HQ and radar with low numbers

[Arlo]

It's even worse when you realize it's only 2 people going at it with their shades 

These are my shades:



Sometimes I wear them when I play.

Thanks for playing. 

[ghi]

So your saying you ENJOY running goons to HQ? You ENJOY dropping out of a mission to jump into a 163 to defend HQ against a lone set of lancs? Well thats great, now all we need is a couple hundred other players that ENJOY doing it too!

We have to remember that this is a game we are PAYING to play. If players cant find any place to play, why would they keep PAYING? That all this should boil down to. Just one more thing chasing people AWAY from the game. We need a few more things to make people want to STAY not leave. NOBODY enjoys running goons, NOBODY enjoys dropping out of a mission to defend HQ. We here to play and have fun.

Even prime time US last night (a Saturday night) the numbers never hit 300 players.

here comes the AH BB spamming/jamming Queen ! 
Dude, who cares about your opinion?! you are wasting your life on this BB;,  you made your points clear polluting this BB with your endless  24/7 whinnies,;  let this company get the right feedback from all paying customers. 

[Arlo]

here comes the AH BB spamming/jamming Queen ! 
Dude, who cares about your opinion?! you are wasting your life on this BB;,  you made your points clear polluting this BB with your endless  24/7 whinnies,;  let this company get the right feedback from all paying customers. 

Even though I'm not as critical as Fugi about this, that was harsh ghi. It sounds a bit over the top and uncalled for. Just sayin'. 

[mbailey]

Ok I'm a paying customer, and the dar going down during the off hours is just lame.  I don't care about the peak times there is more people on to defend it or re supp it. Oh and I'm not " one of those furballers"
As was posted earlier in the thread.  I enjoy the entire game. Hell I even love being in the 8" guns hammering a town, then fighting to take it.  But if I log (off hrs) and see the dar down ill log 9 out if 10 times.  I only get about 2 hrs on sat and sun mornings to play and I'm not going to beat my head against a wall trying to find a fight when it's already a bit tough to find one.

[Gman]

AH is the survivor of the competition with Warbirds and Fighter Ace.

Any game is as strong as it's supporters. I support this game.

I agree with that.  The problem is, where are all the supporters?  I support it as well, even though I don't play it, and I know at least a 1/2 dozen others that currently do the same. There is likely more.  That doesn't mean I'm going to blindly praise or not point out what look like obvious problems.  I would also say that any game that wants to STAY strong will only be as strong as its ability to adapt.  No real changes in several years is a prime example of the opposite behavior of this.

The numbers have been and are continuing to decline.  This is the bottom line.  You still have given no real opinion of your own as to the reasons why, and I maintain the reasons I've given.  You're right, AH won the war between WB and FA.  Where are all the customers from that fallout?  Something must be wrong when you defeat your competition, yet you still have negative growth over a long period of time (several years now).   HTC refuses to acknowledge this, and continues to squash any requests for change on a great myriad of subjects regarding the game.  Instead, HTC either remains comms dark, or chooses to engage some customers in bbs arguments, and when customers continue to argue their points, they get threatened with PNG and suspensions.  It's a very strange alternative that's difficult to understand, yet those numbers keep ticking down.

Again, I don't particularly care about this subject from the OP, even though I do agree with it.  It's just my observation, and that of others, that there are many such issues as this HQ/Dar/timezone one, I can list a dozen off the top of my head that have many passionate supporters.  Put that all together, and your "strong supporters" seem much fewer in number than they should be.

[MrGeezer]

HTC has to address the imbalance.

Amen.

Although I think the toothpaste is already out of the tube on this one.

[Arlo]

The numbers have been and are continuing to decline.  This is the bottom line. 

The numbers you see on at any given moment. I may fly a total of 3 days out of the month (an hour or two each time). I may kick it up to twice that if I feel the yearning. My sub pays for all i can eat as much as i want. I'm finding out that my example isn't unusual. WW just admitted it as well. I've heard others. Just cause players don't invest as much time doesn't mean players don't invest and support. 

I'm willing to bet things aren't as dire as some seem to WANT to believe.

[Oldman731]

It's just my observation, and that of others, that there are many such issues as this HQ/Dar/timezone one, I can list a dozen off the top of my head that have many passionate supporters.  Put that all together, and your "strong supporters" seem much fewer in number than they should be.

Dude.  HTC is a very small team.  They don't have the human resources to do all of the things that people howl for.  That's why AH is here, and AW is not. 

We all sense that they're pouring everything into graphics development, and now we see some Help videos to get newcomers over the first big wall.  Hopefully there's an advertising plan behind that.  These are the most sensible basic priorities.  By comparison, VOX squelching, HQ porking, fuel loadouts, resupply times, 1946 aircraft and so on are very small fish.

Keep the faith.

- oldman

[Gman]

The numbers you see on at any given moment. I may fly a total of 3 days out of the month (an hour or two each time). I may kick it up to twice that if I feel the yearning. My sub pays for all i can eat as much as i want. I'm finding out that my example isn't unusual. WW just admitted it as well. I've heard others. Just cause players don't invest as much time doesn't mean players don't invest and support.  Smiley

I'm willing to bet things aren't as dire as some seem to WANT to believe.

And I fly less than that, maybe an hour tops total a month for the last 2 years averaged.  What I DO do is click on my AH icon on any of the home theater pc's I have connected to all 4 TVs in the house, and check out the numbers and see if anyone I haven't seen in a long time is on.  This takes seconds, not minutes.  This is where I'm getting the observed numbers from.  I check several times a day, often without even logging in.  I don't disagree though that 15$ a month for a few hours a month is still a good deal, it is, especially compared to the rates back in the history of other games like WB and such.  But, if you're trying to say that the low numbers are a result of players like you and I who continue to subscribe, but just not play, that's a little much, especially when you used "hard times" as one of your earlier reasons for the decline in numbers, which is in direct conflict with such a sentiment.  

Also, let me be clear - I'm not one of the ones complaining about this issue or that (other than bbs moderation, but that isn't a game function).  I'm just observing the many who do, and commenting on their issues and complaints, and how that relates to the game losing players and numbers.  Some issues I support, some I think are ridiculous, but the point is that they are legion, and decreasing numbers occurring along with that may just lead anyone, even a disinterested observer, to put two and two together.

[Arlo]

Amen, OM. Amen.

[Arlo]

But, if you're trying to say that the low numbers are a result of players like you and I who continue to subscribe, but just not play, that's a little much, especially when you used "hard times" as one of your earlier reasons for the decline in numbers, which is in direct conflict with such a sentiment. 

I'm using it to find reasonable ground. The arenas aren't packed but the sky ain't fallin'. And development really is working it's arse off for us. I've never taken particularly well  to whine, I reckon. I certainly don't when I don't see cause.

It's all good.

Pax? 

[Gman]

Oldman, I would ask, in 1999 to say 2003, was HTC not roughly the same size?  Measure the changes and constant communication back then, even after "Aces High 2", and compare that to now.  See the difference?

I don't disagree regarding the upcoming update, I too hope there is a "plan" that is more than just making prettier terrain, horizons, and ground objects, but real world gameplay changes, additions and consolidations of the game manual for new players (and old), and a more streamlined system to get and keep new players.  I wouldn't be here talking if I didn't hope for that.  Yet, again, my earlier point about that - comms dark, there hasn't been any news regarding future plans in such areas.  

[Gman]

Where do you see me whine?  As I said, I've never brought up any of these issues, I'm just pointing out that they exist, continue to be constantly brought up, yet no changes or much discussion about them is ever forthcoming from HTC, and the numbers have been steadily declining.  If you can't see that, and say catchphrases like "the sky isn't falling", that's fine, but going from the near 600 nights of recent memory to half that on the best nights - it was 300 ish last night, and 276 right now - if you don't see a problem with that, well bob's you uncle I guess.

If I did a search of this BBS for the last 2 years with the terms "declining numbers" and other synonyms, I'd get the LA phone book.  It's not some crazy out there made up issue I'm bringing up here, I'm just repeating what those who've brought up complaints have been consistently saying, heck, even those who don't complain.  I think you'll be in a minority Arlo if you were to say "the numbers haven't declined, it's all smoke and mirrors, sky isn't falling, guys are just subbing and not playing" or whatever other thing you can come up with.

Would you honestly say that not having a single major gameplay change in at least 3 years, according to what Lusche searched out, that piddly little strat adjustment back over 2.5 years ago in 2012, with nothing before that in recent times he could find - would you honestly say that any game out there not adapting or changing in such a long period of time is making a mistake?

[Lusche]

Would you honestly say that not having a single major gameplay change in at least 3 years, according to what Lusche searched out, that piddly little strat adjustment back over 2.5 years ago in 2012, with nothing before that in recent times he could find - would you honestly say that any game out there not adapting or changing in such a long period of time is making a mistake?

Generally spoken, you can also change a game to death
AH also had relatively few major gameplay changes during the times of rising numbers as well.

It's my firm belief that the generally lower popularity of AH has little to do with not twiddling this or that knob. Even though want several knobs & sliders being adjusted myself and may even leave over it.

[The Fugitive]

here comes the AH BB spamming/jamming Queen ! 
Dude, who cares about your opinion?! you are wasting your life on this BB;,  you made your points clear polluting this BB with your endless  24/7 whinnies,;  let this company get the right feedback from all paying customers. 

Ahhh GHI did I strike a nerve? I noticed you didn't answer any of the questions I posed.

You certainly are not the one to decide whether my feedback is right or not, only HTC can decide that. Until HTC "speaks" my feedback is just as valid as anyone else.

While I would hate to say "the sky is falling", it certainly doesn't look all that rosie right now. I'll be one of the last to leave.... IF it ever comes to that and I'll support HTC with my subscription until there isn't anything to support. My hope is that they have more plans than just a graphics update. The job they are doing on it ....through the snippets of info we get to see, looks great, but it certainly won't be enough to push this game back up to decent numbers.