Been away last 14 mos after playing off/on >3yrs. Find myself on mids and check out forums. Forum topic was predictable: "how to save the game."
This game remains THE best entertainment experience I've had to date, so this worthwhile thread gets my 2 cents.
There are two competing interests here: the aforementioned ROI and the "value to player" factor which is highly subjective. I doubt many left playing would still be playing were it not for the many good dudes/social aspects of this game. That said, social factors should not be a primary reason to fly a flight sim. Having played 3+ yrs I had explored pretty much everything in-game that I had an interest in exploring. There were a few months when I didn't play but kept the sub going because it felt like the right thing to do somehow. Hundreds of dollars for any form of electronic gaming is a tough sell. The gaming market in general is becoming ever more saturated and fragmented over time (looking at you smart phones), perhaps at a rate greater than the available player bases. That said, there's plenty here to work with.
Suggestions:
Revenue1. Pay once. People these days apparently have little issue with dropping 60 bucks on a game. This game even in its current "low player count" state is a steal for 30. Allow players to purchase once, play indefinitely. No more worrying about losing players to subscription fees, less player attrition, more players in MA over time. I'd still be firing up the game now and then if this were the case. This approach has been used before with games such as Guild Wars but not sure how successful it was as a model relative to WoW.
2. Look into the feasibility/ROI of harnessing services such as Amazon, Steam and Gamefly to increase the player base - the product is competitive. Obviously both these entities take quite a share, but if this can be offset with volume the downside is mitigated.
3. Allow in-game advertisements from third parties while in game menus/tower. Obviously this affects immersion but helps the bottom line/offsets the cost of own advertising. Billboards make money.
4. Don't take credit card info up front - that is a turn-off. Make people enter it only when free trial ends.
5. Drop regular sub cost to $5 for new players if that model must be kept. The $5/mo threshold is where I'd personally come back and where people would start figuring "hey, I spend $60 on games anyway, this is better!" Obviously this will rather tick off existing players but can be offset by allowing players with 5yrs + to play for free. This latter group is likely rather small already contributing significantly more to the AH community (Del/Greebo/Lusche/Waystin etc etc) than their sub fees.
6. Find/partner with some investors. If you can offer someone an 7-8% return on 40k in order to hire a new programmer to do project X in 12 mos vs the 36 mos it would have otherwise taken, everyone can win.
Gameplay1. The primary gripes I ran into when trying to hook others on this game were as follows:
A: "The graphics aren't that great" ... to which I said "give it time." Problem solved.
B: "It takes me 15 minutes to get anywhere and I die in 2!" ...to which I said "give it time." Problem not solved.
C: "Is there any goal other than winning the war? Does anything carry over?...To which I said "Depends what you're playing for" and "no."
A: I don't see graphics as a true make or break item, provided someone gives the game the time of day. When I first installed I took one look around tower/hangar and uninstalled within 15 mins. Later came back over a year later out of boredom and had epiphany. Graphics provide that initial first impression which answers the question "am I getting enough for what I'm paying."
B: Coaches are fine, but the inclusion of a tutorial system explaining flight and gameplay mechanics will be more accessible and do a better job of giving players a good understanding of the game in that critical "noob" state.
C: Achievements were a step in the right direction, need a true pilot log/trophy case for continuity. Adding a medals chest a la the old X-Wing/Freespace games would be a quick means of at least partially satisfying those who stay for that kind of thing. Need more stats available for reference in-game. I love the web page K/D stats broken down by airplane but it would be awesome to have that available via in-game browser to include damage done stats for each plane, against whom etc.
2. Players need a sense of belonging/protection earlier in their game experience. Can you blame someone for not staying past their 2 free weeks when they die and then get called "stupid noob?" Established squads care about keeping the game going. When someone is on their trial, add the prefix "FNG" to whatever callsign they select for themselves and
assign them to a squadron via a screen that says "Congratulation! You've been assigned to Squad X!" Each squaddie on at that point in time gets a notification that there's a noob on who might need some pointers/protection and the community takes it from there. No more being a lone, abused noob for months on end till you quit or happen to get invited to a squad. When the person starts paying or passes an hours played threshold, they lose the "FNG" label/highlight.
3. In the same vein as #2, there should be more easy customization options such as in-game flair where reaching a certain achievement threshold allows you to place your online squadron patch and/or a personal emblem on an aircraft.
4. Improve the look of the hangar/tower. Also add some
some form of transition between death and tower. An external view of your plane spiraling to its doom, a zoom-in stillshot of the other guy's airplane with his name, a bunch of clouds with angels and harps with pretty music, something. These are little touches that have been missing which always struck me as a little "cheap."
Obviously been gone awhile and obviously not privy to the books so not sure how valid any of the above is at this point, but the point is this game rocks and I hope it stays around.
