Topics

31

Feedback and Suggestions / Lochnagar Special Effects

« on: March 14, 2014, 10:35:37 am »

Lochnagar is an amazing ammo type. In about 4 weapons in GoIO.
In a heavy flak, you can deal one shot of amazing damage with almost no arming time. Lumberjack can wreck balloons even at close range with loch loaded. Heavy carronade shreds everything. Mines deploy at absurdly close range.
In just about anything else, it breaks your gun with little to no upside.

It seems silly to me that there is an ammo type that is detrimental for almost every gun in the game.
My thought, and one that others have mentioned/agreed with me on, is why not make lochnagar have unique properties per gun?

Looking at guns with little to no upside, and with all changes retaining the projectile speed, arming reduction, gun lock, and damage bonus, here are some potential changes to make lochnagar potentially useful in every gun:
         Manticore: Shoots a clip of 8 rockets, dealing a total of 75% damage to the gun.
    Flamethrower: Instant shotgun spray of 100 fire particles in a 90 degree cone before breaking the gun.
         Light Flak: Clip size of 2, dealing 95% damage to the gun per shot.
              Hades: Clip size of 2, dealing 95% damage to the gun per shot.
             Gatling: Instant shotgun spray of 40 bullets in a 45 degree cone before breaking the gun.
             Mortar: Clip size of 4, dealing 49% damage to the gun per shot.
Light Carronade: Instant shotgun spray of 2 rounds in a 45 degree cone before breaking the gun.
            Artemis: Clip size of 1, dealing 95% damage to the gun per shot.
          Banshee: Instant shotgun spray of 4 rockets in a 30 degree cone before breaking the gun.
          Harpoon: 250% damage increase instead of 150%, and does not attach a line from the gun to the hit ship. Single shot breaks the gun.
               Flare: Clip size of 1, flare illuminates clouds as it passes through them, but it is not stopped by clouds, allowing it to continue past a cloud. Single shot breaks
                        the gun. Gun does not begin reloading until rebuilt.
           Mercury: ...I can't think of anything right now.

Obviously this would make the game more complex for beginners. But it is a complexity that is less punishing than the simple statement right now that lochnagar on a light gun is almost always the worst possible decision.

Comment and let me know what you think. It will almost certainly not happen, but it is nice to dream and think up a balanced set of unique effects. ^.^

32

The Pit / Last Post: The Beginning

« on: March 11, 2014, 11:03:59 am »

Long ago, I wandered into the forums of http://shirt.woot.com/. This was my first forums experience, and I didn't participate much, except for one thread which particularly amused me.

The "Last Post" thread.

See, on some sites, there is a magical point in time where the mods look at a thread and say "Hm. Seems like this has reached what should be the post limit. Let's lock this thread." At the moment the thread was locked, one person would be immortalized with the Last Post.

This person then got to start the next Last Post thread. The only rules were that there needed to be a first post picture, and each new page needed a top picture.

Now, what I don't know is whether this forum has a theoretical post soft limit. But I want to look around and find out.

So I would like for all pit dwellers to consult their own personal sky bacon along with me

And join me on a quest to capture the...

Last Post

33

The Lounge / What Makes GoIO Different?

« on: March 10, 2014, 01:51:31 pm »

What makes Guns of Icarus Online different?

(warning - long wandering OP presumably followed by long personal responses - if you don't feel like reading, sorry)

When I buy a game bought games, I used to look for the single player experience. I grew up not knowing that I would ever really be able to play with somebody, so I treasured games with a strong single player experience. This usually involved a story line. Once you beat the story, the game tended to be over and I would move on to the next game, proud of my accomplishment.

Then college happened, and if I was playing a game, odds were that someone else in the dorm would be looking to play too. I was introduced to steam. I made a lot more close friends that I spent time doing things other than video games with. Games got a lot more fun, but at the same time, I lost a lot of the desire to play games alone. However, I still trended towards games where I was progressing towards something with a friend, unlocking actual game scenarios, finding loot, etc. I played some FPS games for a bit (Halo Reach for an entire summer. Woo!) but when I played, I was still looking to level up my account - to progress. The gameplay itself wasn't too terribly varied.

But then again, for a FPS where the big thing is PVP, the gameplay doesn't have to be too varied. People will play whichever one they find the most interesting until the next version comes out. Then the old one gets mostly abandoned and everyone moves on. Because the games are made by companies that release a full game then start making the next one. There is always another coming out. Another entirely new game to move on to.

In games where single player is the main feature, you complete the story, then you move on.

The only games that haven't really followed that trend that I know of are the big MOBAs: league of legends, dota, etc. And surely they will come out with sequels eventually (if not already and I just never noticed).
Also, minecraft, but that is an entirely different beast in my opinion.

So where does our beloved GoIO sit?

We have a pvp game, made by an indy company that, let's be honest, probably won't be making a GoIO2. If/when they make more games, I would bet they would expand into different regions, as they are doing with Creavures and that hamster fighting game.
There is adventure mode and co-op coming out eventually, which may change things. Although until that happens I don't really know how they will fare.
But realistically, this is it. This is the game.

So I have 2 questions really.
1. Why are you still playing?
2. Where do you see GoIO in the future?

Regarding question 1, this is just curiosity. I will share mine, but I want to know why other people are still here as well.

Regarding question 2...
The forums currently have 218490 members as of writing this. As far as I know, you can only be a member if you bought the game.
In game, I rarely see more than 100 people waiting online. If each person stays only for an hour, and we triple that number to account for people in games/hidden somehow, and 100 stays constant all day, and then we round up a lot for no apparent reason, then we probably have no more than 10,000 people that ever play the game on even a semi-regular basis.

After over a year of this game existing, we have less than 5% of buyers playing. There is a competitive scene that is watched mostly by people who are in the competitions during their off time. There will be co-op and adventure mode, but I just don't see much new entering into the pvp game in the foreseeable future.

It is hard to say what will happen when co-op and adventure mode hit. I am curious to find out. But I feel like pvp is going to stagnate. We have mostly the same teams playing each other in competitive, and most new players don't stick around long enough to get hooked like we are.

So I guess I'm just curious if other people see something different. If someone sees a future different than the one I am seeing. Because I'm not interested in finding a new game. I am hooked and want to build on this game.

TL;DR: I'm sentimental about this game and can't take my mind off it during the day, so I want to talk about it with other people that feel the same way

34

General Discussion / Balance Issues

« on: February 28, 2014, 09:52:33 am »

Currently the game has a huge balance issue, relating to guns, ships, and even the crew.

How do we keep our balance?

Guns:
The guns are all slightly different sizes. There is no way they could possible weigh the same amount. And yet, the guns chosen never actually make the ship list to one side or the other. How can this be? There is clearly a balance problem here.

Ships:
The game does not discuss how the ships themselves are balanced. Take the pyramidion for example. It is fairly right/left symmetrical, except for the guns. Clearly it should list to the left, but it always seems flat as can be. How is this handled?

Crew:
Every time you make any sudden adjustments as a pilot, or whenever you ram into something, nobody loses their balance. In fact, other than the damage dealt to the ship it might as well have not happened. No human could keep their balance in situations such as ours. How is this possible?

The ships and guns could be balanced out by a clever system of weights attached to the ship before lifting off, but it would have to be delicate given how unbalanced some of the ships seem. I have no explanation for the crew other than gyros in their boots.

Thoughts?

(edit - I went for funny, but the questions are serious: I'm really kind of curious now. If this has a different board where it belongs, please move it there ^.^ )

35

Feedback and Suggestions / Pellet Gun

« on: January 27, 2014, 01:58:26 pm »

I don't have a bunch of well thought out stats, just a random idea.
Impact damage is awesome, and should have the opportunity to be used as a utility. Maybe this wouldn't be the best weapon to use on ships that have very few weapon slots but...

Pellet gun
primary - Impact damage
secondary - ?
Long-Very long range gun, no arming time, projectile based
Shoots small pellets/rubber balls/whatever at the enemy, dealing small quantities of impact damage.
Deals double damage or secondary damage if the enemy ship has a pilot on the helm using piloting tools.

The gun would be an interesting way to knock the arcs of an enemy sniper ship off. Shoot the edge of their ship and turn them so they lose arcs. Shoot a charging pyramidion to slow/turn them. Shoot an enemy pilot who is stressing their ship with piloting tools and watch as your impacts deal extra damage to an already stressed ship.
In the middle of a brawl, knock away the nose of an enemy to get that favorable angle you were looking for.

It wouldn't be about damage, but about stopping the enemy from dealing damage to you.

36

General Discussion / Key Bindings!

« on: January 23, 2014, 06:16:44 pm »

I am curious: what do you guys use for your key bindings?
Personally, I almost always pilot, so all of my controls are based around how I interact at the helm. So...
Up/down/left/right is W/A/S/D like the standard controls.
Throttle is on the scroll wheel of my mouse: scroll forwards to throttle forwards, scroll backwards to throttle backwards. I find this to be the most awesome way of controlling throttle.
Slot 1 (slot 0 for CS people) is set to left shift. On the helm, this is normal piloting without tools. This originates from minecraft, where shift is the safe button to hold.
Slot 4, hydrogen, is my left control button. It is not the most comfortable finger stretch for my pinky, but I don't like to use hydrogen, and it is easy to just drag my pinky up from control to left shift to turn off hydrogen the moment I activate it.
Slots 2 and 3, kerosene and phoenix claw, are set to my extra mouse buttons. My mouse has 2 buttons on the side where my thumb rests. The forwards button I have set for kerosene, because forwards means go faster. The button further back is phoenix claw, just because.
I still have all the pre-set voice, chat, and map buttons. I am considering finding a better button for the map, but I am trying to keep my layout viable for playing other classes.

37

General Discussion / I'm looking forward to...

« on: January 23, 2014, 08:43:43 am »

Co-op against computers (assuming this is a thing. I'm pretty sure it will be?)!

So, I'm a very good pilot. I say this not out of arrogance but from experiences in pub matches, tournaments, scrimmages, and impromptu battles with other very good pilots.
I also have friends that I like to play with. As it happens, they tend to be very good pilots and crew. We tend to play together and against each other because we work well together and it challenges us.

I enjoy playing challenging matches, don't get me wrong. It is wonderful to win, and even defeats bring experience.
But sometimes I don't want to play challenging matches. Sometimes I don't want to have to play against my friends just to balance a lobby out. Sometimes I just want to crush my opponent and enjoy playing with my friends.

Right now the only option for that is stacked lobbies and pub stomping. Which means that there is no option. Most of the upper level players (hopefully) try to not stack lobbies too much and try to teach people a little bit. But if you ever have a short lapse in compassion for the younger generation of players, it is very easy to find yourself stomping along.

This is NOT okay.

Everyone acknowledges that this is one of the biggest barriers to more people staying with the game. I'm looking forward to having co-op fights versus AI's for 2 reasons.

1. Younger players get a chance to fight easier opponents as they learn. AI is easier to fight, more predictable, weaker, etc. Younger players can learn how to beat computers as they grow, meaning when they play public matches it will be much better for them.

2. Experienced pilots get a relief valve. Right now the only way to just go kill ships stress free for fun is pub stomping. With co-op, we can play with each other and the only ones hurt will be AI. And the AI deserves it.

38

Feedback and Suggestions / Canyon Ambush Capture Point

« on: January 13, 2014, 11:14:32 am »

Hear me out on this. One of the biggest complaints people have about canyon ambush is that nobody goes into the canyons.
One of the biggest complaints about capture point maps is that once a team takes the point they camp out and re-capping can be difficult due to quick respawns and returns to the point.

My idea is to make a capture point map based on canyon ambush where the point moves in a set path through the canyons.

In order to be competitive on the point, you have to enter the canyons. If you hold the point, you must follow it through the canyons to maintain your possession. If you are trying to capture the point, you can learn the patterns of the point moving and set up actual ambushes. The holding team can send out scout ships to peer ahead around corners and through clouds.

This takes the most interesting feature of canyon ambush and makes it the highlight of the map, instead of being an area one team passes through while the other team camps. It also takes the boring side of a CP map, sitting on a point and waiting for an enemy/waiting to respawn to charge in at an entrenched opponent to die again, and turns it into a tense trail through the canyons with everyone keeping all eyes out for ambushing ships.

The biggest downside I see is having to code in a moving point and making sure the size of the point area was appropriate.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? The more I considered it the more excited I got about it.

39

Guides / redria’s Journal - A High Level Guide to Flying Pyramidions

« on: January 12, 2014, 07:46:40 pm »

Notes on this guide:
While making this guide and really thinking about how I flew, I felt that my level of piloting went down. This is meant as a guide, not a rulebook. Pyramidions must be flown on instinct. This will help you train your instincts towards the right responses, but you will fly best when it comes naturally. Don’t think too much.
23 Pages in a word document. Over 12000 words. I *almost* feel like I got everything I wanted to say into this.

Vocab:
Arcs - The space where a gun can aim, shoot, and hit a target
Breaking Arcs - Repositioning your ship such that guns that could previously land shots on you can no longer shoot you in any way.
Goomba Stomp - Lowering your ship down directly above another ship and pressing them into the ground until they are destroyed

redria’s Journal - A High Level Guide to Flying Pyramidions
In my time I have flown across the lands of our great world: skimming over the frigid waters of the north fjords, through the great dust storms of the dunes, in between the wreckage of abandoned buildings. If there is anything my experiences have taught me, its that Yesha got it right with at least one of their ship designs: the Pyramidion.
After keeping logs and analyzing previous engagements for over 1000 battles, I feel prepared to release a journal, for those pilots yet to come, on how to best utilize the strongest traits of our favorite ship, and how to cover up its few weaknesses. To you brave reader, I hope you are strong of will, quick of wit, and already tested in the flames of battle. For this will not be a beginner’s lesson, but an adventure into the smaller details of what it means to pilot the Pyramidion.
Welcome to redria’s crash course in… crashing.
To the one who reads, I want to help you move from being just another Pyramidion pilot to being one of *those* pyra pilots: the ones that crewmembers follow between lobbies, and that enemies curse as their ship falls to the ground in flames. You will fall, and you will make mistakes, and you will lose engagements, but in the process you will learn to truly fly, to hunt, and to laugh.
This journal will be long. It tries to put most of the things I have learned about flying Pyramidions over nearly 1000 matches into words and tries to guide you into how to use the strengths of the Pyramidion to cover the weaknesses. It is not the end-all-be-all guide of how to fly a Pyramidion. It will not let you start wrecking well coordinated teams with a random crew. It won’t give you the experience to get the timings right on everything. It won’t include every strategy involved in flying a Pyramidion simply because I don’t enjoy employing said tactics. But it will help you start moving forwards and teach you how, with this play style, you can start taking over almost any public engagement. So grab a drink, make a sandwich, let go of the wheel, and hold on to your butts. Let’s go smash some ships together.

Part Zero: 10 Rules to Follow when using this Guide
Repeat after me.
1. I will not gloat if I win, no matter how much I may win by. My opponents fought, and no matter how well they fought, they allowed me to play the game, and for this I am thankful.
2. I will not pout if I lose. It doesn’t matter if my crew spent the whole match jumping off my ship while I died again and again, or if my ally suicided into walls the entire match. I have given my all to the match and have gained experience.
3. I will not abandon my match. My opponent may be winning, but they deserve a good fight, and I have not lost yet. My team may be full of trolls, but I have not given up. If need be, I will leave the lobby after the match, but not until I have given everything I have to my current fight.
4. Every time I destroy a ship by ramming, I will laugh maniacally.
5. Every time I destroy a ship by goomba stomping them into the ground, I will laugh twice as hard. My crew will join in.
6. If I team kill an ally by ramming them into a wall, I will apologize profusely to them and my crew. I will laugh hysterically, but I will not repeat the act. My powers should be used only for good.
7. I will attempt to communicate with both my crew and my copilot through both text and voice. If they do not respond, I will do my best to support them.
8. I will achievement whore as hard as possible within the confines of still flying a competitive ship. I wish to level up, but I will do so with honor while winning matches.
9. I will keep an open ear to suggestions and requests in the lobby. I may not use ships modification suggestions from crew or teammates, but I will respect their judgements and try to convince them through my play that I have made the right decision.
10. I will have fun. This is a game first and foremost, and if I am no longer enjoying some aspect of the game, I will respectfully avoid that aspect if possible. This applies to, but is not limited to people, maps, ships, builds, and my own play style. I will not make a fuss about these things but will simply avoid them and move on.
We here in Guns of Icarus Online have an amazing community. I am making and posting this because I haven’t seen much in the way of intermediate-high level guides. A lot of guides go into the basics of something. I want to touch in depth on a specific style of play and help aspiring pilots grow in this area. Simultaneously, it gives those haunted by people like me an insight into how we move and play. I want to see what happens in game if non-pyra pilots read this guide and come up with ways to foil my strategies. I want the challenge of figuring out a new way to fight within my play style. Let’s get out there and grow up together.