I have been considering steam since the beging of april.

[Lusche]

No, I haven't seen any real #s and anything I would say would be pure speculation.

So easy to come up with 'guaranteed working proposals' when you don't have to take any actual data into account 

Of course I don't have that kind of AH business data either, but I remember at one point in the past a typical subscription duration for online games was given as 2-5 months.
When you now make 2 months free (and reduce the subscription fee to boot), you are really cutting into your income, possibly making even a loss per player in the long run.

I think for most its the level of frustration per time spent in the air that eventually gets to people. It's an incredibly challenging game and takes a generous amount of time to learn to shoot people down in the MA.

I do agree with your premise. But I also would think that very few players would be willing to suffer frustration for a whole two months before finally getting hooked.
1 month maybe? Perhaps. But then again you need to have some data first do make an assessment.

[DmonSlyr]

So easy to come up with 'guaranteed working proposals' when you don't have to take any actual data into account 

Of course I don't have that kind of AH business data either, but I remember at one point in the past a typical subscription duration for online games was given as 2-5 months.
When you now make 2 months free (and reduce the subscription fee to boot), you are really cutting into your income, possibly making even a loss per player in the long run.


I do agree with your premise. But I also would think that very few players would be willing to suffer frustration for a whole two months before finally getting hooked.
1 month maybe? Perhaps. But then again you need to have some data first do make an assessment.

Yeah, I was thinking one month would probably be better. Also, I just thought a good promotion out of the gate on steam would a good thing. I don't know how long it will take, but we are going to into summer, and it would be a great opportunity to get a lot of people involved in the game, and to hopefully keep them there.

I just logged on to the game. 107 players at 7pm eat on a Saturday, with a new (but old) map. Thanks for bringing this one back Hitech, Btw! I'm just saying... We need a big promo..

[lunatic1]

ummmm

(Image removed from quote.)

an eggscellent movie- one of my favorites, !!! BLONDIE!!!

[lunatic1]

if you quit playing and cancel your subscription, why should HTC keep your information, you made a conscious decision to quit. you Quit, for whatever reason you quit, I lost my job, my home, was living in my truck for 3 months, fortunes changed got help, got back on my feet, was gone for a total of 7 months, had to start over again, I have now, more perks in all 3 catagories and more achievements in 1 year than I did before I had to give up game. it wasn't HTC's fought, I was lucky that no one took my call sign, but had to start perks and achievements all over I almost have 4 stars now, wasn't HTC's fought.

I had to leave call, that's on me not HTC.

you quit, that's on you, not HTC's fought.

and if you won't play because HTC did not save your info perks, achievements, sounds childish to me that's on YOU not HTC.

[Shuffler]

See Rule #4

[stabbyy]

See Rule #4

[lunatic1]

My thing, and I know it's a  bitter issue. Is the $15 a month subscription after only 2 weeks of "testing" the game. IMO, 2 months free and a $9.99 per month would capture so many more players that your heads will spin, and you will make more money in the long run. If the price drop is just too much to handle, at least 2 months free would be  better grab. Getting the marketing from steam will greatly help, but there isnt a long enough span of time to understand the game before the subscription hits and you are left with a quick choice. The question is, what is the ratio of players who pay after the trial period, and how can you increase that. The psychology is that $15 a month sounds expensive, even though in realty it isn't. Most people on steam will be sub par happy with the graphics, and won't really have time to even learn the flight model before it's time to pay up. Just something to think about. I really do want this to be a success for you Hitech and there's a very very big opportunity here.
[/quote

I don't think Skuzzy or any of the other HTC people would like standing on the street pan handling.

funny how some people are always ready to give away other peoples money or stuff

[zack1234]

Why has this thread turned in to if i leave what happens to me thread?

[LocoMoto]

Why has this thread turned in to if i leave what happens to me thread?

Ego....

[Meatwad]

Why has this thread turned in to if i leave what happens to me thread?

It will be a thread about pies and why the colonials are all silly

[oboe]

I just checked, and WWII Online appears as "Free to play" on Steam.  How does Steam take a $ cut of Free to Play games?   Are they all micro-transaction based, and Steam takes their cut from those?

And War Thunder, DCS WWII, IL-2, WWII Online - they're all on Steam.  Aces High needs to be there too, I think.   Pricing?  I have no clue, and while 1 month free and $9.99/mo thereafter appeals to me as a consumer, I don't know about most Steam users.  They may be too used to free-to-play to be willing to fork over a significant monthly sub?

If a typical subscription duration really is 2-5 months, then it seems pretty close to someone paying $50 for a title and playing on free online servers until they tire of the game and move on to something else (averaging the 2-5 months to 3.5 months, * $14.95/month = $52.33).   I prefer the security and predictability monthly subscriptions provide to the game developer though.  Especially if its a small shop that concentrates on evolutionary enhancements to a single title.

[Lusche]

I just checked, and WWII Online appears as "Free to play" on Steam.  How does Steam take a $ cut of Free to Play games? 

The 'free to play' mode of WWII online is very limited. If you want anything more than that, you have to chose either the 'Starter ' ($7.99) or 'Premium' subscription ($14.99).
Like always, "free" is just a hook.
EVE online went a similar path recently.

[oboe]

The 'free to play' mode of WWII online is very limited. If you want anything more than that, you have to chose either the 'Starter ' ($7.99) or 'Premium' subscription ($14.99).
Like always, "free" is just a hook.
EVE online went a similar path recently.

Maybe AH will have to look into pricing in tiers, so they can be competitive and add "Free-to-Play" to their Steam description as well...

[Lusche]

Maybe AH will have to look into pricing in tiers, so they can be competitive and add "Free-to-Play" to their Steam description as well...

AH can already do that. You have several free arenas now.

[Ack-Ack]

Blizzard did not remove my access to WoW when I did that not too long ago.

It depends on the company's policy.  With ours, if you request to have your billing (credit card) information deleted when you close your account then you lose access to whatever remaining game time you have, the only exception is if you pay with a game card.