Online players

[6./ZG26_Custard]

Friday night GMT. New update, new aircraft. Wow, what has happened to online play? 

[Jade_Monkey]

The buzz is dead. Not sure what's going on at the helm.

[BlitzPig_EL]

Still at work on this side of the pond.

[354thFG_Leifr]

CombatBox are back to their older missions, no Apollo (which is a pretty incredible experience) campaign, whilst they work on the next iteration. There's been some full (EU) server nights the last couple of weeks but it hasn't been the same since v7 of Apollo was taken down. TAW has been running too I believe, and last I saw it (a few nights back?) it was full. Dunno really; end of month, Friday evening, probably better to drown yourself in alcohol for the night.

 

Who thought it was a good idea though to pin WoL and two dead 1CGS servers to the top of the server list? Christ, they're the worst experiences of BoX online possible!

Edited April 28, 2023 by 86th_Leifr

[Zooropa_Fly]

14 minutes ago, 86th_Leifr said:

Who thought it was a good idea though to pin WoL and two dead 1CGS servers to the top of the server list?

 

I like WoL ?

But I agree, I'd rather the list was ordered on merit as was. 

 

Server numbers are a slight concern I'd say. We're not going the way of RoF already I hope. 

[6./ZG26_Custard]

24 minutes ago, Zooropa_Fly said:

Server numbers are a slight concern I'd say.

I'm extremely shocked if I'm being honest. For a Friday night with new aircraft and an update, those numbers are terrible and rather worrying.

[86Cheese]

Friday night? It's not even 5pm in most of the US yet. I think you guys oughta chill a bit. I feel like there are more actually populated servers in that pic than I usually see.

[Leon_Portier]

2 hours ago, 6./ZG26_Custard said:

Friday night GMT. New update, new aircraft. Wow, what has happened to online play? 

 

My Coop TC Event Server chilling with 9 players. That was a fun fun fun night

Edited April 28, 2023 by [N.O.G.F]Leon_Portier

[6./ZG26_Custard]

1 minute ago, 86Cheese said:

Friday night? It's not even 5pm in most of the US yet. I think you guys oughta chill a bit. I feel like there are more actually populated servers in that pic than I usually see

I've been flying online for years and I've never seen numbers so low after an update with two new aircraft. This is prime time for European flyers.

[6./ZG26_Custard]

2 minutes ago, dogefighter said:

the game has never been better.

I don't see how losing loads of players online is better?

[Jade_Monkey]

1 hour ago, 86th_Leifr said:

CombatBox are back to their older missions, no Apollo (which is a pretty incredible experience) campaign, whilst they work on the next iteration. There's been some full (EU) server nights the last couple of weeks but it hasn't been the same since v7 of Apollo was taken down. TAW has been running too I believe, and last I saw it (a few nights back?) it was full. Dunno really; end of month, Friday evening, probably better to drown yourself in alcohol for the night.

 

Who thought it was a good idea though to pin WoL and two dead 1CGS servers to the top of the server list? Christ, they're the worst experiences of BoX online possible!

How is Apollo different from the previous experience? I haven't flown much in the last few months.

[6./ZG26_Custard]

2 minutes ago, dogefighter said:

We see the numbers dip around this time every year.

There is dipping and there's cratering.

[BlitzPig_EL]

Well it's still not as bad as model railroading.  My old hobby is totally dead.

[6./ZG26_Custard]

32 minutes ago, dogefighter said:

There's also coping

Really? Is that what losing player numbers is. I see your sparkling wit and your amazing debating skills haven't improved. Such a shame. Edit : you really should work on those.

Edited April 28, 2023 by 6./ZG26_Custard

[Gambit21]

38 minutes ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

Well it's still not as bad as model railroading.  My old hobby is totally dead.

 

Not even a little bit...alive and well.

It didn't leave...you left.

 

 

 

 

Sorry Luke!!!

[BlitzPig_EL]

All the "hobby shops" in my area that catered to the train hobby are gone.  The shows are gone.  Do little kids even know what a steam locomotive is anymore?

[LukeFF]

12 minutes ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

All the "hobby shops" in my area that catered to the train hobby are gone.  The shows are gone.  Do little kids even know what a steam locomotive is anymore?

 

I have my German LGB train set (that I initially got for my 8th birthday) set up in our spare bedroom, and my 4 year old son loves it. 

 

Thing is, it's an expensive hobby. I've had to put on hold adding anything more to the layout, but that doesn't mean the interest has waned. 

 

Back on topic: the weather's warming up, so it's natural people are going to spend more time outside than being indoors playing video games. Been this way ever since computer games were a thing. 

[ShampooX]

The numbers in that screen shot actually look really healthy compared to what I've been seeing the last couple/few months.  FVP used to be 50-60+ at almost any time of day, now here in the States time zones at night we're lucky to get 6.  I've only been playing for two years so I don't have as much history as most of you, but this is as bad as I've ever seen it.

[Gambit21]

16 minutes ago, ShampooActual said:

  I've only been playing for two years so I don't have as much history as most of you…

Maybe, but you have the best call sign/handle

 

 

[ZachariasX]

4 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

All the "hobby shops" in my area that catered to the train hobby are gone.  The shows are gone.  Do little kids even know what a steam locomotive is anymore?

My sister builds her old Märklin H0 track together with my boys. They have a blast doing so. That stuff can be rather popular. We still have model shops for those neaby. They are mostly run by folks who do as the more rewarding alternative to retirement. But they are there.

 

As for the sim, I guess the current situation has a bit of an effect on how you feel using a sim, wheter it is for shooting up things or if „just flying“ is enough. At least it has for me. But this more as a momentary mood than than change of interest. I don‘t think the hobby as such has suffered. Today, there are just way more and way better offerings than 5 years ago.

[6./ZG26_Loke]

2 hours ago, ShampooActual said:

The numbers in that screen shot actually look really healthy compared to what I've been seeing the last couple/few months.  FVP used to be 50-60+ at almost any time of day, now here in the States time zones at night we're lucky to get 6.  I've only been playing for two years so I don't have as much history as most of you, but this is as bad as I've ever seen it.

Does not get near healty at all. Friday nights, you usually had to wait up to an hour to get in on a server, and there were even more popular servers to chose between. That was two years ago. 

Today the it looks empty compared to the past.

[NiiranenVR]

Yes , im also wondering 

How many people were are in the world , how many have bought the game ( have to be many , course we pay the income for the people who make it ) 

And only 2-300 people on the servers together ?‍♂️

[=RS=EnvyC]

The other Sim released Normandy 2 and has seen unprecedented numbers on the 4YA server since then. Wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with it.

[DD_Arthur]

15 hours ago, Jade_Monkey said:

The buzz is dead. Not sure what's going on at the helm.

I think you’ve put your finger on it.

Traffic on this forum is dropping, multiplayer numbers down, etc.

It’s an indication that interest is waning. There’s nothing wrong with the game but we’re human beings and we like the shiny and the new and just as importantly, we look forward to that shiny and new. It’s a cultural thing; We’re a bunch of relatively affluent westerners used to choice and variety. For us anticipation is just as important as the actuality.

Jason understood this perfectly. He had a background in sales promotion and marketing coupled with his interest in simming.

Han has stated they won’t promise anything until they know they can deliver it. Whilst this is a noble thing, it’s also a cultural reflection. Until recently, if you’re Russian you simply have to like it or lump it.

The idea of marketing or promotion is….secondary to the product.

The devs need to think hard about this and they need to do something soon in my opinion.

 

Personally, after nearly twenty years, I’ve been done with CFS for a while for essentially personal and domestic reasons. MSFS more than meets that ‘aeroplanes on pc’ itch for me.

Will I buy the new sim the devs are working on? Certainly. I have no doubt it will be technically excellent and raise the bar once again.

Am I looking forward to it? 
No, after all; where’s the buzz?

 

 

 

 

[Crocogator]

5 hours ago, 6./ZG26_Loke said:

That was two years ago. 

Same thing happened with DCS, it was a covid lockdown boom, check the stats around april 2020: <https://steamcharts.com/app/223750>  and il-2 (steam) follows this: <https://steamcharts.com/app/307960#All>

[Jade_Monkey]

Ironically, in that single video interview they did Albert mentioned a monthly video update and we got the opposite ?.

 

IL2 was a pioneer on DD's, when most games did a terrible job at it. Now the industry caught up and IL2 is taking a step backwards putting IL2 at a relative disadvantage. Bold strategy Cotton, let's see if it pays off. 

[DBFlyguy]

I logged on for multiplayer for the first time in months last week, it was a ghost town. I don't imagine that's gonna change anytime soon. 

 

When your product, no matter what it is, barely has a foot print in it's market, there is no such thing as communicating too much but if the current team aren't even excited enough to talk about what they are doing, why shouldn't anyone else be?

 

Some actually complained the last producer communicated too much with the community... So now this current producer has "corrected" for that (be careful what you wish for next time folks...). The forum traffic (and multiplayer numbers) seem to reflect that change but the decision had been made.  It is what is is. 

 

 

 

[dburne]

52 minutes ago, DBFlyguy said:

I logged on for multiplayer for the first time in months last week, it was a ghost town. I don't imagine that's gonna change anytime soon. 

 

When your product, no matter what it is, barely has a foot print in it's market, there is no such thing as communicating too much but if the current team aren't even excited enough to talk about what they are doing, why shouldn't anyone else be?

 

Some actually complained the last producer communicated too much with the community... So now this current producer has "corrected" for that (be careful what you wish for next time folks...). The forum traffic (and multiplayer numbers) seem to reflect that change but the decision had been made.  It is what is is. 

 

 

 

 

Primary focus this year "appears" to be on WWI , and that is great for lovers of that era. I have Flying Circus 1 and 2 mainly to show support, have yet to fly it much and no real desire to at least at this time.

 

Not sure I remember seeing anyone complain about too much communication, main complaints I saw were when one week might be missed lol.

[Nalom]

2 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

I think you’ve put your finger on it.

Traffic on this forum is dropping, multiplayer numbers down, etc.

It’s an indication that interest is waning. There’s nothing wrong with the game but we’re human beings and we like the shiny and the new and just as importantly, we look forward to that shiny and new. It’s a cultural thing; We’re a bunch of relatively affluent westerners used to choice and variety. For us anticipation is just as important as the actuality.

Jason understood this perfectly. He had a background in sales promotion and marketing coupled with his interest in simming.

Han has stated they won’t promise anything until they know they can deliver it. Whilst this is a noble thing, it’s also a cultural reflection. Until recently, if you’re Russian you simply have to like it or lump it.

The idea of marketing or promotion is….secondary to the product.

The devs need to think hard about this and they need to do something soon in my opinion.

 

Personally, after nearly twenty years, I’ve been done with CFS for a while for essentially personal and domestic reasons. MSFS more than meets that ‘aeroplanes on pc’ itch for me.

Will I buy the new sim the devs are working on? Certainly. I have no doubt it will be technically excellent and raise the bar once again.

Am I looking forward to it? 
No, after all; where’s the buzz?

 

 

 

 

I agree to this assessment to a large part. 

 

Though I am looking forward to what they bring out  but a new spit or 109 version is not gonna make some buzz.

 

At this point to get this one back to life you probably need something big like pacific theater. But that seems out of scope so.... I hope they are cooking up sth else cool anyway. 

 

I mean if the fk it up with their next big thing, I fear it is the nail on the coffin for this series.

 

Silence is good, but it builds up even more expectation for the next update. I hope they can deliver

[Trooper117]

I like WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam theatres... after cold war jets there isn't much to interest me.

As a SP guy, the WWI career side on GB is pretty pants for me at the moment. The SP campaigns though are pretty good for WWI and WWII.

DCS and RoF, WoFF take up my flying time if truth be told.

I'm hoping things pick up for GB eventually... but I agree with comments from other users about  numbers falling off. Even the forums are not showing the usual amount of traffic, and that has been tailing off for some time now...

[ShamrockOneFive]

13 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

All the "hobby shops" in my area that catered to the train hobby are gone.  The shows are gone.  Do little kids even know what a steam locomotive is anymore?

I just got into the hobby and all of the shows around here seem to be back. The local hobby store is buzzing every time I went in. Going full DCC and putting together two modules so I can take it with me if I move

 

As for IL-2... although its not fully representative Steam Charts seems to suggest that things are relatively flat. Multiplayer numbers may be down but overall player numbers (on Steam) are not going significantly up or down. https://steamcharts.com/app/307960#All

 

I for one haven't been flying as much as I used to on account of a neck issue that has made flying uncomfortable for over a year now. I still fly but its in shorter spurts and offline.

[ShampooX]

4 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

I think you’ve put your finger on it.

Traffic on this forum is dropping, multiplayer numbers down, etc.

It’s an indication that interest is waning. There’s nothing wrong with the game but we’re human beings and we like the shiny and the new and just as importantly, we look forward to that shiny and new. It’s a cultural thing; We’re a bunch of relatively affluent westerners used to choice and variety. For us anticipation is just as important as the actuality.

Jason understood this perfectly.

That is well said DD_Arthur!!  I know this game is first and foremost a flight sim.  But if you look at what they are doing over at War Thunder, where they get app. 70K players at any given point in time (which also started out as a flight sim), the Tanking community there has far surpassed the flight community in number of players.  This is a proven business model, and yet they have so many unhappy Tankers that are yearning for exactly what TC on the PvP servers can provide: realism!  You can easily see this on YouTube by the sheer volume of "War Thunder Sucks" content.  Yet 1C makes very feeble attempts to tap into this frustrated, yet huge, part of the market - Tankers.  With just a few more Official skins, some of the bugs worked out and a few more tanks to play (maybe 1944 at least?), TC could easily pull in at least 5% of the WT tanker base.  That's like 3K paid customers.  And I think I'm being conservative here.  TC in the PvP servers is lighting in a bottle.  It's the best tank sim on the market for large maps, realism, historical accuracy and decent ballistic performance.  

 

And yes I get it WT is free, but as Arthur said...we're all guys with some money - so there isn't a couple thousand of them out there in the world who don't even know TC exists?

 

So, no complaining without a solution.  Here's the solution.  There is a YouTube content creator for WT called PhlyDaily.  I think he has over a million subs and gets 100's of thousands of views on his WT Tanking videos.  Send the guy a free copy of TC and ask him to do a review on it for YouTube.  You'll get 1,000 new customer just by doing that.  He did it for GHPC and they saw a nice bump in sales.

 

Here to help.

4 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lusekofte]

5 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

Personally, after nearly twenty years, I’ve been done with CFS for a while for essentially personal and domestic reasons. MSFS more than meets that ‘aeroplanes on pc’ itch for me.

Will I buy the new sim the devs are working on? Certainly. I have no doubt it will be technically excellent and raise the bar once again.

Am I looking forward to it? 
No, after all; where’s the buzz?

Thanks. It is not only me. Good to know. Continued cfs as we know it since millennia and some gameboxes before that. Finally my enthusiasm for it is totally gone except from a now and then urge. 
But I fondly remember own excitement of controlling a warbird I always loved. I lost something it feels like. Like a genuine sorrow. 
and MSFS rocks

[Bonnot]

4 hours ago, ShampooActual said:

thousands of views on his WT Tanking videos.  Send the guy a free copy of TC and ask him to do a review on it for YouTube.  You'll get 1,000 new customer just by doing that.  He did it for GHPC and they saw a nice bump in sales.

You are certainly right on this.....but will a thousand new customers make the game better and add as many new tanks, infantry, realistic terrain ,...???

and specially if the game is resolutely East Front/ RedStar  oriented - up to Sherman and Churchill  ...........!

[Skycat1969]

4 hours ago, Lusekofte said:

Thanks. It is not only me. Good to know. Continued cfs as we know it since millennia and some gameboxes before that. Finally my enthusiasm for it is totally gone except from a now and then urge. 

Same here. I was a heavy WWII air combat player from 1999 until approximately 2009, and then my interest dropped and I put most of my time into FSX. Then I discovered VR in 2019 and Great Battles became my nightly routine: 1-3 missions, practically every night for more than two years. But after Battle of Normandy was released, my desire to play in VR dropped through the floor. I don't know if that is correlation or causation; only that there was a subsequent cessation. Instead I've been flying P3D and MSFS in pancake mode for the last three months, with two VR Flying Circus missions tossed in to try out the new career mode. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Skycat1969

[Leon_Portier]

5 hours ago, ShampooActual said:

That is well said DD_Arthur!!  I know this game is first and foremost a flight sim.  But if you look at what they are doing over at War Thunder, where they get app. 70K players at any given point in time (which also started out as a flight sim), the Tanking community there has far surpassed the flight community in number of players.  This is a proven business model, and yet they have so many unhappy Tankers that are yearning for exactly what TC on the PvP servers can provide: realism!  You can easily see this on YouTube by the sheer volume of "War Thunder Sucks" content.  Yet 1C makes very feeble attempts to tap into this frustrated, yet huge, part of the market - Tankers.  With just a few more Official skins, some of the bugs worked out and a few more tanks to play (maybe 1944 at least?), TC could easily pull in at least 5% of the WT tanker base.  That's like 3K paid customers.  And I think I'm being conservative here.  TC in the PvP servers is lighting in a bottle.  It's the best tank sim on the market for large maps, realism, historical accuracy and decent ballistic performance.  

 

And yes I get it WT is free, but as Arthur said...we're all guys with some money - so there isn't a couple thousand of them out there in the world who don't even know TC exists?

 

So, no complaining without a solution.  Here's the solution.  There is a YouTube content creator for WT called PhlyDaily.  I think he has over a million subs and gets 100's of thousands of views on his WT Tanking videos.  Send the guy a free copy of TC and ask him to do a review on it for YouTube.  You'll get 1,000 new customer just by doing that.  He did it for GHPC and they saw a nice bump in sales.

 

Here to help.

 

I think thats a great thing to do

Edited April 29, 2023 by [N.O.G.F]Leon_Portier

[JG5_Schuck]

I think there are a few of us that have been flight simming for over 20 years, including me,
and i haven't seen numbers this bad since the Cliffs mess....
I mean real life gets in the way, and i always try my best to get on TAW, and support that best i can,
But I would love to see the devs look into a version of Hyperlobby, i reckon that would certainly help. 

[6./ZG26_Loke]

9 minutes ago, JG5_Schuck said:

But I would love to see the devs look into a version of Hyperlobby, i reckon that would certainly help. 

100% agree, and an easier to use mission builder like we had in IL2 46.

[[CPT]Crunch]

Lack of product, the churn is too slow and too long between any major changes for any single of the three product lines, since these guys split their mojo three separate ways. 

 

For the few die hard simulation fans this isn't seen any sort of issue, for the gamer boredom with ultra slow release and slow advancement is a kiss death.

 

Trying to be the jack of all trades when you haven't quite perfected any single arena, may be proving not to be such a great idea after all.  I regret buying all the WWI and Tank stuff sitting unused, wasn't doing myself any favors after all.

 

Not for my favorite leg of the product line.

 

[Trooper117]

1 hour ago, [CPT]Crunch said:

Trying to be the jack of all trades when you haven't quite perfected any single arena

 

You could be right... I at one stage bought everything to support the dev's, bought TC for example, played it once and haven't played it since... as things have turned out, my trust, my hopes for supporting and buying everything has got me nowhere... the SP experience leaves a lot to be desired after what? 8 or 9 years, still so many things not put right.

I take my hat off to Jason though... I think he did his best to improve the game, (the flight sim side) but I guess for even him the thing had run it's course as well.

I no longer buy everything. Those days are gone and we are still in a vacuum of knowledge of what's coming next after months of waiting.

With the current world situation I think things are not very rosy for the dev's... things may not be progressing as we all had hoped, and with the lack of any info or direction from them, is it any wonder that the forums, and the MP side are starting to wane...