Is it possible to bring AH graphics engine up to par?

[Eric19]

even when my PC was new it couldn't handle AH maxed out and I bought a top of the line Radeon vid card with it

[MrRiplEy[H]]

even when my PC was new it couldn't handle AH maxed out and I bought a top of the line Radeon vid card with it

Was your hardware really new or did you buy a branded computer? They typically contain so old hardware that you can't find them anymore anywhere else except the OEMs huge stockpiles.

Also don't be fooled by the environment updates tab in advanced settings. It's an extremely resource expensive function which brings little to no real world benefits. Basically it's like complaining your boat engine can't cut it after throwing in the anchor.

[Tank-Ace]

That's why the relaxed realism f2p arena was suggested. So noobs would have an easymode free practice place and when they 'graduate' they could subscribe to play with the big boys in the cool hard mode arenas. In fact this model is what WT uses and they have 2M+ user base now versus AH2, what, 2k?

Show me the places "I got burned bad" please, I have no recollection of such things.

The assumption being that they will graduate to the full arena without some real incentive? And how do you mean easy mode? Arbitrary damage values, and performance figures?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

The assumption being that they will graduate to the full arena without some real incentive? And how do you mean easy mode? Arbitrary damage values, and performance figures?

Well Warbirds had a free RR arena. I got bored to it pretty fast and subscribed to the main arena. So I'm talking also from experience there.

[Tank-Ace]

Well Warbirds had a free RR arena. I got bored to it pretty fast and subscribed to the main arena. So I'm talking also from experience there.

The fact that you purchased a joystick, and stuck around in AH for YEARS automatically means your personal experience irrelevant. You are not representative of the average gamer; if you were, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

The fact that you purchased a joystick, and stuck around in AH for YEARS automatically means your personal experience irrelevant. You are not representative of the average gamer; if you were, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

No? My first contact to flight sims on PC was warbirds. OFFLINE.

I got the game somehow, perhaps from some cd-rom because I had an expensive dialup connection those days. I thought 'this looks fun' and noticed you need a joystick to play it. So I went and bought one.

Had there not been a free WB offline mode to play with bots I would never ever have subscribed online with the dialup costs I had. The free chance to TRY got me hooked. I don't believe other people can be that much different. The success of the f2p megagames are supporting this theory too.

[Tinkles]

<snip> The free chance to TRY got me hooked. <snip>

Perhaps having the lowest populated Training arena and Dueling arenas be open to non-subscribers? The 2 week trial would be to all main arenas.

That way, the TA gets some more action in it. Then the DA gets more victims.. ah new recruits to try their ACM in  .

But seriously, I wouldn't mind this. Would anyone else?

Tinkles

<<S>>

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Perhaps having the lowest populated Training arena and Dueling arenas be open to non-subscribers? The 2 week trial would be to all main arenas.

That way, the TA gets some more action in it. Then the DA gets more victims.. ah new recruits to try their ACM in  .

But seriously, I wouldn't mind this. Would anyone else?

Tinkles

<<S>>

I think one of the biggest challenges is how to get the new players survive long enough to learn the game. On their 2 week trial on MA they get seal clubbed to submission. Heck even I get seal clubbed nowadays that I play so little, despite having 10+ years of experience.

[Wiley]

In fact this model is what WT uses and they have 2M+ user base now versus AH2, what, 2k?

"Free and playable with a mouse"
"Not free and pretty much requiring a joystick"

Important part bolded.  There's a pretty extreme divide between those two.  If the graphics difference were the other way around, I seriously doubt that the numbers would be that dissimilar to how they are now.

Wiley.

[aztec]

Survey was of Steam _users_ so obviously also the rest of the hardware is supported. That's the thing - usually game engines are built to be backwards compatible. People with only dx9 capability will just miss dx10,11 features. AH2 runs great on most DX10 era cards too.

Oh and by the way, if things would change and AH would get a rush of 100 000 new subscribers - it can afford to kick out the marginal users who have an ancient computer.

100,000 plane arenas...piece of cake.

[Arlo]

If AHII went free-to-play (insert B horror flick scream/guffaws/string of curse words here) it would most definitely present a challenge or two. However, if it had the option of subscription or FTP then perhaps it would bring in players and retain the devoted. Subscribed players would play the game as usual, paying the monthly subscription where FTP players, would get to play with some reduced options without paying for perks. I'm not sure how much coding would be involved but .....

FTPers get no perks unless bought. More planes are perked, overall. Subscribed players receive a monthly stipend of perks (yes, I've poo-pooed this in other threads but this would be following the FTP formula). This would indeed require more perked planes, ordinance options and such, overall, because, as it is, there's way too much fun to be had without spending perks, as it is. Let's say, for arguments sake, that only EW and WWI planes are accessible without perks. Taking control of fleets may become perked.

Geez, the more I type this up the more nauseous I get.   Forget it. FTP and AHII go together like liver and ice cream.

[Ack-Ack]

That's why the relaxed realism f2p arena was suggested. So noobs would have an easymode free practice place and when they 'graduate' they could subscribe to play with the big boys in the cool hard mode arenas.

One of the things Air Warrior got right was the newbie arena.  It gave new players an arena to get acclimated to the game and game play before venturing off to the dog eat dog world of the main arenas without fear of being clubbed like a baby seal.  To keep players from setting up home in the newbie arena, there was a score cap in place.  Once a player reached 10,000 points, they could no longer take up an armed plane and to continue being able to fight, had to move on to the main arenas. 

The assumption being that they will graduate to the full arena without some real incentive? And how do you mean easy mode? Arbitrary damage values, and performance figures?

For the average gamer, progression has shown to be sufficient enough of an incentive in MMO related games.  Most will, if the game had appealed to them, move on to the main arenas as that's the logical progression.  You can also set forced incentives, such as only allowing them to fly for a certain period of time in the 'newbie arena' (like how the current 2 week trial is set up) or set a rank or score and once those limits have been reached, the player is then forced to move onto the main arenas.

ack-ack

[kappa]

The fact that you purchased a joystick, and stuck around in AH for YEARS automatically means your personal experience irrelevant. You are not representative of the average gamer; if you were, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

You're wrong.. His experience is relevant.. Its not so different from my own.. I got hooked on a 'free' portion of WW2 air combat..

[Tank-Ace]

For the average gamer, progression has shown to be sufficient enough of an incentive in MMO related games.  Most will, if the game had appealed to them, move on to the main arenas as that's the logical progression.  You can also set forced incentives, such as only allowing them to fly for a certain period of time in the 'newbie arena' (like how the current 2 week trial is set up) or set a rank or score and once those limits have been reached, the player is then forced to move onto the main arenas.

ack-ack

This. If we make a noob arena with a limited plane set, I could see people settling for being best in the noob arena. Give them access to the MA's as well, with their still limited plane set, so they don't just get dumped in with the vets with no transition.

Although I think a duration based limit would be more effective than a point based system. Give them time to learn how to fly, and get a joystick.

[Ack-Ack]

This. If we make a noob arena with a limited plane set, I could see people settling for being best in the noob arena. Give them access to the MA's as well, with their still limited plane set, so they don't just get dumped in with the vets with no transition.

Giving new players a limited planet set in both the 'new player' arena and in the mains isn't a good idea as that's actually penalizing the player for being new.

Although I think a duration based limit would be more effective than a point based system. Give them time to learn how to fly, and get a joystick.

Depends on the time limit, I don't think 2 weeks, like our current free trial, is sufficient enough to get the player through the learning curve before throwing them to the sharks. 

ack-ack