First of all sorry if this has been asked in the past.
So, I actually like this game a lot, however it’s frustrating the hell out of me. Like many new players I have re-started my airline countless of times and I think that I have had a crack at it in all of the worlds. My challenge like I’m sure other new players are facing is that we have very limited places to try things out. Sure, there are always smaller airports that we can go for and “try” to grow from there but what fun is that? Yes, I have read all the Wiki stuff, watched the tutorials on YouTube, read millions of post but I still am struggling to make things happen.
So how come we don’t have a game world that only newbie players can join and try things out?
From a business point of view for the game I think it makes so much more sense. More player will join the community because at the moment I can’t imagine that many new players stay for long. Sure the hard core will stick around and try, and try, and try and try but the majority will leave for other games.
Come to Devau, only 240 players and much space. Perhaps not in every country, but in many bigger countries. Write me in game and we'll see what I can do to help you.
having to restart countless times is normal. It took me two years to get an airline working well. Its all trial and error. If there is a world where new players can play for a few weeks like was mentioned will not help. By the time you have created an airline, its time to shut it down. Best thing to do is find a country where there is few airlines and start small. You can also find players in the world willing to help you.
having to restart countless times is normal. It took me two years to get an airline working well. Its all trial and error. If there is a world where new players can play for a few weeks like was mentioned will not help. By the time you have created an airline, its time to shut it down. Best thing to do is find a country where there is few airlines and start small. You can also find players in the world willing to help you.
I have to disagree with a beginners world. You can restart as often you want to, on the regular servers. And there a SO MANY opportunities and empty airports everywhere.
Do not expect to start a company in Heathrow, but less popular airports like Manchester, Dublin etc., are great places - and easily found empty on several servers!
having to restart countless times is normal. It took me two years to get an airline working well. Its all trial and error. If there is a world where new players can play for a few weeks like was mentioned will not help. By the time you have created an airline, its time to shut it down. Best thing to do is find a country where there is few airlines and start small. You can also find players in the world willing to help you.
Shawn
Great, so you are one of the hardcore player and is willing to spend 2 years to get an airline working well and I congratulate you for it. I'm sure that its is well rewarding but I dont want to spend that much time and money just to try and understand it. Unfortunetly not many new player are willing to do that.
Look, from a business point of view for the game you want to capture as many new players as possible and get revenue to keep on improving the game. The current learning curve is so steep that many players leave and go on to other games.
Very well put.
The game should be longer then 2 weeks as we all know that it takes a much longer then that to build an airline.
I have to disagree with a beginners world. You can restart as often you want to, on the regular servers. And there a SO MANY opportunities and empty airports everywhere.
Do not expect to start a company in Heathrow, but less popular airports like Manchester, Dublin etc., are great places - and easily found empty on several servers!
It makes me laugh a bit. Its only the experienced players that have figured out how to play the game that are against a beginner world. Just saying.
My entire point is that we do want to have a crack at the big airports and we do want figure out what it takes. At the moment jumping into a existing gameworld is not that much fun as we have to pick airports with low demand, non if any connecting PAX, no cargo to speak of. The experienced players have even the smaller airports well covered.
Look, from a business point of view for the game you want to capture as many new players as possible and get revenue to keep on improving the game. The current learning curve is so steep that many players leave and go on to other games.
Providing the "business point of view" here: As the operator of AS I can say that our conversion rate - the percentage of players who sign up and become paying customers during or their trial period - is at the upper bound of industry standards for browser-based online games, so the learning curve or difficulty of the game doesn't appear to be a factor that makes people quit. At least not more or less than with any other, far simpler game.
It took me at least 20-30 restarts to get a good airline going. My mistake? I started in New York, London Heathrow, Tokyo etc. I cannot see how a beginners world would have changed this?
My errors were too many maintenance categories, lack of ability to schedule, knowing what airports I should fly to.
I actually believe that a beginners world would be something new people would complain about. Imagine if people join a playground with no competition, lots of empty airports etc. When they after a trial period, would have to pay - they would end up being smashed in the real competition, at the normal servers.
Personally, if that had happen to me - I would feel that AS showed me something as a trial customer, and as soon as I pay - I get something extremely dificult.
Just my opinion.
(Beginners should be directed to an old server, at an empty airport!)
Great, so you are one of the hardcore player and is willing to spend 2 years to get an airline working well and I congratulate you for it. I'm sure that its is well rewarding but I dont want to spend that much time and money just to try and understand it. Unfortunetly not many new player are willing to do that.
Look, from a business point of view for the game you want to capture as many new players as possible and get revenue to keep on improving the game. The current learning curve is so steep that many players leave and go on to other games.
If you are looking for a quick game, this isnt it. Im still learning new tricks and methods for playing it. This game is real time. So have a world for beginners just wont work. It would still take a while to completely understand it. That is why I suggested talking to other players in game. I have made a lot of friends, and they have all helped me out, and I have returned the favour. How long would you like the "beginners world" to be? A month? A year? I really do not consider myself a "hardcore" player. There are people who have been playing for a lot longer than I have. Taking all that time to create a sucessful airline wasnt a waste of time, I have found it fun and exciting. If it was too easy, I wouldnt be here now.
I'm against it too. And you can have success very quickly. My company was created in January and it's already one of the main airlines in Tempelhof. I have just played for 4 or 5 months before in Meigs and I was doing well, but I deleted it since I didn't like my fleet composed of Sukhoi Superjet's only. I wanted bigger planes to build a flag carrier. In just two months in Tempelhof I had ~100 aircrafts (B737-400 mainly). Now, I have 350 aircrafts in the main company, good network, 4 profitable subsidiaries and I'm replacing all old planes leased from the start. All in just 7 months.
You have to look for the good opportunity. Some game world must have it.
having to restart countless times is normal. It took me two years to get an airline working well. Its all trial and error. If there is a world where new players can play for a few weeks like was mentioned will not help. By the time you have created an airline, its time to shut it down. Best thing to do is find a country where there is few airlines and start small. You can also find players in the world willing to help you.
Shawn
I'm sorry, but there is no way I would ever put up with investing two years into a game I'm paying for before I could play it. As a programmer, that is a design flaw, and the fact that you feel others need to "earn it" just because you did isn't correct at all. That is quite simply poor design if that happens.
A better solution would be to limit the number of game worlds people can play at once, and then have certain game worlds that are the "Champions League" game worlds. If you do "too well" in a game world with free sign ups, that account is moved up into a champions server that has more volatility (to allow more variance among the playerbase), and that you get knocked out of it you liquidate or go bankrupt.
It seems you don't understand the aspects of AirlineSim. AirlineSim is a direct competition simulation with other players and you don't have a success guarantee. There are of course player who find their way and are successfull. And there are a lot of others, having a way of playing in mind, which isn't successfull. So they go bancrupt, learn from that and restart (or resign somewhen, sure). But that has nothing to do with game design.
It seems you don't understand the aspects of AirlineSim. AirlineSim is a direct competition simulation with other players and you don't have a success guarantee. There are of course player who find their way and are successfull. And there are a lot of others, having a way of playing in mind, which isn't successfull. So they go bancrupt, learn from that and restart (or resign somewhen, sure). But that has nothing to do with game design.
I wasn't agreeing that he was correct. AS is not some blackbox that can't be taught or explained, I don't agree with his assessment. I was saying that if I did agree, it wouldn't matter if I liked the game: any game designed to not be playable for years is flawed. It just so happens that I don't think AS is designed that way. :)
Providing the "business point of view" here: As the operator of AS I can say that our conversion rate - the percentage of players who sign up and become paying customers during or their trial period - is at the upper bound of industry standards for browser-based online games, so the learning curve or difficulty of the game doesn't appear to be a factor that makes people quit. At least not more or less than with any other, far simpler game.
You also offer a pretty unique product. For people who want to simulate an airline network this is the only game in town.
This was pretty much my fantasygame- I'd been trying to get something like this going with various software friends for years in college. When I understood what you'd accomplished with the ORS I was hooked and willing to spend the time to figure it out. I appreciate that your uptake rate is good, but it should be. Your product is good. But that doesn't mean it can't be better.
A beginners world with, say a month limit on airline age, would be a less frustrating place for beginers to get their start. It would also allow the "grown up" servers to be reserved for premium members only, which could reduce cheating oppurtunities and zombie airlines.