Support Aces High

[Brooke]

$15 used to be one hour of flying time at one point in Air Warrior. 

[Patches1]

I seem to remember paying $30 USD per month to play WarBirds.

[fd ski]

Funny, i remember discussions just like this on Warbirds forum in 1999 Similar recommendations, similar grapes.
prabably there was one on AW boards too

As they say, more things change......more they stay the same.

Heyya HT, two weeks ?

[bj229r]

I seem to remember paying $30 USD per month to play WarBirds.

I used to pay $30 a month to play THIS

[715]

$15 used to be one hour of flying time at one point in Air Warrior. 

Really?  I remember it being $6/hr.  (Which, to me, because there was no local dialup number for GEnie, became $12/hr with long distance charges.)  At any rate, some people would rack up many hundreds of dollars a month.

[mthrockmor]

Okay, you may not like this but I got some stone cold theory for ya Hitech.

If the key is to get more players to sign up for the $15 a month and you think players won't stick around for too long, but if you can get thousands of new players to sign up for at least one month than you'll be okay. Here is the solution.

Open the F2P H2H servers like you use to have. Except limit the plane/tank choices and ordenance. Roughly the same amount of players will stay in the MA. What will happen is that people will get curious about the "big MA" with allthe planes/tanks, all the ord, and still keep the eny and perk count. It gives them an incentive to try out the MA and pay that 15$ for the month. Those that sign up will get hooked.

It gives people a chance to play and learn the game with limited aspects to the game and limited planes to which they can start learning. The MA will have its superiority presence as being the "next step up". This way you get tons and tons of new players to check out the game. Those who cannot afford the game still get to play and be apart of it. And you consider that some of those people will eventually sign up for the " more fun and bigger ranked" MA for at least one month.

There will always be those players who play for free, and always be those who will pay. But the majority of people who pay will stick around, while new members will sign up for that month and get hooked. There has to be a greater incentive to attract players and I think this is your best bet. The F2p gaming is taking over so you have to compete by giving people a chance to enjoy and get into the game. People will pay for greater incentives and more to do, so they will sign up at least for one month to check out all the hype.

Here is your new attraction.

Any thoughts?

This...! Give it a shot. I have snooped a few games thoug this is the only I play. It seems many games have a free level then buy into higher assets.

[715]

I also only play AH but I've looked at other games.  A lot are free to play (F2P).  But that can be implemented nicely where microtransactions apparently are only for cosmetic improvements not affecting game play (i.e. a nicer hat for your character), or not so nicely, where you can buy more capable machines for real (and often significant) cash.  And this can be taken even further to where you can buy super weapons that may never have even existed.  In a new space simulation game some ships are more than a hundred real dollars and if it gets destroyed it's another >hundred real dollars for another one (unless you have been keeping up your real dollar insurance premiums).  I am not sure I would want to play a game with in-determinant, and possibly very high, continuing costs.  And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy paying insurance premiums.   

One thing I did notice from looking at the popular games on Steam: man the graphics are good.  As mentioned by someone in this post, Euro Truck Simulator actually not only exists, but is popular, and has really beautiful graphics.  And it's is a true simulator: it's not monster trucks smashing into each other as you would expect, it's a simulation of a trucking company where you drive around Europe delivering goods.  And it's got more than 50 times as many people playing it right now that the typical peak AH usage.

Now I admit that good graphics might not be important to a lot of people, but it sure helps draw people in.

[DmonSlyr]

Well 715, I am not implying micro incentives like, buy this airplane for 5 dollars so you can be better than everyone else....

Basically you would sign up for the month for $15 to be able to fly the better planes in an arena where everyone gets the same type of planes so that the game is still "fair" if you will. Yet you'd still have the perk system for the temp and f4u4 and 262 ect, so there is still more incentive to play longer in order to get those perk points to fly better planes.

Basically the H2H would be a marketing tool.

Imagine logging on, doing a few warmup rounds in the H2H. Then saying, see you guys later I'm going to MA!  People will be intrigued, asking questions about the MA, what's better about it, so on and so forth. So this will also put it in their minds that gee, maybe the $15 for the MA is actually worth it. "I wonder what flying the p51D instead of the B is like. Boom they will sign up so they can try the p51D.

Plus you have the whole ranked aspect of it.
In H2H it won't count kills and deaths like it does in the MA. For many new players rank is something that apeals to them.

So all in all, it's not the pay 2$ for this great upgrade type of incentive.  It's pay $15 for the better planes andmore ordendance in a much larger arena with more to do. That way the game is still " fair" for everyone in the MA.

[DaCoon]

been $14.95 since I've been playing.  so still no complaints.   

[NUTTZ]

I miss H2H, I miss making small maps and fighting in them.
NUTTZ

AKA.    AKNUTTZ.     
AKA.       -WN-

[rvflyer]

Are you implying paying $14.95 doesn't give us a seat on the board of directors? It's an outrage, I say! 

Same as renting  a car does not make you a board member of car rental co. You can make suggestions but they probably won't listen to you    

[rvflyer]

  What I find interesting is that HT has not raised the rate since I started playing in 2005, I see some players play 10 hours a month that is $1.50 hour pretty damn cheap. Others play 100 hours a month that $.15 hour    does not get any better than that.

[Changeup]

I also only play AH but I've looked at other games.  A lot are free to play (F2P).  But that can be implemented nicely where microtransactions apparently are only for cosmetic improvements not affecting game play (i.e. a nicer hat for your character), or not so nicely, where you can buy more capable machines for real (and often significant) cash.  And this can be taken even further to where you can buy super weapons that may never have even existed.  In a new space simulation game some ships are more than a hundred real dollars and if it gets destroyed it's another >hundred real dollars for another one (unless you have been keeping up your real dollar insurance premiums).  I am not sure I would want to play a game with in-determinant, and possibly very high, continuing costs.  And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy paying insurance premiums.   

One thing I did notice from looking at the popular games on Steam: man the graphics are good.  As mentioned by someone in this post, Euro Truck Simulator actually not only exists, but is popular, and has really beautiful graphics.  And it's is a true simulator: it's not monster trucks smashing into each other as you would expect, it's a simulation of a trucking company where you drive around Europe delivering goods.  And it's got more than 50 times as many people playing it right now that the typical peak AH usage.

Now I admit that good graphics might not be important to a lot of people, but it sure helps draw people in.

Sounds like bomber pilots...

[Brooke]

Really?  I remember it being $6/hr.  (Which, to me, because there was no local dialup number for GEnie, became $12/hr with long distance charges.)  At any rate, some people would rack up many hundreds of dollars a month.

Before it was $6/hour, I think it was $6/hour for base GEnie access, then a premium for some of the multiplayer games (like Air Warrior, Isle of Kesmai, the mech battle thing, etc.) that took it to $10/hour or more.  My memory of those days is far from perfect, though.

[Wilbus]

Shrug! No the days of Warbirds and pay for play was terrible! Add the x amount of dollars per hour to the phone bills of that day (before that went flat rate in Sweden as well) and I could hardly afford to play at all.