Dear Developers,
You have a great game! But ... I will not be joining your game for one very simple reason that I'm greatly disappointed with ... despite all the very realistic features you have in this game ... being STUCK to a hub-n-spoke structure of route creation is just WRONG! This is vital to RW routing solutions. I presume that this decision is deliberate to REDUCE player competition (that would otherwise destroy gameplay) by forcing players to hub locations only. Also needing to be on EVERY day to grow AFAP is very RW restricting in order to stay ahead of everybody in a race to establish dominance is TOO competitive gameplay wise. Having to catch the game cycle early and then drive fwd rapidly make for ZERO interest in joining a game later in the game cycle. Also a downer! Add AI that the player can control hardness with and make it a single player game that can start at any time would greatly improve gameplay and allow for more realistic routing options. As it is now it gives way too much power and control to WHALES in the game and massive long term players with budget busting cash flows to utterly dominate the GW. That's just not FUN! Shame you have a GREAT game here ... but it just misses the mark gameplay wise. It could be so much better ... and you would make much more money (IMHO) ... I love the details you have put into this game ... but the design choices and limitations in gameplay ... ruin it!
Best of luck!
Sincerely,
Disappointed Airline Mananger Lover
Been here 15 years. Best sim out there hands down. Limitations? Yes. Work around them. Learn to play the game as it is, like any other game you play. I wish you luck finding a similar sim with a developer so involved with the community.....
I will agree with one of OP's points: the same top 20 players (or whatever the number is) always play all the worlds (or most of them) all the time . . . at the same time. And, now, there is a core of around 50 players (or more?!) who play 2+ worlds at a time . . . all the time. So, yes, it makes it difficult for new / casual players to get in and have some fun. Sure it's possible (of course!), but it's not very inviting to a lot of [would be?] players.
AirwaySim needs more concurrent game worlds, period! 30 worlds instead of 3 would necessarily cause the "whales" (as OP put it) to pick and choose only a handful of worlds to dominate. Other, newer players, could pick and choose where they want to set up shop. This one thing would solve a LOT of problems. So what if some of the worlds would be somewhat empty (relative only to the way it is currently). Some people would find that fun and relaxing and just enjoy making an airline for the sake of making an airline instead of the current super tooth-and-nail fight it currently is.
Zombie, I've been here almost 20 years, and I can hang with the best of 'em, but sometimes it's just not . . . . fun.
I have said this over the past few years, but my suggestion has gone unheeded: Why can't we have a game every so often where Alliances are not introduced until around 1990?
Many players love the "realism" of Airway Sim. In the real-world, alliances in 1950 - late 1980s were unheard of - not to mention prohibited as anti-competitive.
It seems to me that not having alliances until sometime around 1990 or so would create an even playing field for all participants.
Just found this thread, I find it very interesting what drives new players away. I just hope the more experiences players, and Sami try to get feedback from leaving players, as my experience with the AWS community is that the survivorship bias is significant as the majority of the feedback is collected from long term players who already love the game.
let's face it, AWS has 200-500 players total at any one time. Until this number hits hundreds of thousands then we're stuck being a dusty corner of a game. The move to make it phone friendly was a first step, but AWS needs to find a way to break out to the mass market.
I would love to see 10 or so different game worlds that vary in difficulty and length. This would make it more beginner-friendly and offer more options for players, especially those who want to play casually or want less competition. In the future, I think it would be worth introducing AI airlines to the gameplay, where certain worlds have realistic preset AI airlines to add competition and make the worlds more fun in the long term. If players can create their custom world with AI airlines like a single-player mode, this could really draw in more players who are more casual. Obviously, this will be more difficult and take time and effort to make, but I think it would make the game appeal to more demographics, not just avgeeeks.
hub and spoke, with AI airlines, would make it fun for beginners as they could cooperate with the AI airlines to provide a global reach, without being so cut-throat as we human players are, so cuddly AI ;-)
hub-and-spoke ... are pax really connecting in my hub, or is it basically point-to-point but with a central departure point... unless you make it half a year real time in the game so you can establish more bases?
Maybe if similair scinarios ran close together the newer/less experienced players would switch to the second game. The more experienced guys may not bother.
Starting a new Modern Times now, might encourge those who have tried and failed to stay with the game
I wonder.
Every time I open the program, there are usually a number of messages about bankruptcies and bank shutdowns.
What does this say about playability?
What does this say about "realism"?
I wonder.
I don't know if i qualify as a long-time user, but i tend to return and play some time (i usually prefer the short-term worlds). I am actually surprised that the business model for the game works: there are not many people playing anymore (or maybe the usual crowd) and if Sami keeps supporting this, means that somehow there is a break-even.
I don't mind the players that dominate markets, after all that's real-late-capitalism stuff but I do mind that lack of updates over the years, e.g. there was supposed to be a better configuration visualization and function and many more things that do not seem to be delivered any time soon, thererfore my biggest fear is that the game will stay as is (with minor updates here and there) until the usual crowd drops out and then Sami will shut it down as well (due to the lack of inflow). So, i will try to enjoy the most realistic airline sim we had.