Guns Of Icarus Online
Main => General Discussion => Topic started by: Arrow Windwhistler on February 10, 2016, 12:54:44 pm
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Hi people. Dunno if anyone actually read it, but I had to make a guide to Guns of Icarus Online - like, an actual printed book - as part of my school project.
Here it is.
COVER
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/distant-thunder/IMG_0363_zpsjbv1vm80.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/distant-thunder/media/IMG_0363_zpsjbv1vm80.jpg.html)
SKILLS EXAMPLE
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/distant-thunder/IMG_0364_zpspajpdgx7.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/distant-thunder/media/IMG_0364_zpspajpdgx7.jpg.html)
SHIP EXAMPLE
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/distant-thunder/IMG_0365_zpsebkwyhxy.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/distant-thunder/media/IMG_0365_zpsebkwyhxy.jpg.html)
GUN EXAMPLE
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/distant-thunder/IMG_0366_zpsikefx2wb.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/distant-thunder/media/IMG_0366_zpsikefx2wb.jpg.html)
I still have the source data, in the admittedly unlikely event that anyone actually wants a copy. I'd be willing to sort it out, just talk to me or something.
And Muse, I also have a copy for you guys if you want it.
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I Need this nao give it to me nao please.
But honestly this looks really awesome and I would really like to own this
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This is the sort of thing that gives Eric nightmares.
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Well we'll have to see. I talked to Muse in order to get their permission to create this guide, and they gave me some content to go with it too.
So, yeah. I'm okay on that front.
As for marketing it...well, I think I'd need to talk to Muse about that. I never suggested to them, when I talked to them, that people would want to BUY it. My graphics designer reminded me that Muse would probably want something of it, so I'm withholding the idea of selling it myself.
Muse more than deserves a cut anyway. It's their world, their designs, and their content. I just wrote about it.
P.S: Also, it's admittedly out of date. It doesn't cover the new Alliance stuff, and I no longer have access to the program I used to make it.
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If digital copies are available before marketing xD
I would love a copy!
Is there a download link?
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If digital copies are available before marketing xD
I would love a copy!
Is there a download link?
Nah, this was made in a program called Adobe FrameMaker. It's almost purpose-built for PRINT guides. As in, not digital at all.
That and I have no idea how I would release this for, say, Kindle or something like that.
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Wow, this is really amazing!
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Name your price, sir!
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If someone from Muse wants to say "Yes we want a copy" of course they can have one for free. It's their game after all, heh
As for selling it...I'd like to get some authorization from Muse first saying it's okay. I'll be honest and say that I am very poor with both finances and legal expertise, so they could totally screw me over and I wouldn't know. I am therefore reliant on Muse's own integrity as a company to not screw me over, heh.
But if they say it's okay, then I'd be willing to investigate the idea of creating a second run. This run was made specifically for my family and the graphics designer who assisted me.
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This looks pretty cool and could be sold in some collector's edition (perhaps talk about possibility to write sth similar for Alliance?). On other hand - it probably turns useless after a patch or two. So as I said, just a cool gimmick for people who are willing to pay for it.
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Wow holy @#$% so Howard totally greenlit this thing.
And yeah, Mr.Disaster is right, it's totally more of a novelty thing that will get outdated. But the general tactics remain the same; what will be outdated are the number of weapons, ships, and skills. I can't see them changing the stats for the Whirlwind or anything like that. But, that's part of the deal when you demand stuff on print. The good thing about print though is that you can take it to work and read it surreptitiously =P (neither me nor any of my affiliates condone slacking off)
But...uh, yeah, I'm gonna be taking preorders, guys. This is my first time doing anything like this, so if you're interested, please leave your name here and I'll get in touch with the printer to determine the unit cost; I'm going to be paying out of pocket for the first run, after all.
Additionally, depending on demand, I'll be willing to continue updates when Alliance stuff comes out. We'll have to sort it out later.
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But the general tactics remain the same; what will be outdated are the number of weapons, ships, and skills. I can't see them changing the stats for the Whirlwind or anything like that.
Additionally, depending on demand, I'll be willing to continue updates when Alliance stuff comes out. We'll have to sort it out later.
Another peer review like your original post? https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,6664.msg113691.html#msg113691
(https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,6664.msg113691.html#msg113691)
Peer review would be useful because some of the information is incorrect. Your gat is listed as having a high reload speed, high horizontal arcs, and poor vertical depression. The gat has an "average" reload of 5 seconds, average horizontal arcs of 50 degrees, and high(est) vertical depression of 50 degrees. Instead of projectile speed, rate of fire, and accuracy, more useful measures are effective range, empty clip time (not important), and if it's a projectile or raycast weapon (and accuracy thereof). Accuracy doesn't mean anything if you don't specify what type of gun it is (projectile or raycast). Accuracy determines effective range and what ammos are best for increasing the effective range. Burst radius is important to add
Gat can break any armor in one clip while being repaired with mallet
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Peer review would be useful because some of the information is incorrect. Your gat is listed as having a high reload speed, high horizontal arcs, and poor vertical depression. The gat has an "average" reload of 5 seconds, average horizontal arcs of 50 degrees, and high(est) vertical depression of 50 degrees. Instead of projectile speed, rate of fire, and accuracy, more useful measures are effective range, empty clip time (not important), and if it's a projectile or raycast weapon (and accuracy thereof). Accuracy doesn't mean anything if you don't specify what type of gun it is (projectile or raycast). Accuracy determines effective range and what ammos are best for increasing the effective range. Burst radius is important to add
Gat can break any armor in one clip while being repaired with mallet
Truth be told I sort of eyeballed everything based on when I manned the weapon myself; I didn't actually count the degrees of traverse or the rate of fire or reload time. It would be a pain to do and difficult without more experienced peer reviews on the matter but I would be willing to alter that.
The other thing is that the scope of the guide itself, and the number of pages that appear per weapon. Before I started I made it a point to set aside a two-page spread for the guns: one for the gun itself, and the other for the ammunition types that best work for it. Including too much information is not a problem when you're working online with infinite space, but far moreso when you're working on paper.
That being said I'll add it to a list of changes I intend to apply for a version that does go to sell; it all depends now on the demand for it.
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That's awesome! I can imagine picking up a Guns of Icarus game for my Nintendo 64, opening it up and finding that book!
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While not exactly fond of the cover the rest of it looks absolutely fantastic.
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well I'm ready to throw money at you as soon as you tell me to
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Truth be told I sort of eyeballed everything based on when I manned the weapon myself; I didn't actually count the degrees of traverse or the rate of fire or reload time. It would be a pain to do and difficult without more experienced peer reviews on the matter but I would be willing to alter that.
The other thing is that the scope of the guide itself, and the number of pages that appear per weapon. Before I started I made it a point to set aside a two-page spread for the guns: one for the gun itself, and the other for the ammunition types that best work for it. Including too much information is not a problem when you're working online with infinite space, but far moreso when you're working on paper.
That being said I'll add it to a list of changes I intend to apply for a version that does go to sell; it all depends now on the demand for it.
I provided links to resources in your original post (https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,6664.msg113691.html#msg113691): ship stats (http://gunsoficarusonline.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Airships), gun stats (http://gunsoficarusonline.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Weapons), gun damage (http://ducksoficarus.servegame.com/)
One page is plenty to include all necessary info. There's plenty of padding on the gat page. The first paragraph for example just says it's good at breaking armor and has "mediocre" range
There's demand for it because you spent the effort making it look great. The buyers don't care if it's accurate. It's up to you if you want it to be
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Accuracy is important to me, so it's gonna be as accurate as it can be before I'm forced to put a content lock on it and send it to the printer.
I honestly didn't think to mention projectile/raycast weapons for two reasons: firstly, based on the wiki, there are only two raycast weapons to begin with. Secondly, the wiki doesn't even define what a raycast weapon is. I'm figuring it's different than a hitscan weapon, but I can't find any definitions on it.
I'm also not entirely sure how to best phrase things like arcs and whatnot; while it makes sense to have particulars (65 deg. left/right) most people aren't going to use protractors and actually see for themselves. The difference between, for example, 65 degrees and 60 degrees is to me anyway so negligible that it's more informative to simply use vaguer words like good/average/poor.
That's what I was thinking, anyway. Are you saying that the exact number of degrees, the exact damage types, etc. is important to you? Does it matter if I use the wiki terminology when it doesn't appear anywhere else, last I checked?
Again, not being argumentative, genuinely curious
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The raycast guns are gat, banshee, flame, artemis, carronades, hwatcha, minotaur, and flare. Raycast shoots in a straight line and accuracy is determined by the jitter. Jitter is the dispersion of shots
Good/average/poor can be used to describe arcs, and I might add a few categories like below/above average and best/worst (or equivalents). 50 degrees is average and 60 is good. 5 degrees makes a difference and can be enough for its own category. For example the carro has 55 degrees which makes a difference on ships with tight arcs (perhaps above average). If you wanna keep it simple with only three categories then that's ok, but the gat should be listed as average horizontal arcs. The gat down arc of 50 deserves the highest category (same has hades), but the flare has by far the best arcs so maybe it shouldn't be compared to the rest
Keeping it simple is the purpose so it's not necessary to list exact stats. Easily comparable terminology is perfect. I do think that exact damage types should be listed but as long as it's clear what the purpose of the gun is then it's not necessary. Use whatever language you think is best to explain the info, but make sure the info is accurate
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Sign me up for purchase :D
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Okay I have a changelog I intend to implement and two people on the line to buy this thing.
Just a quick update, I've sent out a copy of my current version to my graphic designer, and we're going to have a go at GOIO again in a few days in order to bring information to update.
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This is amazing! I wonder if the devs will have one for their events like conventions and stuff? It'd be nice to read while waiting for a seat to play, and especially helpful to novices and intermediate players want to learn more in depth information.
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I've offered one to them, but they haven't said anything about wanting a copy, nor have they given me a shipping address or anything for it. They certainly deserve a copy for free, I think.
And since you put it that way, I would be able to get my name out there in conventions. Even if I did give it to them for free, asking them to bring it to conventions and help get my name out there would be more than a fair deal in my opinion. (P.S: I'm looking for a job doing this professionally)