Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: J_A_B on August 13, 2002, 03:40:05 PM
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The title says it all. What features could be added to AH that would bring in the most new players?
I think a first-person-shooter element such as the underground bunker warfare concept could potentially bring in a lot of players (look at the popularity of games like Quake and CS). In order to work and attract players who might not want ot fly planes, this FPS element would have to be able to make an impact on the game while not being dependent on the air war. It is a well-known fact that FR flightsims are a niche of a niche market; a full-scale self-sustaining semi-realistic FPS element would allow AH to go "mainstream" and really make some money for HTC.
Please add more suggestions!
J_A_B
P.S. I think allowing special characters in names (especially _'s) is necessary to the continued well-being of AH!!!!!
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yeah we need quakers in underground bunkers to choke up bandwidth
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Carefully targeted advertising. :)
'Course, we're going to have to clean up our act a bit on the text buffer if we expect to keep the non-gamer folks that show up to give this a try. :D
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Speaking of advertising...they must have a deal going with CH Products - look at the bottom of the linked page :)
http://www.chproducts.com/retail/index.html
SOB
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more roads for gvs
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More naked chicks.
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A release that works on System X:D ?
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Better graphics.
Hate to admit this, but it really is the "video ages".. first impression of a game lies greatly in what kind of graphics they offer. The first temptation to try a game sincerely usually comes from not "hey, the specs and reviews are very supportive!" but "wow, those screen shots look awesome!".
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First-person-shooter to atract new custumers? IMO this is a bad idea (IMO!). Im pretty sure that people who play Counterstrike would NEVER change to AH (and leave CS) cause AH offers a nice looking Ego-Shooter. A first-person-shooter could only be an "Add-On" to the gameplay but would not attract
many people.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing for HT is publicity. Many many people all over the world don't even know that such a great game exists! And AFAIK many members of our community are a little bit older than the average gamer and don't read the common gaming magazines.
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A customer relations manager (or 2)
:)
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fix the pipeline/routers/servers first or they will soon be getting less customers not more.
There are thousands of online FPS's that are completely free.Even some flight sims like Il2 are free and there are free dedicated servers with excellent ping times for the hordes that wish to play them.
why on earth would you start to pay for something that you can get elsewhere for nothing.
The reason i pay for AH which incidently is the ONLY game ive ever payed a subscription to is or rather was their superb connection speeds and the great competition with so many excellent pilots (you know who you are!! lol)
When AH expanded with the closure of AW there was a period of terrible connections,warping galore etc etc. Since then AH has never got back to how it was in terms of connects.They have improved it to a bearable standard but its still not as good as it was(better than most other similar online games still though)
I think before HTC start looking for more customers they should sort out this pipeline business.If the game expands again and we start to see a degradation of connections again it will be the straw that breaks a lot of camels backs i predict.
The problem here is those of us who remember how good it was are struggling to accept the way it is now let alone if another influx makes it worse.These are the players who will be most likely to find it unacceptable and these are really the very core players who helped keep AH going through the first years.
sort the pipelines and new players would be cool.Leave it as it stands and I'll be forced to drop AH purely because of poor net performance.At peak times with 500 or so on AH becomes a nightmare and i have to switch to CT for a half decent game :( .
I purchased ADSL and bought some major upgrades to play AH at a decent speed, I even got a credit card for the first time in order to make paying my sub a lot easier, so it goes to show you people are willing to pay for quality gaming online. If HTC has to pay through the nose for a decent pipeline Im willing to pay more per month to help cover it.$5 increase would be no problem, however, i dont want to go back to the $30 a month tarif (not unless i see the old AH performance anyhow)
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Vulcan: More naked chicks.
Kweassa: Better graphics.
Aren't both of these the same thing? :p
Karaya2
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1.) The Homepage could use a redesign. Less text, better Graphics, show more of the game on
the first page without overcrowding it. Aces High does look great: the Clouds at sunset,
the Cockpit of the new Zero, the new planes in general etc. People who surf the homepage for
the first time should get those images in the face... show what ya got! :)
2.) Mission Theater
3.) Flightsims are having a hard time because most come without a good background story (IL-2
basically has the same missions thoughout - no video sequences etc). This is not what I care about,
this is how Gamers Magazines see it... Aces High has no story at all, or in other words, the
users "write" the story when they are online and this lays a great deal of the responsibility on
our shoulders - the customers.
HTC offers the tools to take part in this online world but the way we behave in that world has a
massive impact on the newbie. His descion to stick with Aces High will depend on the people he
meets there or better, their attitude towards him, or how they "treat" each other.
Basically it boils down to this: An online sim can only be as good as it's community - no super
graphics will cover up dweebish behaviour for long :D
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Very well targeted Advertising.
As someone else said, most people have never heard of Aces High! The only way I found it was because my squad moved from AW.
Marketing blitz. Hell, have HT do an interview or 2 on radio programs that cater to males 18-35 Years of age.
Opie and Anthony is a big radio show in NYC. SYndicated to numerous markets around USA. Anthony is a huge video game fan, and loves Flight Sims, and Combat flight sims. They're No.1 in the 18-35 Male demographic.
Give them a call and see if you can get an interview.
Oh...and for all you dirty little bastages out there....check out their websight at http://www.wnew.com
Click on Opie and Anthony
Select WOW Contest....
Make sure the kids are out of the room.
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Make a box version and put it in the stores.
But make sure you have the bandwidth before you do.
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When AH expanded with the closure of AW there was a period of terrible connections,warping galore etc etc. Since then AH has never got back to how it was in terms of connects.They have improved it to a bearable standard but its still not as good as it was
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Yup
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When AH expanded with the closure of AW there was a period of terrible connections,warping galore etc etc. Since then AH has never got back to how it was in terms of connects.They have improved it to a bearable standard but its still not as good as it was
Yes, I agree
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I agree that connection quality is a MUST to KEEP players....but to attract them? Usually game features are what attracts players (and advertising).
Okay, a pure FPS element doesn't seem too popular. What about an expansion of the ground-vehicle war along with roles for individual soldiers? Everyone knows how popular the concept of WW2 online was; where CRS failed in implementation HTC could possibly succeed, both in an open-ended arena format and a mission-based format.
J_A_B
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I too believe that before one attracts new customers, one must keep a stable amount of the ones already involved.
New, geographically believable terrains would seem important, the connection must be good. But above all else, the software needs to be stable.
The past year AH has definately reached its full operating capacity
and experienced some hard difficulty.
To put it another way: Screw new players and features, get some new believable terrains, get the connection quality back to AH standards and eliminate the CTDs and Lock ups.
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+ Add more ground vehicles so that there's a balanced line of both axis and allied vehicles - add an allied tank and an axis half-track.
+ Make the Panzers and Ostwinds only available at the vehicle fields. This would be a little more realistic (how many airfields, right now, have a couple of M1 Abrams tanks parked on their tarmacs?) and would create a whole new world of strategic planning.
+ Make the mission planner easier to use - the waypoint setups are cumbersome, as are setting up the min/max numbers of planes. It should default to minimum of 1 and unlimited max. The starting field should be the field you're at. Click on an enemy field and that should select it as your target. When the mission is submitted, the host should send a message such as "Mission planned: A27 to A35 with P-51D, Spitfire IX, and C-47"
+ Add a player-controlled destroyer to open up the naval combat. Alternatively, make a submarine with a deck gun and machine guns, even if game limitations dictate that it only runs on the surface. A surfaced sub can be hard to detect with its low profile.
+ Add a French plane such as the DB520 to attract the European contingent. Would also be nice to have a "Fall of the Lowlands" scenario with it.
+ Add the Ki-84 Hayate and a Japanese torpedo bomber to balance out the Japanese planeset.
+ Add the Ju-87 Stuka, with siren sound effect and tank-busting cannons, to counter the gv threat.
+ Use electronic map markers to indicate gv spawn points.
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Originally posted by gofaster
...+ Add a French plane such as the DB 520 to attract the European contingent. Would also be nice to have a "Fall of the Lowlands" scenario with it.
+ Add the Ki-84 Hayate and a Japanese torpedo bomber.
Indeed, market the game in Germany showing the amazing German planes, in Britain showing the uber RAF planes.
If people see that a company that shows aircraft from the country that they live in, then they would be more attracted to it.
I wouldn't buy a game that doesn't have any US planes I wouldn't care too much for it.
My $.02
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Add 3 planes/vehicles a month, every month! :)
Sorry Natedog and SuperFly! :eek:
Add at least 1 new map for the MA every 3 months and let the player base vote on which ones go into the standard rotation.
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Me thinks bugs, connects and game play issues could use a little cleaning up first.
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The bottom line is money...cold hard cash. HTC needs to either get an influx of lots of capital (and subsequently give up a degree of control) or they need to borrow it.
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Its up to us also...I have brougth on ....3 New Players..and a fourth soon..I got these guys addicted to like it scrack,,,,...
Tell friends who plays games that there games are crappy...get there tulips over here...help train them ..then let them loose on the biscuits and rickets.....
ya im a Knight nerd!!..lololo
Oya.. 1 more thing...
MAke the Misiion planner set to Defualt on runway..not no friggn Hanagr starts...!
Love BiGB
xoxoxo
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I do think a box version sold in stores would get much more ...
players
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They would need to put premade missions n there also thogh..Liek AW3 box version had over 350 missions...they were kik ass...
Especially the lo lvel mossi raid on the gestapo prison...
i would buy a Box version w/ missions in it for AH:)
Love BiGB
xoxoxo
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Better graphics would do it. Box or no box, graphics always brings in customers I think. Thats the flashy sexy part of game advertising. Oh that and a really HOT blonde sales girl.
;)
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I agree that improved graphics would help. I've posted the link to the screenshots in several gaming forums. The response is always, "WWII Fighters looked better."
I think putting a boxed version in the stores would be a good way to bring people in. The box should contain a CD with the latest version and a ..... gasp ..... printed manual. Sell it for just enough to cover the cost of production.
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don't charge to play :)
really, do we need more ?