Guns of Icarus Online: Team work, PvP, and Steampunk

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Games > Guns of Icarus Online: Team work, PvP, and Steampunk

Chomp8645: Sep 1, 2006; Hold on a sec, guys, it's been a minute since I shit up this thread with Rickroll anecdotes.

Note: This OP is a work in progress and will be updated.

Website here: http://gunsoficarus.com/

Steam Group Here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/goonsoficarus

What is Guns of Icarus Online

Guns of Icarus Online is a team based airship combat game set in steam punk world. This game is about ship crews working closely together to destroy enemy vessels in a PvP environment. It is $20 on Steam (or $45 for a 4-pack), and it regularly pops up on sale. Currently the game is 50% until May 21st

About the Beta

The beta is over, the game is released! For any of you who may have played during the beta and are considering the game now, it has cleaned up a LOT since then.

Gameplay

Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. In Guns of Icarus each ship carries of a crew of four, and this crew must work together to destroy enemy ships while keeping theirs afloat. All system on the ship, from guns to the hull to engines to the balloon itself can be damaged, destroyed, and repaired. Gunners focus on disabling and destroying enemy ships, engineers repair and buff the ships systems, and captains navigate the ship while directing the crew. Different guns have different firing arcs, projectile speeds, and optimal ranges, and ship maneuvering plays a huge role in combat.

Although the game is designed around team-centric PvP, there are a lot of noob ships flying out there and plenty of people don't take it too seriously. You don't have to be a pro (who brought three other pros along) to have fun. One weekends there are frequently people who are clearly drinking while playing.

Do I need friends to play this game?

This game is best played with friends but having some isn't a requirement. You can play with pubbies as long as they aren't completely retarded, and most of the pubs I've seen so far have at least a decent idea of what they're doing. One saving grace of this game is that it has built in voice chat that actually works pretty decently, and LOTS of people have microphones.

That said the game is a blast with friends. Even if you can just scrap together one to communicate with it's pretty good. With three or four it's amazing.

On the note of people to play with, if someone wants to set up a goon group on Steam, feel free and I'll add the info to the OP.

The Classes

"Classes" in Guns of Icarus Online are not like traditional classes in most games. Your class does not affect your stats nor restrict you from any actions (besides the captain choosing the ship and ship's load out). All characters can equip captain's tools, gunner's tools, and engineer's tools. The difference is that your get three tools from your class and one tool from each other. For example a Gunner gets to bring to the fight three gunner items, but only one engineer and one pilot item.

Gunner

Gunners are damage dealers, plain and simple. Any reasonably equipped gunner can proficiently use any gun on the ship. The gunners job is keep firing on the target his captain designates and not let up until that target is destroyed or no longer in range.

To be a good gunner you need to learn two things. Firstly, you need to know what ammo types to use in what situations depending on the gun you're using. This can be learned reasonably quickly if you have someone teaching you. The harder thing to learn is how to properly lead shots. Shots in this game are affected by the speed and direction of the ship doing the shooting. Pilots, please take note of this as well. If the ship is lowering you need to aim high, if the ship is rotating right then you need to account for that. Any motion of your ship will affect the shot. There is no exact science to compensating for this, so just start practicing!

An important note for beginning gunners! You will have sometimes help repair the ship in a pinch. There is a reason you still get to bring on engineering item. Sometimes the layout or size of the ship means you have to pitch in the repair efforts, especially if you're being hit hard and you only have one engineer, he can't be everywhere at once!

Pilot

The pilot of each ship is responsible for navigating the ship and directing the crew as they almost always the captain. Before each match starts it is the captain who actually decides what ship to fly and what weapons to equip it with. The captain slot is not actually restricted to the pilot class, but it is the defacto law of the land that pilot will be the captain, and everyone will think you're a noob if you're in the captain spot and not a pilot. For this reason I'm just going to refer to the pilot as the captain, as does most of the community.

A captain plays Guns of Icarus Online almost like a strategy game rather than an action game. If you've have any experience with RTS/FPS hybrid games like Savage, Natural Selection, or Nuclear Dawn, then think of the captain as the team's commander. As a commander the captain has the most strategic control of the situation but relies on the crew to put his plan into action. No guns on the ship are controllable from the captain's station, nor can he repair ships system while navigating. For these things he relies on his crew.

It is vital for any good captain to direct his gunners and engineers, as the captain is usually the only member on the ship who has a complete picture of the battlefield. They (should) know the status of all ship systems, the disposition of allied and enemy vessels, and the rough condition of ships being engaged. Gunners are focused only on shooting, and they can only see the ship in their scopes. They don't know the state of the ship or the location of other vessels unless you tell them. Engineers are constantly focused on your core systems. They don't know when to prioritize weapons over engines or when to hop on the guns in a pinch unless you tell them. You have more information than your crew does, so give them direction!

Also while flying remember that the motion of the ship affects your gunner's shots! If you're going at max speed and spinning like a top then don't expect your gunners to hit much unless they have high velocity weapons at close range. Obviously you have to maneuver, but whenever prudent try to keep the ship steady so your gunners can aim. The slowly the ship is moving and the less it's turning or rising/lowering the more damage they are going to put out.

Engineer

Engineers are the lifeblood of the ship. The douse fires, repair damage, and buff the ships systems. When the ship's being pounded and the captain is screaming that the engines are on fire it's the engineer who keeps everyone alive for another minute.

On his own any good engineer knows what to do and what systems to get to first when the ship is taking fire. But if your captain is giving you orders it's important to listen to him (unless he's a noob). If two engines are destroyed but the captain is telling you to fix the flak cannon instead, fix the flak cannon! The captain has most complete picture of the battle. It may be that the enemy ship is on the verge of cracking and letting the gunner fire just a little longer will destroy them, letting you then repair the rest of the ship in peace.

Like the gunners, beginning engineers should remember that they can occasionally stray from their core role. Even if the ship is under fire there are times when it may be more advantageous to have additional guns firing than to start repairs, especially if there is already another engineer on board. As always listen to your captain.

Chomp8645 fucked around with this message at May 14, 2013 around 18:11

# ? Aug 26, 2012 18:38

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# ? May 24, 2013 20:50

Chomp8645: Sep 1, 2006; Hold on a sec, guys, it's been a minute since I shit up this thread with Rickroll anecdotes.

Ships, Weapons, and Strategy

This section is currently under construction, stay tuned for more! In the mean time here are blueprints for the five ships currently implemented in the beta. Due to a display bug they all show stats for the Galleon, but you can see all of their layouts and design.

Goldfish

Type: Brawler

Weapons: 1 Medium weapon up front, two small weapons on the sides (one left, one right)

Role: The goldfish is a well balanced craft ideal for new captains. It has good speed and maneuverability, respectable armor, and it's evenly distributed firing arcs offer good coverage. It excels as a disabler. It can target enemy balloons and engines making it easy for larger cruisers to pound the hull.

Description: The Goldfish is a solid, well rounded vessel. It doesn't really have any glaring weaknesses nor tremendous strengths. It's great for new captains because the lack of vulnerabilities is forgiving when you're still learning the ropes. It's an engineer's dream because the design is very compact, and everything is easily accessible with the exception of one engine in the far rear of the ship. Gunner's may like it to because all three weapons are in close proximity yet offer near 360 degree coverage. The Goldfish offers reliable, solid performance, but it won't wow you or carry a team.

Junker

Type: Versatile Weapons Platform

Weapons: 5 Light Guns

Role: The Junker is a slow moving cruiser that packs considerable firepower for any situation. It's speed and maneuverability are below average and it's armor is not impressive, but it is a reliable heavy hitter and it's tiny vertical profile make the hull hard to hit at a distance.

Layout: One gun up front, two guns on each side. This ship is double decked. The lower deck consists solely of two of the side guns and an engine. This ship's hull has a small profile but the balloon is enormous. It's strength comes from it versatility and sheer number of guns. The four side guns are very close and it takes only a second for the gunners to switch from port to starboard for vice versa. Unfortunately the ship systems are a little spread out and engineers will likely not be able to keep everything running if the ship is taking real fire.

Description: Fire, fire, fire. With five guns and easily accessible broadsides the Junker can always lay down a good wall of fire in any direction but directly astern. And with the right guns and a skilled pilot the ship can often be angled the have three guns firing at once on the same target (two side guns plus the nose gun). This comes at the price of substandard maneuverability and armor. The Junker isn't necessarily a glass cannon (that's the spire), but it will not hold up under serious sustained fire. Also, the enormous balloon is a liability against lumberjacks and carronades (but not much else).

Pyramidion

Type: Brawler/Grappler

Weapons: 4 Light Guns

Layout: Two forward guns, two guns on the port side. No guns covering the starboard side or rear. The two upper guns and the balloon repair station are on an "upper deck" which consists of catwalks. All other ships systems are guns are on the main deck and fairly accessible to engineers. The captain's nest is low are far forward. It offers a wide open view but the captain has to turn around to view the crew or the ship's systems. It's balloon is partially covered by deck plating making it harder to destroy than other ships.

Role: The Pyramidion is designed to overwhelm an enemy ship with bulk fire at close range. It has thick armor coupled with good speed and maneuverability, making it is an extremely deadly vessel at close quarters.

Description: Pretty straight forward. Charge in and destroy. The only significant deficiency of this ship is the large blind spot (rear and right sides). While this weakness is usually compensated for the ship's solid maneuverability, it can become deadly if the engines are destroyed. It is absolutely imperative that the Pyramidion retain its ability to maneuver during battle, even if that means calling off one of the gunners to help with repairs.

Squid

Type: Harasser/Disabler

NOW WITH SUPER SQUID GUIDE COURTESY OF MAKARIS. YEAH IT'S A LOT TO READ BUT IF YOU WANT TO FLY THIS CRAZY BOAT YOU NEED TO DO YOUR loving HOMEWORK LIKE WESLEY CRUSHER

Makaris posted:

So you're crazy enough to try to fly the Squid, eh? Now, don't be intimidated by the Ships frailty and wild controls. Though it is true that the ship is quite the feral beast in the hands of the uninitiated, with training and skill it is possible to tame this vessel. Its motions will becoming your own, natural as the gravity pulling the wreckage of your enemies to the earth far below.

Ship Stats and Resilience
Hull Health: 850
Hull Armor: 220
Balloon Health: 1200
Acceleration: 11.s m/s�
Radial Acceleration: 56.9 deg/s�
Vertical Acceleration: 9.8 deg/s�
Max Speed: 46.8 m/s
Max Turn Speed: 18.8 deg/s
Max Vertical Speed: 10.5 m/s
Mass: 50,000 t
Hull Profile: 448 m�
Balloon Profile: 672 m�
*NOTE: this info may be old.

Speed
Squids boasts the highest speed in every category, most notably in acceleration. Having such high speed statistics means that Squids can adjust their position and velocity in any direction so as to rapidly adapt to unexpected changes to the battlefield and exploit any enemy weaknesses that might show themselves. Slower ships are at the mercy of the Squids ability to dictate the conditions of battle, and wise Captains will exploit this capability ruthlessly.

Hull
Where the Squid's speed is central to its nature, so to is its notoriously low survivability in the face of direct damage. Squids have the lowest overall health statistics in GoI, and it is this fact more then any other attribute of the ship that makes it somewhat inaccessible to less experienced crews. A direct hit from most weapons except the very lightest will likely be a prelude to irreparable hull damage, so staying mobile and aware is key to long term survival.

Balloon
Thankfully, the Squid has a Balloon that is just as hardy as any other. Additionally, it is relatively large in proportion to the size of the ship, so clever piloting can often negate hull damage and instead shift incoming fire to the balloon instead. Also the Balloon is centrally located and will not to far from any engineer during routine operations. Make sure it doesn't go down though, because further damage will not only hurt the hull, but you'll have trouble maneuvering out of danger, which is as much a death sentence as anything can be.

Engines
The Squid has four engines. All other ships have three. Two are set on the upper deck close to the aft gun and balloon, and only a short walk from the Hull, making them easy to maintain. However, the other two engines are set farther away from the core of the ship, making maintaining them a bit of a pain. As an upside, it is this solid distribution that makes it unlikely that a single attack will knock more then one or two engines out. Keeping the ship moving is vital, so more then anything keep on eye on them!

Guns
With three light guns the Squid sadly has the lowest overt, maximum firepower. Do not despair. This weakness can be mitigated entirely with good flying and careful weapon selection. The gun distribution is somewhat strange due to the Squids odd offset Helm, and are located at the front, starboard and aft of the ship. It is possible to position yourself so that either the front/starboard or starboard/aft guns are trained on a single target, and doing so should be a primary goal if danger doesn't demand otherwise. It would be wise if your primary Gunner decides to lurk around your front weapon so that they might repair it themselves. Otherwise it would mean a long(ish) walk for the engineers, as it is set farther away from the rest of the ship. A boon to this weapon distribution is that it is highly unlikely that more then one gun will be knocked out at a time, so keeping at least one weapon firing shouldn't be terrifically difficult.

Examples on Loadouts
Due to the ships overall design, it encourages two rather distinct styles of builds. Hit-and-Run and Disabler.

With Hit-and-Run Squids, you should not focus on weapons that require a lot of time to do their damage. A Squid cannot win a straight up, tit-for-tat brawl, and without the ability to disable enemy weapons or engines, you'll be forced to move around a lot, and losing weapon arcs will be a constant problem. Therefore weapons with large clips that take time won't be your friend. You'll want to field weapons that will favor the bursty, hit-and-run style you'll be forced to play. You may want to favor your starboard and aft weapons under such circumstances.

Because of all the issues of running a hit-and-run style, it is my preference for taking Disabler/Support style Squids. Here's the build I use to do it.

Front: Barking Dog Light Carronade
Starboard: Artemis Light Rocket Launcher
Aft: Variable, usually a 2nd Artemis.

This is a ship, the fearsome Ten of Swords, that excels at jumping on an enemy vessel and pinning it, rendering it helpless unless an enemy ship comes to its aid. This means that you may very well wrap up two enemy vessels in trying to deal with your ship, turning a battle to your teams favor. It will take awhile to deal a death blow, especially if their Captain has a Drogue Chute and skilled engineers, but despite this it is a premier 1v1'ing ship.

It's also a great Team Player ship, as it can so swiftly cripple an enemy ship, and navigate the map to do it, that you should be leaping to your allies aid whenever and wherever you can.

DON'T fly this loadout if your ego can't handle seeing your teammates getting the kills. DO fly this ship if you like winning.

DETAILED LOADOUT POSITIONS:
Front: The most essential weapon on the ship, the Barking Dog should be manned at all times and told to be trained on the enemy ships balloon. An enemy ship with a popped balloon will have a much harder time maneuvering, meaning you can stay at their dead angle much more comfortably and for a greater duration.

Starboard: The Artemis should be manned by your Gungineer, and as you shouldn't be taking much damage (most nimble ship in the game, remember?), he should be firing it as often as possible. Try to keep this gun trained at the same target as your front or, more rarely, aft weapons. It should be aiming at the enemy ships Hull, seeking to knock out the enemies weapons and engines. An enemy vessel that isn't shooting might as well already be dead.

Aft: This weapon can fill any preferences you might have, or to respond to a particular enemy/map threat. I'll usually take a second Artemis so in an emergency I can knock out the enemies weapons if they are giving chase, potentially making clean our escape.

This loadout is among the greatest 1v1'ing builds I've seen, provided you choose an approach carefully. Once you've got your opponent into a balloon-death cycle, their death will (slowly) be inevitable, as shaking a competent Squid pilot as anything but another Squid is extremely difficult. If another enemy eventually breaks to try to free their ally, You've just tied up two enemies with your shenanigans, which is still a win even if you don't get a kill. As said before you're going to want to be on the lookout for when you can help out an ally. The Squid speed makes it an excellent fire-fighter, so respond to the plight of your friends, swoop in and be their savior.

All this goes without saying anything about the Squids ability to quickly cap points, which should be fairly obvious, but this build is also able to defend them, as a disabled vessel isn't going to be posing a threat anytime soon.

Engineering on a Squid
Engineering on a Squid is deceptively easy, although it remains a very high stakes game. The Hull can go out in an instant and if you aren't ready, you'll end up taking irreparable damage quickly. This can quickly put less experienced engineers into a baby-sitting mindset where they feel tied to the hull lest it explode in a split second. Sadly this can only really be offset by the pilot and there isn't much even the best Engineer can do about it. The most critical advice to be offered is to listen to your Captain, and if the Captain wants a second gun firing, make sure you've already got it worked out which engineer will be the one to go do that.

Survival on a Squid is less about obsessively topping off everything and more about making sure you're engines are up (so you can be at a favorable angle) and your guns are firing (so your opponent is more concerned with survival then with fighting back).

For gear, the Squid is probably the only ship where the engineer meant to maintain the Hull would be better served taking a Wrench then a Mallet, as the HP healed is overkill for the puny amount of armor the Squid comes with. Likewise, don't make a big deal out of buffing the Hull. The bonus HP from buffing is percentile and you don't get much bang for your time. Not that you shouldn't do it ever, just that it isn't a huge priority. Other than these two peculiarities, tool selection is just like any other vessel, and the usual engineer builds will work fine.

The side engines are going to be something of a pain. Set out on the sides and below the main deck, a good jump over the railing from top deck will take you to either engine in no time, but walking back to the ships central area will take a few seconds you might not have. Like on any ship, making solid judgement calls is an essential skill any Engineer ought to have.

Like on all ships in all roles, communication is key, so before you even start it should be decided which players are going to prioritize guns over repairs.

The squid is the ship least able to receive repairing assistance from the pilot. It's a minor issue, but one that can stand out for pilots used to being able to give their engineers a hand.

Gunning on a Squid
Gunning on a Squid is completely dependent on what guns you have brought along. As Squids are only able to field light weaponry, keeping two weapons trained on an opponent, with the best ammo mods, is key to doing the kind of damage you need to earn your spot on a team.

A Gunner should stay on the front weapon at nearly all times, and be in charge of repairing their own weapon. This gun is farther way from all the rest of the ship systems and your engineers will waste a lot of time if they have to fix it for the Gunner. Given that this gun will be manned more then any other under most circumstances and in most builds, the weapon selected for it is most crucial. Ideal weapons are ones that either have a high burst damage potential or ones with strong disabling capability, and should well in tandem with the Starboard gun to either render an opponent helpless or kill them before they can retaliate (or deal enough damage that an ally can pick up the kill).

Listen to your Captain. The Squid is probably the ship most likely to abandon a target and switch it up, as new danger shows its face or the an ally needs help. Gunners should be ready to quickly switch their focus and not lose themselves to tunnel vision.

Keep that Spyglass out, too! The Pilot, being offset so hard to the port side, means he can occasionally suffer from poor line of sight. Help out and spot enemies!

All weapons can be useful on a Squid, so experiment. Just keep your goals in mind and make sure your weapons compliment rather then overlap in function. Unless you go all Dragon Tongues/Harpoons/Beacons, in which case godspeed you majestic beast.

Captaining on a Squid
The Squid is (I would say almost unanimously regarded as) probably the hardest ship in the game to preform well with. But it is by no means weak. Its high skill floor disguises an even higher skill ceiling. Flying the Squid good means you could probably fly any other ship great. I emphatically say probably, because where with other vessels anticipation and prediction are very important, on the Squid these traits are de-emphasized and instead fast reactions and adaptation become key where they might not even come into play on slower ships.

Critically, don't fly the Squid like its a car, boat or a plane. Think of it like a helicopter. Or even more clearly, a hummingbird. Those massive engines not only give you a ton of thrust, but allow you to brake incredibly quickly as well. At least as important as your steering is your throttle management. If you have a mouse with extra buttons, mapping your throttle to your other hand may be useful, as there will be moments where you simply don't have enough fingers to turn and manage throttle at the same time. In short, get used to swiftly stopping and starting to stay as unpredictable and agile as possible.

Also note that when you are shifted to neutral, your engines will work in tandem to turn the ship faster, as one pair of engines pushes and the other pulls. Keep this in mind!

There is a price for all this speed. Two big ones, actually. Firstly, all that swinging about can make some guns basically impossible to hit with. Be charitable to your gunners and try not to spaz out too much. Sometimes it can't be helped, but when there is the all-clear hold her steady so your shots count. Secondly, moving so quickly increases the damage a ram or impact with terrain will do, both to yourself and your target. Given Squids are several times lighter then most of the other ships, this will rarely (but not always!) work against you... Try not to bump things, is what I'm sayin'.

Altogether the Squid is a Pilot's ship, and you have a lot of freedom when it comes to your equipment. I want to say the only truly mandatory item is the Tar Barrel. Tar will save your skin when nothing else can, and Squids can use it offensively like no other ship. The damage it does can also not be understated. Even just a few seconds is like getting a full Manticore volley, minus the danger to the hull. A must take, in my opinion.

There is a decent case for taking a Spyglass, as you have reduced need for the speed/maneuverability tools the more lumbering ships rely on. Take it without hesitation if you don't trust your crewmates.

The Phoenix Claw is great because it makes your turning from merely wonderful and turns it up to hilariously physics breaking. It also does less engine damage over time then most other tools, which your engineers will be appreciative for. Not a bad choice.

Kerosene and its bigger meaner brother Moonshine are usually overkill. But who cares, dump that stuff in and get to the point before the other guy has even lumbered out of idle. Seriously though, in most circumstances other then large capture point maps, you don't need to be THAT fast, and during those times when you need to escape, Tar will be better.

Hydrogen and, more rarely the Chute Vent, are both absolutely amazing and one or the other (or both!?) are nearly as essential as Tar. The Squid cannot afford to linger in an enemies weapon arcs for long, and often the best way to escape and find a favorable position again is just be turning on either of these wonderful little things.

Drogue Chute is purely circumstantial. Be proactive and always check your opponent loadout before a game. If you see them packing a lot of Carronades, or you know they have an solid gunner on a lumberjack, take this. Otherwise, avoid.

You are too fast and agile to need Impact Bumpers, but for the more insane pilots no ship is going to get as many opportunities for high speed rams as the Squid, so if that's your cup of tea then go for it! You'll probably be punished more often then it works, but honestly who cares! Combine with Hydrogen for the worlds fastest Hydrogen Uppercuts!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's about all I've got to say on the Squid for now. I hope this has helped at least a few new players. The Squid is a challenging ship to fly and to crew, but well worth the investment.

Thanks for reading and please comment and give any critiques / ideas on things I should add (or remove D:). Take care!

More coming soon!

Chomp8645 fucked around with this message at May 14, 2013 around 17:39

# ? Aug 26, 2012 18:39

Mouser..: Apr 1, 2010

Against my better judgment, I'm interested in this. Guns of Icarus got so monotonous though and it's hard to imagine the Captain doing much more than pointing the airship in the direction of the enemy and drifting around while you slug it out in the turrets. I haven't seen any mention of the sky pirates fast ships and they were the primary enemy of the game. I've always thought watching capital cruisers battle each other is pretty loving boring without fighters whizzing all around them and this doesn't seem to be offering that. Just more of what made GoI so repetitive in the first place. I guess I'll see what else will be revealed since I was disappointingly told that World of Warplanes sucks and am looking for air combat other than IL-2.

# ? Aug 26, 2012 19:09

Arthur Crackpot: Sep 4, 2011; Proceed in a str8 line shaped like a perpetually shifting torus knot until you feel a sense of despair transcending all mortal comprehension, then hang a right at the next octopus, she'll be in the first room on the left

Oh hey, I was wondering if there were any games like this. I always thought it would be neat to have a team based game where the players crew a giant sci-fi capital ship. I guess steampunk is the next best thing.

# ? Aug 26, 2012 19:29

Chomp8645: Sep 1, 2006; Hold on a sec, guys, it's been a minute since I shit up this thread with Rickroll anecdotes.

Mouser.. posted:

Against my better judgment, I'm interested in this. Guns of Icarus got so monotonous though and it's hard to imagine the Captain doing much more than pointing the airship in the direction of the enemy and drifting around while you slug it out in the turrets. I haven't seen any mention of the sky pirates fast ships and they were the primary enemy of the game. I've always thought watching capital cruisers battle each other is pretty loving boring without fighters whizzing all around them and this doesn't seem to be offering that.

The game is really not just about watching capital ships slug it out with broadsides. There are no fighters so far, (although I've heard a "carrier" class ship is coming) but there are lighter ships which are fast and agile, heavy ships which are slower and hit hard, and all the ships have different layouts. This leads to a lot of maneuvering, and keeps the captain on his toes. And that's even without shouting orders to your crew (which you should be doing).

# ? Aug 26, 2012 21:11

Attention Horse: Jan 5, 2012; Yo man, you are out of step with Imhotep!

I'm pretty sure I already played a PvP/CooP game about airships this year. I don't think it was steampunk though, 'cause there were Vikings and Pirates or something like that.

# ? Aug 27, 2012 13:31

Chomp8645: Sep 1, 2006; Hold on a sec, guys, it's been a minute since I shit up this thread with Rickroll anecdotes.

Just in case at least one other person besides myself cares about this game, beta patch 0.10 was just released. Patch notes below. Good fixes and changes all around.

General Server
- General performance and stability improvements
- Ramming properly awards kills
- Fixed several gun/helm interaction issues (most notably: where a player could be on a gun and see muzzle flashes or effects, but the gun wouldn�t actually fire)
- Incidental fire chance scales with weapon damage (rocket launcher in particular will cause fewer fires)
- AI improvements and bug fixes (gunners should be more responsive, among other things)
- Targets in or behind cloud cover can no longer be spotted
- Fixed a bug with clouds that caused them to not properly apply visibility changes and damage

General Client
- Improved cloud performance
- Chat displays notifications when players join/leave
- Added intro splash sequence, can be skipped with ESC
- Fixed rendering issues on some level geometry (no longer draws above clouds from certain angles)
- Fixed options menu bug that caused it to explode on certain multi-monitor setups

Lobby / Match
- Crews are no longer spawned on the wrong ships
- Duplicate player bug fixed
- Player counter now working properly
- A match �warm up� timer is in place, allowing everyone to get connected and loaded up. Is presently 25 seconds; please report if your system needs more time to load a particular scene!

Balance and Skills
- Tar Barrel works now�emits black smog clouds when used, deals damage when you enter them, use them to lose pursuers
- Tweaked Gatling Gun movement
- Tweaked Missile Sling movement
- Pyramidion slightly lower armor
- Junker engines tweaked for slightly more maneuverability
- Hydrogen Canister and Chute Vent highly effective now
- Incendiary Ammo balanced by dealing dmg to gun per shot
- Incendiary Ammo increased fire chance only affects parts directly hit by the projectile, not those hit by associated area damage.
- Dynabuff Kit: Hull buff immediately adds the extra health, as well as increasing max health

Maps
- Water Hazard is now (again) 3v3
- Fixed invisible obstacles in Water Hazard

Features
- Added temporary, placeholder first time tutorial text.

http://gunsoficarus.com/community/b...atch/#more-3198

# ? Aug 31, 2012 01:22

Kazvall: Mar 20, 2009; Almost like a PIZZA PIE!

I care. I am buying this tomorrow. It is my dream to crew some sort of ship. I'd rather it be in space, but these stupid game companies don't even know what's up. If I have to get my fancy steampunk pants on, I'll do it. As long as I can yell at people to GIVE ME MORE POWER TO ENGINES!

# ? Aug 31, 2012 03:24

Kazvall: Mar 20, 2009; Almost like a PIZZA PIE!

This game is a whole hell of a lot of fun. Enough fun for me to double post, apparently. I got three friends together for a full ship crew. Probably the best way the game is played. It gets really tense when you're falling from the sky because your balloon is burst, everyone is on guns trying to get the enemy ship down, and I'm sitting there spamming rebuild on parts going, "Ohfuckohfuckohfuck, YEESSSS!".

If you ever wanted to be a crew on a spaceship, or any kind of ship, you should try this game out. I played captain a couple times, and it was glorious.

# ? Sep 2, 2012 16:35

zilong: Jun 14, 2007; ;o;

This game is ridiculously fun, but it feels so incomplete for a beta. Now that I've figured out how to captain a ship, I can't wait to have a fully manned ship in the final product.

# ? Sep 3, 2012 23:25

drunken officeparty: Aug 23, 2006

I just got this and it's so much fun. You really need at least someone else talking on voice chat if not a friend or 3 to be on the same team though. I can't wait to see what is being added when the game comes out, a level or unlock or upgrade system would be awesome.

They are giving out 15,000 beta keys tomorrow on the steamgifts website, so it should be flooded with new people playing. There was never more than ~30 people in the lobby at once when I was playing, and I could only ever fill up games of 2v2 even when I had a full crew of friends. Really want to try the other maps though, especially the 4v4.

drunken officeparty fucked around with this message at Oct 7, 2012 around 05:41

# ? Oct 7, 2012 05:26

MetalMan: Oct 22, 2004

Yogscast just did a video on this. Looks pretty great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEloKHgyoLU

# ? Oct 22, 2012 16:34

Reciprocator: Jun 26, 2002; You're not taking drugs are you? I only ask because there is a zero-tolerance policy on the island, and I wouldn't want you to have to punch yourself in the face.

What can you do if you get some awful pubbie on your crew who sits there AFK? In my case, die horribly.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 04:12

Rorac: Aug 19, 2011

It happens, but every now and then you get that amazing crew that just works great and keeps everything going despite the odds. I've been saved from the brink quite a few times by having a rockstar crew.

It's kind of like World of Tanks in that regard: invite friends.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 04:14

Chomp8645: Sep 1, 2006; Hold on a sec, guys, it's been a minute since I shit up this thread with Rickroll anecdotes.

Are people starting to care about this game now? I made this thread almost two months ago and nobody gave a poo poo. If there's actually some interest starting to brew I'll think about re-doing the OP, although not before Friday (out of town until then).

# ? Oct 30, 2012 04:26

Reciprocator: Jun 26, 2002; You're not taking drugs are you? I only ask because there is a zero-tolerance policy on the island, and I wouldn't want you to have to punch yourself in the face.

Chomp8645 posted:

Are people starting to care about this game now? I made this thread almost two months ago and nobody gave a poo poo. If there's actually some interest starting to brew I'll think about re-doing the OP, although not before Friday (out of town until then).

It's being advertised on Steam so there should be some interest now. I want to like this game, but it suffers from terrible pubbies.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 04:38

President Ark: May 16, 2010; Looks like you got a good deal there!

I played a couple rounds of this with two friends earlier tonight. Good fun stuff.

I was piloting a Galleon, which you say is poo poo in the OP, but we were doing pretty well with it - two flak cannons, two cannonades, the machine-rocket-gun on the left light slot, and the sniper cannon in the back light slot. Always maneuver to broadside with your left and the combined fire from all guns usually brought them down pretty drat fast.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 05:59

Rhontos: Oct 19, 2011

Attention Horse posted:

I'm pretty sure I already played a PvP/CooP game about airships this year. I don't think it was steampunk though, 'cause there were Vikings and Pirates or something like that.

Air Buccaneers. It used to be a UT2004 mod and the developers are now making it into a standalone game. It's a lot of fun but I haven't played Guns of Icarus yet so I don't know how it compares.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 06:30

Chomp8645: Sep 1, 2006; Hold on a sec, guys, it's been a minute since I shit up this thread with Rickroll anecdotes.

President Ark posted:

I was piloting a Galleon, which you say is poo poo in the OP,

More or less everything in the OP related to balance is horribly out of date.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 11:50

drunken officeparty: Aug 23, 2006

Chomp8645 posted:

More or less everything in the OP related to balance is horribly out of date.

The last time I played 2 weeks ago, everything was so off balance it wasn't even funny. Most of the guns did piddly damage, and like 2 of them would kill a ship in 5 seconds.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 14:58

President Ark: May 16, 2010; Looks like you got a good deal there!

Chomp8645 posted:

More or less everything in the OP related to balance is horribly out of date.

You should probably update it then.

Am I alone in thinking this game would work pretty well with an "assault" gamemode? Something like 16v16, one side has 4 ships and the other side has a stationary fortress they need to defend with mounted turrets and maybe some one-man fighter ships.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 17:26

Skoots: Sep 6, 2006

are there any goon groups going in this game?

# ? Oct 30, 2012 18:22

INSERT COIN: Sep 26, 2007

If anyone is interested in arranging goon games jump in my friends Mumble server.

(add this to OP)

Address: d3camg.mumbleserverhost.com
Port: 38435

# ? Oct 31, 2012 23:22

The Unlife Aquatic: Jun 17, 2009; welcome

Can you ram your airship into other airships for suicidal hilarity and/or boarding actions? This is important.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 15:02

Azeral: Jun 2, 2007

No to boarding (they actually say in the FAQ that they don't like the idea of putting boarding in), yes to ramming.

In as AmelieQuixote, it's a pretty good time. Mostly running around repairing and buffing whilst others gun, since it's uncommon that all three crewmen have a clear shot at once (and buffing hull/engines/guns is great).

It's nice to have something to do other than stand around waving my spyglass at those times, so I'm kind of in love with this buff hammer.

So far, the flow chart for good/awful crews seems to be:
Is the captain using voice chat?
If yes to above, is he twelve years old?
If no to that, you will probably do well.

It's the silent ones -- especially the silent ones who don't listen -- that you have to watch out for, like the captain who runs kerosene 24/7 without saying anything and constantly burns out the engines in spite of all repair attempts.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 15:22

Sushi in Yiddish: Feb 2, 2008; Why can't I just eat my waffle?

I've been playing this over the last week and enjoying it quite a bit. You can end up with a bad captain or crews that don't do their jobs, but one on one battles aren't one shot affairs so you do at least get to see your enemy before you or they are shot from the sky.

It reminds me a lot of something I loved from Battlefield 1942, the naval battles. Running around a ship, trying to look around for enemy vessels. Each role is pretty fun to play and when you get a good team together there's nothing I've quite played like it this year.

# ? Nov 3, 2012 20:05

Rorac: Aug 19, 2011

Ramming, if done right, is actually one of the better attack methods. It's best if you can hit their hull with your balloon(despite how that sounds) because they're likely to take a lot of unrepairable damage while you've got a balloon out/mostly damaged. And depending on your ship, a nice easy shot into their exposed underside.

There's a reason I run the ram bumpers and an emergency chute as a captain, and it's that tactic right there. Combine with a Goldfish with a good frontal weapon; hilarity ensues.

# ? Nov 5, 2012 21:47

Kenning: Jan 10, 2009; I really want to post goatse. I wish I had 10bux

Getting rammed really sucks, you take a pile of damage and there's pretty much no way to repair it in time to not go down.

# ? Nov 6, 2012 21:37

restructor: Nov 6, 2012

How is the userbase? One thing that is keeping me from purchasing is that I don't wanna run around with a bunch of randoms who won't put any effort into communication or strategy.

# ? Nov 6, 2012 22:30

Kenning: Jan 10, 2009; I really want to post goatse. I wish I had 10bux

I've been really pleased with mic chat with pubbies. The in-game social system is pretty good for keeping up with people who've been fun to play with. It's fair to say that you have a very good chance of getting at least one other person on your ship who's down to communicate, and if you rock your mic people tend to respond. At least that's been my experience so far.

# ? Nov 7, 2012 08:35

bbcisdabomb: Jan 14, 2008; SHEESH

Arthur Crackpot posted:

Oh hey, I was wondering if there were any games like this. I always thought it would be neat to have a team based game where the players crew a giant sci-fi capital ship. I guess steampunk is the next best thing.

You want Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator. It's pretty much "bridge crew of the USS Enterprise: The Game"

I really need to try Online. The first Guns of Icarus is fun, but it's really limited in multiplayer.

# ? Nov 7, 2012 09:34

Biaga: Oct 27, 2009

Got this on the steam sale, looking forward to playing it.

I hope to god I am not alone in this.

Edit: I played this game for an hour today, and I have to say its a lot of fun.

Coming from an EVE background, there is a lot of appeal for ship combat on a more detailed level. Choosing between fixing an engine and firing a weapon is a lot more fun then I would have imagined.

Regardless of the fact that I have been playing with randoms, I can see 4 people pregrouped and working over comms be incredibly overpowered though.

Biaga fucked around with this message at Nov 23, 2012 around 20:51

# ? Nov 23, 2012 17:30

Talkc: Aug 2, 2010; Mizuki! Mizuki! Mizuki!
***DEVASTATINGLY HANDSOME***

Friend bought a 4 pack of this during the Flash Sale, and we spent 3 hours learning how to play.

Then we spent 4 kicking rear end.

We spent about 2 hours floating around in a slow as poo poo tanky Galleon just wading into fights as if we owned the place. We had long range guns on one side for far engagements, and a Manticore and Cannonade on the other for loving poo poo up.

We then took this stuff back to the drawing board and ended up doing something devious. Reading about the lochnagarr rounds we figured out that they are only really useful in the Field Gun. So we loaded a Pyramidon with dual field guns, and sat back on the edge of the map sniping bitches.

Even though you have to repair your gun with every shot of the round, it makes the sniper rifle into a certified Son of a Bitch Gun(TM).

This game is fantastic, and should absolutely be played by more people. The community is great, and people communicating makes this game feel so much more alive.

# ? Nov 24, 2012 13:52

Rorac: Aug 19, 2011

I wonder, would those rounds split the damage on say, a cannonaide, or would each individual pellet do the damage of the lochnagarr round? Because if it's the latter, I have a very mean idea for the goldfish...

# ? Nov 24, 2012 17:50

Biaga: Oct 27, 2009

Do I hear the formation of a Goonwaffe?

I would love to play with a crew that actually communicated, or a ship captain that recognizes that the placement of guns on your ship is important to remember when approaching a target.

Had a captain yell that we weren't shooting something fast enough not realizing that all the weapons were unable to hit due to their position on the other side of the boat.

Continually, are there any actual benefits to levels?

# ? Nov 24, 2012 19:05

Porkchop Express: Dec 24, 2009; Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to play this game based on a few reviews I had read, but this thread has convinced me to get this game when I get off work.

Oh Steam, why must you take my hard earned ducats so close to Christmas!

# ? Nov 24, 2012 19:22

Biaga: Oct 27, 2009

Porkchop Express posted:

I wasn't sure if I wanted to play this game based on a few reviews I had read, but this thread has convinced me to get this game when I get off work.

Oh Steam, why must you take my hard earned ducats so close to Christmas!

You will not regret it, I highly suggest staying away from piloting for the first couple of matches and focus on Engineering or Gunnery.

Speaking of which, we should really update the threat OP.

# ? Nov 24, 2012 20:52

Porkchop Express: Dec 24, 2009; Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt.

I dicked around for about an hour after I got home from work, and its definitely fun. But it definitely seems like the game can be won or lost by how good your captain and crew are. I played as a gunner first but its really hard when the captain doesnt understand the correct way to position the ship to correctly utilize the guns. Sometimes the captain will swing the ship about so you can shoot from one of the side guns, but he won't swing out enough and you can't even hit the loving ship in front of you.

Likewise if you don't have someone playing a good engineer its impossible to go fr long because stuff just keeps getting damaged and catching on fire.

So far I have yet to get in to a game that has a full crew, on the ship I have been assigned to, however I have only done the quick join and not searched for a map, so that might make it a bit easier.

Also, what kit has everyone been using as the engineer? I have been using the pipe wrench, buff hammer, and fire extinguisher.

EDIT: Also the controls when gunning seem painfully slow. I try to move around and its like steering a pallet full of bricks.

Porkchop Express fucked around with this message at Nov 24, 2012 around 22:37

# ? Nov 24, 2012 22:33

robziel: May 31, 2011; >10 THRUST "ROBO_COX"
>20 GOTO 10

Started playing this tonight with some friends, we're getting our asses handed to us but it's fun so that's something at least.

# ? Nov 25, 2012 03:16

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# ? May 24, 2013 20:50

Porkchop Express: Dec 24, 2009; Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt.

I started playing again around 6:30pm and got in to nothing but poo poo matches with poo poo teammates. I joined up on one crew with two engineers who would just man guns and never actually loving fix anything. Finally after I yelled at them they started to put out fires, you know, the thing that only engineers can really do!

The very last match I got in to had a 12 year old captain who was irritating as gently caress, and a generally lovely crew. After tiring of hearing their bullshit I took the wheel and crashed us in to a mountain.

# ? Nov 25, 2012 03:20

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