To All Guns of Icarus Online Owners

[[Muse] Bubbles]

We know you probably have questions about why Alliance is a different product from the original or are wondering what happens if you don’t upgrade, so this post’s goal is to answer the most common questions we’re seeing:

Why isn’t Alliance just a free update to Guns of Icarus Online?

Well, the short answer is because it’s too big for us to be a free update. It’s literally larger than the entire original game. Some people see that as a cash grab, but in reality, as I will try to explain in some of the other questions, it is quite the opposite. We felt this was the most fair way to fulfill our Kickstarter that funded this project nearly 3 years ago.

Why isn’t Alliance a DLC for Guns of Icarus Online?

We debated over this a lot and discussed this Steam, and the recommendation was to go with a full release and remove the old DLC upgrade. Content DLCs can be low on content and high on price, and it complicates purchase process for anyone new to the community. We believe in what we're offering, and we want to avoid the impression specifically that this is a cash grab. Alliance is more than a DLC, it is its own game. Sure it is built in the shoulders of Guns of Icarus Online, but there’s no denying the amount of new content in Alliance. Not just art, or ships, but entirely new mechanics, a new way of story telling, and just a completely different style of play from the original.

Anyway, short version is if this were a cash grab Guns of Icarus Alliance could have been 10 DLCs costing 3-5 dollars each, as opposed to a full product with free updates just like Guns of Icarus Online is.

What happens if I don’t want to upgrade to Alliance?

We get that PvE isn’t a thing everyone wants to do, and that is fine. Alliance is also an update to Guns of Icarus Online and we will continue to support Guns of Icarus Online 100%, with the aim to bring more and more contents from PvE over to PvP. Not only will we continue to support PvP mode, but now you can join a faction, earn rewards, and still get involved in the meta story of Alliance without paying a dime. In essence we’re not making anyone pay for content they don’t want AND we’re providing a free update to our existing customers.

Are you sure this isn’t a cash grab or your way of forcing people to pay more for something they already purchased?

We talked at length about the ways to integrate Alliance and create sales. In the end we determined the most successful methods are also the ones we disagree with as an industry. I talked a bit about content DLCs, where you release content in drips and use that drip content to end up making people pay 2-3x the price a game “should” cost. That’s one method we simply could not do and still look ourselves in the mirror.

The other would have been cutting off support or content for the original game earlier. This not only would have saved costs, since we wouldn’t be basically trying to build / support two games at once, but it would have created demand as we “starve” our fans of new stuff. On top of that, we could have then released Alliance as a totally new product that wasn’t integrated at all with the original and forced our players to upgrade or not play.

Tactics like this, and I am sure you can think of at least one of both examples, are common in the games industry and we refuse to play by those rules. As a result we’re forging a different path where we give the players free updates and the option to upgrade. Unfortunately, also as a result, it confused a LOT of people about what our motives are. Believe me, we want to make money, but we want to do it in a way that makes us feel like we’re actually contributing value to our players and fans.

So now I ask for everyone’s support. Please, ask questions, even question our motives, but if you agree with our methods and want to help, tell a friend. We need your help to make Alliance fly, just like we needed your help to make Guns take off nearly 5 years ago.

We’re building a different kind of game company and we hope you’ll be along for the ride as we continue to try new ways of doing things.

Lastly, if you’re reading this it means you are likely an owner of the original game. For that I personally thank you from the bottom of my heart. Even if you never spend another dime on a Muse Games product, your being part of our journey has shown us so much love and support that it has literally been life changing.

Thank you,
Howard, Team Lead

[Psi Crow]

dear Muse, we love you ♥ Keep it up!

[Wolfprints]

Glad to see the base game is back for sale, I think that will ease a lot of people's concerns. #hugsforMuse

[[Muse] Bubbles]

Thanks guys. Yeah that configuration on the GoIO page ended up being confusing and not great. Glad Steam was able to help us fix it for the better.

[Varen]

While I respect the decisions made about not going the routes you spoke of with adding this "new game" to the content of guns of icarus, what feels like a giant middle finger to the people that already bought the original game is the whole "oh you dont have the original game? we got you fam, here's a free copy of the orginal. oh you DO have the original game? sucks to be you, you get nothing, good day sir"
even a special 5$ off for people that owned the original game already (or ones like me that got the darn collectors edition that no longer exists) would have felt better since, ya know, thats how much it is now.

[[Muse] Bubbles]

@Lolibot, it really isn't the case. For all GoIO owners, there is a loyalty discount right now, that is exactly the same price as everyone who've pre-ordered. There is pricing parity at $15, so everyone is on fair footing. The $5 off does exist right now as the purchase link mentions. It's just that Steam also tries to apply a release discount, which is supposed to be typical. And you can only see one discount at a time, which is the limitation of the system. If you read the text or click on the button, you would see the 25% off, which is exactly $5 off and the same price that people have paid for pre-orders. Hope this clears up any confusions! Thanks so much for sharing the concern, really really appreciate it!

[CommanderMark4]

You know... My only fear is that we will have less players than before... It's a fantastic game with a wonderful (but tiny) community.

[[Muse] Bubbles]

@Daniell, we'll keep doing everything to grow the community, and help us spread the word!

[DarkteK]

There's one thing I don't fully understand, what about the achievements? If I earned one achievement in the PVP version, I'm gonna get the same one in the Alliance Mode? Should I download the alliance mode instead the PVP version?

[Zetnus]

Originally posted by DarkteK:

There's one thing I don't fully understand, what about the achievements? If I earned one achievement in the PVP version, I'm gonna get the same one in the Alliance Mode? Should I download the alliance mode instead the PVP version?

Achievments are automatically synched.

[[Muse] Bubbles]

Yep they are!

[O Tasqueiro]

So we no longer have 25% discount if we're GoI online owners?

[[Muse] Bubbles]

@Chauncey, I just saw that too. Argh, I've already pinged Steam about it. I think after the launch discount was removed, something got messed up, sigh. I'm trying to get this fixed for you guys asap. Thanks a ton, Howard

[Zehlous]

I was convinced that this content was going to be a part of Guns of Icarus Online back when I bought it early access. Really it was the only reason. I ended up buying 5 copies for all my friends as well, because I felt it was a good investment and the future of the game was bright...

Now I am met with the fact that the content we were looking forward to and what was said to be coming in the future, is an entirely seperate game... Disappointing... Guess I waited this long for it, maybe I didn't need it in the first place...

[[Muse] Bubbles]

Hi Zehl, we really only committed to that, through poor communications on my part, to the original original Kickstarter backers (of GoIO). I've made good by offering them copies of Alliance a few years back. Other than that, I tried hard to be clear that Guns of Icarus Online was for PvP (We since launched another KS for the contents and game that you're seeing now). Well, if because of miscommunications you felt that you did not get your worth and that I over promised, email me asap at [e-mail], and I'll do my best to make good. Thanks a lot!

[ShadowSplicer]

Originally posted by Muse Bubbles:

I've made good by offering them copies of Alliance a few years back

A couple of friends got these randomly in their inventory, but they bought it months apart (one before and one after me). Any kind of method to the key-giving?
Since you guys had *continually promised* to release this *exact thing* as a part of the *original game,* I'm pretty disappointed. I've been with you guys since Alpha, and even bought a few friends copies, and those people bought more for other friends. It was great. We had such hopes of expansion, (especially for the PvE stuff and adventure mode), and after about 2 years of waiting, we gave up. Nice to see, 4 years later, this is a whole new standalone thing, that none of us have. Not spending another dime. I get that it's a lot of work, (I'm a private web developer myself), but since you guys up front decided to promise these things were in progress, you kind of owe the community, and long term members. Not some crap $5 coupon. Four years, guys.