Bored with the Game?

[iwomba]

if you were to go there, chances are good that someone would look at the clipboard, as you do, and see someone in there, and think "hhmm....maybe i'll go see who's in there".
 now, there's 2 in there.......then more look, and see some people in there, and seeing 8 ot 10, they wonder what's going on, so they check it out....and next thing ya know, ya got good fights.

Following that line of logic then there should be 100+ in there but it doesn't happen.

Why? Because it is not what the majority pay to play for.

It's a sideshow like EW & MW etc to impress new players ,when they log on, as they go "wow look at all these different arenas I can play in".

[Guppy35]

No night that can't be saved with a good P39 run to finish up.  I've enjoyed the last few times I've flown.  Generally I've run into guys that are looking for a fight and we have at it.  Generally civil conversation between the players and a willingness to have fun.  Just stay away from Messiah in a Brewster.  Must not turn with him...must not turn with him!

[Agent360]

Lusche said
quote
1. You are back to standard icons?
2. There are actually people in there? This is what I see all the time:

(Yesterday, 10pm)

end quote

This game is hosed now.

I see the same thing all the time.

One sign... 4 days ago there were 75 people in the DA...more than in the blue arena.... that should tell something.

Hitech has said "customers don't know what the want"...citing an article about customer service...well I say Hitech is messing up with that kind of thinking.

But hey...2000 customers or so times 15 bucks a month is 30 grand per month. or 5000 customers per month is 75 grand per month. with that kind of cash it dont matter...just keep the cash cow going as long as you can. No need to bother with actually listing to customers.

[CAP1]

Following that line of logic then there should be 100+ in there but it doesn't happen.

Why? Because it is not what the majority pay to play for.

It's a sideshow like EW & MW etc to impress new players ,when they log on, as they go "wow look at all these different arenas I can play in".

nope. this arena isn't for new players.

[gyrene81]

Following that line of logic then there should be 100+ in there but it doesn't happen.

Why? Because it is not what the majority pay to play for.

It's a sideshow like EW & MW etc to impress new players ,when they log on, as they go "wow look at all these different arenas I can play in".

Truthfully, none of the regulars wants 100+ in there all the time because of the amount of stupid that follows. The AvA is a place where most of the regular people accept the challenges, enjoy the immersion, and leave their romper room egos in the other arenas. If a person doesn't want anything more than arcade, it's a darn good thing there are other arenas to accomodate.

Hitech has said "customers don't know what the want"...citing an article about customer service...well I say Hitech is messing up with that kind of thinking.

Hitech is right, especially in the gaming world. Take a look at the wishlist forum, nothing is good enough until your told there isn't going to be anything else...then magically, everything is good enough. Look at all the whines in just the general discussion forum, aside from the normal arena cap and ENY whines, it's crap about "tanks shouldn't get bombed", "my SA sucks so I'm going to complain about picking", blah, blah, blah...and yet they continue to pay their fees and do the same thing every chance they get. If there is something you really feel that strongly about, you voice your displeasure to customer service, stop paying and move on, check back once in a while to see if it's been fixed. And once you do so, never make a nuisance of yourself by posting your opinions the company's forums, because they really don't matter, you're not a paying customer and none of the paying customers care what you think.

Perhaps you think Hitech should have his staff jump and "fix" everything the asylum patients whine about...just to appease "give them what they want". Think about it. Hate to break the news to you but, not all of the paying customers say anything in these forums, so any thinking that the 50 people whining about random junk every month is "the majority of players" is seriously flawed.

[jimson]

Following that line of logic then there should be 100+ in there but it doesn't happen.

Why? Because it is not what the majority pay to play for.

It's a sideshow like EW & MW etc to impress new players ,when they log on, as they go "wow look at all these different arenas I can play in".

I wonder if part of this may be the culture that has been built into the genre probably preceding Aces High.

An AvA style planeset arena would seem to start with an advantage as this would be a new players reference. What they see on TV or in movies isn't Spitfire v Spitfire and 109 v Zero.

So the first time they check out a WW2 based game they would likely be expecting to fly Spit v 109 and Hellcat v Zero.

What they find however, is that what is called the Main Arena is all plane sets, and the Main Arena is the place to be right? They are sort of automatically directed there instead of the AvA or equivalent.

Most get used to the "all plane concept and find that flying period planes of any country v any country is enough for them  and the versatility of always being able to select any plane at any time gives them more choices.

The AvA type arena is then relegated to niche status, and only those determined to find some sort of historical immersion fly there.

If from the beginning of time, the AvA type arena was always called the Main Arena, players might be automatically directed there first as that would be a natural choice for them considering that their frame of reference would be the historical match ups that they have seen and read about.

Then even with the presence of "all plane" arenas, the numbers might be more balanced but certainly not reversed as there is still the draw of being able to select any plane from any country at any time.

[Agent360]

Truthfully, none of the regulars wants 100+ in there all the time because of the amount of stupid that follows. The AvA is a place where most of the regular people accept the challenges, enjoy the immersion, and leave their romper room egos in the other arenas. If a person doesn't want anything more than arcade, it's a darn good thing there are other arenas to accomodate.


Hitech is right, especially in the gaming world. Take a look at the wishlist forum, nothing is good enough until your told there isn't going to be anything else...then magically, everything is good enough. Look at all the whines in just the general discussion forum, aside from the normal arena cap and ENY whines, it's crap about "tanks shouldn't get bombed", "my SA sucks so I'm going to complain about picking", blah, blah, blah...and yet they continue to pay their fees and do the same thing every chance they get. If there is something you really feel that strongly about, you voice your displeasure to customer service, stop paying and move on, check back once in a while to see if it's been fixed. And once you do so, never make a nuisance of yourself by posting your opinions the company's forums, because they really don't matter, you're not a paying customer and none of the paying customers care what you think.

Perhaps you think Hitech should have his staff jump and "fix" everything the asylum patients whine about...just to appease "give them what they want". Think about it. Hate to break the news to you but, not all of the paying customers say anything in these forums, so any thinking that the 50 people whining about random junk every month is "the majority of players" is seriously flawed.

your post is funny.

You missed the basic point.

Recently the company who makes the snack "sun chips" changed the bag they use. They tried a new biodegradable bag but it made a loud irritating crinkling noise when the bag was opened or handled. Customers complained...sales dropped. The company made a survery and discovered the problem. They came out with a new bag that doenst make noise and presto...sales went up. In this case they did listen to customers.

I read the article HiTech quoted..(I cant find the thread to cite). It makes some good points about how customer complaints/requests should be evaluated. But I disagree with it in terms of its basic theory.

The wish list is filled with good, bad and rediculous ideas. Its up to HiTech to mine the good data from it and use it in a productive way.

Many long time players follow the forums. I agree the forums are small sample of the total number of actual players. However, these players could be looked at as a test sample of the whole...the ones who play the game much more that the occasional player. They can expose weaknesses in the game..not just bugs but fundemental game play. They should be listend to.

There is a problem with the game right now in terms of the arena caps, maps, and eny. When there are more people in the DA than in both main arena's that is telling you something.

[Agent360]

I wonder if part of this may be the culture that has been built into the genre probably preceding Aces High.

An AvA style planeset arena would seem to start with an advantage as this would be a new players reference. What they see on TV or in movies isn't Spitfire v Spitfire and 109 v Zero.

So the first time they check out a WW2 based game they would likely be expecting to fly Spit v 109 and Hellcat v Zero.

What they find however, is that what is called the Main Arena is all plane sets, and the Main Arena is the place to be right? They are sort of automatically directed there instead of the AvA or equivalent.

Most get used to the "all plane concept and find that flying period planes of any country v any country is enough for them  and the versatility of always being able to select any plane at any time gives them more choices.

The AvA type arena is then relegated to niche status, and only those determined to find some sort of historical immersion fly there.

If from the beginning of time, the AvA type arena was always called the Main Arena, players might be automatically directed there first as that would be a natural choice for them considering that their frame of reference would be the historical match ups that they have seen and read about.

Then even with the presence of "all plane" arenas, the numbers might be more balanced but certainly not reversed as there is still the draw of being able to select any plane from any country at any time.

I agree totally.

When I first started (4 years ago) I was expecting the different arena's to be populated. After a month or so I realized that was not going to be the case.

I cant figure out why most players are not into more historical match ups and AvA, EW and MW are not more acive.

I suspect that alot if not most NEW players think of this game in terms of "Arcade style"..just fly around and shoot something.

Everyone always goes nuts when a Korea version with jets get mentioned. Most I think would like it because ACM is limited....it would be all about speed and running...real safe flying...use the jet use the jet...my point is that the MA is 80% players who fly the best/fastest plane and have read Shaws book and seen every history channel show. To them it is about survival...this is a big contrast to the AVA where you would be confined to playing against better or worse plane depending in the situation...in the MA you are not restricted in ANY way other than eny.

It's the difference between arcade or strategy....yes I know someone is going to say "survival" takes great strategy...blah.blah

Is this a game of strategy or just another game that you blow stuff up?

[CAP1]

actually, survival is easy.

 take a pony up to 30k. not only will you survive, but you'll conserve fuel. 

[jimson]

I cant figure out why most players are not into more historical match ups and AvA,

One thing is that I think folks don't like to be limited to only certain planes. Also I think there are quite a few that would prefer more historical match-ups in a 24/7 arena but they are willing to trade that preference to go where there are more players.

If you start with the premise that an unrestricted arena will be more popular, then that will siphon off even more players from other arenas even if they prefer the other arenas, and it is an effect that feeds itself, but one cannot discount that the LW arenas would have to be more popular in the first place for this to occur.

[gyrene81]

your post is funny.

You missed the basic point.

Recently the company who makes the snack "sun chips" changed the bag they use. They tried a new biodegradable bag but it made a loud irritating crinkling noise when the bag was opened or handled. Customers complained...sales dropped. The company made a survery and discovered the problem. They came out with a new bag that doenst make noise and presto...sales went up. In this case they did listen to customers.

I read the article HiTech quoted..(I cant find the thread to cite). It makes some good points about how customer complaints/requests should be evaluated. But I disagree with it in terms of its basic theory.

Ok so wait, I personally don't buy Sun chips because I don't like them, not because of the packaging. If I did buy them, the bag would be a neglible problem because I put my chips in a bowl or on a plate when I eat them. But to your point, do you think the company would have changed the bag if the customers were complaining about the flavors of the chips? The company had a single point of contention to deal with and it was not based on individual preferences, unlike the plethora of "I want" "I want" that is seen here in AH. For every person that posts a whine about something wrong with the game there are 20 who jump in and say differently.

(Not talking about the way arena caps are handled since I agree there is a problem.) Just with the number of people who are active in the forums, look at the argument for a single unlimited player late war arena versus the multiple late war arenas that have the numbers of players regulated throughout the day. For every person who says they want a single arena there are at least 3 others who say they don't want it and avoid Titanic Tuesday just because they don't like what happens with the massive numbers. Yet every single month people on both sides continue to pay their fees and do the same stuff they always do. That does not show Hitech that those people who want the single late war arena are serious about what they want. Just like your Sun chip example, if you don't like the product the way it is, complain directly to the company in writing and stop buying the product.

Take a look at the number of people who whined about the radar settings, before, during and after the recent changes. People complained about the effectiveness of the radar settings and wanted something more, but kept paying their fees and playing anyway. Changes were made to address the concerns. Then people whined about the changes, but kept paying their fees and playing anyway. The radar settings were again changed and now there aren't so many whines about the radar and people are looking for other things to whine about...like tanks getting bombed, but they keep paying their fees and playing anyway.

Just so we're both on the same page here, we're not talking about legitimate issues like the manner in which arena caps are handled right now, or messed up flight models, or terrain glitches...we're talking about what people think they want at some point in time when they get frustrated about a certain aspect of the game and take it upon themselves to whine in public and presume that the other 99.9% of the paying customers want the same thing when they get 3 other people to agree with them. What you appear to be overlooking is the fact that a vast majority of the problems voiced in these forums is a direct result of behavior...good, bad or indifferent and those same behavior conflicts brought about the changes that people are complaining about now. HTC has proven to be very consistent in fixing issues that are fixable and doing what they believe to be best for their business to address the conflicts caused by behavior.

[JHerne]

When I first came to the game - Day One - I was expecting a WW2 Combat Simulation. I flew offline for awhile and was amused that I could fly a '51 and shoot down a B-24. I just figured there was a variety circling overhead so it didn't matter.

Then I logged in and saw the late-war arena with 200 people in it - and I logged in, chose a side, and watched from the tower as 51s, 109s, a Ki-84s all upped from the same field...

So I went to the AvA, and there was no one there, but the planeset was right, even had a map of Italy or some other historical location, not a giant 3-ring pizza map.

So I flew around, by myself, then went back to the LW arena. I resigned myself to the all-plane sets simply because I liked the game - it was better than anything else online at the time.

But...I'm a military historian (bona fide, with a degree hanging on the wall), and it always irked me when I was trying to shoot down a Spitfire while flying a Spitfire (yes, it happened, but it was Israel vs. Egypt!)

I've played for a few years now, and like everyone else, got bored or tired with the MA. So now I spend most of my time in the AvA, if not flying, helping to arrange scenarios and offering research for campaigns, etc.

At least now I'm making a difference and helping (albeit a small group) the AvA grow and improve.

J

[Lusche]

I've played for a few years now, and like everyone else, got bored or tired with the MA. So now I spend most of my time in the AvA, if not flying, helping to arrange scenarios and offering research for campaigns, etc.

Like everyone else?


I had played AH for 5 years, averaging 130 hours a month. I never really have gotten bored or tired with the MA. In fact, I had dropped my participation in events like Scenarios, Koth, Snapshots and the AvA over the years, concentrating just on the mains. And I surely will miss the fun I had there 

[Dichotomy]

I fell into the AVA my first go round in this game.  It had a somewhat less than stellar reputation then but I found that 95% of the regs back then, if you were really trying, were very helpful and accommodating.  Or maybe they just welcomed another target.  Who knows.  

Back for round two a couple of years later.  Dropped into the TA, *crickets chirping*, Umm.. okay I'll look into the MA's and the first thing I see is a purse fight going on in channel *oh geez YAWWWWN*, cruise on over to the AVA and it was empty as well.  So I relied on my old tried and true method of getting someone in there.  Yes I upped a bomber.  Within 30 minutes there were some old faces I remembered, some new ones I kind of knew, and it was, and has been, great fun.

 People switching sides for balance, passing <S>'s back and forth, attempting NOT to HO if possible, and generally enjoying themselves and each other.  Then I noticed something going on that I really liked.  The staff tossing out ideas and new scenarios that kept it interesting.  Jet week was a fantastic switch from the norm and everybody in there yukked it up all week (as far as I saw).  Did a couple of interesting scenarios then last week we had WWI battles.  I think, to a man, everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  You might have noticed some of the pics posted in this forum and the AVA forum.  I died on every single sortie and finally got my Camel turning the last night of the scenario.  But I died almost every time chuckling at my own ineptitude.  

I would never have climbed into one of those coffins on my own but I wound up having a blast and a bunch of new folks came in there and seemed to be having equally as much fun.  I wasn't a fan of the 109 until about a month ago.  Now I'm trying to learn all of it's nuances and I've grown pretty fond of it.

I would not attempt or even suggest that the AVA is a 'better' place to play the game but it fits how I personally enjoy playing.  And, like JHerne said, I just never found it that much fun to run a Pony up against B17s and so on.  

I'm a big believer in letting people find their own fun and their own methods of having fun.  So, if the MA's or the Dueling arena are your cup of tea, more power to you and enjoy yourself.  However, if you're burned out on the MA's and are looking for something different with a great group of players who are pretty much exceptional cartoon pilots, stick your head in there and give it a go.  You might just find that thrill and sense of fun you got back when you first started playing.  It's worth a shot right?  

[jimson]

There are some things that I take exception with, one being that the AvA is better or the players are better. This is an arrogant attitude, certainly every time I log in, the player skill level plummets exponentially.

I do not know if the perception of lesser so-called "dweebery" HO's and that sort of thing, is truly a reflection of a different mindset/attitude or simply the same percentage slice of a smaller pie.

However, it may be that the the nature of the arena might draw an over all more mature (older) crowd, less desirous of a first person shooter type game, and that the percentage of brand new players could be smaller.

For me, it's simply a choice of what I prefer environment wise, not necessarily player behavior wise.

If I were able to attend FSO and Snapshots, that might be where my focus was but instead it is here, the only reason I subscribe.