How have we lost so many people to this wonderful game?

[Shuffler]

I miss fighting 600 people at a time too. Very easy just fighting 140 people at a time. 

[Ciaphas]

I was not suggesting you were referring to RL issues.

Yes, it is a circular argument.  A downward spiral if you like.  The problem is not for the client base to solve by not leaving, it is for the entertainment company to solve by retaining current customers and attracting new ones.

It's interesting isn't it?

I mean in one hand you have those that leave because they want more players to shoot at.

And in the other hand those same players will not stick around so there will be more players... .

It's like complaining that you are broke but are unwilling to budget your finances to save money... .

crazy, I know... .


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[TequilaChaser]

I miss fighting 600 people at a time too. Very easy just fighting 140 people at a time. 

Like HiTech's thoughts on when Aces High when MA/LWA arenas started having 600+ players logged in playing, the arenas start turning into a big ol' cesspool and gameplay starts having a negative impact......350 to 500 was just about optimal before the "cesspool effect" would start to rear it's ugly head.....

For todays standard, with these huge maps, it would probably push that optimal # to 800 to a 1,000, most likely......

IMO, if you only have 20 to 30 players logged in playing, as long as you can get them all to want to actually "FIGHT", everyone would have just as much fun playing as you would have if 300~500 players playing.....

That is what makes Monday Night Madness in the AvA so fun.....everyone who shows up is there to actually do Air Combat......while in the MA you have those players that avoid dogfighting at all cost, unless they are in a group of 4 to 15 on 1 side, all jumping on the single enemy plane or maybe just 2 enemy planes winging.....

Just some of my thoughts from my experience flying Aces High for the last 20+ years

Cheers

TC

[Wiley]

It's interesting isn't it?

I mean in one hand you have those that leave because they want more players to shoot at.

And in the other hand those same players will not stick around so there will be more players... .

It's like complaining that you are broke but are unwilling to budget your finances to save money... .

crazy, I know... .


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The thing is, 20 or 40 people sticking around won't even make a blip on arena numbers because peoples' schedules are so different.  When Steam went live, there were tens of thousands of people that went through the arena over the course of a few weeks.  You'd think it would've been visible on the arena numbers, but it wasn't.

It seems like it takes a lot of new subs to affect arena numbers in any appreciable way.

Wiley.

[Drano]

So like IL-2 came out with a P-38. They had a sale so I had to check it out. It's pretty. But so much you really need something in the higher end of a PC to run. I've only messed around online there for a handful of hours. Probably less than a dozen. Due the same reasons I don't fly in AH as much as I used to. Not that I don't like it but it's hard finding the time like I used to religiously every night.

Anyway, what I saw in IL-2 arenas, I've only flown in a couple of them, the full on BoX server and another that was dialed down some with auto enginemanagement and icons. They don't seem to get many more people flying than we do. A lot of them are split up into a ton of different servers with different settings. That BoX server seems to fill up at around 60 players with the others a dozen or so or just a few or none. The maps are smaller. There are "missions" I guess you'd call them that happen. It's axis vs allied. There are ground and air objectives. There are tanks too. Whatever happens is timed so after an hour or so the round ends, scores are posted, the map resets to a different map with different objectives. A different theater. Might be winter. Might be fall.

That was one thing I liked about it. Keeps it super fresh! There's stuff I don't like about it. The view system in VR sucks. There's no in game vox so I can't just tell that guy next to me he's about to get zapped. But they have planes we don't have and we have planes they don't. Heck I think if we could combine forces it'd be a heckuva sim!

[Ciaphas]

The thing is, 20 or 40 people sticking around won't even make a blip on arena numbers because peoples' schedules are so different.  When Steam went live, there were tens of thousands of people that went through the arena over the course of a few weeks.  You'd think it would've been visible on the arena numbers, but it wasn't.

It seems like it takes a lot of new subs to affect arena numbers in any appreciable way.

Wiley.

The 20 - 40 people sticking around will add 20 - 40 people to that radar and at times that 20 - 40 people is almost the entire population of the arena depending on the time of day. It is probably safe to say that the majority of the 20 - 40 people would be on during or around prime time or they would be on prime time for a different, non United States time zone. SO, either way that would be 20 - 40 people back in the meat grinder... .

[save]

Like HiTech's thoughts on when Aces High when MA/LWA arenas started having 600+ players logged in playing, the arenas start turning into a big ol' cesspool and gameplay starts having a negative impact......350 to 500 was just about optimal before the "cesspool effect" would start to rear it's ugly head.....

For todays standard, with these huge maps, it would probably push that optimal # to 800 to a 1,000, most likely......

IMO, if you only have 20 to 30 players logged in playing, as long as you can get them all to want to actually "FIGHT", everyone would have just as much fun playing as you would have if 300~500 players playing.....

That is what makes Monday Night Madness in the AvA so fun.....everyone who shows up is there to actually do Air Combat......while in the MA you have those players that avoid dogfighting at all cost, unless they are in a group of 4 to 15 on 1 side, all jumping on the single enemy plane or maybe just 2 enemy planes winging.....

Just some of my thoughts from my experience flying Aces High for the last 20+ years

Cheers

TC

Small maps will make players fight.

[FESS67]

The 20 - 40 people sticking around will add 20 - 40 people to that radar and at times that 20 - 40 people is almost the entire population of the arena depending on the time of day. It is probably safe to say that the majority of the 20 - 40 people would be on during or around prime time or they would be on prime time for a different, non United States time zone. SO, either way that would be 20 - 40 people back in the meat grinder... .

You have to consider the fact that people are individuals and everyone has their own needs and preferences.  People consider 'too few' players to be different values.  Some will leave when the number drop below 100, others will stay until numbers drop below 50.  That is their personal threshold.

But that is just a root cause, the impact of low numbers is the effect it has on gameplay.  With large maps and small numbers gameplay suffers even at 120 players IMO.  However if you put 120 players into the old DA it would be chaos.  The map size and player numbers combine to make the game fun or not.  That is why I talked about population density rather than raw numbers of players.

2 players can have a great game of chess, 3 is a crowd.  2 players cannot play a satisfactory game of football, you need more players to fill the field.

AH needs maps that suit player numbers.

This thread is about why people leave / have left.  I am telling you why I no longer play, there is no point debating my reasons, they are what they are and it is actually irrelevant whether you agree with them or not because they are not personal to you, they are personal to me.

I now spend my money in World of Warships because I get fights all the time.

[Ciaphas]

regardless, leaving because of low numbers only exacerbates the the root cause.

This type of conversation has no right or wrong answer as both answers are correct for their given points.




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[toasted]

low numbers is itself a totally valid reason to log off for most people.
below 75 and i start having trouble finding a fight.
below 50-60 and i've given up to do other things.

players are not obligated to play just to keep the numbers up.

it would be nice if that were the case.

and even gaining back 20 that stayed on 24 hours would do very little for overall gameplay.

sure this is all fine if you just want to roll undefended airfields.

but if there is no dogfight im just not interested at all.

[The Fugitive]

regardless, leaving because of low numbers only exacerbates the the root cause.

This type of conversation has no right or wrong answer as both answers are correct for their given points.




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So your saying that people who no longer enjoy the game due to the low numbers should suck it up and keep paying their $15 a month so as to NOT exacerbates the issue?

Screw that!

[fuzeman]

I suggest somebody check the 'Lost and Found' bin and see if anybody fell in there.

[Shuffler]

So your saying that people who no longer enjoy the game due to the low numbers should suck it up and keep paying their $15 a month so as to NOT exacerbates the issue?

Screw that!

If they are not happy, they should leave. Only some seem to keep coming back on the boards and whining about being unhappy. LOL

[turt21]

Something that would encourage me to play more would be missions. If they could offer perks for mission creators who complete the mission it would certainly give newbies a chance to learn more . Ive flown in many in the past but would have no idea how to create one. And their fun!!

[Shuffler]

Something that would encourage me to play more would be missions. If they could offer perks for mission creators who complete the mission it would certainly give newbies a chance to learn more . Ive flown in many in the past but would have no idea how to create one. And their fun!!

Your mission... should you choose to accept. OH wait, that was Mission Impossible.... sorry I got carried away.

Yes missions are a missed creature these days. Folks kind of throw things together on the fly now.