Topics

1

General Discussion / Fjord Baronies: Palpal knight influences?

« on: November 04, 2013, 10:46:35 am »

Oh lawd!
Of course, both are actually take inspiriation from real life, and no, not the KKK. They again take inspiration from an actual organization older than they.


At any rate, I wonder which influenced GOI? Pointy hats and halberds fir the palpal knights of hellsing to a T, but that's not to say it's what they're using as inspiration.
Speculation on pointy hats hooooo!

2

World / Which existing airship belongs to which faction?

« on: November 04, 2013, 10:34:46 am »

I could have swore each airship was related to an existing faction, but can't find it =/

IIRC:
Galleon- Merchants
Squid- Arashi
Mobula- The order
Goldfish- Yesha
Junker- Anglea
SPire- Baronies?

3

World / Juggernuaghts of the sky: What do?

« on: November 01, 2013, 10:06:07 am »

The subject has been poked at a few times, from curiosity surrounding the ruins in duel and the desert map (name escapes me) and boss battles have been mentioned and spoke on a bit during the adventure mode kickstarter. I also remember reading a little bit somewhere pertaining to the massive ships in regards to "If only we could find out who keeps making these things..." insinuating there are more than just ruins of these leviathans about the world.

So from the insinuations of them still being produced, boss battles and the simple fact that they HAVE existed, one might imagine we see these pre-war re-fitted warships with balloons to carry them.
But assuming a great many things, what role could they possibly serve in the overall game world? Could any particular nation lay claim to them? Or does one in specific have agency? Would they be more of a "random event" kind of deal, or even a balancing one in which a faction pushed too close to the brink lashes out desperately with technology that should have been left buried?

Assuming they exist, what role might they serve?

4

The Gallery / A man of simple means.

« on: October 29, 2013, 07:18:34 pm »

Gerhart was not a very intelligent man. But he was a man of certain values. The value of another man's privacy, for one. And the value of money.

What he lacked in intelligence and drive, he made up for in capacity for violence and lack of moral qualms. Many might see him as a thug, indeed his hobnailed boots, battered leather coat and nose roughly offset to the right from an incident involving a pipe wrench did little to dispel this image. But people like him were needed in this day and age.

Warlords fought their battles with little thought as to the protection of their citizens, raiders took advantage and certain interests always sought to influence these events in subtle ways that might earn them a few more coins at the end of the day.
And why shouldn't ol Gerhart get a few bits for his trouble as well? He'd spent most of his recent loot on a fine meal, some piss poor ale, and bawdy little mistress at the local tavern. Most of the rest went to some wanker who cheated him at a game of dice, but he imagined the little bastard hadn't expected the money to be delivered in the form of a hook to the jaw.
Still, he was a man of his word. Especially so when the guards of the ramshackle ruin of a sky-scraper long past happened upon the den in search of contraband.

The thick grey dust whipping through the streets was shaded a pleasant red hue by the fading sun, his boots striking the occasional spark off the rusted scrap that passed for streets as the slums gave way to what (at least in this dump) passed for the more well to do dwellings in which his next job lie.
While inquiring for work in the most professional of mannerisms within the tavern he had visited earlier (certainly not berating the bartender while bouncing a serving girl on his knee) he had discovered some fortunate man suffering from the red death was requesting anyone who could aid in vengeance before he passed.
Fortunate in that he was a man of ample means, and thus drew the attention of a humble thug of some renown and capability, such as himself.

The streets soon turned to some kind of stone, the original structure of the gutted sky scraper the settlement was housed within, lit with electric lamps rather than more baser fuels. Watchmen were more prevalent here, and treated the scruffy looking bastard to as much scrutiny as a man can muster in a glance. He merely gave them a wolfish grin in turn and tipped his bowler, a recent acquisition that said watchmen might be quite interested in had they learned said method he acquired it with.

Winding through the maze of streets, he finally saw the estate in question looming in the distance. Brass gates with sharpened fence posts rounded off the lavish (even to his standards) structure of smoothed stone and brass fittings. Vines of ivy mixed with sweeping designs of copper across the face of the dwelling, rather well lit with lampposts of iron to boot. 
Reaching into his coat to check his pistol, a reliable piece with a sharp metal stud on the bottom of the club grip and six chambers filled with potential murder, he pushed open the gate with hardly a squeak, walking with a purpose towards the polished oaken doors.

"Can I help you?"

Few things scared Gerhart, but few things managed to surprise him either. Something stepped from the growing evening gloom within the recesses of the doorway, like a shadow detaching itself from the dark. Featureless goggled eyes and a leather beak with designs of beaten gunmetal to reinforce the avian impression stared out at him from within the depths of a voluminous hood.
Bloody plague doctors, always gave him the creeps. Even now, its head cocked slightly in question, the bastard seemed something closer to a consumer of carrion than a curer of ailments.

He hadn't even noticed his hand wrapped around his pistol, taking a breath and non-nonchalantly brushing some dust off his vest, he replied with a nod, trying to keep the tension from his voice. "Yeah, they said the baron wos lookin fer a bit ah help in some funeral arrangements. Figured I might be of service..."
He put on his warmest smile, enhanced by chipped and tar stained teeth.

"This way..."

The creature turned and opened the door with its left arm. Gerhart noticed its hood seemed to be more of a cloak of some sort, covering his right side and probably the tools of his trade. He made a mental note to see how much a plague doctor's tools would fetch from a fence.
If the house had been lavish on the outside, the inside was nearly spartan. The same smooth stone made the polished walls and floors, but decorations were scarce. In some places, dust outlines hinted at the wealth the baron had traded for coin to spend on his last request.

The doctor held open a pair of curtains leading into what was no doubt the master bedroom. Likely grand upon a time, it was now reduced to the reeking scent of sickness and antiseptics. The fireplace burned low and sent the flickering shadows of what little furniture remained sprawling across the dim room. The baron himself lay upon the bed, hands crossed over his chest. As Gerhart strode to the bedside, his eyes narrowed in the dim.

"Ey' doc. Do ya think it'll be all that easy for me ta ge the details from a dead man?"

The sight was all too familiar, the color gone from the wasted man's skin and eyes staring blindly into the ceiling. A bloody waste of time, unless he had left the coffers somewhere near.

"He was already quite detailed in his description...of you."

Gerhart spun, but the doctor's right hand was already around his throat, crushing like a vice. His hand went to his pistol but he couldn't pull it free. His and kept slipping off. The doctor stepped back, releasing his grip, hands hanging passively by his side. Gerhart wondered dumbly why his throat still felt so numb when he saw the blood dripping from the doctors claw, firelight reflecting dimly off the metal segments, forming a pool on the floor.

He tried to form words, but they stuck in his throat and bubbled out as a strangled whisper. The floor rose up to meet him as the doctor slowly, deliberately approached him. Fire danced in those damnable glass panes of its eyes as his vision began to blur and fade.

The doctor lay the fingertips of his left hand against Gerhart's wrist, he wiped the blood from his claw on the ruffian's shirt and rose a moment later, satisfied with the lack of pulse. He crossed to the nightstand beside the baron, and opened a drawer filled nearly to being jammed with coins of nearly every material and denomination.
Picking the agreed upon fee and depositing the coins in his pocket, it regarded the slowly dwindling flames for a moment, and sulked back into the shadows.
Leaving the room to fading embers, and then darkness.

5

General Discussion / Some of ye olde concept arts

« on: October 26, 2013, 03:17:26 pm »

Likely been discussed before (pictures date 2011) but here's some of the concepts for heavy weapons that haven't made it into the game (and possibly never will....adventure or co-op mode aside?)




Do you think these could be salvaged into the game? And how so? How would they work, what would their role be, and if used competitively how could they be balanced?

6

General Discussion / Trying to show my friends the better matches in this game...

« on: October 25, 2013, 08:43:46 am »

.. but pretty much every time we hop on and give it a go, our team gets curb stomped. I've had a few AWESOME matches myself, either playing engie or captaining, but it's difficult to find a ship we all agree on, trying to organize without being "Team captain" though suggestion and advice, and yet remain effective while just having fun.

I've been playing alone a bit and figuring out which ship might be simple enough for us to muck about on and sell them on the premise of merely playing the game (effective with modest teamwork and fun) and figured it's probably best to start them on goldfish...any thoughts on a good loadout or tips for teaching people how to play while dodging curbstomp matches?

7

Feedback and Suggestions / Ship suggestion: Geirr

« on: August 20, 2013, 10:36:31 pm »

Norse for "Spear" it is used by the fjord baronies (IIRC, could be off but I know one of them factions is sky vikings!) as a raiding ship. Designed for quick attacks and even faster retreats back into the roiling fog that permeates the north, the ship was built around a relatively simple concept:

Harpoon and board the enemy while menacing them with the largest gun possible.

Primary features

Pros

Medium weapon on a light ship:
While having the lowest amount of guns of any ship in game, it does feature the largest gun on the lightest and smallest of ships. The downside however is that the gunner is largely enclosed inside the hull, and thus has very poor view and traverse. On the other hand, no balloons above you give it exceptional elevation to shoot targets above.

Mostly inboard engines and side balloons, made for speed:
The engines are low and only partially exposed. A small catwalk runs between them, under the ship allowing easy access to repair. The balloon likewise straddles the ship on either side, slightly higher than the engines.
This gives the ship a very streamlined profile, along with oversized engines for a ship of its class, giving it massive acceleration and top speed.

All the better to ram you with my dear!:
This ship, opposite of the squid, focuses more on armor than hull (if only slightly in the opposite priority) and on head on attacks than flanking. The speed, jutting prow, commanding view and slightly higher armor all make for a devastating raider, capable of smashing into a foe and wreaking bloody havoc before speeding away, which it does quite excellently in reverse to boot.

Cons

Very vulnerable to flanking, engines are quite a target:
With both balloons AND engine open on the sides, and slow turning ability, the ship can quickly be crippled with a full broadside taking out all your mobility. Losing a single engine when you only have two means you lose proper control until some semblance of order is returned to them.
With hull and armor comparable to the squid, losing your mobility will be the death of you.


It requires quite a bit of forethought:
Or rather some, at any rate. With high speeds, forward facing guns only, and one of them being rather caged in, a captain needs to think like a gunner more now than ever. Properly predicting the enemy ship and orienting your own towards it in as exact a method as possible is imperative.

Concept and usage

The concept comes from Viking long boats, made to move quickly in rivers and to launch and land in either direction! This allowed the vikings to raid, plunder, and make off with the booty faster than anyone could react. All they had to do was literally hop into the ship, push off and row the other way.

In Guns of Icarus online, the Geirr takes a page from the viking playbook in that it travels very quickly in forward or reverse, making it highly effective assaulting, or running away from the enemy. Unlike most however, you will need to "lance" your foes, rather than the usual broadsides or turning and burning.
The high elevation on the medium gun (Due to no above balloon) plays into their theoretical lore of hiding in the mists at low altitude, before ambushing ships from below. Then they would quickly rise to their elevation, harpoon the enemy ship for quicker boarding, and keep the medium gun trained on the hostile crew to prevent any foolish action. Just as quickly, they could detach the harpoon and slink back into the mists.

One burning question I imagine people might have: How is this not a pyrmidion 2.0?
And an excellent question that is. What's to stop the Geirr from throwing on reverse and laughing as it forever outruns you in reverse while blasting away?

For one thing, there are no medium guns with the accuracy and ease of use as the field gun. All mediums require at least some degree of skill to aim due to dropoff or pilot skill to get in close enough to use it. Now, they could use something like medium flak and a field gun, but consider this thing does not turn well, and the flak will be "caged in" by the hull with a very low traverse range. Keeping the ship perfectly aligned, while running backwards, with no guns to cover your sides should you get flanked is a dangerous thing indeed. And thus it is not without risk or skill.

Obviously there is also the lack of tank, and side weaponry as mentioned above. The pyrmidion at least has a pair of guns for turning if absolutely necessary, while Geirr does not. Geirr must fight, run, or die. It cannot turn battle, so to speak.

At any rate, if you got this far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading the concept as much as I did writing it!

8

General Discussion / So what precisely are we getting from the adventure mode kickstarter?

« on: June 27, 2013, 07:43:19 am »

Me and my buddies are a bit confused regarding it. Just a PvE horde mode? An actual level based campaign of sorts  (Fly from point A to point B fighting along the way) the open world sans the factions for now?  Are they still figuring it out as we speak?

9

World / My main concern for Adventure mode (And potentially factions)

« on: June 27, 2013, 07:39:30 am »

Will the playerbase be able to support it?

Lets not beat around the bush, we're a small niche community. If the maps are too expansive and the factions too numerous, you might end up with a handful of ships per faction, which based around the mechanics that are supposed to power the economy, may not be enough to make the world-go-round so to speak.

Your thoughts?