AH Homepage

[The Fugitive]

When you just make up numbers like that you don't really have a point.

It's easy to repeat mundane truisms, actually coming up with something that works is harder.

Dont be obtuse,  here's the same statement without the numbers......... the more people that see/try the game the more people that will stay. Does that clear it up for you?

[puller]

  the squad I was in had about 12 regular players on in the evening when I joined and about 17 when fso and sundays came around.  now we are lucky to have 4 in fso and a couple a night on.   

 

[FLS]

Dont be obtuse,  here's the same statement without the numbers......... the more people that see/try the game the more people that will stay. Does that clear it up for you?

We hope that's true, but you don't know that.

That isn't true at all. Having an updated and active website/social media will absolutely be more attractive to people regardless of how gameplay is.

I remember when we went on Twitter with the new social media girl. Keep in mind I agree the web page could improve, my point is allocation of limited resources.

theres a lot wrong in that statement above.  fugi is correct on the drag net, so you get a lot that leave, oh well.  what about the ones that stay? you speak of this as this company is selling home health care for the critically ill and advertising for 16yr old skateboarders?  that's a very negative way to look at the window dressing for a business of any kind.   
when I first joined this game it was a advertisement on tv at about 10pm at night that I saw a few times.  when I joined the game I couldn't tell you the difference from a me410 and f4u corsair.  a tank was a ground vehicle that had a bunch of rolley wheels and tracks that made loud bang noises.  I believe that I may have been one you would have skipped over with you thoughts on the web page.  unfortunately being in a rural area in 09 my internet was not good enough to play at the time. 
after purchasing a job that requires 24hr attention and getting to a point I could afford help I thought let me give that game a shot again since I am stuck at the desk for long periods of time.  lo and behold I had ball in it (again with your ideas above I would have missed) and stayed for three years. 
web sites are relatively easily kept up, as I had one when I first went into business. we have since turned it off and quit advertising all together as our business model has changed but I got thousands of hits each month, not saying I got every customer that looked at it but the return was worth it at the price.  and I am no computer guru (check the help section and google my game name lol).  we catered form everything and every point in our industry and I got some very good paying jobs that were brought to me simply by some one clicking on a link. 
I have canceled my sub in the game as the game play and players have gotten very mundane (hence nothing new).  the whole game at this point seems static with the typical game play and players.  so with no new breath of air you have the "current players" leaving also.  the squad I was in had about 12 regular players on in the evening when I joined and about 17 when fso and sundays came around.  now we are lucky to have 4 in fso and a couple a night on. 
seems the current trends are not working and as capt tripps said the head in the sand nothing wrong here idea is only hurting the game further. 

Nobody has ever said there is nothing wrong, nothing has to change. That's the kind of lie that makes rational discussion impossible. You say you came here because of HTC's advertising and the old website wasn't an issue.
Sounds like you actually agree with me.   

[Wiley]

seems the current trends are not working and as capt tripps said the head in the sand nothing wrong here idea is only hurting the game further.

But the constant belaboring of the same points on the forums, THAT's really helping.

Wiley.

[guncrasher]

Dont be obtuse,  here's the same statement without the numbers......... the more people that see/try the game the more people that will stay. Does that clear it up for you?

sound good on paper but hitech already proved you wrong.

remember a few years ago when everybody was pushing for that game sharing site whatever it's called.  so hitech linked to it and very few players stayed.

as for commercials,  well it's been said it's not a good return on investment.


semp

[ACE]

sound good on paper but hitech already proved you wrong.

remember a few years ago when everybody was pushing for that game sharing site whatever it's called.  so hitech linked to it and very few players stayed.

as for commercials,  well it's been said it's not a good return on investment.


semp

That commercial made me pay a lot of money over the years for this game 🤷🏼‍♂️

[guncrasher]

That commercial made me pay a lot of money over the years for this game 🤷🏼‍♂️

True I saw it many years ago, but that was then.  I saw that same commercial about 5 years ago maybe on history channel, I'm 70% sure of this. But since then HT has said it's not a good return on investment now.

semp

[Shuffler]

I came over from FA.... word of mouth.

[The Fugitive]

sound good on paper but hitech already proved you wrong.

remember a few years ago when everybody was pushing for that game sharing site whatever it's called.  so hitech linked to it and very few players stayed.

as for commercials,  well it's been said it's not a good return on investment.


semp

And of the thousands that tried it Im sure a number of them have stayed. If he had never done that, would we have gotten the same increase in players over that same amount of time?

The steam release was a fiasco. HTC never thought they would see the numbers that got downloading that they did. VR was only half done as compared to now, the VR controllers didnt work then, something a lot of VR players are use to (tho Id hate to have to fight using the VR controllers). The misleading "Play for FREE" was also a bit turn off. In the steam world, "Play for FREE" means just that, you play for free, not for just 2 weeks. They lost a lot of people to that alone.

Social media is free except for the time involved in using it. I dont know what happened to "Hoppy" was it? but she wasnt there very long, nor did she post much. The FB and Twitter sites for Aces are dead, the player made Aces High FB page is still far more active than the official page.

TV ads may have not returned the money invested, but how about magazine ads? Modelers, RC, WWII history magazines, Flight magazines. Whats a half page ad cost for 6 months?

Type "WWII flight sims" in Google and you still cant find AH. If nobody knows it here nobody is going to try/play it.

[CptTrips]

TV ads may have not returned the money invested, but how about magazine ads? Modelers, RC, WWII history magazines, Flight magazines. Whats a half page ad cost for 6 months?

What ever it is, the money would probably be better spent on development at this point.  Sorry, but I don't think there is any magic bullet of just throwing some ad spend at it.

We used to run between a 10 to 12% conversion rate from entering an arena to subscriber. My goal currently is to substantially raise my current conversion rate which is around 1%.

Because of the decline in conversion rate, advertising is over 10 times more expensive now for HTC than it used to be.

Until you make whatever code/design changes you need to make to increase that conversion rate, the money would be better spent on that rather than advertising.  (Assuming you don't have unlimited funds to throw at both.)

Throwing money at advertising with a 1% conversion rate is like turning your AC on to cool the house while all the doors and windows are open in July. I'm not saying it will have no effect, but I am saying it may not be an effective use of your resources.  You should close the doors and windows first so your AC has a chance to do some good.

[Max]

I think the bottom line is; if we're gonna stay alive, WE NEED to help new players get the ball rolling and treat them with some respect. The baby seal hunt days are over. Spend some time with them, help them get off the ground and perhaps take them to the TA for a few hops. If not for a player/trainer by the name of Ghosth, who helped me get acclimated the first few days I was here, I never would have hung in. Same deal with Air Warrior.

[guncrasher]

Anyway I leave up to hi-tech the advertisement part.

But going back to the ah webpage thingy. just went to world of tanks.  I remeber when I first downloaded it took me 15 minutes to find the download page. It is on a tab. Anyway now just like before, you know what was prominently displayed, the store.  Now for 62 bucks you get 2 tanks, some gold and coins. And people think 15 bucks is s lot of money.  They have a game for people who think it's free.

Now that's the answer, if some how hi-tech would sell 2 Uber planes for 60 bucks.

Semp

[RareHaze1]

Who Runs the Aces High FB Page, That toejam is kind of out dated and sad

[Tripp]

To all the great people of AH especially Dale, All those that contributed to this post I am sorry my post instigated so many bad feelings and controversy. My intention was to point out inequity in the AH home page and spur on a possible restructuring of that page. Something that would help attract new participants. I expected ideas to that end and found nothing of the sort.

To contribute, I think the AH home page should be the big motivator to give AH a try. It should not lose any reference to any part of the game. A large element should be A. an exciting video that shows what AH is exactly B. It should contain a reference on the steps to becoming a good (not experienced) participate, how AH can get you there with a reasonable amount of effort and exactly what that effort will entail. In other words here are the steps and if followed you will soon be a part of WW2 air combat. C. A motivating message of how a newbie can succeed in following the steps to success in the game. perhaps as well a word about reliving history and the fact that the actual pilots in WW2 went through the same process. Show the process and explain benchmarks to look forward to.
I don't know but the correct effort here should improve recruitment and retention. At the very least lead to better ideas rather than perpetuate controversy that produces nothing!
For example: "Who Runs the Aces High FB Page, That toejam is kind of outdated and sad" Is this what we should be using this forum for or perhaps something constructive?
 

[Tripp]

Who Runs the Aces High FB Page, That toejam is kind of out dated and sad

Really? What is it you think it should be? Or is thinking a stretch for you?