How can we get more people to play simulators?

[Cybermat47]

Seeing as simulators are so good, why don't we get more people to play them?

This is especially directed at the people who say 'simulators are dead and do nothing about it. LOL.

Tommorrow I'm lending IL2 Sturmovik to a friend, but I think we should all try to introduce lots of people to simulators. To start off, perhaps show a friend a picture of a sim like this:http://imageshack.us/a/img10/8389/bdds.jpg

Or this:http://imageshack.us/a/img716/1691/lhsc.jpg

Or show them a video that really shows off the game, like 'The Death of Richthofen', 'Attack on Scapa Flow' or 'Incredible Flying of a damaged Fokker D.VIIF'. Those are pretty amazing videos.

And also, it might help if you introduce them to a simple game like War Thunder or Silent Hunter Online before introducing them to more realistic sims like Silent Hunter III or Rise of Flight. Hopefully they'll like it.

Or you can just do it your way. Like going door-to-door and saying 'Hello. Would you like to play the most kickass games ever made?'.

Oh, and I have a super top-secret plan in place that will interest many of you. But it might break your heart. Stay tuned.

[TorpX]

I think interest can be stimulated if someone reads a book, or sees a movie about the subject matter. All the U-boat fans here have seen "Das Boot", and are much taken by it. If someone produced a good movie about the Pacific submarine campaign, I think this would stimulate interest. I like a good book myself, but most people are more likely to see a movie about the subject.

[Cybermat47]

I think you're right TorpX. I'm pretty sure that my love for flight sims comes from seeing Battle of Britain. Although it can also have the opposite effect. I'd been playing Silent Hunter 5 for a few months when I first saw Das Boot. Turned me off the sim for a day.

[Red October1984]

Some good ideas. :hmmm:

I've tried several times to get a friend interested...but he thinks it's all too technical.

I showed him B-17 Flying Fortress The Mighty Eighth...which now that I think about it, is a terrible "starting out" game. :hmmm:

[Valantine]

Red October1984 - funny you should say that! My first sim was B17 the mighty 8th and it drew me right in! Sure It took me a LONG time to make the move from just doing the mission planning/ squadron organisation to actually taking a role in missions and learning to fly the thing!

Then I "forgot" about simming until I found "IL2 Complete Edition" in a bargain bin and remembered what fun I had with B17 so picked it up: the rest as they say is history leaving me with a love of flight sims, sub sims and military sims!

As for getting people into sims: I think films are the best: whilst we as simmers cannot influence Hollywood - we can however do our part to promote sims through films made with simulators and posted to youtube; someone going onto youtube to see a Call of Duty video may stumble across a well made, tactical and engaging ARMA video and may well say "I may have to give this tactical thing a go!"

Simming isn't dying: it is just having to compete with consoles and other genres increasingly every year: for every sim that comes out how many call of duty, battlefield or fifa games or clone games come out? Its a niche market, so its never going to draw in those huge numbers that the AAA titles can: what Sims do tend to have that a lot of other games don't have is staying power: and that is a strength that can be played on too.
V

[Capt_Morgan]

Seeing as simulators are so good, why don't we get more people to play them?

This is especially directed at the people who say 'simulators are dead and do nothing about it. LOL.

Tommorrow I'm lending IL2 Sturmovik to a friend, but I think we should all try to introduce lots of people to simulators. To start off, perhaps show a friend a picture of a sim like this:http://imageshack.us/a/img10/8389/bdds.jpg

Or this:http://imageshack.us/a/img716/1691/lhsc.jpg

Or show them a video that really shows off the game, like 'The Death of Richthofen', 'Attack on Scapa Flow' or 'Incredible Flying of a damaged Fokker D.VIIF'. Those are pretty amazing videos.

And also, it might help if you introduce them to a simple game like War Thunder or Silent Hunter Online before introducing them to more realistic sims like Silent Hunter III or Rise of Flight. Hopefully they'll like it.

Or you can just do it your way. Like going door-to-door and saying 'Hello. Would you like to play the most kickass games ever made?'.

Oh, and I have a super top-secret plan in place that will interest many of you. But it might break your heart. Stay tuned.

Well, I see your point. I posted in here about a new War Thunder Group I made, 30 Views not one response. "why don't we get more people to play them?" because if you can't get your own group to play them, what chance anyone else???

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[Platapus]

I would opine that most people simply don't have the desire nor interest in simulations. They want to play a game for enjoyment. They want the mostest enjoyment in the leastest time. Not everyone has hours to spend playing a game.

I would also state that the majority of people who are avid history readers still don't have the desire to play simulations either. So I don't think it is an interest in history issue either.

Simulators are a niche type of game. Those who like them, like them a lot.

I suppose there is a tiny fraction of game players who don't know the existence of simulators. Those might be brought in by a demo. But like porn, game players know where to find simulators if they are so inclined.

The fact is that unlike porn, most people are just not interested, despite our knowing how cooleo they are.

[Stealhead]

I do not see the need to make people play any particular game.

Why do you need to get more people to play a simulator?
As Platpus said some people just do not have the time/interest/patience for simulators.

I will just level with you....you are a nerd and so is every other subsim member.Every nerd likes simulators.
I am a freaking huge nerd.Of course myself I enjoy some sims and others I have no interest in.

Different strokes for different folks a person should not have to like every sim that there is.

You should never force something onto someone either you can show someone or talk about a sim to them but they are not interested
you should leave it at that.How would you like it if I forced the idea of liking American college football on you?

There is nothing wrong with being a nerd either.Enjoy being different than the masses.

Also i am a bit confused as to why you feel the need to get subsim members to want play sims.They sort of joined this site because they enjoy playing at least one naval sim.

[Nippelspanner]

Some good ideas. :hmmm:

I've tried several times to get a friend interested...but he thinks it's all too technical.

I showed him B-17 Flying Fortress The Mighty Eighth...which now that I think about it, is a terrible "starting out" game. :hmmm:
You also showed some screenshots on this board which made me buy it at GOG.com for a few dimes (thanks btw). I am deeply impressed by the details. It is not just the plane, the B-17, it is everything connected to it, like managing a bomber squadron etc...

Regarding the starter sim thing, I think if one is interested in something, he is willing to put the necessary effort into it to learn what there is to learn.

[Red October1984]

I will just level with you....you are a nerd and so is every other subsim member.Every nerd likes simulators.
I am a freaking huge nerd.Of course myself I enjoy some sims and others I have no interest in.

The definition of Subsim. Naval Nerds who like to play games. :har:

But hey...Nerds make the big money nowadays.

You also showed some screenshots on this board which made me buy it at GOG.com for a few dimes (thanks btw). I am deeply impressed by the details. It is not just the plane, the B-17, it is everything connected to it, like managing a bomber squadron etc...

Regarding the starter sim thing, I think if one is interested in something, he is willing to put the necessary effort into it to learn what there is to learn.

Don't recall posting screenshots. :hmmm: I've talked about it before...but I think my only screenshots have come from SH4, IL-2, FS2004 and some other games...

But that game has an amazing level of detail. I think it's awesome even though I have no idea how to actually fly the plane. I always end up setting engines on fire. :03:

[Stealhead]

The interwebs is power.You can find just about anything on the interwebs.Including tons of things about PC games.

I have learned of many games by reading or seeing something of them on the web.I really like the other games screen shots section.It is a great promoter for games and the people that may have an interest it will get sparked by seeing an image or reading of a game.

Another great example of this would be the AARs that get posted.A while back Raptor posted one from an The Operational Art of War III campaign he was playing.

I read it because I had played TOAW 1 back in the day and seeing that thread made me think of the game and I went and purchased TOAWIII from Matrix Games.

I also learned of War in the Pacific:Admirals Edition the same way and Kerbal Space Program spread like wild fire among subsim members because guys talked abut it here and within a month or so several games section regulars where playing it.

I say promote but dont push.

[Mr Quatro]

Simulators or I should say people that play simulators are not couch potato's.

Most of them are single people or people that don't need to be close to their wife all the time, except in bed or shopping on payday :woot:

Most of them play on a PC with great graphics and memory modules (just guessing of course), also most of us don't play console games that much.

Simulators on console games suck big time if you like realism you play PC.

I have spent hours stalking merchant ships in SH, hours that a wife or family would demand of me. I do love racing simulators however and the Xbox 360 controller is my favorite controller, but now I have it on USB on my PC and even have used it for FSX when I am in a hurry.

Speaking of being in a hurry ... I find a real time saver and a heart stopping game to play in a hurry is C&C Kane's Wrath on brutal. I last maybe 8 minutes if I am lucky :o

As for how to get people interested ... youtube tutorial's would help, people at work, more game challenges like SH/DC would be a real boom for naval warfare, but money is on games like FPS and Grand Theft Auto which made a lot of money, but cost a lot of money to produce too.

Lets face it we are special people that like simulators, especially submarine sim's. Look how many international people are in these forums vs other forums ... :yep:

Here's one I am looking forward to in November: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMQTTQG/ref=s9_newr_co_d0_g63_ir02?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-5&pf_rd_r=194KS3DH18EMYHQ43E5C&pf_rd_t=3201&pf_rd_p=1280572542&pf_rd_i=typ01
Forza Motorsport 5 Day One Edition

[Ardaeshir]

Well, first of all these are not for casual gamers, who are like 70% of the market.

First of all, most people don't have the time, patience or the fascination with the topic itself. A casual gamer will go out and play something like "Devil may cry 5" or "GTA5" etc. Maybe 1 out of 20 will play any historical themed game and maybe 1 out of 20 of those historical players will play a simulator.

And that's just the men. Female gamers will be even less likely to play those.

I'm a strategy (turn based grand operational strategy, no rts "strcraft-y" stuff please) gamer first and foremost. I'm in a way a ww2 pacific buff, so I do enjoy SH4 a lot - don't get me worng. But even I get somewhat tired/annoyed with the long "go back from the east china sea to midway" patrol returns when nothing ever happens.

Let's face it, these can be very time consuming games where nothing is happening for long periods of time befoe you finally get to chase down some target (and even then chances are that its an unarmed merchant that wouldn't satisfy a "challenge-oriented" twich gamer).

[Hans Witteman]

Hi Cybermat,

Excellent topic and for ATWAR we are planning a totally new approach to the genre but we still can't mention what it will be until later on when the website will be online.

I have play a lot of different type of games over my life and i think i know exactly how to revive the genre without discarding the Sim essential mechanics.

When people will try ATWAR for the first time they will quickly see how addictive a Sim can be with the right mix of elements from very different game genre like RPG.

No game to my knowledge was ever done like what we plan for ATWAR but have no worry it is not about flying saucer or laser cannon!

:k_rofl:
Regards Hans

[nikimcbee]

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