new [Suggestion] Premium slots for + members

[Zero]

I'll keep it short and quick. I am curious if it would be possible to have some slots that can't be occupied only by premium members. 

 

Those slots could have special privileges as being able to pilot aircrafts and use restricted items like the sniper rifles ....

 

Having such slots would definitely provide a decent incentive for + membership.

[Lonestar]

Good point here Zero.

 

Having reserved slots for Ahoy+ members or AW Rangers when timezone servers are full would be nice too.

 

Right now there's no real incentive to go + except if you play Minecraft or love AW. 

[John McClane]

My personal Opinion...

I honestly dont really like the idea (To a point). Ahoy World is a community for everyone. To make the game Fair, fun, and balanced. And personally i think that if you get a Ahoy+ Membership you do have incentive cause you are helping your favorite community stay on there feet and to keep bringing you an amazing gameplay experience. 

 

Now with that said i do not have a problem with a few ingame things being allowed.

 

- Certain Weapons

- Special Ability's (Im sure the devs can think of something)

- A special Squad XML for AW Donaters

- Your own private slot (Maybe)

- And you have the perks that you already have. As Specified in THIS link.

 

 

The reason i dont think the aircraft idea is a good thing is #1 more aircraft in the air means more server side lag, 2# Is that it will unbalance the game. # 3 There are lots of other things we can do other then that. 

[edward]

Integrating community membership on the servers is a good idea and something aw has Persued before. Is a bit more difficult than it sounds tho. I can do some research and get back to ya

[Ducky]

Why people want to divide Ahoy community?? (҂⌣̀_⌣́)ᕤ

 

I would like to subscribe to Ahoy plus but I don't have a stable income because I'm a student

 

However, I have been a member of Ahoy Community for 3 months (Tomorrow will be my 3rd month ) and I enjoyed every second

 

In addition, we should consider to continue this discussion about benefits for Ahoy Plus / Ahoy Rangers for ARMA 3/Minecraft/ future titles

 

P.S.

 

It is all about balance between members and +Ahoy members

 

Ducky Out 

[Stuffedsheep]

As an Ahoy+ member i would say that I don't think it's really necessary to have reserved slots for members. people come and go on the public servers, so wait 5 min and you're in.

 

I just donate to keep the servers going, to sponsor the I&A3 development and The undying love

[zissou]

I'm with sheep on this one, I donate and part of the fun is the variation of different roles I would no doubt get bored if I could always get the role i wanted. There's never that long of a wait anyway. 

I'd prefer to see more player slots on the servers rather than having 'exclusive reserved for slots'.

 

But unlike sheep I get my kicks from knowing I have more ahoyworld coins than him!

[Stuffedsheep]

But unlike sheep I get my kicks from knowing I have more ahoyworld coins than him!

 

I support this reason.

 

Have a coin

[pach]

I'm not a donator (mainly because it's harder to use money for games since I'm married )

 

But here is still my opinion.

 

I stronghly disaprove.

 

It's a gaming community on a game we already paid.

Supporting servers is cool and mandatory, introducing pay to play features would be a terrible joke.

 

I mean, why would I pay to access "part" of a server in Arma 3? If I want to give more money, I pick a free 2 play game, not a premium one.

Moreover, think about business.

The day AW put that feature on servers, people will start to edit the map more often (since it can not be protected. And even when it's possible, people will find fast ways to unprotect, like it was the case in Warcraft III to refer to something I know well) Then they will just host it on different servers, splitting AW community as well.

Finally, do not forget doing this will be more than borderline for Arma 3 guidelines (which could be a hudge problem).

[Zero]

Let me clear things out a bit. I'm not asking for reserved slots, as in always being able to join the server even if its "full". I'm suggesting restricted slot that will allow me to access features of the game I would normally not be able to in a regular session (read the rest of to post to get were I'm coming from).

 

Ok now there are a bunch of funny replies here. Unfair advantage? Competitive? Game we already payed for?

Anyone that uses this as an argument has the wrong game and specifically the wrong map. This is not Dota 2 and this is not WoT. This is a cooperative game and more specifically a cooperative map, if you feel the urge to compete your doing it wrong. I would never advocate unfair advantages by paying money in competitive games. That being said there is no advantage to be had if there is noting to be gain. Last time I checked I play arma 3 for fun, for stress relief and for the social experience. If you don't do the same especially for this game mode, no offence, but your doing it wrong. This is arguably by far a less competitive game mode then some minecraft mods.

 

 

"Supporting servers is cool and mandatory, introducing pay to play features would be a terrible joke."

 

How is this a joke? What are these pay to play features you speak of? Can't you join a pilot role and fly a chopper? Can't you join a sniper role and use a sniper? How dose having a pilot slot, reserved for + members, be any different then a regular pilot slot, where are the advantages? I don't care about ppl getting this map and modding it for there servers. If you really wana know, the reality is, that the exact opposite is already happening. There are servers out there that change the map by add "community slots" and vehicles that can only be accessed by these "community slots". I don't wan't that, I don't want to be able to get the CAS Buzzard for cash, that's not the point.

 

I mean, why would I pay to access "part" of a server in Arma 3?

 

Nothing should be restricted from the user that dose not pay for +. I've never stated this. The regular uses will be able to do all the things a + user can. He can join a pilot role and fly the same plane a + user would fly. There should be no "part" of the game that is restricted to you.

 

 

 

Now for the were I'm coming from part. I work 8 hours a day 5 days a week. I get home late, tired and I want to enjoy a few hours of arma 3 on a good server. I want to be able to join the server pick a helicopter and fly ppl and vehicles from the spawn zone to the LZ, or maybe play as CAS, or maybe play as a sniper, or simply play as a soldier taking on the front lines. What I don't want to do is walk or wait precious minutes of my free time idling around the spawn point because the 3 pilots are not doing there job. I also don't wana play as leader of squad alpha or marksman of squad alpha or hay-maker because that's the last free slot available to pick from. I don't wana wait in the lobby for 5 min (5min really? maybe 1 hour+) hoping the single spotter role I wana play gets freed up. What I want to do is get on my favorite server enjoy a simple fun session of arma 3 in a role I find fun to play, then go about my business.

 

As a simple side note. Note that I am not even asking for reserved slots (able to join when the server is "full"). This situation is not the same deal but is extremely similar, How would you feel if you had a payment plan for your mobile carried and once a day you would like to call someone, your wife maybe your friend, you pick up the phone and you dial the number just to be informed that you can't call anyone at the moment as the network is busy doing other stuff, try later.

 

 

---

 

Sorry if you found some of the statements above slightly rude, I genuinely did not meant to come across as rude or offensive. This is just my humble opinion and I've raised some points regarding different aspects mentioned in previous comments. Have a nice day

Edited September 20, 2013 by Zero

[Archangel]

I don't think slots are wise, unless you have a let them eat cake sentiment and desire to be eventually usurped by bolshevik forces. I do think perks would be nice. Maybe ahoy+ members could have less weapon restrictions or something?

[David]

I don't have time to give a full response, however, we've pursued premium slots.

 

The consensus at the time was that having a constant (35/40) on the server browser would wind up potential members. If you were trying to join the server it would just frustrate users getting kicked back out constantly.

[Rarek]

Similar to what David says above, there are a few main reasons we haven't yet gone down this route.

 

Firstly, there are two ways we could go about reserving slots for Ahoy+ members: one is having slots permanently available for Ahoy+ members only (therefore having servers with a lower-than-max player count) and the other is having regular players kicked when an Ahoy+ member joins. Both result in public players being kicked from games for a reason they probably won't understand and that is the clincher.

 

Though we of course value those who maintain Ahoy+ subscriptions very highly, the community you know and love is built on the foundation of equality and anti-elitism. The best course of action I've found that abides by those laws is just making sure that Ahoy+ members stand out as the pillars of the community they are. On the forums you're obviously recognised, but in-game... maybe hats?

[pach]

What about, to start, as something like admins have "Admin Rarek is joining the game" but for Ahoy+ ?

I can imagine something as "Generous Donator Rarek is joining the game" or whatever.

[sendjes]

Hi.

 

I'm new at this site, but I enjoy your servers, however, being a big fan of sniping not only in Arma, but in other games as well, I would really love to have access to those restricted weapons if the sniperslots are taken, and yes, I would gladly pay just to be able to use the sniper weapons when ever I see fit.

 

Just my humble opinion.

[John McClane]

I think the best way to show our support for our Ahoy+ Members in game is too create a separate XML For them. 

[MDCCLXXVI]

I see this as disruption to game balance.

 

A happy medium might be this:

 

 

+ members are put in a Priority Waiting List for their favorite slot. So when a slot for a role of their choosing opens, the server puts them into it automatically. If you are a + member and you like to pilot, when you join a server you dont get a slot and a helicopter, but you are put on a priority waiting list for one of the current slots. 

 

 

^ That would preserve game balance while giving a small benefit to paying.

[edward]

What about, to start, as something like admins have "Admin Rarek is joining the game" but for Ahoy+ ?

I can imagine something as "Generous Donator Rarek is joining the game" or whatever.

Rarek if you ever get a few minutes or can shoot me a pm is like to talk to you about getting this portion of the Ahoy coin integration. I know jester n raz tried this and I began tinkering with the code recently but honestly it goes way over my head. I've begun to do a work around using essentially a white list to check uid s as players connect. But your solution is infinitely more elegant.

[Rarek]

Josh contacted me about this, so will add relevant people to the conversation. Connection details for the database are still pending me being at home (should get there about 8 or 9 tonight).