This has been something I have been trying to decide on for the past few days but I have finally decided to post this. This is not a slam on any particular person or Airlinesim, but something has got to give. Things are becoming so frustrating for myself as a player/customer. I find myself waiting for months for basic support and new features. I have 2 support tickets currently out, 1 for possible cheating and it has been 2 months with 0 response and the other for a name change of one of my airlines. This is so frustrating because since the time I submitted my report for cheating my airlines died, not saying it was because an airline was possibly cheating, but like how hard is it to see if what they were doing was giving them an unfair advantage. Why is it taking so long for a ticket to be closed, and why is there no communication when a ticket is out?
Part 2 to this is in regards to the lack of new content. Now I will say that we just got the 737-9 and E-190 E2 and that is some new content, but it isn't anything really "new". Yes they are new aircraft but I am not seeing them do anything massively different or anything that makes me want to replace part of my fleet. The last new thing I can recall was the introduction of the slot blocking system and that was a game changer. How long have we been waiting for this new passenger system and more importantly when was the last time we got an update about it. I am all for waiting for things, especially if it means that it is being done correctly but the fact that there are no updates regarding progress is unacceptable. At the end of the day this is a business and we aren't players, we are customers and it doesn't feel like we are valued customers.
This isn't supposed to be a rant as it is a discussion. I want to know how other people feel, if anything might change, and if there is a way the community can help.
My 2 cents: tickets are not closed because there are too many tickets and support staff too less to handle all this. (Did you receive a message stating that your ticket was opened? If not, there might be something wrong.)
Part 2 is the part which makes me also crazy. I have deleted all my airlines some time ago, including really huge ones. Why? Because I had the same feeling. New features are missing and nobody knows if there will be any in the future. I just came back and bought new credits because a huge market was open on one server and some days ago a huuuuuge company quit and half of the server is empty. That gives me a challange again for a couple of weeks but not really long.
I don't believe that things will change in the near future. Community can not help (my guess).
I think your points are valid but I dont agree 100%. I think there does need to be more clarity from the makers of this game about the future and what new features are in the works. There was meant to be a new pax system but we havent heard anything for over a year.
I think it's fair to be disappointed in the lack of new features. One of the things I learned when dealing with clients is to manage expectations and not over-promise unless you are forced to do so. This is where I think AS' communication failed. They announced they were working on booking classes in April 2017 then followed up with a new development blog in August 2017 saying that booking classes and other features were "ready for large scale testing" so people were really expecting for something new. They even said to stay tuned for more news in Q3 2017.
Here we are in Q4 2018, 14 months have passed and there is nothing new, not even a test...
@pinto, since you said it's meant to be a discussion:
I used to be disappointed about the pace of development, or the lack thereof. What changed my view was for me to accept this game "as is". I don't expect any new features and I know support is non existent. I get what I pay for. Any addition of aircraft types is, for me at least, basic maintenance for a subscription based service.
That being said, if they raise prices on the old game worlds for nothing in return I wont buy credits anymore. Somewhere on these forums it was said that the new hardware is cheaper to operate as they can run more game worlds on the same machine, so any "cost" argument goes out the window with that. Why they ask for 2 credits more per day on Hoover I can't understand. The players get nothing in return in addition to "only new aircraft types" and no stock market (along with some dubious excuse for cheating potential. Well, fix it then).
The one and only feature this game has going for itself, is the ability to build your hub at the airport of your choice. Even off the mega airports you can have good fun and don't have to get grey hairs staring at deep red slot pages. But again, potential is being wasted by lack of development. The last introduction was dynamic turnarounds, I think, but that thing is beta-level at best and by no means a sales argument.
I think it's fair to be disappointed in the lack of new features. One of the things I learned when dealing with clients is to manage expectations and not over-promise unless you are forced to do so. This is where I think AS' communication failed. They announced they were working on booking classes in April 2017 then followed up with a new development blog in August 2017 saying that booking classes and other features were "ready for large scale testing" so people were really expecting for something new. They even said to stay tuned for more news in Q3 2017.
Here we are in Q4 2018, 14 months have passed and there is nothing new, not even a test...
While I cannot talk on behalf of AirlineSim, I am pretty sure that I can state that the develoment of booking classes is on hold for the moment. The reasons are many, but most important is that focus has been on keeping AirlineSim running. We can agree that communications could have been a lot better - and still can be, but main reason for this pause in development is know by the core team, and is fully respected.
I have come to the point where I just accept that AirlineSim is not developing - but it is what it is. The exact same way that I feel, when I open up oldie-games like Ceasar 3, SimCity or whatever game I stumble across from time to time. They are what they are, and will most likely not change too much.
I have come to the point where I just accept that AirlineSim is not developing - but it is what it is. The exact same way that I feel, when I open up oldie-games like Ceasar 3, SimCity or whatever game I stumble across from time to time. They are what they are, and will most likely not change too much.
Well said.
I enjoyed the game back when I joined more than 14 years ago, enjoyed many of the developments (some not) - and still enjoy the game for what it currently is.
We can agree that communications could have been a lot better - and still can be, but main reason for this pause in development is know by the core team, and is fully respected.
„main reason“ does mean exactly what? Sounds mysterious…
Personally, the only thing I have been disappointed with, has been he delay in getting new aircraft into the game. The other stuff may, or may not be interesting, but getting aircraft into the game is important to me. Then again, I don’t generally play on new worlds. Different strokes I guess.
Most of the moderators, logo-team and signal-team are volunteers. However AirlineSim wants official support requests, to be handled by people actually employed by AS, which makes good sense.
