New funding model?

[hellwolf]

I believe that the new achievement system is a precursor for a new funding model for Aces high.

The most serious problem for hitech or in fact any business is how to increase profits and increase the customer base.  The way Aces is set up at the moment, it has and will prove difficult to achieve these goals.  At the moment there are about 5000 subscriptions. How do you maintain your customer base and increase those numbers? Under the present subscription model, advertising is the only possible solution, however even if the advertising is successful, and say for instance attracts 1000 new players to a two week free trial, how does AH convert any of those new players to the subscription model? The huge learning curve the game requires IN combination with the current scoring and rank system is not conducive to new players staying. I see some noobies flying 10s if not hundreds of sorties to get a kill. This is obviously discouraging and sends many potential customers away. The new "achievements" solve this problem nicely. Humans are hard wired to become addicted to tasks that provide small and continuous rewards. Poker machines are designed to exploit this fact very effectively. Lots of bells and whistles even for little payouts compel the player to continue under the false assumption they are gaining something.  The parallel with the new achievement system is obvious, getting 3 secs of airtime in a jeep is totally unrelated to any part of AH, but is a fun and achievable reward for a player. Other achievements are obviously designed to improve game play, getting a kill in every plane, or killing 1 of every type of plane, encourages the use of of many of the wonderful older planes that at the moment are just a waste of space. How many spit1s do u see in the LW arena? The new model will see a plethora of new planes and gvs in use.  This will spell the end of the current scoring system.  Rank will be in the future based on the number of achievement goals that are met.  Why do this?

The basic idea behind this new system is i believe the beta test for removing subs altogether. Most games on the net do not follow the antiquated subscription model or even buy the CD model.  Gaming on the net has evolved to  "free to play, pay for upgrades".  So for instance, as a noobie you have access to say a P51b, after gaining perks or "gold" or some such counter from either ticking off of achievements or and here is the important bit, you can buy the plane straight up!! might cost a dollar say to have access to P51D, an extra dollar if you want 1000lb bomb load out etc, might be $15.00 for a 262, not every time u up one but just to get access to the model.  When plane is lost or damaged it will cost a certain amount of achievment "gold" or cash for repair/ replacement.

The advantage of this scoring/revenue stream is that the potential market is now HUGE. Many games i play online follow this model and have 100s of thousands if not millions of players!!!  Makes the 5000 subs look like a waste of time.  1 game i play on facebook, had a special event this week (they usually run 1-2 times a month) the prizes would be similar to gaining a 262 or a tempest for your hanger, I couldn't believe the number of players talking about how much they spent, some more than $200 over a weekend, and for what? A stupid fairly cheesy simple flash game that provides those same rewards for free if you spend the time and effort to get them. This game has 1.8 million players!!!! If only 0.5 % of those players spent $15.00 per month that's twice the turnover of Aces high, and trust me a lot more than 0.5% spend money!

Another advantage for Hitech, a critical mass of players can be reached where advertising becomes more profitable and less necessary, and word of mouth or should i say the social network does all the advertising you need.  Moderating the game becomes far less of a headache.  At the moment hitech must moderate chat and player behavior closely so as not to offend its present customer base, a stalwart group that have well entrenched ideas and attitudes toward the game that makes any changes subject to intensive lobbying from the regular players.  If the customer base numbers in the 100k plus range, it becomes of a bit of who cares what you say. A simple text filter and a watch for hacks is as far as moderating will go.

How will it affect the top raters and present players? Well for a start no subs. We should be at a skill level where most achievements will be easy for us, still hard for noobies.  We wont have to spend any where near the amount of new players or I'm sure Hitech can organize it so that we end up spending about the same money per month. At least it will be our choice on how to spend those dollars, if we are not interested in a new Me410 then we just wont buy one, and market forces will determine where AH spends its R and D. At the moment they have to guess what we want then cop the complaints when they don't get it right. The new funding model will point Hitech in the right direction, if most peeps are spending money on P51ds, then that's the plane that should be upgraded first.  New income will lead to improvements in quality of graphics etc.  How could Hitech justify spending$ on graphic improvements now, if it really does not increase customer base enough to make it worth while. At the moment they are chasing their own tail, trying to keep the present players happy and yet spend money they probably don't have to advertise to customers who probably wont stay because the scoring rank reward system is designed to work against them.  The scoring/rank system also creates many problems within the game, peeps getting angry cause a single death destroys their score for the month, that death may come at the hands of a noobie HO or collide and the noobie suffers the berating on chat and thinks why bother? If on the other hand that single death makes far less impact on a players overall achievements met or overall ranking, then less angst will be generated.  This new model wont solve all the problems but will go a long way to ensuring AH continues in the future. Personally I love the new feature. Perhaps because i am used to playing other games under this model, they certainly cause me far less frustration than this game does.

What do you think?
Will it matter what you think?
5000 subs versus the potential millions of players is a no brainier.
If I am totally wrong sry Hitech.
If I am right would love to work for you and with you in the future Aces high!!!

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Unfortunately while your model would make HT rich it would kill the game as we know it. Noob players would need heavy concessions in playability such as constant F3 view etc. Any spins would be out of the question and flight model would have to support easy mouse flying.

I'm also personally very against the pay as you play model because I hate the idea that someone shells out cash just to get uberweapons that give an unfair advantage. I prefer to play a flat fee to get a flat playground for everyone.

[TequilaChaser]

I second MrRiPlEy's  reply

TC

[HighTone]

and I would like to triple MrRiplEy's  reply

[The Fugitive]

I agree with MrRipley as well. HTC has also stated they are a small company  that provides a game to a specific clientele, and they would like to keep it that way.

5000 subscribers may not seem like a lot to you, but to HTC it seems to pay the bills and make those involved a good enough living doing the things they love to do.

[hellwolf]

Separate rooms where different ranked players can go solves the noobie problem.  You can only fight say 5 levels above or below you, gives you a chance to go against other tougher players and move on up.  Top players can move down a few levels to show them up, gain some points etc but mostly system is set up to stay at your own level or higher.  Would be great for top players too, coming up against the best all time will only improve your play.

You already pay for the game, paying for upgrades wont be such a big deal, you wont be that disadvantaged since  your opponents are at same level.  If you get enough points to get a tempest then it levels you up so you will be competing against similar planes and players.

Yes it will destroy the game as it is, but time and falling subs is doing that anyway.  There is no alternative Aces must adapt or die. Be a part of the solution, don't just be an old stick in the mud hater.

[hellwolf]

Unfortunately while your model would make HT rich it would kill the game as we know it. Noob players would need heavy concessions in playability such as constant F3 view etc. Any spins would be out of the question and flight model would have to support easy mouse flying.

I'm also personally very against the pay as you play model because I hate the idea that someone shells out cash just to get uberweapons that give an unfair advantage. I prefer to play a flat fee to get a flat playground for everyone.

You may prefer a flat fee, So do I, but millions dont!

[SIK1]

Another one for what MrRipley said.

[The Fugitive]

Separate rooms where different ranked players can go solves the noobie problem.  You can only fight say 5 levels above or below you, gives you a chance to go against other tougher players and move on up.  Top players can move down a few levels to show them up, gain some points etc but mostly system is set up to stay at your own level or higher.  Would be great for top players too, coming up against the best all time will only improve your play.

You already pay for the game, paying for upgrades wont be such a big deal, you wont be that disadvantaged since  your opponents are at same level.  If you get enough points to get a tempest then it levels you up so you will be competing against similar planes and players.

Yes it will destroy the game as it is, but time and falling subs is doing that anyway.  There is no alternative Aces must adapt or die. Be a part of the solution, don't just be an old stick in the mud hater.

Ya, when these other games your talking about with this "pay as you go" are around after 10 years, we'll talk.

I don't think HTC subscription rates fluctuate that much. Sure a year or so ago we had more players and had to split into 2 main arenas. But for all those other years we had about the same numbers. If HTC has been happy for 10 years at this level what makes you think they wish to grow so much more?
 

[Karnak]

I prefer a flat fee.  For my part I am much more likely to play a game in which I pay a fixed monthly amount like AH or WoW than I am to play any of the MMOs that have gone Free to Play, Pay to have fun.

[hellwolf]

Ya, when these other games your talking about with this "pay as you go" are around after 10 years, we'll talk.

I don't think HTC subscription rates fluctuate that much. Sure a year or so ago we had more players and had to split into 2 main arenas. But for all those other years we had about the same numbers. If HTC has been happy for 10 years at this level what makes you think they wish to grow so much more?
 

If they were happy the way the are then why beta test an achievement system? In fact why do they advertise if they are happy at this level of Subs. The evidence and common sense don't back up your statement.  It will make no difference to the present players, we are already high up in lvls, only difference for us is that we wouldn't come across total noobies until they skill up.

[Helm]

Aces used to be $29.99.  Todays price is easy compared to that.

Helm ...out

[bustr]

Is this one of the newer generation of players who have been asking HTC to port the game to note pads and smart phones so they can play it as a java script easy mode game in Facebook?

This is like asking for the free HtH arenas back again except now the OP wants 600 players per free arena instead of 8 restricted to a base toy set. Yes you would get an intitial 30X to 50X increase in use traffic for the novelty. But, unless HTC dumbs the game down including castrating the physics modeling which takes a laptop or PC to crunch the environment math to the level of Donkey Kong. And your controller is an xBox tumb twitch pad or less. Very few of those passing through are going to pay extra to get their noses dunked in the dirt when they can stick with the base offering for free and get their noses dunked. Under this circumstance AH will be no better, or worse than World of War Planes or War Thunder.

In a free base model format by definition the game will have to be a restricted environment with limited toys and limited possibilities unless you have cash you don't worry about spending towards a tiered game culture based on personal economics. The current subscription model in it's accused antiquated form is up front and honest about what you are expected to pay each month allowing the player in the real world to budget for the future. Due to this every time you login you have equaly unlimited possiblities because only the perk system is keeping you from a tiny number of toys. Otherwise you have the equal ability to wage war at all times limited only by your ability to play the game and not the differences in your disposable income.

Hellwolf why do you want this game ported into Facebook? Anything you present about HTC's business model is a canard. You don't have access to HTC's books.  Do you work for another game company?

HTC over the past 10 years has constantly experimented with some form of beta testing large and small. Do you remember the beta arenas a few years back? Didn't work out all that well. HTC has been taking longer to release new updates that seem more stable since then. The award system appears more sailent to the last few years of conversations on the BBS expressing a consensus that strat's and bombers active impact to the game needed to be changed and a new format for motivation was needed. Changes to the game play can be seen as HTC listening to ongoing BBS  conversations and based on observations over "time" conceeding that the player base has a point. It's been an observable phenomenon over the last decade.

So why do you want the game dumbed down and ported to Facebook? 

[Ten60]

If they were happy the way the are then why beta test an achievement system? In fact why do they advertise if they are happy at this level of Subs. The evidence and common sense don't back up your statement.  It will make no difference to the present players, we are already high up in lvls, only difference for us is that we wouldn't come across total noobies until they skill up.

Ever heard of keeping up with the Joneses??  

Aside from the scoring system and the timestamp on your forum account there really isn't much "prestige" in this game... and we all know the scoring system doesn't really evaluate your true skill.
While an achievement system doesn't either, there's less room for BS "I once caught a fish (this) big" stories.  Is this system gonna make me keep my account longer?  Not any more than the 3,000 people who hold an account cause they have for the last 5 years... and they love this game.

It's fluff.  Plain and simple.  As all the above have stated HTC is cool with where we are as a game.  I would love to fly in the arena with 700 other people at the same time, but the grass isn't always greener there either.

Unfortunately while your model would make HT rich it would kill the game as we know it. Noob players would need heavy concessions in playability such as constant F3 view etc. Any spins would be out of the question and flight model would have to support easy mouse flying.

I'm also personally very against the pay as you play model because I hate the idea that someone shells out cash just to get uberweapons that give an unfair advantage. I prefer to play a flat fee to get a flat playground for everyone.

I 7th your post.

[hellwolf]

 Buster......

I dont work for another game company, in fact im disabled and spend all my time at home playing games.
I dont want to go facebook, and facebook not a requirement of this model, but this type  of game is advertised on facebook
Im just stating that it appears that is the reason behind a reward system.
I dont own a mobile phone let alone an ipad!
I have been playing AH for 3 years since Fighter ace closed down.
Why did fighter ace close down, they were just like AH today, stagnate subs, therfore no room to improve therfore lost subs and a downward spiral.
Notice that the vehement reaction to this model is from long time players who have something to loose, ie their ability to rank highly each month.
I would prefer that this doesnt happen to AH I can just see the writing on the wall, was a post to perhaps prepare you for the change and I love watching you stalwarts cry and moan at any new ideas.

[/quote]