?
ULDieter
That is interesting! Sounds like it might be a bit complicated to implement.
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Re: Free to play 35-40 ENY planes good or bad idea?
Just the topic header creates a negative experience alone. How would a new player even compete against the low ENY planes? How would a player with no experience in a high ENY plane compete against a 20 year experienced player in a low ENY plane?
We have experienced players groan and complain in FSO flying high ENY planes.
My vote is bad idea. Any suggestion is better than no suggestion.
Doesnt "World of Planes" or one of those games start you out with a Swordfish bi-plane or something? You have to either grind your way up to better planes or buy the points to get better planes. Starting with 35-40 ENY planes is a step up from that, I know its not a YAK3 or anything :noid but any plane in Aces High can be competitive if flown right.
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As it seems to me (whilst being 100% sympathetic with HT as he sees the whole picture and yes profit is his ultimate goal, just like me in my business).
1) I don't have a sub, I love the game, I practice a bit in offline missions and match play with the bots, but I fondly dream of the arena and my 2 weeks in there. I got killed loads, but I love WWII and combat aircraft so I stuck it out. Free or not, someone who hasn't got that interest in flying etc isn't likely to stick it out so it makes not much difference - in fact if they are paying yet getting killed they are likely to get more pissed off....whereas the chance and time to get better for free, they will slowly improve and then start wanting to pay a sub to access better aircraft, more ords, more fuel? etc..
2) I am not going to by a sub, (at least not in the next couple of years) as I cant justify it - yet if it was free, I would occasionally pop my head in and provide some bait and likely get some kills too. I fly with a mouse and have surprised myself in being quite competitive with others in Match play.
3) 2 weeks isn't enough, because circumstances outside of your control may make it only possible to play a couple of times within that two weeks.
4) I have seen many players brassed off in this forum and leave - if they were to be told that they could have limited free access, I bet a number would poke there heads in and get the addictive bug again and re-sub because they want to fly their beloved better performance plane.
5) Addiction - yes that's right, gaming is addiction, people need to get hooked. In selling there is a method called the 'puppy dog' method which is like trying to sell a puppy to a family. - the best way is to actually let them hold and cuddle the puppy and then the chances are they will buy.
so what am I saying, give limited free access or not, I don't care. However if there was, I would join in. You say a limited access crap plane is going to frustrate newbs - well yeah it might but heck but whether they pay or not, it's only going to be the determined ones who have a passion for WWII who will stick it out anyway and become good and stay.
(quick thought HT, have you tried google ads? work well for me although they do cost a bit, but google themselves will help you set it up and monitor it for you for free. i regularly have telephone mtgs with my google account manager for free where they optimise my search engine performance.... you can turn it off and on at any time and set a limited for how much it cots you...
Have a good day all
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I never see ads on google.
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I still think the issue with player numbers is the steep learning curve, not the price.
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I still think the issue with player numbers is the steep learning curve, not the price.
Agreed.
Training arena may need a section with AI and a setup that registers hits. I know you can hear them but maybe a scoring system for hits to help know how well they are hitting in practice. As it is, there is never anyone in there to work with new folks. At least AI with scoring hits would help some with practice. Nothing is actually shot down, just hits scored/counted.
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You say a limited access crap plane is going to frustrate newbs - well yeah it might but heck but whether they pay or not, it's only going to be the determined ones who have a passion for WWII who will stick it out anyway and become good and stay.
Good observation!
Seems to me that enabling one free bomber and one free fighter for each side (Axis and Allied) might be worth a try. They wouldn't have to be dogs; 109G6, Ki61, P-47D11, F4F, Hurricane II, Yak9T, for example, are planes that would give noobs a fighting chance.
The downside of enabling all high ENY planes is that people like me would no longer have much incentive to pay...
- oldman
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I think the way to do it would be enable something that's decently competitive, but only a couple of planes. Let the lack of variety be the motivator to sub. First thing that popped into my head was the Spit9.
Wiley.
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I never see ads on google.
no they dont look like 'ads' as such, it just means your website comes at the top of the page when you search for something. Try searching 'WWII Flight Simulator'. At the top of search results is probably war thunder and next to it probably says Ad. that means they paid to get there first.
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no they dont look like 'ads' as such, it just means your website comes at the top of the page when you search for something. Try searching 'WWII Flight Simulator'. At the top of search results is probably war thunder and next to it probably says Ad. that means they paid to get there first.
Gotcha... I usually find those do not match my search very well so I skip past to the meat.
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pictures people..pictures....there is no time to read... you need to be a banner ad with flashing things to attract attention... that is part of adwords too... flashy banners....
Oooorrrr we could all just stop whinging and have good things to say and get those things floating around the sinternets.... hmmm actually... people like doom and gloom and are more likely to click on something destructive than constructive.... oh who am I kidding...everyone whether you choose to admit it.. watches those funny cat and dog videos and has a quiet awwww feels moment...
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Hmmm... perhaps a fluffy kitten video and then have aceshigh action pop into it and back to the kitten.... like those many years ago when they did it to scare people..... I think i'm on to something.... I will not have any criticism thank you... no matter how(aceshigh3)constructive you may think it is.....
Yep i think I have cracked it....
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Free planes like the spit5 and 109f after the 2 week free trial would keep more players in the game and let them practice the game longer while encouraging them subscribe to fly the better planes. I believe players need longer than 2 weeks for MA style combat. Its normally just too big for new players to understand. Long flight distances is probably the biggest turn off for new guys. Imagine flying to a base for 10 minutes only to get blown out of the sky instantly by puff ack or a gang of yak3s. Even a noob in a yak3 isn't going to be able to fight against other yak3s or a gang of em. It really doesn't matter what plane they fly until they learn the ropes a bit.
This spit5 and 109f freebee would be a great Incentive for Euro players aswell and would increase the nightly #s.
No one can be beast mode in these 2 planes. Therefore older players coming back wouldn't be able "game" it.
You really only need these 2 planes. The point is to allow players to play for free, keep players in the MA, and mostly certainly they will subscribe to get to fly that better plane. Getting more people in the MA is the key to increasing profits in the medium/long term run, once a player subscribes, they typically subscribe longer than a month. Higher #s in the game will lead to much more subscribers overall.
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I still think the issue with player numbers is the steep learning curve, not the price.
Maybe its the fact the arena is dark in the primetime window.
Maybe its the fact that they are stuck on a side that is hording, or being horded, without the ability to switch.
Maybe its the fact that there is a map in the arena that is too large, and makes the gameboard look stale?
Maybe its the fact that the preferred method of defense is a barely visable m3 running supplies, which should be limited to after a capture for a time window.
Maybe its the fact people can sit in a manned gun and blast people out of the sky, and be killed in their pit with no kill credit for the guy that flew 15 or more miles to kill them.
While i cant sit here and deny the fact that training probably would help, i also see first hand how the basic mechanics of the game are whacked.
Ive been here 20 years, about the only thing i see different now from then, is additions to this game that take away from the action of the fight for a base.
There wasnt training when this game hit its peak, what makes people think its the ticket now?
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I'm curious as to the pro and con arguments for this as I believe it would help the numbers and new player subs, however I'm aware there there could be something I'm missing.
It seems it would get a bunch of planes out of the hanger and if the FTP players could build their perks but not use them until they subbed that it might motivate them to sub.
I know there is a 2 week trial but if I came in brand new I don't think there's much chance of my being successful in 2 weeks.
I know that other WW2 sims have FTP with basic equipment and it seemed to help the numbers as they did away with FTP for about a month in one that I play and they immediately reversed course when they saw the drop in numbers.
Looking for constructive input please...
I think your idea has potential however as some one who has gone through the BS that was SWTOR letting people into a subscription based game on a Free to play or freemium bases brings in a lot of Toxicity from Free2play players and resentment from the paying subscriber player.
Look at the problems your going to have with handles Alone .... freemuim players will take just about every good handle not nailed down. Personally I think if this were to become a thing Free2play players handles should be limited to per-generated handles similar to the Numbered CPID's of the old GEnie days (Ya I know I'm really hitting on the way back machine with this one).
I would be very Leary of any free to play system that didn't come with some sort of investment simply because of the type of players it attracts.
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No one can be beast mode in these 2 planes. Therefore older players coming back wouldn't be able "game" it.
Cool idea on letting new folks use the two planes. :aok
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This is a great game but until someone puts out some marketing dollars you can forget about new players, do a search on google for ww2 flying games and it doesn't even show up on the list.
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I remember this discussion and it seems like I good idea.
But without having aircraft restricted by ENY I don't see a reason a person would move. What I'm trying to understand is why one would leave a country that has a massive number advantage to go flying the same plane against a massive number of enemies. Maybe I'm missing something?
Being on the side with the high number means longer flights, fighting your team for kills, and less fun. Being outnumbered means you are in a fight as soon as you take off, more targets, more fun. Depends on your personality, I guess, which side you wish to be on. I noticed the common denominator between some of the best in the game who can kill me at will, Lazer, Rud3boi, Trogdor... seem to prefer to fly where they have an advantage in numbers, stay higher than the enemy or climb away when outnumbered, swoop in and kill enemies engaged in a fight with their teammates and grab a lot of kills to their deaths. I guess if score matters that is the smartest way to fly.
I have tried it and it was easy to get 5 kills in five minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlDnljoTvBE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlDnljoTvBE) That is its own kind of fun. But crazy people like me enjoy turn fighting with three to try and kill all three or more. Unfortunately, sometimes someone swoops in out of nowhere to get the easy kill, which is my fault for flying dumb, but it involves a smaller skillset to do that. Now most of the better players can also fight well 1v1, but that is a very rare situation in this game, and no one wants to go to match play, except for BW1stpar, Eagler, and Rud3boi occasionally...lol
I already knew how to fly real planes before I started Aces High and players a little Il2, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and DCS (F-15c and F-16 now) SO coming into the game it was more a matter of understanding how the guns shoot and what each plane can and cannot do in
the game performance-wise. It would be very nice to see a list of best climb speeds, the best rate of turn speeds, best corner speeds, weaknesses of each plane, and the strengths of each plane at different altitudes; maybe one exists?
I think that I may be able to get my uncle to make a really comprehensive video guide for new players with a little help with some basic ACM and tactics to keep them alive long enough to at least be the swoop and kill pilot for a while as they get better. Nothing feels better than seeing your first 2 kills show up in the game when you finally land a couple.
I like the idea of giving people maybe a Spit 5, M3, M4 tanks, Jeeps, a Hurricane off of carriers, C47s, Fis, Lancasters, PT Boats for free will give everyone else a lot of targets and will eventually get them the skills they need to want to fly higher performance aircraft. My uncle said you once had 2 servers with 800+ players in each...we could get there again!
Il2 you pay once and buy your planes....they have tens of thousands of players but for some reason, it is not as fun as this game. Maybe because you get to know everyone pretty well and can push their buttons to get them angry enough to want to fight, I don't know... <S>
Back to studying...miss you all!
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Sounds like..... Free Yak-3's!! :bolt:
Oh dear God, no! These planes are super uber, in this game anyway...! They should all be perked! People will never learn anything if a plane like this does everything for them.
I started with the Spit9 in the game and was called a spitdweeb and you can get out of your trainer no... But once you get into a fight, you have to kill everybody trying to kill you or you will not make it home.
A Yak can out turn a spitfire, out climb it, the gun round feels like 37mm if it hits you, and you can always opt to run home from nearly every plane in the game if it gets too scary to fight. It is the first plane I landed 6 kills in one sortie and I felt like I was cheating using it.
Please perk those things and no free yak3s, they are already waaaaay over used!
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Thanks for all who contributed. I don't see why it would hurt to bring something like this online as a trial and see if it works. God knows dar/kill spammer/eny and other things have all been tried but of course that's up to HT.
I was thinking that instead of the 35-40 ENY planes maybe add one mid-war plane from each country in addition to say 40 ENY planes?
Maybe something like:
Spit5 or 9
09F or G
Ki-61
Yak9T
D-11
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Agreed.
Training arena may need a section with AI and a setup that registers hits. I know you can hear them but maybe a scoring system for hits to help know how well they are hitting in practice. As it is, there is never anyone in there to work with new folks. At least AI with scoring hits would help some with practice. Nothing is actually shot down, just hits scored/counted.
I think the learning curve is less about gunnery and more about..
1) view system (so yo actually have some SA)
2) Control Set up (So you can effectively work planes, vehicles, gunners, etc..)
3) Game rules/Objective. (How comms work, how much ords breaks what, what buildings control what, how troops work, how spawns work, how spawn camping works, how dar-bars work, etc, etc...
People come into this game and are completely ineffective even trying to do the simplest things. Training would sort of work but that too is not an intuitive thing to set up.
It would be a lot of work but the game would benefit from a Game mode that new planers play through and it teaches you how to set up views, controls, and game objectives..
I imagine there is a lot of trepidation by a new player to have to start asking everyone for help as soon as they get in a new game.
New player after he tries for a an hour or so and is lost..."Hey can someone stop playing and help me for a few hours to figure out how to play?"
Not an effective system :salute
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Ensure part of the play through tutorials include a rocket tank to blow up a town and it's guns.
A 10k start off point with a fully loaded jug over a CV which you've to land 2.5k ord on.
These were actual things I did in the main arena as I learned the game.
A wirbel mission to shoot incoming dive bombers.
The good players will figure most out themselves but enabling sites may help total noobs a lot.
Crunchy stuff and fun stuff.
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I think the learning curve is less about gunnery and more about..
1) view system (so yo actually have some SA)
2) Control Set up (So you can effectively work planes, vehicles, gunners, etc..)
3) Game rules/Objective. (How comms work, how much ords breaks what, what buildings control what, how troops work, how spawns work, how spawn camping works, how dar-bars work, etc, etc...
People come into this game and are completely ineffective even trying to do the simplest things. Training would sort of work but that too is not an intuitive thing to set up.
It would be a lot of work but the game would benefit from a Game mode that new planers play through and it teaches you how to set up views, controls, and game objectives..
I imagine there is a lot of trepidation by a new player to have to start asking everyone for help as soon as they get in a new game.
New player after he tries for a an hour or so and is lost..."Hey can someone stop playing and help me for a few hours to figure out how to play?"
Not an effective system :salute
Oh definitely not the total package.... just a start. I agree on some training regimen to go through. One setup in sections. As you complete a section, you get perks or a piece of candy (plug in whatever you think may work).
Many would probably skip the training. As was the case when the training arena was pretty active. The few that would actually want to learn would be the one's who might stay awhile longer and go through the training.
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Make the training mandatory. I can give an extremely good example where this was done in a browser game called Quakelive which was basically a very tuned version of Quake 3 with it's best mods.
Quake was ferociously competitive for years with big prize pools and to be able to move at speed via strafe jumping was a must to be in anyways good or play at a decent level. The noobs caught up quickly from years of demos and footage of old.
Tutorials helped but ultimately Quakelive enforced a tutorial that you had to pass in order to proceed to play online.
How many people who try aces high are first time flyers?
Knowing the answer to that could help design the difficulty or help level required.
I won't try to explain a strange jump but it's like a quick swing of 90 degrees and for comparisons sake to aces high would be akin to being able to take off and land in a plane producing a lot of torque.
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Call Of Duty, Halo, every game has mode like that. might be a lot of work for the coder however.
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Fugitive--"2 weeks is not enough, and the way they say it "Free to Play!" does nothing but piss off the new players because while technically you can play for free,"
HT--"Are simply way off the mark, if a someone is angry that all parts are not free forever , then they would never be a subscriber no matter what we did. They would also be upset that all planes were not free.
It also ignores how the word free attached to the game entice people to download and try and take a look. If we did not use the free hook then the person you are describe who get pissed off, would never even download the game."
I agree with Fugitive. The "free" part would seem like a bait and switch to me if I were a new subscriber and I were ushered off to the free arenas (which no one populates) after the two week trial ended in order to continue to play for free. I don't do business with people who phone to tell me I "have an important problem with my car warranty!" or open letters that tell me I "may have won the lottery in New Zealand!" This would feel similar. And the main arena is simply a killing zone for those new players unless they gets lots of advice and help, which, despite the best efforts of some regular players, only occasionally happens.
To keep new players? Somehow incentivize them to hook up with squads or tutors. Probably the latter: newbs can be annoying even when they mean well when a squad is trying to work together to achieve an objective.
PS--or let them fly perk planes for free for those two weeks? I suppose that could be abused but might give newbs the taste of success that many need in order to pay for the game in the future.
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Regarding free ENY 40 the question becomes:
1. How many subscribing vets convert to a free account who would normally keep paying?
2. How many vets were gonna quit altogether but would stay and play occasionally in ENY 40?
3. How many newbies who were gonna subscribe decide to keep playing the free version?
And the real question
4. How does an influx of free 40 ENY accounts affect the previous categories? Are more people gonna subscribe or stay if the arenas are full of action of low ENY planes. Will it offset the numbers of people who would otherwise pay but decide to be cheapskates?
1. Maybe 3, of any but I see vets picking in 262s lately (2cmex. Lazer) and having a lot of fun doing it. Plus, vets seem to like many parts of the game and have top 50 rankings, not just the flying. They would not give up their flexibility.
2. None, when you get addicted you are addicted.
3. None as they will eventually have time to learn to survive and then kill. At that point, they will get tired of chasing "vets" to ack or friends and will want faster planes. In other games, no one stays with the free stuff and is truly a competitor
4. I often log off because there are not enough players on to fight with. The new auto-switch helps a bit, but I heard of days when you had 2 servers full of players, like 1600 or so altogether, The point is to allow them all the time they need to actually learn to have fun in the game. For people who never flew a real plane, or were not already flight simulator savvy, they will need more than two weeks.
I think COVID increased the number of players on now appear to average from 120-190 a night. If we are happy with that, then why is this topic still open?
I would def give free planes permanently if this were my game. Despite what many seem to believe. the human spirit is very competitive. They will have to subscribe to compete at a higher level. It would really suck to pay $15.95/month just to crash each flight, or get one-shot killed by Tyfoo 1000 yards out from some unseen location when you spawn in a tank into the game. Later, when they can survive a mob of planes bnzing them they will pay to be able to have the equipment to catch and kill these guys. Who would like to pay for grief?
My uncle said he would be on board to help with professional training vids as well!
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What about: Free trial unlimited perk planes.
After 2 week trial they get whatever is decided the free planes will be.
I think the loss of the perk planes after 2 weeks might motivate them to subscribe to be able to use perk rides.
What do you think?
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Two weeks is to try the game out, not to get successful. There are already areas free to play. Yes no one is in there...... there is your answer.
Of course I may not be around much longer. They killed the only thing that attempted to even sides. Next, purchase code to make you better. Who knows.
Have not played in the last 2 or 3 weeks. Signed on last night for about 10-15 minutes. At least no shark cards..... yet.
i too do not play much anymore-i no longer feel the urge to play every day all day or not-i guess the game is getting boring-or something-i don't know-so far this tour i've only played 4hrs 43 mins--dec 2020 89 hrs-51 mins nov 2020-32 hrs 51 mins
i used to average 150 hrs a month.
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This question goes out to HT:
You stated that there are lots of people downloading the game but do not become paying subscribers. Are those those people who decide to not become paying subscribers sent a short feedback evaluation? Those are the people you need to hear from to make improvements so they become paying members.
We can throw out ideas left and right, but those are the people who hold the key to improving the bottom line.