The Allods Team have announced that their fast paced aerial brawler Cloud Pirates is now available for free. Previously the game was only available to play by purchasing a founders pack. Alongside the announcement we also received a new launch trailer, which can be seen below.
In addition to the game officially going free-to-play, it also received a new update that brings a new map, player strongholds, personal ratings and more.
If this is your first time hearing about Cloud Pirates, here is a brief description of the game:
Cloud Pirates is an action-packed game where Captains unlock, customize and control a large number of cloud ships, fighting for the control of the skies! Overcome cutthroat opposition and become the best Cloud Pirate Captain by using all tools at your disposal:
- More than 45 Cloud Ships
- 19 distinctive Ship Classes, each with unique gameplay
- 6 Game Modes, ranging from casual to ranked competition
- Brotherhoods – become a part of a pirate band with other Captains. You will never have to hunt alone ever again!
- Captain, Crew and Ship Progression – hire the best crews, purchase the most powerful equipment and unlock dozens of Captain talents to select the best combination for your play style
- Visual Customization – obtain a large number different colors, sails and flags to personalize your ship, make the enemy fear your colors
Lastly, here are the official update notes, courtesy of Allods Team:
The release of the “Stronghold” update marks a new era for Cloud Pirates – Early Access keys are no longer needed to enter the game, making it available to everyone! Now’s the right time to become a dreaded Cloud Pirate – take control of the skies and prove once for all that you are the best sky captains out there!
The “Stronghold” Update is a combination of Update 1.3 and 1.4, bringing many new features to Cloud Pirates, including:
- Enhanced Group Play
- Cold Silence Map
- Player Strongholds
- Stronghold Siege
- Personal Ratings
- Consumables
Enhanced Group Play – three-man groups are returning to Cloud Pirates. Now you and two of your friends can take to the skies and hunt together! Additionally, groups now get Gold and Experience bonuses in random battles – for every player in your group, you will receive 100 Experience Points and 500 extra Gold at the end of the battle!
Cold Silence Map – this frozen wasteland will send chills down your spine! But no true Cloud Pirate is afraid of a little cold. Master the skies above this desolate plain and shatter the ice with the thunder of your guns!
Personal Ratings – now you have the option to compare your performance with each ship with that of other Captains! The names and ratings of the best Captains will be available on a dedicated portal page in the future.
We will also introduce a League system for each ship separately. Captains can compete with each other to advance to a higher League. The following leagues will be available:
- Novice League
- Contenders League
- Bronze League
- Silver League
- Gold League
- Especially Dangerous League
These leagues will influence matchmaking by always seeking equally skilled opponents for each Captain and ship. After the Stronghold Update goes live, all Captain ratings will be re-calculated to work with the League system using the new parameters.
Brotherhood Strongholds – changes await Captains who have chosen to ally themselves with one Brotherhood or another. They will now get the opportunity to spend the Meteoric Ore obtained in the past in Convoy Mode on creating their very own Brotherhood Strongholds!
Accumulating enough Ore for a Stronghold will not be an easy task, as the price will be quite steep – 75000 Ore units. Once constructed, it will also be possible to improve any Stronghold with structures such as defensive turrets and more.
Stronghold Siege – this is a new mode called Stronghold Siege. This mode will be available to all Captains, regardless of whether they are members of a Brotherhood or not. It will take place on a special Stronghold map during specific times (much like the earlier Convoy mode).
A special version of this mode will be available for Brotherhoods, who will have the opportunity to fight other Brotherhoods and besiege their Strongholds. The participants will either have to protect their own Stronghold or attack the enemy's. The attackers will be able to damage the enemy Stronghold by capturing points and destroying defensive structures with the ultimate goal of assaulting the heart of the enemy base, protected by turrets. The defenders have to stop them at all costs!
The winners will be rewarded with a new type of currency, allowing them to purchase special customization options – golden cannons. Please note that the Stronghold Siege mode will only be available during specific times and on specific days.
Combat Customization – in the Stronghold Update, Captains with Tier 2 ships or higher will have the option to change their ships' Weapon and Gear configuration after the start of a battle! This will allow experienced Captains to better face their enemies and to adjust their ship load-out for the ultimate performance!
Captains will be given the option to create several pre-sets before the battle. During the battle start countdown and after dying when waiting for the respawn, it will be possible to switch between these pre-sets. Please note that the pre-set switch will carry a cost of several hundred to several thousand Gold, depending on the ship's Tier.
Consumables – Rank 4 Captains of Tier 2 ships or higher will have the option to use one-time consumables, acquired in the Hangar via the Equipment screen. These consumables will activate automatically and will come in three categories:
- Offensive (providing an additional ability)
- Defensive (passive bonus)
- Special (passive bonus)
The consumables available will be unique to each ship and their price will depend on the ship's Tier. As an example, the Black Widow Tier 4 Light Stealth Corvette will have the following consumables available:
- Reactor Amplifier – when not cloaked or in the Overload mode, the ship's guns will do 35% more damage. When cloaked or in the Overload mode, the ship will accelerate 1 vessel per second faster
- Protection Amplifier – a shield charge is generated every 10 seconds with 3 charges being the maximum value. One charge is spent every time the cloaked ship takes damage, preventing its forced de-cloaking
- Offensive Ability – instantly moves the ship 75 meters forward with 0.5 second activation time. The ship automatically becomes cloaked after the jump, all negative effects are removed and the ship also instantly receives 3 shield charges
Cloud Pirates is currently available as a free-to-play title on PC via Steam.