newbie place

[PuppetZ]

Another suggestion that I know wont fly. But I honestly think is the best solution for dealing with new players so they dont gt completely turned off within the first few days.

  Steal a page of sorts from the AW playbook (with major improvements) and have a score limited newbie arena whereas newbies could opt to go to that arena to hone their skills against each other until they reach a certain level of proficiency to be determined by their stats( Possibly a formula of hit % and KD ratio combination) before being forced into the MA.

  Now they could still opt with a warning message as to what they might be in for to forgo the Newbie arena and just dive right into the MA. But I think that many newbies who would otherwise be deterred and turned off to the game by the extremely steep learning curve in the MA might be more inclined to head back to an arena untill they reach the determined time or score level thats not full of aces that seem more like gods then players where they might be able to progress and learn against people more or less at their own level of experience and skill level at their own pace rather then just say "screw this its too hard"

  This arena should be named something enticing like "Aces High Basic Combat Academy"  and have a strict side limiter installed and a minimal of captureable bases and have those bases remain captured only for say and hour before they revert back to their original team because this would be about learning some of the nuances of the game and not purely for conquest.

   Maybe dumb down some of the damage model and get rid of PWs so they wont die quite as easily from mistakes but will be able to learn what a bad mistake is. Maybe for that damage thats dumbed down, have the option of having an instructor like sound file to let them know "Dummy if this were real, you woulda lost a wing" or "If this were real you would have collided and gotten yourself killed" Or, "Pay attention! you just killed him but you also killed yourself"

And maybe a keyboard command that would bring up a list on the clipboard of common commands such as how to start your engine,drop bombs, etc.

The idea being to help players familiarize themselves with the game while going up against other players of varying skill levels but not so skilled that they dont stand any chance at all.

You could even have Vets volunteer to enter the arenas on a limited and side based level to help and teach and organize the basics. To prevent abuse. Trainers ammo would be severely dummied down and would be limited to an even number per side.

Next up we could rename the current TA to "Advanced Fighter Combat Training Academy" for those that want ot go and learn under an official trainer advanced fighter tactics. but with a warning that unless you've completed basic training AFCTA wont be very helpful to you.

The names of these places are almost as important as what they are there for to give the customer a sense of . "hmmm. Now that sounds interesting"

Tell me. If any of you were new,Which one would you rather go to based on name alone. "The Training Arena"? Or  the "Advanced Fighter Combat Training Academy"?

To a new customer. Presentation is everything. This applies to any business. I dont care if its Aces High or a janotorial servise to clean toilets.
Hell, it was proven in the 70s that you could sell people a rock in a box if you just presented it right.
Followed closely by content. As was also proven with "The Pet rock" Not even always content LOL

But here we actually have content. What want is people to come. And then want to stay once they have. the problem is cept for diehards or people already with some flight sim experience in depth. You could be taking some people who barely know an elevator from a landing gear and throwing them into a place where many people are so far advanced they seem unreachable.

Yet, if you provide them with a way to learn how to  get part way up that mountain. They might be less inclined to give up
A Newbie arena would help. And a proper name for it might entice them to check it out.

+1 that

would help keep these people interested.
More people=more action
more action=more fun
more fun=more people
see this thing sells itself 

[FLS]

We have a newbie place, it's called the dueling arena. You can use the stall limiter and external views to make it easier when you're starting out. We also have a newbie place called the training arena where, in addition to the stall limiter and F3 view, bullets don't damage your plane and people are willing to help newbies learn what they need to learn.

[PuppetZ]

Well then let's call it that because it isn't so obvious when you look at the name...dueling arena is where I go if I want to duel. Not fly against another new guy like me...
Training arena: I've been playing now for maybe a month steady and more or less sporadically last year maybe 2-3 months. And I've read a good deal of the content on the trainer site, ahwiki and whatnot. Never knew there was rubber bullet in TA. That's genuinely new for me. And the few times I've been there, there was a whole lot of notin' going on so... I'm not really familiar with it at all. If the duelling arena had been called the beginner's arena, then maybe I would have hoped there instead of straight in MA. How should I know it's where I should go to begin with. Nobody told me. That's the point I want to make with this. I know you trainer really wish to help but your community is not geared toward customer retention it's more the like of a technical assistance hotline (no insult meant here, it's just that I work for a car dealer so that's the vocabulary I'm familiar with) where I can find help once I decide to buy the product.

I try this out to see if I like. If I decide I like, then I pay and maybe will go look for a trainer to explain me the odds and ends of the game. But If I up from a field and go where there is a mix of red and green(I'm not THAT stupid after all ) and get repeatedly burned times and times again. It grow very old, very fast. Customer goes : BLAH! what a piece of ... hit escape and go to greener pasture(with his green paper if I might add). If there was some sort of place I'm pitted against people my skill level just to ease me into the game. And besides, I'm not at all convinced that DA is actually a better place for newcomer as nothing assure me that those with tons of experience do not go there, I'll have to check it out tough. I don't want to give an opinion without experiencing it first hand.

[FiLtH]

 Maybe have it so once they improve and the k/d reaches a certain level, the next time they log in they are awarded with a completion of training certificate, and orders to report to the MA.

[Raphael]

Maybe have it so once they improve and the k/d reaches a certain level, the next time they log in they are awarded with a completion of training certificate, and orders to report to the MA.

Hey a great concept idea! details like that make any game better. haha maybe you could even print your certificate.

[FLS]

Puppet the best way to for newbies to practice with someone at their skill level is to fight 1v1 in the same aircraft. The best place for that is the DA or TA.

[PuppetZ]

Puppet the best way to for newbies to practice with someone at their skill level is to fight 1v1 in the same aircraft. The best place for that is the DA or TA.

Agreed. Now let's just put a big sign pointing that way and it will be good. Once you install to tryout you're pretty much left to yourself you know. I had to figure alot of things by myself. While it didn't change the fact I liked the game. A simple message telling me on login : we strongly recommend beginners and those not familliar with online flight sim to use DA for a while until they get used to the game. If you so desire you can always hop by the TA and ask for help. You can also post any question you might have on our forums at http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php bla bla bla It's a MOTD kind of thing.

see. There's no need to dumb down the physics/perk plane for better guy/zone eny and what not. We simply need to take the hand of our new comers and teach them to 'walk'. They will get good at hit and you'll see them running in no time(well figuratively speaking). We, collectively, don't want a lowest common denominator system (which I, for one, do NOT wish to see implemented, as the high level of competition and sheer difficulty is IMO what make AH most satisfying(I bet you can remember your first kill)). Yet for our continued enjoyment of the game, we must thrive to make the community grow.

what I'm talking about here is for HTC customer retention. If enough people join in, maybe it would be worthwhile to present player with gigantic map where a very high population cap is in effect thus negating(or at the least reducing) the effect of trying to split a small population over 2 smaller arenas with all the problems that brings (I will not get into this as they have already been discussed ad nauseam)

respectfully.

[FLS]

For a complete newbie the TA is a better place to start than the DA. You're certainly welcome to take newbies by the hand there and help them walk and run.

[ImADot]

Agreed. Now let's just put a big sign pointing that way and it will be good.

Hmmmm....

"Training Arena" would to me be the obvious place to go if I were brand new and didn't know anything about the AH2 world.  Whether I new there was no damage or not, I would go there for some "training".   

[guncrasher]

you guys ever stop and think that perhaps the new guys are a few a week and not hundreds.  so you put all the noobs in one arena and well look at ew, ww1,  ava.  they will be there by themselves.


semp

[Ack-Ack]

Maybe have it so once they improve and the k/d reaches a certain level, the next time they log in they are awarded with a completion of training certificate, and orders to report to the MA.

In the newbie arena that we had in AW, there was a 10,000 point limit.  Once you hit that threshold, you couldn't take off in a fighter or bomber with any ammo or ordnance.  Which prevented players from staying in the newbie arena and prevented vets from coming in and using it as their own personal seal pup hunting grounds.

ack-ack

[Vudu15]

Puppet the best way to for newbies to practice with someone at their skill level is to fight 1v1 in the same aircraft. The best place for that is the DA or TA.

I dont think so sir these new guys want to get into the action FAST, what better way to learn than against guys of their own skill level with no BS like the DA and damage unlike the TA.

But pretty much match the MAs

[FLS]

I dont think so sir these new guys want to get into the action FAST, what better way to learn than against guys of their own skill level with no BS like the DA and damage unlike the TA.

But pretty much match the MAs

What are they going to learn from other newbies?  In the TA they can learn what they're ready to learn, then they need to practice it. Practicing 1v1 against another newbie in the TA or DA lets them learn something other than getting picked and ganged. The person that teaches you a lead turn or lag pursuit probably doesn't have the time to practice it with you for a week or two but another newbie, fighting 1v1 in the same aircraft, gives you the opportunity to practice and to win some fights. Why would a horde of newbies in their own arena be better than that?

[ImADot]

The "noob arena" will be just like the DA.  All the noobs will learn from each other is how to point their plane at another plane and hold the trigger down - hoping to kill the other guy before running into his propeller.  They can't learn BFM - let alone any ACM - from each other if nobody in there knows anything.  Ever hear of the saying "the blind leading the blind"? 

[Ack-Ack]

What are they going to learn from other newbies?  In the TA they can learn what they're ready to learn, then they need to practice it. Practicing 1v1 against another newbie in the TA or DA lets them learn something other than getting picked and ganged. The person that teaches you a lead turn or lag pursuit probably doesn't have the time to practice it with you for a week or two but another newbie, fighting 1v1 in the same aircraft, gives you the opportunity to practice and to win some fights. Why would a horde of newbies in their own arena be better than that?

When it was in practice in AW, trainers and veteran players alike would venture into the newbie arena and help out as the newbie arena also doubled as the training arena in not only how to fly but also in how the game works.  It was a very efficient system in getting new players ready for the main arenas.  The new players that had a tough time adapting to the main arenas in AW were invariably the ones that never took the opportunity to take advantage of the newbie arena.

There was also an Air Warrior Training Academy were new players that joined actually had to go through a structured training program that taught them the fundimentals of not only flying but also game play.  The "students" would meet for their weekly classes, practice what was on the agenda for that class and then the instructor would give them "homework" in the newbie arena to practice what was taught earlier.  

No knock on the AH trainers, they do a great job and have been a great asset but AH needs a more structured training program in addition to a newbie arena to go hand in hand with it.  Those that take advantage of these kind of these things are more likely to stick around for a long period of time than those that jump straight into the pool full of sharks without thinking to put their floaties on before hand.

ack-ack