Being on the final stretch of implemeting exciting new content together with vast improvements and changes to the game, we wanted to share the current progress with you.
Because we are not quite done with the polishing, we decided to do this in a safe way and distribute this preview version via the public experimental branch.
What does this mean? It's a Steam feature that allows us to grant you access to alternate game versions without breaking the current stable game build you find in the standard/default installation. You can opt into the experimental game branch with only a few clicks: Find New Cycle in your library and right click on the name -> choose Properties... -> select the Tab Betas -> from the drop down menu on the right choose public-experimental. See GIF below:
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[/expand]We aim to release this update in the regular and stable way soonly after wrapping up the finetuning and preparing the next steps.
Be aware that due to the extensive changes, savegames from earlier versions won't carry over to this release, so please start a new game to enjoy the new features. Those savegames won't be lost by changing between builds, and for the full release we'll make the previous game version available in a legacy branch.
Of course we're eager to hear your feedback, since this update will reshape the game in fundamental ways and lays the foundation for faster updates down the road. The best place for this is our discord server, find the link below.
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As many of you know, we have been working on a large infrastructure upgrade in parallel with our development process. With this attempt, we have achieved technical milestones that give New Cycle a lot of room for maneuver in the long term and I would like to emphasize that this is only possible because of the support of you. Thank you once again for your support and patience.
We are happy to share with you the outputs of the first round of our comprehensive progress and renewal. This update mainly includes additions and adjustments to universal assets such as buildings, products, vehicles, maps, light and environment elements, etc.
This will be followed by a major update that includes a development tree revamp, regulation management tool, story expansion, conveyor belt expansion and regional setting management edits. With the combination of these two major releases, we plan to convert Alpha 25-300.01 'Experimental' to Stable.
Alpha 25-300.01 Highlights
- **Coastal biome expansion**
- **Physics-based water mechanic and new vehicles: Ships**
- **4 New Maps and extended map scale**
- **Revised visual rendering and effects framework**
- **New 'Cycle transition' conditions**
- **9 new structures from different phases of the universe**
- **9 new products and raw material**
- **10 new Steam Achievement**
- **New Placable aesthetic outdoor assets, New wide pedestrian paths**
- **New Sub-System: Alternative production formulas**
- **Balancing production outputs**
- **Population requirements and outcomes improvements**
- **Revisions to birth, death and catastrophe systems**
- **Upgraded lighting system, ambient design elements and effects**
- **New sub-system for adaptive ambient Sound/Visual Effect**
- **Fixes, small additions and adjustments**
Update details
- Coastal biome expansion and new maps
Aquatic biomes are crucial for the New Cycle universe to expand and provide the fullest possible variety of experiences.
To this purpose, this update includes three different aquatic biome maps, with a flat coastal, peninsula-like and archipelago example.
In these maps, the fauna and flora components are characteristically varied, daily lighting cycles, Light, Fog and seasonal events can differ, affecting the entire view.
For example, northern biomes may have a bluer-gray appearance, a darker sea and a denser layer of fog in wet weather.
Coastal maps close to the grassland biome may present a yellowish or clean green appearance. Fog and precipitation may be lighter and the overall illumination lighter in color. At the moment, it also offers the ability to navigate all ship types in free mode and optional maritime missions in third-person mode are on the way.
In future updates, these biomes will have unique permanent or temporary effects that impact the entire gameplay.For example, in arid biomes the community's base water consumption multiplier will run permanently higher, or in biomes with cold climates the overall fuel demand will run higher.
- New Cycle transition conditions
We've made changes to make the progression of the game universe a bit more specific and free for each player and each session. Now, in order to advance to the next Cycle, you need to have a certain number and type of buildings instead of reaching a certain population.
These building lists are randomly generated from the facilities that are available to you in the Cycle you are currently playing, according to certain rules.
- New Products and Raw Materials
Tallow
Firewood
Pottery
Organic Waste
Manure
Soap
Sponge
Fabric
Fine Outfit
Alternative new source SeaFood: It is obtained by hunting from suitable environments and processed to produce 'meat' and 'organic waste'.
- New Buildings/Road and Production facilities
Household Depot
Fisher
Steam Generator
Fishing harbor
ProccesingYard
Desalination Plant
Inland Fish Farm
Enhanced Workhall
Textile Factory
New roads alternatives twice the width of existing roads. (For both dust road and cobblestone road)
- New side mechanics: placeable outdoor assets
A new sub-mechanic that will directly contribute to the cityscape, ranging from primitive wooden assets to industrial components, and is entirely under player control.
With support for grid or free placement, as well as 'collision deactivation’, you'll be able to position all placeable scenery assets in the universe in any way you wish.
In upcoming updates, some special decor assets will also be able to have specific functions.
Since they are small and can be placed in large numbers, these entities can be mass removed in an area of your choice with a special button in the build menus.
Decor plants are also automatically removed when a road or building is placed on them.
- New Ui Elements/Tool Tips and improvements
A number of new designs and adjustments to existing panels have been made to provide easier and more consistent access.
The biome selection screen has been completely revamped. General inventory display bars for the selected biome have been added, and options have been added on the same screen that allow you to select startup settings and access other settings that customize the game session. This screen also includes a section where you can choose which era to start the game from and name your settlement.
When placing a building or path, the information panel at the top left of the screen now contains descriptions of all the warnings that appear in the 3D universe.
Conveyor belt, roads, railroad tracks and related components have been moved to the newly created menu location.
- New sub-system for adaptive ambient Sound/Visual Effect
A new complementary aesthetic system was integrated that works according to certain rules based on the distance of the camera from the earth and the entities it sees at that moment.
This plugin, which recognizes a natural environment or city components, is involved in both generating environmental sounds and triggering some visual effects.
For example, if you zoom in on an empty patch of land at night, you may hear biome-specific nature sounds or see fireflies flying around.
Passing over a high-level industrial building, you may hear the sounds of heavy machinery, smoke effects, or work environment noises that may occur randomly.
This small add-on is an infrastructure component that will make it easier to create a sense of realism using more complex effects content for the New Cycle universe, which features a wide variety of assets and environments.
Gameplay changes
- Changes were made to the production requirements, times and outputs of all products and raw materials.
- In order to better reflect the transition to development and industrial-scale production, especially in late period buildings, the labor requirements of level III production facilities were increased, and the input raw material and output ratios were subjected to a multiplier effect in direct proportion.
- Food, water, clothing and tool consumption values of all classes were recalibrated for 5 different distribution levels.
- Output rates raised for all energy-generating buildings
- Added a small feature for the reuse of cemeteries. Normally designed with story input, this section is now available in a slightly simpler way to allow for reuse.
- Grid-based placement feature has been added to the highway placement.
- Added the ability to use alternative formulas for target product output. (such as agriculture with or without manure, seawater desalination, terrestrial fish farms.)
- As a result of the Fine outfit product being added to the universe, the Workwear product was moved two cycles earlier.
- New product fabric added to the production formula of Supply
- Provision areas have been expanded for all Service structures.
- Reduced Mineshaft exploration cost
- Access areas to agricultural structures, Windmills and Gather/Hunter camps have been expanded.
- Water production in the proccesden structure was modified by adding coal and sand requirements
- Changes in natural or age-related mortality.
- Improvements in birth and aging factors
- Trigger interval for some disasters recalibrated
- Revised the conditions of events, timeframes and some of the final outcomes of the some story and event strings.
- The main screen build list Ui panel has been reorganized. Conveyor belt, road, highway assets have been transferred to new direct access icons added to this part.
- Optional placeable objects, such as outdoor assets and sculptures, have likewise been assigned new Ui locations.
- Changed the position of some buildings and products in the development tree.
- Added pottery to Mead production formula
- Added water to Honey production formula
- 'Organic waste' has been added to the output of formulas for Grain, Linen, Meat and Fish production in some conditions
Technical and Visual Change Details
- To assign the building information Ui panel, which is activated with the Left Alt key, to any key, the relevant field has been added to the settings tab.
- Brightness and Contrast adjustment options have been added to the Settings tab, with the ability to preview the in-game view.
- The 'Trax' option has been added to the settings tab to turn on/off the ability for vehicles and NPCs to leave tracks in snow and certain surfaces.
- 3D presence of the House I structure has been changed
- Changed the 3D presence of Farm and Kaleyard Buildings and their surface area in the universe. Added the ability to produce with two different formulas, with and without manure.
- The metal legs of the conveyor belts have been improved so that they recognize roads, railways and highways and create themselves in a way that does not occur there.
- Scale of the Windmill structures and the surface area they occupy have been changed.
- 3D presence of the discovered but not analyzed mine shafts preview has been changed .
- Oachard building landscaping revised and new tree models added
- Changed Ui component to turn off-on day/night cycle or set preference based on specific time interval.
- Camera system transitions have been reconfigured. The camera will no longer turn off and on during transitions between gameplay-cinematic-vehicle driving camera mode etc. and the transition action will be smoother to observe
- Maximum camera height and standard movement speeds have been increased (for all Keypad, mouse right-click, or Pan modes)
- Changed the current universe time and real time multiplier to 0.5 when switching to driving mode for vehicles such as Trucks and Ships.
- Added the ability for the ground moving fog layer to react to light and time of day.
- The effect of wind mechanics on trees and grass has been adjusted to produce a more gradual effect.
- Material was arranged on some grasses and bushes.
- The physical surface shading of some buildings has been readjusted.
- Improvements to shadow and light surface overlay and render calculation method
- Improved the generation and distribution intelligence of free roaming NPCs in the city.
### **Known issues**
- During the game, when changing the overall visual quality in the settings menu, it was observed that in some cases extra resources were left on the VRAM.
This situation is caused by a Bug of the game engine we use and we expect that this problem will be fixed by Unity in a short time. For now, not using the settings change frequently or logging in and out of the game and changing the settings will avoid this problem.
- Ships are not yet as intelligent as trucks. Until special animations and advanced working intelligence designed for hunting are added, they can feel a little rough around the edges. Until bridge objects are remodeled, the ability to crash into them is turned off.
- Procedurally generated mine shafts can, in some cases, occur very close to each other. This does not prevent them from working, but it can make the selection process a little more difficult.
- When structures are placed on steep slopes or surfaces above certain heights, sometimes the land cannot be completely leveled. This is a deliberate setting of the general terrain leveling feature.
- On extremely long lines, trains can fill their screen time prematurely and disappear in an instant. This does not harm their overall operation, it is just a visual.
