Epic Airship to Airship Combat
Wow. Guns of Icarus has come a long way just by looking at the website redesigns over the years. I remember implementing the longest running version (right) but never intended it to stick around for quite this long. Good thing this new design has finally launched. A new look for a new time, and a new audience!
This weekend – the 18th and 19th of February – we attended the PC GAMER Weekender with Guns of Icarus Alliance and got to exhibit our pride and joy:
Hey there!
We’re thrilled to confirm that we will be bringing the PlayStation 4 version of Guns of Icarus Alliance to PSX 2017, taking place this weekend in Anaheim! If you plan on attending, we would love to welcome you to try a demo of the game at Booths 4 & 5.
Continue reading “Guns of Icarus Alliance Heads to PSX 2017”
Ohai!
This Sunday, October 29, Guns of Icarus Online will be celebrating its 5th Anniversary!
*Cue party music*
Continue reading “Guns of Icarus Online Anniversary Weekend!”
Hello there, fellow sky captains and crew!
We are honored to announce that we are participating in a fundraising effort in support of the victims of the recent hurricanes.
Humans aren’t perfect – but our drive to help others in times of need, in spite of all of our differences, is one of the most amazing things about us. There are millions of people, at this exact moment, feeling the lasting impact of the recent hurricanes. We are limited in what we can do individually, but have no doubt that we can make an impact when we all work together.
Ohai there!
It’s already been a full week since we presented Guns of Icarus Alliance at CoxCon in Telford, England. Every showcase, and convention is different so I wanted to share our adventure with all of you. If you are following us on Facebook and Twitter, you might have noticed our constant updates, pictures, posts, vlogs, and live streams!
Guns of Icarus PS4 – First Time Ever
At CoxCon 2017, we debuted the long awaited PS4 Guns of Icarus for the first time ever! We had a large booth directly between the 2 points of entrance, overlooking the entire floor, so we decided to point all the screens facing into the room, for everyone to see. The PS4 Guns of Icarus was projected onto the big display.
This was the first time we brought the PS4 to a convention, and we want to give a big thanks to Sony for helping us with the hardware for the demo.
It was very interesting to see the console creating its own vibe around it.
Conventions are a very stressful place, and sometimes sitting down can feel like too much of a commitment, while being handed a controller seemed much more casual.
Groups of friends would just pass around the controller letting each other play. There was so much more community to it, with a lot more talking than from PC to PC. The best part was on the last day, when we borrowed some bean bags from the communal lounge and put them in front of the PS4 Display Screen. People did not want to leave, and security had to throw them out at the end of the day.
The team started to tell those on the show floor that their online teammates were playing on other platforms like PC, Mac, and Linux. Actually being able to sit players down on a Linux, next to a Mac, next to a Windows, and next to the PS4 was a really good way to demonstrate how important accessibility is to us as developers. Not everyone can afford a gaming rig, and it became obvious that this was something people didn’t expect from a polished game like this. Our minimum system requirements are quite generous, and we got to explain to everyone just how the Unity 3D engine lets us take advantage of the gorgeous shading, without being heavy on the GPU.
For those not entirely convinced, we made sure to show them the Film Grain Filter. Everyone’s gaming experience is important to us, and this feature is perfect for bringing back a little flair without taxing your machine.
A lot of the CoxCon attendees have heard of Guns of Icarus, but not of Guns of Icarus Alliance.
We got to explain how Guns of Icarus Online was the game we were able to make in 2012, and how we have grown as people and developers since. How we remade the entire game, added all the multicultural steampunk elements like factions, a living, breathing MMO Risk world map that is impacted by every ounce of effort the players are putting into it live, a unique AI that is able to learn and anticipate moves, keeping each and every game unique, and building game modes with the aid of our inventive community.
And that as a thank you for helping us create Guns of Icarus Alliance, we made sure that everyone who invested in our previous game is able to log into GOIA by combining the launchers and giving all of you free access to the updated PvP.
Sights & Sounds at the Booth
We had great turnouts at our booth all throughout the con. Additionally, HyperX hosted an event where they sponsored 4 rounds of Cloud Stinger Headsets for Guns of Icarus Alliance competitions, which were announced on their main stage. We played 2 Sunset Blitz Speed Runs. Almost everyone queueing up were first time players. Not playing against each other, but against time itself seemed to be less intimidating when trying a new game. The teams were very focused on communicating with each other, and hearing the other side advancing in waves made it even more competitive. Ben was shoutcasting the Speed Runs, which attracted people from all over to crowd around the screens and join in; picking sides, cheering their teams on, identifying with their victories.
For Day 2, Sky Captain Maximilian Valentine, Captain of the Sky (a.k.a. Jesse Cox), was recruiting 3 brave individuals to crew on his Goldfish, and challenging a fearless crew of 4 in an epic PvP 1v1 showdown. Hundreds of people were queueing for their chance to watch the fight, and hear the smack talk that we transmitted across 3 big TVS showing the map movements and each ship.
It was an amazing fight to watch, and if you missed it, fear not; This was live streamed on Facebook and you can watch it here:
Even during Jesse Cox’s stream our booth was very busy. It was generally so busy between Panels that every single PC provided on the HyperX Stage was running Guns of Icarus Alliance with people who didn’t make it into the booth.
CoxCon is all about The Queue™.
Whenever we noticed traffic was slower, we ran along the long queues handing out GOIA goodies, so Wendy gave out trading cards yelling “Guns of Icarus Alliance released on PC, Mac, Linux, and soon PS4! It’s all about steampunk airships, huge turret guns, and the ultimate teamwork! Look how pretty! You get a Junker! You get the Judgement,..”
We figured that some merch would sweeten the waiting process, and a lot of you came by after to say hello and try the game! So YAY!
Youtubers & Twitch Streamers:
Besides the almighty Jesse Cox, we also ran into lots of other babes!
Barry and Sips from the Yogscast had their booth on the other side of HyperX Stage facing us, and were drawn to the giant glimmering PS4 screen.
Dodger, whom we invited to play Guns of Icarus Alliance, is considering doing a girls’ dev stream with Liz and Wendy!
We can’t thank Genna Bain and TotalBiscuit enough for standing up for transwomen. We are a team built on diversity, and what they are doing is really inspiring. While treatment still occupies a lot of his time, we expressed our desire to get TotalBiscuit back in the skies and show him how far we’ve come.
NerdCubed and Rebecca also stopped by, and we hope to hand Rebecca a spanner soon!
We also ran into a hand full of small streamers: We love you and support you!
If you saw us at CoxCon, do not hesitate to reach out, so we can get you sorted.
Teamwork Made It All Possible
Muse Developer and representative Wendy was drawing in people with her infectious passion.
Community treasures Zyem and Crusty were helping people with navigating the PS4 build.
Josie did factual explanations of the computer version.
And former MLG player Ben created a really good mood, almost shout casting what people were doing and what was happening, making sure that things stayed exciting and people knew what was going on!
With our booth setup, in addition to our array of PS4, PCs, and displays, we also dedicated an entire table to GOIA fan merch, like pins and trading cards that attracted a lot of attention by itself! Thanks to Zyem, the booth looked more professional than ever before – clean, elegant, and running 2 additional emergency machines hidden neatly underneath the table :D.
And while Josie’s work laptop and Ben’s old MacBook weren’t part of our original plan, they turned out to go quite well as live cross-platform set up, especially accompanied with the live presentation of the PS4 build at a con!
This CoxCon has been the smoothest and most organised convention we have ever been a part of. We had time to talk to EVERYONE that even glanced at the booth. HyperX were incredibly generous in their support for our players, even giving out an extra round of their Cloud Stinger headsets.
Our team really pulled its weight – more engaging than ever, and leaving a real impression on this convention.
And last but not least, we wanted to thank Jesse Cox and the CoxCon organizers. Jesse has always been a huge supporter of the Guns of Icarus franchise, and CoxCon will always have a special place in our hearts.
Thank you to everyone who came by and said hello! – We’ll be back!
Hello everyone,
We have lowered the price on Guns of Icarus Alliance! This permanent price drop is intended to lower the gate of entry and to help us bring in more players and open more opportunities down the road.
This isn’t just good news for people looking to buy Guns of Icarus Alliance though.
To thank everyone who bought around release and supported us while you missed out on the $5 price drop, you will be receiving over $20 of free items. All you have to do is turn on your game and you’ll recieve items in the rewards section under special events and “full price celebration.”
Here’s a full list of the rewards.
These items are the least we can do for our players who have supported us. We get to follow our dream of making games because of all of you!
Dear Community,
For one of the first times I get to write in first person. To steal this blog away for purely selfish reasons and write as just Keyvias. It’s a new and alien experience, but don’t worry it’s just a one time thing.
It has been five years. Five years filled with true heroes, dastardly villains, charities to help out soldiers, doctors, the environment, and more. It has been five of the best years of my life.
As of August 1st I will no longer be with Muse Games. I am following a new opportunity, but I did not want to leave without an official goodbye.
The players past and present of Guns of Icarus have been the most important people in my life for five years. I’ve done my best to speak for you all inside the company and speak to you all in blogs, streams, tweets, and more. I’ve talked with, fought with, debated with, and laughed with more people than I can count. I’ve been a part of stories I will tell for the rest of my life.
I started in Guns of Icarus as just a player during the beta and the gameplay was sublime to me, but the people were exquisite. From flying with Qwerty2Jam and Swallow to getting in duels with Captain Roy and LordDickTim, I was hooked on the amazing players who wanted to joke in lobbies and blow each other out of the sky.
Fresh out of college, I was brought onto the Muse Games team and given the opportunity to work alongside some of the smartest and most creative people I’ve ever known. If you ever have the chance, sit down for a beer with any of them and you’ll get to hear great stories and raving rants, both of which are equally enjoyable.
I do not worry for the future of Icarus or our community. Mikko or as you know him Ayetach, has a passion equal to mine for Icarus and our newest marketing manager Liz has years of experience working for Escapist with contacts that put mine to shame.
I don’t want to make this super long so I’ll leave it with, it has truly been an honor and thank you for flying with Guns of Icarus Alliance.
It’s a special weekend. A whole new slew of PvE MK2 weapons are in the dev app after we tested them all weekend.
Testing will be at 5 pm eastern today (July 14th) and 12 pm eastern tomorrow (July 15th.) To hear all the latest updates first, join our Discord Experimental Crew!
Our notes are below, but we can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
Gas Mortar-
New effects have made this weapon stand out with it’s fading and dangerous clouds. Like WW2 flak it bursts in the sky in a brief moment of destruction.
Lightning Gun-
This one is definitely on the overpowered side, we’re doing our best to relook at this weapon.
Lens Array-
A cone of death! We spent the week tweaking the effects, but enjoy the new wide spread laser. True area clear.
Tempest Missiles-
Guided single missiles fired more rapidly, this weapon has gone from under to over powered then reigned in. Test it out and try for yourself!
Cavitation Gun-
Amazing at stopping convoys, we used this to abuse ships that had a goal and control them. Can you?
Remote Launcher-
throwing out a storm of explosions and shrapnel. It looks cool, but are there any masters out there that will make the most of it?