One Final Try

[whiteman]

Your posts confirm the need to allow the rookie pilot the advantage of the superior aircraft while having the experienced pilots fly the harder planes..

Nothing like some rookie having their scalp handed over to them repeatedly by a > 10 AH vet in a spit16...

Sure that does wonders for retention

Eagler
Eagler

Your posts says let anyone play free but limited to the uber rides. You'd have half the player base cut their subscription since that's all they've used the last decade or 2. That's a great idea if you want HT to go out of business.

[hazmatt]

The other day that was what I can only guess to be a new player attacking over and over with a spit mkI and needless to say he kept getting kilt.

I saluted him but I did not get a response. I think that most likely he will get frustrated and quit if one of his countrymen does not taking him under their wing.

It would be nice if all new players could be assigned to a "training" for lack of a better term squad when they first start where some kind souls could help them to get the basics down and where they could have some other new guys to fly/fight together with.

[Eagler]

Your posts says let anyone play free but limited to the uber rides. You'd have half the player base cut their subscription since that's all they've used the last decade or 2. That's a great idea if you want HT to go out of business.

For a limited time only, an extension of the current free 2 week trial

Then they pay and fly anything

Same with gv but don't know what vehicles that would be

Eagler

[Zeta]

My bad fellas.  What the first heart attack did not take.....the second won did. I have no business on message boards  lol

[waystin2]

Your posts confirm the need to allow the rookie pilot the advantage of the superior aircraft while having the experienced pilots fly the harder planes..

Nothing like some rookie having their scalp handed over to them repeatedly by a > 10 AH vet in a spit16...

Sure that does wonders for retention

Eagler

I started this game getting pounced by Muppets, Rolling Thunder, Jokers Jokers, and several other notorious players that did not have squads.  This is nothing new and has little to do with player retention.  In fact when I was busy getting the stuffing beat out me in those early years, ACES High's numbers were growing towards the Titanic Tuesday heyday super player numbers.
 

[The Fugitive]

I think they should create some kind of pre-training squad. A group of players willing to spend some time with newbies logging in, to give them the basics. Set up their stick if they have one, radio usage, how to move around on the game map, that stuff to get them going. Half hour tops. If they want more training, turn them over to the training corps ( how many do we have left?).

If HTC could add a question in the sign in/up page that says "what time are you available for play/or quit tips session?". Add a bit of code to tie that to a data base with the names of players willing to help and the time they are available so a game message scrolls up "new player loggin in can you attend?" Click yes and give the new guy a hand getting going.

I think thats why we lose them in the first 15 minutes. There is far too much info that is not intuitive and so they get lost and leave. You cant really play this game with "A" "S" "W" "D" and a mouse and be competitive in the first 15 minutes. They need someone to met them at the door and help them to get started. Heck the basic information could even be loaded up as a .doc on the server. Give them the link and they dont even need to take notes.

[guncrasher]

problem too is you can't find joystick. and the ones available are expensive as heck.

semp

[Eagler]

I started this game getting pounced by Muppets, Rolling Thunder, Jokers Jokers, and several other notorious players that did not have squads.  This is nothing new and has little to do with player retention.  In fact when I was busy getting the stuffing beat out me in those early years, ACES High's numbers were growing towards the Titanic Tuesday heyday super player numbers.

As was I..and still do
Today's players are not yesterday's nor are the numbers
Just an idea to try to help subscriptions

Eagler

[DmonSlyr]

I has re download the game the other week on my new computer. I was surprised to see the new user videos. I thought they did a pretty good job. I didn't watch all of them because I knew what to do, but I think they are helpful for new players, especially setting up your stick. The only thing I couldn't figure out was how go get the videos to display again after clicking the "Don't show videos again" button.

Again tho, it's not about how many times you die. It's about how long it takes you to enter fight or get to a base and then die without doing anything.

In the AVA Monday madness, it takes you 1 minute to get back into the furball. Dying doesn't matter because it's easy to get back In to it.

In the MA, it will take you 5 minutes or so to get back into the fight, depending on how much alt you want. This means you don't want to die quickly because spending another 5 minutes climbing out doing nothing is boring.

So bigger maps with far bases are very detrimental to new players no matter what plane they fly. This is why when I first started AH, I did not like the MA and only flew in H2H. I was able to get into a fight much more quickly and engage with another player quickly. I got my arse beat a lot by Yaws and Olly75th, but that only gave me more ambition to be better.

It was the pain staking far bases in the MA that I did not like. Luckily I knew how to play the game much better when H2H closed and I was able to understand the MA better. IMO, closing H2H because of a hacker was a big mistake. Changing the DA was a big mistake. Making 2 MAs with player caps was a big mistake. It should have been Titanic Teusday every day. When squads could not be with each other, that was the beginning of the down turn.

I would love to have free spit5s, free 109fs, and free a6m3s for a month or something. I think it would be great to allow players to play the game with longer than 2 weeks in the MA. It would also allow old players to see the game again and play it. Thus increasing the MA #s. I can almost promise you that many of those players would subscribe to get to play in that P51.

I also think the subscription model is a big weakness for AH in getting a lot of #s into the MA. So there needs to be a better bait hook for new and returning players other than 2 weeks, IMO.

[waystin2]

As was I..and still do
Today's players are not yesterday's nor are the numbers
Just an idea to try to help subscriptions

Eagler

Noted.  Not beating down on you.  I get it.  I love this game as well and it broke my heart to admit it no longer kept my attention because of lower numbers.  I hope it turns sometime.  I would come back in a heartbeat.

 

Waystin2

[Joe Orton]

problem too is you can't find joystick. and the ones available are expensive as heck.

semp

They’ve been purchased by the thousands of players flying war thunder, il-2, and dcs, enjoying free multiplayer with state of the art, constantly updated graphics and plane sets. But I’m sure they will soon be rushing back here to pay $15/month to play a game that hasn’t been updated in years.

Eagler is right - the web site has been ignored and is an insult to the community. Even the scores can’t reset without reminder.

[guncrasher]

They’ve been purchased by the thousands of players flying war thunder, il-2, and dcs, enjoying free multiplayer with state of the art, constantly updated graphics and plane sets. But I’m sure they will soon be rushing back here to pay $15/month to play a game that hasn’t been updated in years.

Eagler is right - the web site has been ignored and is an insult to the community. Even the scores can’t reset without reminder.

lol, been waiting for almost 2 months to find a stick I can afford.  my stick has no rudder and only 2 buttons usable. my throttle is failing 2.  I fly using no rudder.

but sure the game hasnt been updated in years, but a couple of months ago, I was pissed off, cause i logged in and had download an update. the 5 minutes to update I was screaming.

semp

[Peanut1]

The only thing I would expect to change around here is the skins. The end is near, so are my computer payments. Perfect timing.

[whiteman]

The only thing I would expect to change around here is the skins.

Fly blue

[Joe Orton]

The end is near, so are my computer payments. Perfect timing.

When? A month? A year?