Guns of Icarus Alliance and its glorious co-op is finally here with lots of contents and meaningful factional warfare!

• Buy now for a 25% loyalty discount for all Guns of Icarus Online owners!
• If you’ve preordered, help us write a review!  It helps a ton!

Inside, you’ll find 5 completely unique game modes, 7 maps covering numerous biomes, and 14 different enemies with specialised strengths and weaknesses for you to learn and overcome.

This has been a long long road, and we thank you for your support from the bottom of our hearts. Through the hurricane, the fire, the ddos attack, the server malfunction, seeing our AI planes crash into mountains, rough balances in early testing, you’ve been with us through thick and thin, and it means the world to us. Also want to thank everyone who helped us, from translations, building websites and wikis, to traveling with us at shows, donating equipment, and giving us invaluable feedback, we could not have gotten anywhere without you. This ambitious project was all consuming for nearly the last 3 years, and we poured everything we had into it, building complex AI combat and director from scratch.  We’ve definitely made a bunch of mistakes and learned a lot along the way.  We’re really proud of the work, and we think you will be as well.

Below is all the amazing contents you can play TODAY!



Many new ways to experience the game, many new ways to take control of the skies.

When you turn on Guns of Icarus Alliance, you’ll find your chance to earn new tools of destruction and new ships to put them on. You’ll unlock your factions ship and weapon first through your faction reputation. You can unlock ships and weaponry of all remaining factions by joining them or staying put with your own faction, which will take a bit longer.

The Fjord Baronies bring the stalwart Crusader and Seraph Tempest Missile Launcher, capable of firing off a devastating swarm of missiles.

The Order of Chaladon created the speedy, yet deadly Shrike and the Kalakuta Gas Mortar, able to disable multiple enemies in a suffocating cloud.

The Mercantile Guild put their graceful sails to the sky with the Magnate and harness the sun’s wrath with the Aten Lens Array.

The Anglean Republic offers a beast of a ship – the Corsair – and the Februus Weaponized Coil that turns multiple ships’ components to slag.




Like specials, especially super violent ones?

In the heat of combat and in the most dire of situations, every player, every crew member, would have the chance to be the hero and save the day.  In Guns of Icarus Alliance, you can unlock and equip special abilities as you gain personal progression. Once you earn them, you can unleash them in any mission.  To name of few of the awesome powers you get to unlock use via player progression:

Oversurge Ram Ability
Speed forward with a massive surge and demolish enemy ships with a powerful ram. Take reduced damage as you shred your foes!

Air Horn
Draw attention from all the enemies around, saving vital objectives and valued allies. Extremely valuable for clutch situations to change the enemy forces’ plan.

Cataclysm Rounds
Double your damage and blow apart your enemies in a concentrated
volley. Now’s your chance to focus fire and cause extreme damage.

Static Turret
Deploy a weapons turret that demands enemy attentions and puts out damage. Nows your chance to even the odds with your own deployable weapons platform.




Choose your side

The battle is being waged right now! As soon as you turn on Guns of Icarus Alliance, you are taking your first step into a war that spans a million players. Take your time to choose your side from the scheming Merchants to the scientific Angleans, honorable Baronies, or ecological Chaladons.

Each side has different objectives and provides a different challenge on the map. You’ll need to get your resources, take control of the map, and conquer the world!

Complete Contents List:  

Ships:

Unlockable through faction progression/reputation.

• Baronite Crusader: It supports 2 heavy and 4 light weapons onboard and great for broadsides.
• Chaladonian Shrike: If features a streamlined layout capable of carrying 2 heavy and 2 light weapons. It is also maneuverable and versatile.
• Mercantile Magnate: It supports 2 heavy and 4 light weapons and can charge or broadside.
• Anglean Corsair:  It is a hulking beast of a ship carrying 3 heavy and 3 light weapons. It is highly durable and powerful but with a more complex layout.

Weapons:

Unlockable through faction progression/reputation.

• Seraph Tempest Missile Launcher (Baronite):  Capable of firing off a devastating swarm of missiles. Once you fire the missiles, you can move your mouse to guide them.

• Kalakuta Gas Mortar (Chaladonian):  Capable to disable multiple enemies in a suffocating cloud.  Mouse to fire, then right mouse to detonate the cloud at anytime.
• Aten Lens Array (Mercantile):  Hold down mouse to fire it.  The longer you can train and sustain fire on a target, the more damage it does. Once you start firing though, the gun is locked into place, so you’ll need to communicate with your pilot in order to deal maximum damage.
• Februus Weaponized Coil (Anglean): It is capable of turning multiple ships’ components to slag.  If there’s a cluster of enemy ships or planes nearby, the lightning from the coil would strike a primary target and then scatter to hit multiple components and targets.

Game Modes:  

• Infiltration (2-4 ships): In this asymmetric game mode, one ship is designated as the VIP, and it CANNOT die! If the team can escort the VIP ship to infiltrate and destroy all the enemy outposts and then escape at the end, it wins.  If the VIP dies, the match is lost.
• Defense (1-4 ships): Go out into enemy territory to destroy 3 enemy advance drills while keeping your base alive against enemy assaults. After all 3 enemy drills are destroyed, then survival against the final onslaught for 5 minutes for victory.  If the your base is destroyed at any point?  Defeat.
• Assault (1-4 ships): Locate and destroy enemy outposts and a final base (3 objectives total) for victory.  The entire team shares a pool of lives, and if that runs out the match is lost.
• Search & Destroy (1-4 ships): There are 5 waves and an objective to complete for each wave. Complete them all to win.  The entire team shares a pool of lives, and if that runs out the match is lost.  Beware of the boss!
• Intercept  (2-4 ships): Chase down the enemy convoy ships that are carrying cargos before they destroy all your outposts.  Grab the cargo that you wrestled from them and deposit the cargo back at any of your outpost.  Deposit all the cargos to win. If the enemies destroy all your outposts, the match is lost.

Maps:  

• Defense: Devil's Eye, Voyager's Cove
• Search & Destroy: Drowning Wastes, Burning Valley
• Assault: Parous Glen, Seas of Alleron
• Intercept: Thornholt Crest, Oblivion Approach
• Infiltration: Blood Narrows

Special Abilities:

These are unlocked through player personal progression:

• 
  Piloting:
• Oversurge Ram: Remove engine safety mechanisms for an intense boost in forward speed causing your ship to slice through unarmored enemies like a hot knife through butter while taking less damage yourself.
• Engine Stabilization: Install temporary stabilizers on engines that repairs them over time for 15s.

• Tar Bomb: Unleash a plume of highly caustic gases behind you to damage enemies.
• Air Horn: Draw aggro from enemies, except for highly determined convoys, within 500m radius, for 2 min.
• Enhanced Envelope: Balloon will heal over time, resist flechette and fire damage, and have reduce vertical drag and increased vertical speed.
• Rushing Drift: Ship will gain increased movement abilities to help travers great distances and side drift around enemies at the cost of less fine control.

• 
  Gunning:
• Concussive Blast: Unleash supercharged balloon gases in the direction you are looking to push enemies that are within 600m back with extreme force.
• Proximal Detonation: Reload all weapons with specially outfitted rounds that have 3x AoE burst size and will automatically detonate when near an enemy. Shoot into groups for maximal effect.
• Cataclysm Rounds: Engage auxiliary power to all guns and double their damage output for 18s.
• Lightning Draw: Activate rigged ship mechanics to quickly reload all guns with 75% increased clip size.
• Mine Ejection: Hoarded mines are hurled out from the ship in the direction you look at, 400m away. Mines will automatically detonate after 2m.
• Gigaton Blast: Deploy devastating fiery burst that will melt the armor of enemies that are in your line of sight and within 500m of your ship.

Engineering:

• Component Disruption: Unleash a massive energy burst in the direction you’re looking that will disable the components of enemies within 600m.
• Salvo Neutralizer: Generate a field in the direction that you are looking that will neutralize all incoming fire and prevent harm to the ship for 60s.
• Static Turret: Deploy an unmoving weapons platform in the direction you’re looking that will target enemies. Drone will last for 90s.
• Combustion Dampener: Release fire dousing chemicals from rigged valves to extinguish all fires, and apply fire immunity and 15% damage reduction to all components for 30s.
• Mechanized Rebuild: Engage special machinery to instantaneously rebuild all components and repair them for 375 health over 30s.
• 
  Advanced Dynabuff: Special machinery automatically applies standard, but 15% more powerful, Dynabuff enhancement to all components for 2m.

Player Progression:

Players will be able to unlock all new powerful Special Abilities to use in Alliance via the Old Dog achievement tracks.  We know that dealing with hordes of enemies is a new and exhilarating experience that will put you on the edge of your seat, so we created ways for you to deal with the increase in enemy targets.

By playing winning matches as each class, you will begin to unlock the abilities for each class.  You will be able to activate a powerful ram with your ship, increase the power of your guns, and even create protective barriers around your ship.

Play.  Experiment.  Find what works best for you and your crew!


Faction Progression:

Joining a faction means you will be fighting for what your faction believes in, whether it be scouring the lands for ancient technologies or reclaiming promised lands.  Your chosen faction will reward you with elaborate costumes, hats, weapons, and airships themselves for your undying loyalty.

You can switch between factions whenever you choose, at the cost of losing 20% of your current reputation, in order to unlock each faction’s unique items.  Or, if you absolutely cannot betray your chosen faction then there are ways to unlock these items and still stay with your original choice.


Prestige System:

Our player level cap is 45, but that doesn’t mean it stops there any longer.  After surpassing level 45, you will be automatically entered into the Prestige system where you will be rolled back to level 1.  You will gain additional signifiers to let others know that you completed player progression once, twice, or even three times over so that your time spent in the game is not forgotten.


Newly Added Steam Workshop Items:

• Raider Mask, Goggles M/F
• Whisker’s Beard, Goggles M
• Masque Mortuaire, Goggles M/F
• Boiler Hat for the Industrious Chap, Hat M
• Compass Rose, Decal   free to all players
• Stray Dagz, Decal
• Passionate Cake, Decal   free to all players
• Dapper Dame’s Top Hat, Hat F
• Boiler Hat for the Enterprising Lass, Hat F
• Mantis, Decal
• Mutton Chops, Goggles M
• Frostflake, Decal  free to all players
• Golden Earings, Goggles M/F
• Posh Penguin, Decal   free to all players
• Mark of the Reaper, Decal
• Gear Logo, Decal   free to all players
• Spiderpunk, Decal
• Crowned Tyrant, Decal   free to all players
• Skull and Crossbones, Decal   free to all players
• Top n’ Skull, Decal
• Internal Clockwork, Decal   free to all players
• Satanic Gears , Decal
• Steampunk Clock, Decal   free to all players
• Steampunk Pirate, Decal   free to all players
• Icarus Ex Machina, Decal   free to all players
• The Gentlemen, Decal   free to all players
• Steampunk Squirrel, Decal   free to all players
• Lily of the Valley, Decal   free to all players
• Sky Queen, Hat F   free to all players

Soundtrack:

The Guns of Icarus Alliance soundtrack is now available here:  

http://store.steampowered.com/app/616130/

And you can also access it through the Guns of Icarus Alliance store page.


There are 24 new tracks and 1hr 40min of new music, including the Guns of Icarus Alliance main theme, all the faction themes, and all in-game battle tracks.  All the Guns of Icarus Online tracks are also included in the package.   Enjoy!

Changes:

Skirmish Balance

• Heavy Clip: -90% jitter (from -70%), -20% Rate of Fire (from -25% Clip Size)
• Heavy Carronade: Upward arc 30 degrees (from 20), yaw arcs 35 degrees (from 25)
• Light Harpoon: 250m/s muzzle speed (from 120), projectile drop 12m/s2 (from 6), vertical arcs 40 to -20 (from 25 to -45), reload speed 10s (from 16), range 600m (from 800), 135 flechette (from 70) and 80 piercing (from 60), 6s attachment time (from 8s)

Post February Guns of Icarus Alliance Test Session:

• Rename/finalize Alliance mode names from prototype names.
• Retrieve is now Intercept
• Survival is now Search & Destroy
• Lowered smoke stacks on mobile drill
• Objective icon consistency across loading, lobby, and in-match displays
• Particles repositioned on base weak points
• Faction Leader Buff Display on World Map
• Tweaked boss smoke from having sharp edges in particles
• Alliance menu music updated
• Added missing 4-ship map configurations to Search & Destroy
• Ashen Scuffle added to practice maps

Fixes:
General

• Loading Screen fixes and adjustments
• MK 2 Flak particles
• Fixed Artemis reload animation when clip gets empty
• Heavy flak's barrel lids pop up without animation
• Fixed other characters not being animated while on helm
• Main screen logo and alliance prompt fixes
• Fixed repeating sound at helm when descending
• Spire: fixed rubberbanding in ladder well
• Junker: fixed rubberbanding between helm platform and engine catwalks
• Connection screen style fixed to be more consistent
• Fixed some memory leaks that could cause crashes on 32-bit systems or after long sessions
• Linux: Fixed several errors that would sometimes cause crashes
• Linux: Fixed draw order of practice arc indicator (no longer renders behind clouds)
• Linux: fixed browser links not working
• Linux: mouse cursor is no longer locked to the center of the screen when switching to other windows
• Fixed missing screen raindrops on some platforms (DX11 and some OpenGL)
• Fixed pipe wrench twitches after swing
• Fixed an issue that could cause two copies of a ship to appear at match end screen

Fixes Post February Guns of Icarus Alliance Test Session:

• Assault: Fixed the base you just killed sometimes remaining marked on the map, while the next active base did not show up on map or HUD
• Fixed Aten Lens Array “impact” sound ignoring SFX setting
• Fixed rebuilding with the Fail-safe Kit starting a repair cooldown
• Fixed match end not transitioning to "team" panel
• Fixed lights and halo misplacements on master bases
• Boss lightning gun muzzle flash sound fixed
• Fixed reflections not actually disabling on some maps
• Textures for the ooze cloud particles on the Shrike smoothed out
• Fixed weird collision FX occurring on the ground after boss dies
• Fixed generic particles that were rotated the wrong way the on Mobile Drill
• Fixed special ability projectiles remaining visible for too long
• Fixed bug in Alliance Training where restarting the barge carrier state would spawn another carrier
• Fixed Faction Leaders being mispositioned in the rankings
• Thornholt Crest: fixed flying through the train tracks on Intercept (formerly Retrieve)
• Tutorial fixes and adjustments
• Fixed missing spawn animation on Mobile Drills
• Fixed Infiltration end-match timer freeze
• Fixed rare case of AI crew not spawning
• Fixed victory banner incorrectly showing on match end in personal tab
• Fixed particles glitch with boss missile launcher
• Parous Glen - Fixed outposts showing transparent in some areas when viewed from beneath on low settings
• Defense - Fixed AI ships and planes not making lane progress under some circumstances
• Fixed dying after killing the boss in Search & Destroy (formerly Survival) counting as a loss
• A player's war chest does not have a deduction from the cost of using 'Marching Band' on the World map interface
• Fixed offset Baronite Carrier missile trails
• Fixed balloon paints not working on Crusader
• Match list shows correct match difficulty
• Fix Baronite Carrier main gun animations
• Attached equipment cleanup sound is cut off too early
• Fixed inconsistent numbering of gun slots’ in ship customizer/preview
• Fixed a bug that caused out-of-sight AI ships to not be recycled properly

PvP:

• Fixed a random-seeming crash in Skyball maps
• Fixed a social tab malfunction
• Fixed class 'covers' on the search for lobby menu opening and closing very briefly when moving the cursor over them

Guns of Icarus Alliance and its glorious co-op is finally here with lots of contents and meaningful factional warfare!

• Buy now for a 25% loyalty discount for all Guns of Icarus Online owners!
• If you’ve preordered, help us write a review!  It helps a ton!

Inside, you’ll find 5 completely unique game modes, 7 maps covering numerous biomes, and 14 different enemies with specialised strengths and weaknesses for you to learn and overcome.

This has been a long long road, and we thank you for your support from the bottom of our hearts. Through the hurricane, the fire, the ddos attack, the server malfunction, seeing our AI planes crash into mountains, rough balances in early testing, you’ve been with us through thick and thin, and it means the world to us. Also want to thank everyone who helped us, from translations, building websites and wikis, to traveling with us at shows, donating equipment, and giving us invaluable feedback, we could not have gotten anywhere without you. This ambitious project was all consuming for nearly the last 3 years, and we poured everything we had into it, building complex AI combat and director from scratch.  We’ve definitely made a bunch of mistakes and learned a lot along the way.  We’re really proud of the work, and we think you will be as well.

Below is all the amazing contents you can play TODAY!



Many new ways to experience the game, many new ways to take control of the skies.

When you turn on Guns of Icarus Alliance, you’ll find your chance to earn new tools of destruction and new ships to put them on. You’ll unlock your factions ship and weapon first through your faction reputation. You can unlock ships and weaponry of all remaining factions by joining them or staying put with your own faction, which will take a bit longer.

The Fjord Baronies bring the stalwart Crusader and Seraph Tempest Missile Launcher, capable of firing off a devastating swarm of missiles.

The Order of Chaladon created the speedy, yet deadly Shrike and the Kalakuta Gas Mortar, able to disable multiple enemies in a suffocating cloud.

The Mercantile Guild put their graceful sails to the sky with the Magnate and harness the sun’s wrath with the Aten Lens Array.

The Anglean Republic offers a beast of a ship – the Corsair – and the Februus Weaponized Coil that turns multiple ships’ components to slag.




Like specials, especially super violent ones?

In the heat of combat and in the most dire of situations, every player, every crew member, would have the chance to be the hero and save the day.  In Guns of Icarus Alliance, you can unlock and equip special abilities as you gain personal progression. Once you earn them, you can unleash them in any mission.  To name of few of the awesome powers you get to unlock use via player progression:

Oversurge Ram Ability
Speed forward with a massive surge and demolish enemy ships with a powerful ram. Take reduced damage as you shred your foes!

Air Horn
Draw attention from all the enemies around, saving vital objectives and valued allies. Extremely valuable for clutch situations to change the enemy forces’ plan.

Cataclysm Rounds
Double your damage and blow apart your enemies in a concentrated
volley. Now’s your chance to focus fire and cause extreme damage.

Static Turret
Deploy a weapons turret that demands enemy attentions and puts out damage. Nows your chance to even the odds with your own deployable weapons platform.




Choose your side

The battle is being waged right now! As soon as you turn on Guns of Icarus Alliance, you are taking your first step into a war that spans a million players. Take your time to choose your side from the scheming Merchants to the scientific Angleans, honorable Baronies, or ecological Chaladons.

Each side has different objectives and provides a different challenge on the map. You’ll need to get your resources, take control of the map, and conquer the world!

Complete Contents List:  

Ships:

Unlockable through faction progression/reputation.

• Baronite Crusader: It supports 2 heavy and 4 light weapons onboard and great for broadsides.
• Chaladonian Shrike: If features a streamlined layout capable of carrying 2 heavy and 2 light weapons. It is also maneuverable and versatile.
• Mercantile Magnate: It supports 2 heavy and 4 light weapons and can charge or broadside.
• Anglean Corsair:  It is a hulking beast of a ship carrying 3 heavy and 3 light weapons. It is highly durable and powerful but with a more complex layout.

Weapons:

Unlockable through faction progression/reputation.

• Seraph Tempest Missile Launcher (Baronite):  Capable of firing off a devastating swarm of missiles. Once you fire the missiles, you can move your mouse to guide them.

• Kalakuta Gas Mortar (Chaladonian):  Capable to disable multiple enemies in a suffocating cloud.  Mouse to fire, then right mouse to detonate the cloud at anytime.
• Aten Lens Array (Mercantile):  Hold down mouse to fire it.  The longer you can train and sustain fire on a target, the more damage it does. Once you start firing though, the gun is locked into place, so you’ll need to communicate with your pilot in order to deal maximum damage.
• Februus Weaponized Coil (Anglean): It is capable of turning multiple ships’ components to slag.  If there’s a cluster of enemy ships or planes nearby, the lightning from the coil would strike a primary target and then scatter to hit multiple components and targets.

Game Modes:  

• Infiltration (2-4 ships): In this asymmetric game mode, one ship is designated as the VIP, and it CANNOT die! If the team can escort the VIP ship to infiltrate and destroy all the enemy outposts and then escape at the end, it wins.  If the VIP dies, the match is lost.
• Defense (1-4 ships): Go out into enemy territory to destroy 3 enemy advance drills while keeping your base alive against enemy assaults. After all 3 enemy drills are destroyed, then survival against the final onslaught for 5 minutes for victory.  If the your base is destroyed at any point?  Defeat.
• Assault (1-4 ships): Locate and destroy enemy outposts and a final base (3 objectives total) for victory.  The entire team shares a pool of lives, and if that runs out the match is lost.
• Search & Destroy (1-4 ships): There are 5 waves and an objective to complete for each wave. Complete them all to win.  The entire team shares a pool of lives, and if that runs out the match is lost.  Beware of the boss!
• Intercept  (2-4 ships): Chase down the enemy convoy ships that are carrying cargos before they destroy all your outposts.  Grab the cargo that you wrestled from them and deposit the cargo back at any of your outpost.  Deposit all the cargos to win. If the enemies destroy all your outposts, the match is lost.

Maps:  

• Defense: Devil's Eye, Voyager's Cove
• Search & Destroy: Drowning Wastes, Burning Valley
• Assault: Parous Glen, Seas of Alleron
• Intercept: Thornholt Crest, Oblivion Approach
• Infiltration: Blood Narrows

Special Abilities:

These are unlocked through player personal progression:

• 
  Piloting:
• Oversurge Ram: Remove engine safety mechanisms for an intense boost in forward speed causing your ship to slice through unarmored enemies like a hot knife through butter while taking less damage yourself.
• Engine Stabilization: Install temporary stabilizers on engines that repairs them over time for 15s.

• Tar Bomb: Unleash a plume of highly caustic gases behind you to damage enemies.
• Air Horn: Draw aggro from enemies, except for highly determined convoys, within 500m radius, for 2 min.
• Enhanced Envelope: Balloon will heal over time, resist flechette and fire damage, and have reduce vertical drag and increased vertical speed.
• Rushing Drift: Ship will gain increased movement abilities to help travers great distances and side drift around enemies at the cost of less fine control.

• 
  Gunning:
• Concussive Blast: Unleash supercharged balloon gases in the direction you are looking to push enemies that are within 600m back with extreme force.
• Proximal Detonation: Reload all weapons with specially outfitted rounds that have 3x AoE burst size and will automatically detonate when near an enemy. Shoot into groups for maximal effect.
• Cataclysm Rounds: Engage auxiliary power to all guns and double their damage output for 18s.
• Lightning Draw: Activate rigged ship mechanics to quickly reload all guns with 75% increased clip size.
• Mine Ejection: Hoarded mines are hurled out from the ship in the direction you look at, 400m away. Mines will automatically detonate after 2m.
• Gigaton Blast: Deploy devastating fiery burst that will melt the armor of enemies that are in your line of sight and within 500m of your ship.

Engineering:

• Component Disruption: Unleash a massive energy burst in the direction you’re looking that will disable the components of enemies within 600m.
• Salvo Neutralizer: Generate a field in the direction that you are looking that will neutralize all incoming fire and prevent harm to the ship for 60s.
• Static Turret: Deploy an unmoving weapons platform in the direction you’re looking that will target enemies. Drone will last for 90s.
• Combustion Dampener: Release fire dousing chemicals from rigged valves to extinguish all fires, and apply fire immunity and 15% damage reduction to all components for 30s.
• Mechanized Rebuild: Engage special machinery to instantaneously rebuild all components and repair them for 375 health over 30s.
• 
  Advanced Dynabuff: Special machinery automatically applies standard, but 15% more powerful, Dynabuff enhancement to all components for 2m.

Player Progression:

Players will be able to unlock all new powerful Special Abilities to use in Alliance via the Old Dog achievement tracks.  We know that dealing with hordes of enemies is a new and exhilarating experience that will put you on the edge of your seat, so we created ways for you to deal with the increase in enemy targets.

By playing winning matches as each class, you will begin to unlock the abilities for each class.  You will be able to activate a powerful ram with your ship, increase the power of your guns, and even create protective barriers around your ship.

Play.  Experiment.  Find what works best for you and your crew!


Faction Progression:

Joining a faction means you will be fighting for what your faction believes in, whether it be scouring the lands for ancient technologies or reclaiming promised lands.  Your chosen faction will reward you with elaborate costumes, hats, weapons, and airships themselves for your undying loyalty.

You can switch between factions whenever you choose, at the cost of losing 20% of your current reputation, in order to unlock each faction’s unique items.  Or, if you absolutely cannot betray your chosen faction then there are ways to unlock these items and still stay with your original choice.


Prestige System:

Our player level cap is 45, but that doesn’t mean it stops there any longer.  After surpassing level 45, you will be automatically entered into the Prestige system where you will be rolled back to level 1.  You will gain additional signifiers to let others know that you completed player progression once, twice, or even three times over so that your time spent in the game is not forgotten.


Newly Added Steam Workshop Items:

• Raider Mask, Goggles M/F
• Whisker’s Beard, Goggles M
• Masque Mortuaire, Goggles M/F
• Boiler Hat for the Industrious Chap, Hat M
• Compass Rose, Decal   free to all players
• Stray Dagz, Decal
• Passionate Cake, Decal   free to all players
• Dapper Dame’s Top Hat, Hat F
• Boiler Hat for the Enterprising Lass, Hat F
• Mantis, Decal
• Mutton Chops, Goggles M
• Frostflake, Decal  free to all players
• Golden Earings, Goggles M/F
• Posh Penguin, Decal   free to all players
• Mark of the Reaper, Decal
• Gear Logo, Decal   free to all players
• Spiderpunk, Decal
• Crowned Tyrant, Decal   free to all players
• Skull and Crossbones, Decal   free to all players
• Top n’ Skull, Decal
• Internal Clockwork, Decal   free to all players
• Satanic Gears , Decal
• Steampunk Clock, Decal   free to all players
• Steampunk Pirate, Decal   free to all players
• Icarus Ex Machina, Decal   free to all players
• The Gentlemen, Decal   free to all players
• Steampunk Squirrel, Decal   free to all players
• Lily of the Valley, Decal   free to all players
• Sky Queen, Hat F   free to all players

Soundtrack:

The Guns of Icarus Alliance soundtrack is now available here:  

http://store.steampowered.com/app/616130/

And you can also access it through the Guns of Icarus Alliance store page.


There are 24 new tracks and 1hr 40min of new music, including the Guns of Icarus Alliance main theme, all the faction themes, and all in-game battle tracks.  All the Guns of Icarus Online tracks are also included in the package.   Enjoy!

Changes:

Skirmish Balance

• Heavy Clip: -90% jitter (from -70%), -20% Rate of Fire (from -25% Clip Size)
• Heavy Carronade: Upward arc 30 degrees (from 20), yaw arcs 35 degrees (from 25)
• Light Harpoon: 250m/s muzzle speed (from 120), projectile drop 12m/s2 (from 6), vertical arcs 40 to -20 (from 25 to -45), reload speed 10s (from 16), range 600m (from 800), 135 flechette (from 70) and 80 piercing (from 60), 6s attachment time (from 8s)

Post February Guns of Icarus Alliance Test Session:

• Rename/finalize Alliance mode names from prototype names.
• Retrieve is now Intercept
• Survival is now Search & Destroy
• Lowered smoke stacks on mobile drill
• Objective icon consistency across loading, lobby, and in-match displays
• Particles repositioned on base weak points
• Faction Leader Buff Display on World Map
• Tweaked boss smoke from having sharp edges in particles
• Alliance menu music updated
• Added missing 4-ship map configurations to Search & Destroy
• Ashen Scuffle added to practice maps

Fixes:
General

• Loading Screen fixes and adjustments
• MK 2 Flak particles
• Fixed Artemis reload animation when clip gets empty
• Heavy flak's barrel lids pop up without animation
• Fixed other characters not being animated while on helm
• Main screen logo and alliance prompt fixes
• Fixed repeating sound at helm when descending
• Spire: fixed rubberbanding in ladder well
• Junker: fixed rubberbanding between helm platform and engine catwalks
• Connection screen style fixed to be more consistent
• Fixed some memory leaks that could cause crashes on 32-bit systems or after long sessions
• Linux: Fixed several errors that would sometimes cause crashes
• Linux: Fixed draw order of practice arc indicator (no longer renders behind clouds)
• Linux: fixed browser links not working
• Linux: mouse cursor is no longer locked to the center of the screen when switching to other windows
• Fixed missing screen raindrops on some platforms (DX11 and some OpenGL)
• Fixed pipe wrench twitches after swing
• Fixed an issue that could cause two copies of a ship to appear at match end screen

Fixes Post February Guns of Icarus Alliance Test Session:

• Assault: Fixed the base you just killed sometimes remaining marked on the map, while the next active base did not show up on map or HUD
• Fixed Aten Lens Array “impact” sound ignoring SFX setting
• Fixed rebuilding with the Fail-safe Kit starting a repair cooldown
• Fixed match end not transitioning to "team" panel
• Fixed lights and halo misplacements on master bases
• Boss lightning gun muzzle flash sound fixed
• Fixed reflections not actually disabling on some maps
• Textures for the ooze cloud particles on the Shrike smoothed out
• Fixed weird collision FX occurring on the ground after boss dies
• Fixed generic particles that were rotated the wrong way the on Mobile Drill
• Fixed special ability projectiles remaining visible for too long
• Fixed bug in Alliance Training where restarting the barge carrier state would spawn another carrier
• Fixed Faction Leaders being mispositioned in the rankings
• Thornholt Crest: fixed flying through the train tracks on Intercept (formerly Retrieve)
• Tutorial fixes and adjustments
• Fixed missing spawn animation on Mobile Drills
• Fixed Infiltration end-match timer freeze
• Fixed rare case of AI crew not spawning
• Fixed victory banner incorrectly showing on match end in personal tab
• Fixed particles glitch with boss missile launcher
• Parous Glen - Fixed outposts showing transparent in some areas when viewed from beneath on low settings
• Defense - Fixed AI ships and planes not making lane progress under some circumstances
• Fixed dying after killing the boss in Search & Destroy (formerly Survival) counting as a loss
• A player's war chest does not have a deduction from the cost of using 'Marching Band' on the World map interface
• Fixed offset Baronite Carrier missile trails
• Fixed balloon paints not working on Crusader
• Match list shows correct match difficulty
• Fix Baronite Carrier main gun animations
• Attached equipment cleanup sound is cut off too early
• Fixed inconsistent numbering of gun slots’ in ship customizer/preview
• Fixed a bug that caused out-of-sight AI ships to not be recycled properly

PvP:

• Fixed a random-seeming crash in Skyball maps
• Fixed a social tab malfunction
• Fixed class 'covers' on the search for lobby menu opening and closing very briefly when moving the cursor over them

March 31st marks the release of Guns of Icarus Alliance! Expect a complete and staggering amount of content, explosive AI, and tactical choices. The battle starts day one so be prepared this Friday for the biggest thing to happen in Icarus.


At 12 pm Pacific the build goes live and if you pre-ordered, which you can do at a 25% loyalty discount here, you’ll see the Guns of Icarus Alliance app in your steam library. Act quick though, the loyalty and pre-order discount is a limited time offer!




Guns of Icarus Alliance will be a completely new release, with a new store page!  We were working within Steam’s constraints earlier and had to go the DLC route, and we worked Steam to find a way to make this a brand new release. If you wish-listed the old DLC page, it’s been removed in place of the new Guns of Icarus Alliance page, so remember to wish-list the new page!

In Guns of Icarus Alliance, you can play both PvE and PvP games, so do not worry about being split up from your friends. Simply turn on the game and enjoy all the steampunk airship combat!


If you did not pre-purchase it, you’ll still use the Guns of Icarus Online app to play the game. You’ll be able to gain coins and faction progression from skirmish battles, and you are able to spend them and unlock faction rewards once you purchase Guns of Icarus Alliance.

All Guns of Icarus Alliance costumes and cosmetics can be used in both PvE and PvP, so enjoy any rewards you get and flaunt them against your opponents!


Learn more about what you’ll see in-game!



Four factions bring four weapons and four ships to start things off, with two more factions being added shortly post-release.



Bring the stalwart Crusader and Tempest Missile Launcher, capable of firing off a devastating swarm of missiles.


Created the speedy, yet deadly Shrike and the Gas Mortar, able to disable multiple enemies in a suffocating cloud.


Put their graceful sails to the sky with the Magnate and harness the sun’s wrath with the Aten Lens Array.


Offers a beast of a ship - the Corsair - and the Weaponized Coil that turns multiple ships’ components to slag.



In the heat of combat and in the most dire of situations, every player, every crew member, would have the chance to be the hero and save the day.  In Guns of Icarus Alliance, you can unlock and equip special abilities as you gain personal progression. Once you earn them, you can unleash them in any mission.  To name of few of the awesome powers you get to use:

Oversurge Ram Ability-
Speed forward with a massive surge and demolish enemy ships with a powerful ram. Take reduced damage as you shred your foes!

Air Horn-
Draw aggro from all the enemies around, saving vital objectives and valued allies. Extremely valuable for clutch situations to change the enemy forces plan.

Cataclysm Rounds-
Double your damage and blow apart your enemies in a concentrated
volley. Now’s your chance to focus fire and cause extreme damage.

Static Turret-
Deploy a weapons turret that demands enemy attentions and puts out damage. Nows your chance to even the odds with your own deployable weapons platform.

All this and more is waiting inside Alliance, so pre-order today!

Don’t forget to check out our previous posts including:

NEW Trailer!

Alliance Release Charity War

March 31st marks the release of Guns of Icarus Alliance! Expect a complete and staggering amount of content, explosive AI, and tactical choices. The battle starts day one so be prepared this Friday for the biggest thing to happen in Icarus.


At 12 pm Pacific the build goes live and if you pre-ordered, which you can do at a 25% loyalty discount here, you’ll see the Guns of Icarus Alliance app in your steam library. Act quick though, the loyalty and pre-order discount is a limited time offer!




Guns of Icarus Alliance will be a completely new release, with a new store page!  We were working within Steam’s constraints earlier and had to go the DLC route, and we worked Steam to find a way to make this a brand new release. If you wish-listed the old DLC page, it’s been removed in place of the new Guns of Icarus Alliance page, so remember to wish-list the new page!

In Guns of Icarus Alliance, you can play both PvE and PvP games, so do not worry about being split up from your friends. Simply turn on the game and enjoy all the steampunk airship combat!


If you did not pre-purchase it, you’ll still use the Guns of Icarus Online app to play the game. You’ll be able to gain coins and faction progression from skirmish battles, and you are able to spend them and unlock faction rewards once you purchase Guns of Icarus Alliance.

All Guns of Icarus Alliance costumes and cosmetics can be used in both PvE and PvP, so enjoy any rewards you get and flaunt them against your opponents!


Learn more about what you’ll see in-game!



Four factions bring four weapons and four ships to start things off, with two more factions being added shortly post-release.



Bring the stalwart Crusader and Tempest Missile Launcher, capable of firing off a devastating swarm of missiles.


Created the speedy, yet deadly Shrike and the Gas Mortar, able to disable multiple enemies in a suffocating cloud.


Put their graceful sails to the sky with the Magnate and harness the sun’s wrath with the Aten Lens Array.


Offers a beast of a ship - the Corsair - and the Weaponized Coil that turns multiple ships’ components to slag.



In the heat of combat and in the most dire of situations, every player, every crew member, would have the chance to be the hero and save the day.  In Guns of Icarus Alliance, you can unlock and equip special abilities as you gain personal progression. Once you earn them, you can unleash them in any mission.  To name of few of the awesome powers you get to use:

Oversurge Ram Ability-
Speed forward with a massive surge and demolish enemy ships with a powerful ram. Take reduced damage as you shred your foes!

Air Horn-
Draw aggro from all the enemies around, saving vital objectives and valued allies. Extremely valuable for clutch situations to change the enemy forces plan.

Cataclysm Rounds-
Double your damage and blow apart your enemies in a concentrated
volley. Now’s your chance to focus fire and cause extreme damage.

Static Turret-
Deploy a weapons turret that demands enemy attentions and puts out damage. Nows your chance to even the odds with your own deployable weapons platform.

All this and more is waiting inside Alliance, so pre-order today!

Don’t forget to check out our previous posts including:

NEW Trailer!

Alliance Release Charity War

For those that can survive its fires.

The last and final open session brings with it an exclusive item you can only get until the 8th when the beta ends.  30 victories on hell level missions to earn the Spore shield goggles for male and female.

This is no easy mission and will take the best in you and your crew.  Best of luck and remember, winners get the exclusive mask, losers get nothing.



If you don't see the mission on the main screen, simply relog your game and download the update.

For those that can survive its fires.

The last and final open session brings with it an exclusive item you can only get until the 8th when the beta ends.  30 victories on hell level missions to earn the Spore shield goggles for male and female.

This is no easy mission and will take the best in you and your crew.  Best of luck and remember, winners get the exclusive mask, losers get nothing.



If you don't see the mission on the main screen, simply relog your game and download the update.

New content/features:

- The Ashen Scuffle joins PvP.  Take a peek at our new content in the form of a dark and deadly, although strikingly beautiful, DM map. Take your crew through this deadly landscape in both 2v2 and 3v3. Lava flows and derelict buildings await you and your crew.

- New Gun: Typhon Heavy Flak Mk. II
The old 2 shot flak of yore in a new body.  The demand was high and with new art created for it. The weapon is ready in remastered glory. Expert gunners of old and new rejoice at your chance for the most powerful and demanding weapon


- Static Story Book

Alliance is all about factions coming together, forming alliances, and waging big wars against each other in major seasonal events.  We will be listening in on our various channels of communications from in-game chat to our lively forums to see how you are playing and role-playing as your factions.  We will look at our data and see which players have earned the most effort, bought the most reinforcements, and overall supported their factions the best.  With all this information, we will craft a unique story after each war to commemorate and recognize the events that transpired.  Join us in crafting the history of Guns of Icarus Alliance together!
- Pietro's Veil (Male and Female) for buyers of Alliance
 - Recommended Ship/Loadout for matches/modes/difficulty settings

- New War Goal voting system
- War Period: When war period begins, alliances will be automatically formed and each alliance will have 24 hours to vote on their war goal.  This replaces voting on what alliances to form, which was found to be confusing and less rewarding based on feedback gathered.  These goals range from converting the enemy’s populace by conquering a territory, enforcing a will of strength by growing to a certain size, to activating a super weapon by accruing resources.
- New underdog icon
- Match list opens if Matchmaker goes too long

General
- Goggles are now dyeable
Every piece of equipment is now dyeable. Show off your custom style by matching any item to your complete outfit. There are no limits save your creativity for what kind of sky pirate you want to be.
- New character customization page
New dyes, cosmetics and options gave us a lot more to play with for the character customization screen. It has been completely redone to help you design your character and your tool sets.

- New ship customization page
With 12 ready and an upcoming 13 total number of ships. The ship screen needed an update to make navigation easier. We’ve taken a major pass to improve not only the page visually, but also the usability of the page. Craft, create, and plan your ship!

- Period/Daily Rewards

- Additional titles, in particular Mercenary
- Ship kill count displayed in scoreboard
- Distinct "component destroyed" sound effect for the balloon
- End Match Screen: Show faction progression for both Skirmish and Alliance
- Improved Voice Commands menu
- Added tooltips for class selection, tab settings

Changes:

General
- Faction message panel adjusted
- Adjusted grounded flag on slopes
- Moved the Vote in Progress countdown to right below the map vote panel on the left
- 'Favorite Ship' text on profile page changed to 'Most Played Ship'
- Captain priority extended to team
- Tweaked lights on all ships
- Ladders are easier to notice

Alliance Beta (For Open Period)
- Escape Pod renamed to Enemy Supply Ship
- Alliance world map design improvements
- World UI Ease of Use adjustments
- Icon callouts to indicate Leader choices
- Better communication of Leader status
- Killfeed adjustments
- Flare made to trigger for drill armor break
- Marker bullets will now self destruct after a second and a half

Skirmish
- Balloon outline in Skyball matches is now toggle-able as spectator

Balance
- Overall balance changes to enemies, difficulty modes, and game modes  like repair rate, damage output, ramp up between Novice and Normal etc…
- Survival: all matches are now set to 5 waves, each of which are timed.
- Assault: in-world icons on currently active base
- Retrieve: convoys are now tanky but move much slower, Refineries have increased health while the Final Refinery has greatly increased health
- Defense: tweaks to Friendly Emplacement effectiveness to support more constant push of enemies

Fixes:

General
- Overlapping chat
- Recommend load-out menu appears in match
- When you die spotted, you spawn with HUD displaying as spotted
- Edit Event button leads to "Create Event" panel instead of "Edit Event"
- Help balloon while transitioning back to lobby
- Tooltips showing up off-screen in some cases
- Flickering engine when fireproof coating added
- UI elements on loading screen
- Character positioning on heavy guns

Alliance Beta (For Open Period)
- Failsafe kit starts cooldown on rebuild
- Alliance content missing in Progress screen
- Special Abilities sometimes trigger without pressing the button
- Tar bomb framerate drop on certain maps
- Tar bomb no longer sometimes hits the ship that created it
- Corsair and Crusader: Valentine's theme items placing
- Crusader: catwalk is cutting the main engine in half
- Character model positioning issue on new guns
- Crusaders: pistons are clipping
- Magnate: clipping into brass decorations
- Magnate: walking through wall
- Magnate: pistons clip through material
- Fixed some special ability configuration issues
- Fixed past leader display on unlock markers
- Fixed resource count display for the resource war goal
- Fixed reinforcement purchase error for user buffs
- World map: mission panel was not showing anything
- Missing end match for Stormbreaker ship and balloon mesh error
- Fixed bug with retrieve spawns
- Arc shield generator light flickers with lightning
- Fix to the drill models LODs (Hotfix 581)
- Shader bug that appeared to be breaking UI on some Hardware (Hotfix 581)

Skirmish
- Victory Defeat Notifications in Skirmish reversed

 

 

New content/features:

- The Ashen Scuffle joins PvP.  Take a peek at our new content in the form of a dark and deadly, although strikingly beautiful, DM map. Take your crew through this deadly landscape in both 2v2 and 3v3. Lava flows and derelict buildings await you and your crew.

- New Gun: Typhon Heavy Flak Mk. II
The old 2 shot flak of yore in a new body.  The demand was high and with new art created for it. The weapon is ready in remastered glory. Expert gunners of old and new rejoice at your chance for the most powerful and demanding weapon


- Static Story Book

Alliance is all about factions coming together, forming alliances, and waging big wars against each other in major seasonal events.  We will be listening in on our various channels of communications from in-game chat to our lively forums to see how you are playing and role-playing as your factions.  We will look at our data and see which players have earned the most effort, bought the most reinforcements, and overall supported their factions the best.  With all this information, we will craft a unique story after each war to commemorate and recognize the events that transpired.  Join us in crafting the history of Guns of Icarus Alliance together!
- Pietro's Veil (Male and Female) for buyers of Alliance
 - Recommended Ship/Loadout for matches/modes/difficulty settings

- New War Goal voting system
- War Period: When war period begins, alliances will be automatically formed and each alliance will have 24 hours to vote on their war goal.  This replaces voting on what alliances to form, which was found to be confusing and less rewarding based on feedback gathered.  These goals range from converting the enemy’s populace by conquering a territory, enforcing a will of strength by growing to a certain size, to activating a super weapon by accruing resources.
- New underdog icon
- Match list opens if Matchmaker goes too long

General
- Goggles are now dyeable
Every piece of equipment is now dyeable. Show off your custom style by matching any item to your complete outfit. There are no limits save your creativity for what kind of sky pirate you want to be.
- New character customization page
New dyes, cosmetics and options gave us a lot more to play with for the character customization screen. It has been completely redone to help you design your character and your tool sets.

- New ship customization page
With 12 ready and an upcoming 13 total number of ships. The ship screen needed an update to make navigation easier. We’ve taken a major pass to improve not only the page visually, but also the usability of the page. Craft, create, and plan your ship!

- Period/Daily Rewards

- Additional titles, in particular Mercenary
- Ship kill count displayed in scoreboard
- Distinct "component destroyed" sound effect for the balloon
- End Match Screen: Show faction progression for both Skirmish and Alliance
- Improved Voice Commands menu
- Added tooltips for class selection, tab settings

Changes:

General
- Faction message panel adjusted
- Adjusted grounded flag on slopes
- Moved the Vote in Progress countdown to right below the map vote panel on the left
- 'Favorite Ship' text on profile page changed to 'Most Played Ship'
- Captain priority extended to team
- Tweaked lights on all ships
- Ladders are easier to notice

Alliance Beta (For Open Period)
- Escape Pod renamed to Enemy Supply Ship
- Alliance world map design improvements
- World UI Ease of Use adjustments
- Icon callouts to indicate Leader choices
- Better communication of Leader status
- Killfeed adjustments
- Flare made to trigger for drill armor break
- Marker bullets will now self destruct after a second and a half

Skirmish
- Balloon outline in Skyball matches is now toggle-able as spectator

Balance
- Overall balance changes to enemies, difficulty modes, and game modes  like repair rate, damage output, ramp up between Novice and Normal etc…
- Survival: all matches are now set to 5 waves, each of which are timed.
- Assault: in-world icons on currently active base
- Retrieve: convoys are now tanky but move much slower, Refineries have increased health while the Final Refinery has greatly increased health
- Defense: tweaks to Friendly Emplacement effectiveness to support more constant push of enemies

Fixes:

General
- Overlapping chat
- Recommend load-out menu appears in match
- When you die spotted, you spawn with HUD displaying as spotted
- Edit Event button leads to "Create Event" panel instead of "Edit Event"
- Help balloon while transitioning back to lobby
- Tooltips showing up off-screen in some cases
- Flickering engine when fireproof coating added
- UI elements on loading screen
- Character positioning on heavy guns

Alliance Beta (For Open Period)
- Failsafe kit starts cooldown on rebuild
- Alliance content missing in Progress screen
- Special Abilities sometimes trigger without pressing the button
- Tar bomb framerate drop on certain maps
- Tar bomb no longer sometimes hits the ship that created it
- Corsair and Crusader: Valentine's theme items placing
- Crusader: catwalk is cutting the main engine in half
- Character model positioning issue on new guns
- Crusaders: pistons are clipping
- Magnate: clipping into brass decorations
- Magnate: walking through wall
- Magnate: pistons clip through material
- Fixed some special ability configuration issues
- Fixed past leader display on unlock markers
- Fixed resource count display for the resource war goal
- Fixed reinforcement purchase error for user buffs
- World map: mission panel was not showing anything
- Missing end match for Stormbreaker ship and balloon mesh error
- Fixed bug with retrieve spawns
- Arc shield generator light flickers with lightning
- Fix to the drill models LODs (Hotfix 581)
- Shader bug that appeared to be breaking UI on some Hardware (Hotfix 581)

Skirmish
- Victory Defeat Notifications in Skirmish reversed

 

 

Many new players, many new experiences, and a lot of new data!

Hello everyone,

A huge thanks to everyone who took part in and gave feedback for the December Alliance Open Session.

Also a big welcome to everyone from our Steam notification and feature. It was great to have so many new pilots, engineers, and gunners experience Alliance.

In total, over 35,000 players came in throughout the week to fly in our skies. Between all those players, a total of almost hundred thousand hours of Alliance were played, making this open period our largest one yet!

If you enjoyed Alliance, be sure to pre-order to be one of the first one in and if you email us at http://mailto:feedback@musegames.com with proof of purchase we’ll give you a code to come test with us on the weekend.

The Good

The introduction of the faction leader message provided some amazing tactical choices with allegiances being signaled to all players. It was great to see the interest and passion from faction leaders in trying to take over the world. We got to see 4,370,500 coins used on the world map to help wage war. In addition, coin usage rate has gone up noticeable, now to 65%, with overflow down to less than 20%.

We also were happy with the positive responses to our two new heavy weapons.  The Cavitation gun and Heavy Mine launcher were used to great effect, and the feedback we got on them will help us hone in their message.

Balance and win rates on different maps and modes also improved and were closer to our expected values, but we need continue to work on these to make sure players are experiencing success when they’ve earned it. Again, watching players play throughout the week was amazingly helpful. The common mistakes and maneuvers gave us better ideas on how to craft the player experience.

The Alliance soundtrack was ready for your enjoyment, along with the pre-order special item!  The next step is to have it properly display and configured on Steam, so stay tuned!


The “Needs to Improve”The faction map, while improved in many ways that both the data and feedback showed us, still needs more work. Most importantly, the leader needs more communications and impact while the non-leaders need more reason and push to get involved.

Some of our plans of attacks are map actions to be weighted more in leadership attainment. Overflow and system assigned passive resources would also be directed towards leadership designated locations. We are also exploring more in game communication tools for leadership.  Some other ideas we’re exploring are achievements and bonus rewards for faction alignment and synergy with leadership. Playing in matches with leaders could also be rewarded.  We’re looking at daily and period missions for individual players to learn rewards and bonuses, and a stronger notification on milestone achievements as well as faction world involvement.  For everyone who did his or her best to unite and provide us with feedback, the recorded experiences, ideas, concerns, and thoughts were invaluable in helping to craft the next and improved experience, which we’ve already planned for and are taking actions on.

While other game modes are tracking well during the open period and at MAGFest, Retrieve is unfortunately still an issue. Oblivion Approach exploit is plugged, Thornholt Crest exploit is still an issue that needs to be resolved asap.  Survival is playing tough, likely a bit too tough.  Normal difficulty setting is also playing a bit too tough for intermediate players, which we’ll need to tune.  Transition from Novice difficulty to Normal is also too steep, and we’re making adjustments as well.  Assault and longer form Survival play length could be improved slightly as well, but we’re getting closer.

Ships wise, the Skirmish ships’ successes and win rates are situational, but the latest novice setup and ship loadouts we set seemed to have yielded good results.  Of the faction ships, Stormbreaker was the best performing ship, but the other ships performed surprisingly well.  We’ll be looking at adjustments to the Corsair and Shrike, and a bit on the Magnate to bring them up a bit more.


What’s missing?
The final Alliance player and faction progression and rewards we withheld so that we could have everything unlocked for people to help us test.  Before release, we’ll introduce it to the Alliance experience. Because we already have historical progression data, we’re reasonably confident that the pacing won’t be too off.

More modes and more maps, even while we show off new maps and modes in each test session, there are new and unique game modes being tested internally. We’re really excited to get these into player hands in the development app as soon as we feel they give a consistent experience.  The Yeshan faction ship and enemies are also close to ready for player testing in the development app.  We’ll again prioritize everyone who backed us and pre-ordered for testing.


The Skirmish Front



We’re continuing Wild Week! After a test of tank spire that didn’t pan out, we’re calling on players to say exactly what they’d like to see for this idea that was proposed to us to try, probably will never see the light of day, but if you’d like to try random, goofy idea, for fun, have your voice be heard here!

To stress, the Tanky Spire, previous trifecta-squid, and whatever comes next in Wild Week are not massive plans to change skirmish, but an opportunity to listen to our community and give them a chance to try the random things they’ve thought about for the past 4 years. We hope you enjoy the experiments with an open mind and embrace the fun of the failures and successes.


Lore Recap

The cold swept through from the northwestern front with devastating effect.  The Anglean Republic, learning from their previous missteps, were able to gain key territories in record time.  Bolstered by a horde of zealots, who were fevered by newly discovered Ancient ruins, the Angleans made their way south to meet the Fjord Baronies and Mercantile Guild with unstoppable force.  The esteemed Zero Zero Zero Zero (215,816 effort; 29,899 coin) was able to lead self-financed armies into enemy territories with brutal efficiency.

The Fjord Baronies and Mercantile Guild were affronted from both sides.  Literally squeezed by the Angleans in the west, and the Chaladonians in the east, the two factions came to an uneasy alliance in order to defend against the unfavorable odds.  Eranok (110,807 effort), who controlled the vast Baronite armies, and financed by the aristocratic family of Jeff Bridges (13,560 coin) parlayed with the Mercantile Guild’s most respected trade federation run by TikoXi (278,466 effort; 33,198 coin).

In the end, however, another alliance was formed that overshadows all others.  Unexpectedly, the Order of Chaladon once again found themselves in friendly relations with the Angleans.  Despite their opposed worldviews, another union came to fruition when Order operatives Omnipresent Oatmeal (136,335 effort) and DIehard.zero (18,775 coin) brought word of an Anglean truce to the council.  Perhaps it means fundamental differences can be overlooked in the search for peace.

But such faith needs to be put aside since war reopened wounds across the earth.  Countless millions died, the central plains may never look the same again.  It will take time for the factions to rebuild with a total of 4,370,500 coin spent on Conscription (7,240 units) and training Cadets (8,038 units), and the building of Palisades (2,041 units) that now scar the land.  The future will surely bring about new alliances if war were to spill across the land once more.

Many new players, many new experiences, and a lot of new data!

Hello everyone,

A huge thanks to everyone who took part in and gave feedback for the December Alliance Open Session.

Also a big welcome to everyone from our Steam notification and feature. It was great to have so many new pilots, engineers, and gunners experience Alliance.

In total, over 35,000 players came in throughout the week to fly in our skies. Between all those players, a total of almost hundred thousand hours of Alliance were played, making this open period our largest one yet!

If you enjoyed Alliance, be sure to pre-order to be one of the first one in and if you email us at http://mailto:feedback@musegames.com with proof of purchase we’ll give you a code to come test with us on the weekend.

The Good

The introduction of the faction leader message provided some amazing tactical choices with allegiances being signaled to all players. It was great to see the interest and passion from faction leaders in trying to take over the world. We got to see 4,370,500 coins used on the world map to help wage war. In addition, coin usage rate has gone up noticeable, now to 65%, with overflow down to less than 20%.

We also were happy with the positive responses to our two new heavy weapons.  The Cavitation gun and Heavy Mine launcher were used to great effect, and the feedback we got on them will help us hone in their message.

Balance and win rates on different maps and modes also improved and were closer to our expected values, but we need continue to work on these to make sure players are experiencing success when they’ve earned it. Again, watching players play throughout the week was amazingly helpful. The common mistakes and maneuvers gave us better ideas on how to craft the player experience.

The Alliance soundtrack was ready for your enjoyment, along with the pre-order special item!  The next step is to have it properly display and configured on Steam, so stay tuned!


The “Needs to Improve”The faction map, while improved in many ways that both the data and feedback showed us, still needs more work. Most importantly, the leader needs more communications and impact while the non-leaders need more reason and push to get involved.

Some of our plans of attacks are map actions to be weighted more in leadership attainment. Overflow and system assigned passive resources would also be directed towards leadership designated locations. We are also exploring more in game communication tools for leadership.  Some other ideas we’re exploring are achievements and bonus rewards for faction alignment and synergy with leadership. Playing in matches with leaders could also be rewarded.  We’re looking at daily and period missions for individual players to learn rewards and bonuses, and a stronger notification on milestone achievements as well as faction world involvement.  For everyone who did his or her best to unite and provide us with feedback, the recorded experiences, ideas, concerns, and thoughts were invaluable in helping to craft the next and improved experience, which we’ve already planned for and are taking actions on.

While other game modes are tracking well during the open period and at MAGFest, Retrieve is unfortunately still an issue. Oblivion Approach exploit is plugged, Thornholt Crest exploit is still an issue that needs to be resolved asap.  Survival is playing tough, likely a bit too tough.  Normal difficulty setting is also playing a bit too tough for intermediate players, which we’ll need to tune.  Transition from Novice difficulty to Normal is also too steep, and we’re making adjustments as well.  Assault and longer form Survival play length could be improved slightly as well, but we’re getting closer.

Ships wise, the Skirmish ships’ successes and win rates are situational, but the latest novice setup and ship loadouts we set seemed to have yielded good results.  Of the faction ships, Stormbreaker was the best performing ship, but the other ships performed surprisingly well.  We’ll be looking at adjustments to the Corsair and Shrike, and a bit on the Magnate to bring them up a bit more.


What’s missing?
The final Alliance player and faction progression and rewards we withheld so that we could have everything unlocked for people to help us test.  Before release, we’ll introduce it to the Alliance experience. Because we already have historical progression data, we’re reasonably confident that the pacing won’t be too off.

More modes and more maps, even while we show off new maps and modes in each test session, there are new and unique game modes being tested internally. We’re really excited to get these into player hands in the development app as soon as we feel they give a consistent experience.  The Yeshan faction ship and enemies are also close to ready for player testing in the development app.  We’ll again prioritize everyone who backed us and pre-ordered for testing.


The Skirmish Front



We’re continuing Wild Week! After a test of tank spire that didn’t pan out, we’re calling on players to say exactly what they’d like to see for this idea that was proposed to us to try, probably will never see the light of day, but if you’d like to try random, goofy idea, for fun, have your voice be heard here!

To stress, the Tanky Spire, previous trifecta-squid, and whatever comes next in Wild Week are not massive plans to change skirmish, but an opportunity to listen to our community and give them a chance to try the random things they’ve thought about for the past 4 years. We hope you enjoy the experiments with an open mind and embrace the fun of the failures and successes.


Lore Recap

The cold swept through from the northwestern front with devastating effect.  The Anglean Republic, learning from their previous missteps, were able to gain key territories in record time.  Bolstered by a horde of zealots, who were fevered by newly discovered Ancient ruins, the Angleans made their way south to meet the Fjord Baronies and Mercantile Guild with unstoppable force.  The esteemed Zero Zero Zero Zero (215,816 effort; 29,899 coin) was able to lead self-financed armies into enemy territories with brutal efficiency.

The Fjord Baronies and Mercantile Guild were affronted from both sides.  Literally squeezed by the Angleans in the west, and the Chaladonians in the east, the two factions came to an uneasy alliance in order to defend against the unfavorable odds.  Eranok (110,807 effort), who controlled the vast Baronite armies, and financed by the aristocratic family of Jeff Bridges (13,560 coin) parlayed with the Mercantile Guild’s most respected trade federation run by TikoXi (278,466 effort; 33,198 coin).

In the end, however, another alliance was formed that overshadows all others.  Unexpectedly, the Order of Chaladon once again found themselves in friendly relations with the Angleans.  Despite their opposed worldviews, another union came to fruition when Order operatives Omnipresent Oatmeal (136,335 effort) and DIehard.zero (18,775 coin) brought word of an Anglean truce to the council.  Perhaps it means fundamental differences can be overlooked in the search for peace.

But such faith needs to be put aside since war reopened wounds across the earth.  Countless millions died, the central plains may never look the same again.  It will take time for the factions to rebuild with a total of 4,370,500 coin spent on Conscription (7,240 units) and training Cadets (8,038 units), and the building of Palisades (2,041 units) that now scar the land.  The future will surely bring about new alliances if war were to spill across the land once more.