Jump to content

subscription/server model


ruprecht

Recommended Posts

Now before you all get in a tizzy, I know that DCS subscriptions have been touched on in the past. I'd just like to ask a few questions that I don't think have been answered elsewhere (and please link me if they have).

 

It seems to me (and happy to be corrected) that the decision to release DCS with the traditional standalone product model was taken to cater for those folks who have no broadband, and/or have no intention to play online. I imagine as well that there were discussions about a client/server model, the problems of running game servers, and perhaps the added complexity ruled it out.

 

However, I do wonder if the subscription/server model would work better for DCS on a couple of fronts:

 

  • Piracy. the best example of the client/server gaming model today is the MMORPG. Piracy is almost nonexistent because the client must authenticate the session online every time. Even if the player was playing single player, you could maintain a heartbeat back to the authentication server. I imagine that piracy is costing DCS a lot.

 

  • Ongoing revenue. There are so few genuinely committed teams in this industry that I for one am more than happy to support them with a subscription if I'm playing their sim every night. Let's face it, 12 million people pay monthly to play WoW, they can't be any more committed than hardcore sim nuts (DCS's target market). I'm not saying that DCS will get anything like those numbers of course, but a trickle of funding each month would help fund development to keep the sim alive.

 

  • Server calculations. I came across a post here recently that said something along the lines that the major limitation to having good ground AI was the load it placed on each client in doing the number crunching across every unit in the battlespace. If this crunching was done on the server, and the clients only needed to know about what was in their "bubble", you get the best of both worlds. Simplistic, I know, but you get my drift.

 

  • Persistent world. Obviously there's a lot of interest in the sort of dynamic campaign we have in F4. Pushing this off to the server I would think would simplify it?

I find it hard to believe that any hardcore flight sim fans don't have an internet connection that would be reliable enough to support a heartbeat to an authentication server?

 

Obviously I don't have any idea what DCS's total sales numbers are, so the commercial viability of running servers is an unknown. As I've said elsewhere, I am an enterprise software architect so I do understand the many and varied issues - commercial, technical, political etc - that a shift in distribution model would entail and I don't for a second think it is straightforward. It comes down to cost/benefit. I guess my questions are:

 

  • Was a subscription/server model considered?
  • What were the key reasons it was not pursued?
  • Is it on the table for consideration for future iterations?

Note please that no criticism is implied (I know how touchy some people can get!) I'm just interested. Thanks for reading.

DCS Wishlist: | Navy F-14 | Navy F/A-18 | AH-6 | Navy A-6 | Official Navy A-4 | Carrier Ops | Dynamic Campaign | Marine AH-1 |

 

Streaming DCS sometimes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The short answers to your questions is, I'm afraid, as followins (At least for now):

 

ED will not answer questions about its internal discussions regarding copyright protection schemes.

 

As for the technical difficulties involving a dedicated server and persistent worlds - again, those are barred by technical difficulties currently which ED is looking to deal with some time in the future. No time frame is provided, but it's definitely ED's desire to expand the DCS platform significantly.

 

Finally, I have to say that 'pay to play' for a flight sim is actually somewhat ridiculous at this stage. The resources required far outstrip what's available currently (as least in my estimation), not to mention the player's (well, mine) WTF factor. ;) Also, while I generally do have internet available, in practice I might take my flight sim with me on my laptop somewhere where there's no internet - I'd like it to work at that point.


Edited by GGTharos

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D

I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I'd gladly pay more to pick a good game off of the shelf than pay 100s of $$$/year to play any game, no matter how awesome it is. I know this philosophy keeps me from such games like World of Warcraft, Eve Online, and Star Wars Galaxies, all reputedly great games, but it also keeps about $15 a month per game in my pocket (... to pay for the next good game 3 months later!).

 

I know my opinion differs from many of you out there, but I know I'm not the only one who feels like this, and I sure hope that will weigh on ED's decisions in future developments.

Shoot to Kill.

Play to Have Fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally, I have to say that 'pay to play' for a flight sim is actually somewhat ridiculous at this stage.

 

I'll forgive you for that one, seeing as I called your AI "rubbish" not long ago :D I disagree (obviously) that it's ridiculous because the model works so well elsewhere. Even Fighter Ops' Area 51 subscription was successful, despite there being no product to speak of (and please let's not get into FO bashing). It may not be right for DCS, nor may it be top of your list of tremendous insights, but that doesn't mean it's not a perfectly reasonable idea.

 

Personally, I'd gladly pay more to pick a good game off of the shelf than pay 100s of $$$/year to play any game, no matter how awesome it is.

 

Fair play to you sir. I'm rather glad that sims don't make me pay monthly to play, because right now I get hundreds and hundreds of hours use out of a product that I pay peanuts for. Compare that to folks who spend $100 on a console game that they get maybe 20-40 hours play out of, and the sim world does spectacularly well.

DCS Wishlist: | Navy F-14 | Navy F/A-18 | AH-6 | Navy A-6 | Official Navy A-4 | Carrier Ops | Dynamic Campaign | Marine AH-1 |

 

Streaming DCS sometimes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even Fighter Ops' Area 51 subscription was successful, despite there being no product to speak of (and please let's not get into FO bashing). It may not be right for DCS, nor may it be top of your list of tremendous insights, but that doesn't mean it's not a perfectly reasonable idea.

 

I´m mentally bashing this Area 51 thing every day since I learnt of its existence. Not that I will do it here. But I do. I´ll keep it to myself I promise. But God how I bashed them!! Mentally.

 

 

Fair play to you sir. I'm rather glad that sims don't make me pay monthly to play, because right now I get hundreds and hundreds of hours use out of a product that I pay peanuts for. Compare that to folks who spend $100 on a console game that they get maybe 20-40 hours play out of, and the sim world does spectacularly well.

 

I myself am perfectly happy with having the guys motivated to release more quality stuff if they want another fifty of my hard earned cash, which is anxiously waiting in my wallet for their next quality stuff. If ED devised a good business model for DCS (and I pray every night that it´s really working) then it´s great! I think that´s as hard, or even harder in this business, than reaching the level of quality they put on their sims. I sometimes find myself praising their business model just as if it were another fancy feature of the sim.

Westinghouse W-600 refrigerator - Corona six-pack - Marlboro reds - Patience by Girlfriend

 

"Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance." (Dr. A. R. Dykes - British Institution of Structural Engineers, 1976)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting :)

 

Personally however, with GG on this one...........Subscription definitely whacks my WTF! button.

 

I would rather lean towards the support of Community/ED-based incentives as a means of securing possible further Revenue. One said example would be a Monthly screenshot competition: For a Nominal Entry Fee your successful attempt at Artistic Excellence would be rewarded by well, who knows.............Sponsored Prizes, a Poster autographed by the Fighter Collection/ED Teams........the list goes on.

Novice or Veteran looking for an alternative MP career?

Click me to commence your Journey of Pillage and Plunder!

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

'....And when I get to Heaven, to St Peter I will tell....

One more Soldier reporting Sir, I've served my time in Hell......'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A subscription would earn them more, but would also lose them a lot of their customers. Wait for ED's new game engine to solve many of your problems. The reason we have shoddy AI/Bad performance is because we're still on a 15 years old modified ancient Flanker engine.

 

I can only see some DLC content being added to keep revenues coming in, but it's a thing to be discussed thoroughly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The whole pay to play defeats the purpose of such a high fidelity simulator.

 

If I can only fly it online, how on earth am I going to learn the intrinsic basics, let alone master the avionics of whatever I am flying. Would that then mean that I have to pay the said nominal amount for every separate part of the DCS module?

 

Well I for one would take my money elsewhere. If I'm paying $180/yr in subscriptions (as per OP's suggested $15/m) I need to be putting in serious stick time to even make that worthwhile. And I don't.

 

I would drop DCS in a heartbeat if I was forced to pay a monthly subscription.

 

I'd go one step further than GG and say pay to play for a flight sim is ludicrous.

 

While it is a business model that works in some elements, don't you think that your pockets are hit for enough when you add in the accessories you need to play high fidelity simulations?

 

I also like motor racing sims, but I flatly refuse to pay iracing.com's $13/m (if I pay it all upfront). Purely on the fact that I don't always have the time to make it worthwhile.

 

ruprecht: Is this about the Ashes ;)

  • Like 1

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A subscription would whack my WTF button too. I already have an issue with micro transactions (which is why I picked up Steel Beasts Pro PE instead of Rise of Flight) let alone subscriptions. I'm sorry but I can't validate paying 5-20 dollars a month in this economy for something that I wouldn't even be using online all that much anyway. Most of my time in DCS is spent on learning the systems and learning the combat tactics and keeping current. The only reason I even have a copy of Age of Conan is because I got it and a year free in a drawing, odds are, as soon as that year free comes to a close, that subscription will end until it goes free2play. As far as DCS goes, I'm sorry but I would actually skip DCS in general if it went paying a monthly fee to play, as I would never consider paying a fee to play a game. I have a policy of once I buy it, I shouldn't have to pay for it again and again. Finally, the only reason WOW and EQ2 can possibly pull of subscription based play is that they provide constant streams of new content and patches, along with they are massive and addictive enough to keep someone obsessed. Personally, I don't think anyone here will go like

if they couldn't play DCS anymore... Because WoW can do that to people is the only reason people pay out the butt for it monthly, it's called Warcrack for a reason. DCS isn't that addictive, and there are much better ways for ED to make money that trying to force people to pay extra. When you try to charge a subscription fee, it automatically goes from fun to a grind fest, because you constantly play it thinking "I have to get my moneys worth out of this". I personally think GG hit the nail right on the head though, if you charge a subscription fee for it, what if you can't connect to the internet while your traveling, or what if you lose your job. Finally, just so everyone knows, even if they did try to charge a subscription fee, games like WoW have had private servers created where individuals host smaller, but free servers, all you need is a copy of the game to play on it. So... I'm pretty sure that that would happen in this case too.

Current Sims:

DCS Black Shark, Falcon 4.0, X-Plane 9, Steel Beasts Pro PE, IL-2 1946, ArmA 2, FSX, Rise of Flight, EECH, Harpoon 3 ANW, CSP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Subscription services work well if new content is brought out on a regular basis. I'm not talking the ED goal of every 9 months they have a module. I'm talking at least once a month there is a patch that added content and fixes bugs. ED would have to expand considerably to make such a system work and it is therefore not a current possibility.

 

Honestly, as I'm a gamer pure at heart I think a subscription or a central server model of sorts could work in flight sims. I'm not advocating that a 10$ subscription fee would work. As I said above you'd need to release quality and worthwhile content at regular intervals. It could eventually find its place in flight sims, but at the moment it probably would be commercial suicide. A central hosting server is also out of the question. A persistent 3d game world would be interesting and potentially epic with regard to flight sim game mechanics, however with the current tech its not possible. A central server model, on the other hand, isn't that bad of an idea. If every player who got a DCS game would login to a central server, even if logging into it was optional, it would provide a service of connecting players together. A service like that which is built directly into the game would overpower the community features of hyperlobby and the official forums in a heartbeat.

 

Of course a central server can offer so much more than just a game lobby, chatroom, and basic friend functionality. You could have stats, events, a "mission of the week" offering a download of the mission, and other possibilities of connecting the community. Hell, if ED wanted to make money off the thing they could license out "officially ranked" servers where any stat recorded in that server gets added to the grand total for a player.

 

In the end you guys (ED and the community) need to stop looking at central login/authentication as simply a means to stop piracy and start looking at it as a service to can provide to the playerbase. Countless other games and online services have shown the system works, I think its about time flight sims got in on the party.

 

(/me steps down off the soap box)


Edited by Grimes

The right man in the wrong place makes all the difference in the world.

Current Projects:  Grayflag ServerScripting Wiki

Useful Links: Mission Scripting Tools MIST-(GitHub) MIST-(Thread)

 SLMOD, Wiki wishlist, Mission Editing Wiki!, Mission Building Forum

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MMORPG works because of the social demographic of the players. That of flight simmers is totally different and I would be suprised if any flight sim developer who confused the two would stay in business for long.

 

As it stands now we purchase a licence to use the software, not the software itself. That's fair enough.... But I'll be damned if I'll rent a licence and that is precisely what pay to play entails.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you have a virtual battlefield with thousands of players at the same time, then it's justified to pay a fee. If you don't have such battlefield, then no way.

AMD Ryzen 1400 // 16 GB DDR4 2933Mhz // Nvidia 1060 6GB // W10 64bit // Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yuk...bad idea. MMORPG and Simulation do not belong in the same category... I think a subscription service would kill this (and any other) serious simulation.

Win 10pro x64 | i5 2500 | 16GB RAM | GTX1060 6GB | Logitech G940 | Tir5 + TC

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see merit in the OP's post, but I have to say that I think it would be a mistake to _switch_ DCS to a monthly subscription model. Games that succeed with that approach largely have a different dynamic at work in their communities.

 

I don't play WoW, but I hang out on a Teamspeak server where many of my team mates are into WoW. While I can only stand to listen to them going on about obtaining their "enchanted pants" or whatnot, for a short while, I think I have been getting the drift. They enjoy the leveling up, acquisition of new objects and abilities, and making their team of disparate abilities work.

 

The flight sim community can have some parallels (the teamwork), but the acquisition of "stuff", and leveling up are not really the focus with sim'ing.

 

Personally, a subscription fee (instead of buying the program outright) would also push my WTF button. While I have team mates that are into WoW and Eve Online, I avoid those largely because of the monthly fees. I probably wouldn't like WoW that much any ways, but Eve Online would probably suck me in for a few months.

 

I do see a potential spot for a subscription service in the DCS universe though... If someone (ED/TFC or some 3rd party) had a server system with a persistent 'world' that had a truly dynamic campaign, that could justify a nominal subscription fee (maybe $5 per month) as a value-added, optional service. It would need to have good enforcement against cheating, Team killing, etc. It should probably do whatever can be done to promote the social networking aspects of online gaming. Obviously, new content is desirable where feasible... however, I think content (weapons/aircraft) largely falls within the purview of the sim authors (maps and missions would seem to be feasible for 3rd parties though, as they appear to be now).

 

The DCS series software would have to have the hooks, import and export functions to support a stand alone server running a "world" where pilots could connect, get their mission assignments, fly them, affect the status of the war (depending on their success or failure, etc.), and have their record tracked.

 

I don't know the internal workings of the DCS software, so I can not know what is feasible and what is not. I would say it would be a worthwhile goal to design an option where our DCS client machines could handle most of the same things they do now, but off-load the campaign heavy-lifting to a dedicated server. I assume the dedicated server would have to know enough about flight dynamics and the characteristics of the various planes / weapons to referee the action, but I would think that it's graphics needs would be somewhat simplified, and that there might be other aspects that it could be stripped down on. With the increased horse power available now, and improvements upon the bubble system approach utilized in F4's campaign, it *seems* reasonable that a good campaign server could be created by someone.

 

I have no idea whether ED/TFC would be willing to risk relinquishing that much to a 3rd party. I *think* it would be possible to make the necessary numbers/formulas available without adversely affecting their Intellectual Property rights (but I don't *know* that). Maybe it would require licensing and/or Non-Disclosure Agreements.

 

None of the above is to suggest that ED/TFC should remove the campaign play / multi-player support that they have now. That is rightfully part of their fine product, and there is no reason to subtract anything from it.

 

Providing hooks, etc. could just open up another dimension to the piloting community, where potentially someone else does the heavy lifting on the elusive and challenging "dynamic campaign". Someone might find it more feasible to implement in a different programming language(s) and/or game engine. It could end being a Linux app, or Windows app, or ..., or even multi-platform. As long as the data is flowing back and forth properly, we DCS pilots won't care.

 

Just food for thought. ED/TFC are doing a fine job with a product that is remarkably polished in its initial release. The upcoming patch looks to be very comprehensive, and responsive to the user community. I don't find fault with that, or whatever they choose as their business model.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

There's no place like 127.0.0.1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, Oleg's next "engine" for the simulator Storm of War - BoB will be based around the possibility of setting up servers with huge capacity and the idea of, at server owner discretion, setting up fees. If it's done right, it's gonna be a success. But as I said, you need a big war around you to be justified (server maintenance, etc.)

 

1. The engine and the system we’re developing is built from the ground up to allow future expansions. Each new product can be stand-alone, or it can plug in with the others starting with BoB, following the success of Pacific Fighters which proved that this model can be viable.

 

2. We’re developing a system that is more than just a flight sim, but can be a sub sim, PT boat sim, tank sim, helicopter sim, etc. By the way, we just might have a flyable autogyro in BoB.

 

3. We’re also writing a completely new, drastically improved online code with multiple modes and features. It can even support a server-based MMO with a monthly fee. This of course won’t happen with BoB itself, but is possible on its engine, possibly made by other teams that further develop into this direction.

AMD Ryzen 1400 // 16 GB DDR4 2933Mhz // Nvidia 1060 6GB // W10 64bit // Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pay for play? No thanks, this is not a MMORPG, this is a simulator, and comparision with WoW is ofensive.

All the MMORPG have pirate servers, subscription is not the panacea, not resolve piracy.

For play WoW, you only need normal PC. For fly simulator, you need by joysticks, rudders, trackIR. Sorry im not interested in add more cost of my hobby.

A virtual squads like to have your own servers, depend on other servers, you can not control, would be very negative.



Server calculation? you squad only need rent a server, as is done for years.

Persistent world it same as dynamic campaing, add DC to DCS, and all squads server use this feature y public and private servers.

 

All ideas for improve a simulator is good, but pay for play is not good.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

 

Cavallers del Cel - Comunintat Catalana de Simulació http://www.cavallersdelcel.cat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Goodness, what a hornet's nest.

 

If I can only fly it online, how on earth am I going to learn the intrinsic basics, let alone master the avionics of whatever I am flying. Would that then mean that I have to pay the said nominal amount for every separate part of the DCS module?

 

ruprecht: Is this about the Ashes ;)

 

Maybe I didn't explain well enough, but I would imagine that single player would be just as possible, except that there would be a heartbeat to an authentication server to play "offline". Maybe even that heartbeat only needed to be established every 5 sessions or something, I dunno, it's just an idea to stop the rampant piracy that is killing the industry.

 

And the ashes ain't over yet :D

 

Of course a central server can offer so much more than just a game lobby, chatroom, and basic friend functionality. You could have stats, events, a "mission of the week" offering a download of the mission, and other possibilities of connecting the community. Hell, if ED wanted to make money off the thing they could license out "officially ranked" servers where any stat recorded in that server gets added to the grand total for a player.

 

In the end you guys (ED and the community) need to stop looking at central login/authentication as simply a means to stop piracy and start looking at it as a service to can provide to the playerbase. Countless other games and online services have shown the system works, I think its about time flight sims got in on the party.

 

Yes, quite. But as you said, one can't argue with success and DCS certainly seems to be successful. I suppose I just feel guilty about getting so much replayability out of something I paid so little for. I come from a world where there are no free lunches, and you get what you pay for. I'd rather pay a little extra and have DCS around for decades to come, than have them tank and have to start again with someone else.

 

MMORPG works because of the social demographic of the players. That of flight simmers is totally different and I would be suprised if any flight sim developer who confused the two would stay in business for long.

 

My reference to MMORPGs was an analogy to the success of the client/server model, nothing more.

 

Yuk...bad idea. MMORPG and Simulation do not belong in the same category...

 

Good grief. Same category? Are you on crack? Analogy.

 

ED/TFC are doing a fine job with a product that is remarkably polished in its initial release. The upcoming patch looks to be very comprehensive, and responsive to the user community. I don't find fault with that, or whatever they choose as their business model.

 

Quite - can't argue with success. Nonetheless, one can't be complacent either and I hope that the suits and ED/TFC are at least considering ideas such as this, even though, by the response, they are further outside the box than many people would be comfortable with.

 

Pay for play? No thanks, this is not a MMORPG, this is a simulator, and comparision with WoW is ofensive.

 

:cry: Analogy. And I know exactly what the accessory costs are for sims. I don't want this to go to waste because flight sim developers keep going out of business, because the community wants so much and refuses to pony up for it.

 

th2g_sm.jpg


Edited by ruprecht

DCS Wishlist: | Navy F-14 | Navy F/A-18 | AH-6 | Navy A-6 | Official Navy A-4 | Carrier Ops | Dynamic Campaign | Marine AH-1 |

 

Streaming DCS sometimes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the hint is that your analogy is not a happy one. ;)

 

As for 'paying so little for something you enjoyed so much', by all means, feel free to feel this, but don't start a campaign to drag the rest of us into some sort of pay to play model.

 

As for a heartbeat, that's not a huge deal but it certainly has its inconveniences, it would definitely be inconvenient for me.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D

I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair call. No campaign, just an idea. As it turns out, an unpopular one. I'm big and ugly enough to accept that I'm in the minority.

DCS Wishlist: | Navy F-14 | Navy F/A-18 | AH-6 | Navy A-6 | Official Navy A-4 | Carrier Ops | Dynamic Campaign | Marine AH-1 |

 

Streaming DCS sometimes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm personally not convinced it would be a great idea... but saying the MMO idea doesn't transfer well to flight sims is invalid. Games like Warbirds and Aces High have been doing it for years. Sure, they're not as avionics intensive as modern day flightsims, but they still have flight models realistic enough to call them sims.

 

Anyway, from that perspective, an Aces High'like server where you play using DCS equipment in one large arena could add entire new dimensions to online play. As mentioned as well, all this requires sufficient players to be online.

 

Even then, all the benefits of this centralised server could be realised by a powerful well scripted server as it is now as well.

 

-Z

[sigpic][/sigpic]

I aaaaaam ... a banana!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're main concern seems to be with piracy. Though I won't deny it's a problem, especially on PC, more strict anti-piracy measures have proven to only drive people away and into piracy; any DRM/copy-protection gets cracked eventually. I know a number of people that won't buy BS because it has Starforce. It doesn't even matter it's not the same thing everyone knows and rightly fears.

 

Spore had some rather limiting features. The result was an uproar and it still stands as the most pirated game ever. A lot of games have since then received patches that alter or remove DRM features, in part or entirely.

 

A recent article claimed that piracy on the DS was effectively countered by including a small "bonus", such as a figurine. Long story short, you counter piracy far more effectively by increasing the value of the content, than by imposing more restrictions on the rights of legitimate users. And only legitimate users at that; pirates don't have to deal with the hell Securom and Starforce have put me and many others through in the past.

 

"We see it coming country by country." he said. "We see when we put other things with the product (people) go and buy the game. We need to make sure that the value is better when they buy the box then when they download (the game) from the Internet."

http://kotaku.com/5323863/ubisoft-plans-to-have-piracy-solution-in-place-this-year

 

I think piracy is a symptom, not a cause. A number of games have been released in an incomplete, even unplayable state, with support afterwards lacking. I'm not surprised consumers have become wary, and prefer to DL a game, either to "demo" it to see if it's worth the money, or simply avoid the headaches that seem to have become synonym with PC gaming.

 

(this doesn't apply to BS btw; a very polished product, and the issues that do exist do not subtract from the experience. For this, ED, you have earned my eternal gratitude. :notworthy:)

 

 

 

I'd much rather see a donation system put into place. Who so wishes, can subscribe to donate, say, 5,-USD monthly. Again, it's about increasing content value. I honestly believe that people will buy, and support, something that is worth it. A bit of communication between devs and donators would be nescessary to make sure the people who... "more actively" support ED know where the money is going. It wouldn't stop them from complaining though. :D

 

Maybe throw in a skin-pack as an incentive for donators; something small enough not too be missed by people who don't have it. Introducing an exclusive aircraft, for example, would imho drive a wedge between normal and donating users.

 

If it tanks then, it's because of the community, not lack of effort on the devs part. :ermm:

 

 

 

Just give me the info I need to make a PayPal transaction, and I will gladly make the first 60,-USD donation to kick it off. :)

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

DCS A-10C: putting the 'art' into 'warthog'.

(yes, corny. Sorry.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just dont let us end up with "pay per hour" - this is where the gaming industry (or some of them) might be going now that they have discovered how to offer a full game platform through the cloud services.

 

I still like the idea of being able to host a game for others and share the joy of flying together without to have to think economy all the time.

Where's the fun in being adult and thinking economy ... :(

 

I just want teh ability to deal with the cost in "one go" and be able to forget about it, and then go have fun without having to shead it another thought.

I'm against any "per per use" services.

The mind is like a parachute. It only works when it's open | The important thing is not to stop questioning

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want to donate, I'll gladly take the money off your hands. I will give you nothing in return, but you'll have my gratitude.

 

Wait, actually think of it like sponsoring a child. I'll send you pictures of me playing Black Shark.

 

There are three levels of sponsorship that you can aim for. Silver: Anything up to $10/month will get you one photo a month and a handwritten message on the back.

Gold: Gets you not one, but three photos per month complete with autograph and frame. You will also receieve my Skype contact details and I will set aside an hour per month where I will be available to talk to you. Video at Gold level is not available. To qualify for Gold you need to donate at least $50/month.

Platinum: Platinum sponsorship is the pinnacle of success for you the sponsor. With your generous contributions you get all of the benefits of Gold and Silver plus you can Skype Video me. I'll even send you a daily update, by e-mail, of what's been happening in my day. In fact, once a week you will receive a call, yes that's right a telephone call, to last no more than ten minutes where I can impart on you the joy that your sponsorship has given me. You'll also receive a collector's edition signed print of me flying a real helicopter. All of these goodies, plus the peace of mind knowing that you are making a difference, will set you back just a measly $999/month.

 

So do what you can, help sponsor me through the credit crunch. You can sign up for donations right away. Simply make your first year's payments in full to gullible[at]obxetra[dot]com and look forward to your first experience.

 

What have you done to help someone else today?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:D

  • Like 2

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:megalol:

 

Vintage Z!

 

Btw........what do I get for a Fiver, having due regard to Squad Discount?

 

:D

Novice or Veteran looking for an alternative MP career?

Click me to commence your Journey of Pillage and Plunder!

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

'....And when I get to Heaven, to St Peter I will tell....

One more Soldier reporting Sir, I've served my time in Hell......'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You'll get unhindered access to me via TeamSpeak, naturally, but to really add value, once a year I will travel to your home so that you can watch me play Black Shark (or any other simulator of your choice) on your PC. Yes that's right, I come to your house and play on your computer.

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...