Greetings!
We are happy to announce our next big content update.
Thanks to your interest and support, we've had the chance to modify New Cycle's current roadmap over the past month and expand the content inventory planned for version 1.0.
As the first fruit of this reorganization, I am sharing the details of our next major update content below. We continue to complete and add the necessary infrastructure for the New Cycle universe to grow deeper and more versatile in a healthy way.
I would like to remind you that the innovations that come with interim updates are part of early access and may contain missing parts that need to be completed in the next steps due to the natural flow of the development process.
Once again, as dedicated indie developers who are very much connected to the New Cycle Universe, we would like to reiterate that we continue to pay the same attention to detail and quality that we have shown so far with each new piece. Hope you enjoy the content and new mechanics in this update, which takes us one step further and sends another strong message about the potential we are trying to achieve in the future.
Thank you for all your support and patience throughout this process.
New choice of playable build version
Due to the nature of early access and the significant changes we'll introduce with this update, savegames from the current version won't be compatible with the new content. To mitigate any inconvenience and to allow you to wrap up your current game runs, we'll also introduce new branches you can opt into:
- public rollback branch: This will contain the last stable version of the game before the current update. So in this case, it will stay with the 'Alpha 130' versions, while the default build will jump to 'Alpha 140'.
- public experimental branch: This will be a branch with mostly untested and probably instable builds for our more enthusiastic community members to check out new features and speculative content. Keep in touch on our discord to find out more.
- naturally, the default branch will always contain the current stable version of New Cycle.
Find out more about branch selection here .
New Mechanics, Maps, Structures and Resources
- New Building ‘Apiary’
- New Building ‘Bakery’
- New Building ‘Medical Shed’
- New Building ‘Store’
- New Building ‘Lightning Arrester’
- New Building ‘Central Freight Station’
- New Building ‘District Freight Depot’
- New Building ‘Asphalt road and components’
- New Building upgrade ‘Multi-shaft Mine Tower’
- New material ‘Asphalt’
- New material ‘Rubber’
- New material ‘V Type Engine’
- New material ‘Honey’
- New material ‘Herbed Garlic Bread’
- New material ‘Fruitpie’
- New material ‘Toddler Formula’
- New material ‘Mead’
- New formula based on fish and grain for 'Filling Meal' production
- New manufacturable asset ‘Trucks’
New Mechanics and Developments
- New side mechanics: local logistics for industrial scale
An expansion that we believe will serve the Dieselpunk theme of the New Cycle universe and its unique interpretation of realism very well, both visually and functionally.
This side mechanic aims to add another level of depth to the gameplay and management process. It will radically affect city planning, the efficiency of structures operating over long distances, the road network, as well as introducing new structures and heavy vehicles into the universe.
Our game design is not based on the absolute transportation of beings from one point to another and the visual realization of this. This can be roughly interpreted as general 'universal free logistics'. However, we still have a transportation/distribution approach that involves distances, roads, conveyor systems and vehicles. Further deepening and developing this approach, with 'Land routes and district depots' you will see additions and changes with the flow as follows:
Advanced buildings that you build within a certain distance (On the playable 3D map) from your initial settlement center will be subject to a negative regional distance multiplier, just like the negative effect of 'no road connectivity'.
In order to work beyond certain distances without negative worforce bonuses, you will need to build small logistics hubs in those areas and need to connect these logistics hubs with a 'road network' to a main logistics hub in your city, which can be one, just like a train station.
Complete the necessary developments and design routes that operate between these logistics centers by producing trucks with various types of cargo transport.
Each district will need a different scale of transportation capacity according to the assets it produces. In addition, the labor force that will work in these regions will also need to be transported by vehicles. (definition of the need to transport people in proportion to the labor force required by the structures in the region).
Along with universal efficiency and workforce values, 'logistics capacity' for these regions will also work as a productivity multiplier.All this traffic will require active maintenance and uninterrupted energy supply for the structures involved, and will rely on the fuel and maintenance costs of the operating vehicles.
Additional surprise sub-mechanics, entirely at the player's choice, to spice up the gameplay experience in a different dimension. However, we will be careful to ensure that this approach does not conflict with the 'City Builder' spirit, and does not tip the balance by adding too much extra to the game.
- New subsystem: Procedural deposits
In all playable maps, mineral deposits locations and contents will now be procedurally redistributed at the start of each new game. In subsequent updates, the procedural infrastructure will be supplemented with similar methods that are much more dependent on land morphology, such as agriculture and other resource points.
- New side mechanic: Distribution of daily consumer goods
We may live in a post-apocalyptic universe, but if we can make flour, why not cake?
Everyday consumer goods, extra food supplements, products for different needs! Daily distribution with delivery structures (Stores) close to the living areas to raise the living standards of the community and provide us with extra gains. It will work in a similar way to structures that offer services and products, such as pubs or infirmaries. We aim to deepen production/consumption and output flow one step further with this new side mechanic that will also distribute 'luxury' consumer goods such as tobacco, coffee, spices, etc. in the future.
- Expanding mining side-mechanics
A new add-on designed to expand mineral deposits accessed through advanced mining towers, or for prospecting excavation to find new ones to replace depleted deposits. You will need powerful diggers and advanced infrastructure to carry out this exploration activity. You will need to be able to produce advanced components, such as the engines used in trucks, and integrate them into the mining rigs to make them work. This will also increase the electricity required by the advanced mining tower.
New Lighting System Upgrade
With the additions and updates to the rendering process, we are now able to provide an infrastructure to support the use of more real-time light components. This will make a significant difference to night gameplay, while also improving both the performance and visual feedback of effects and general lighting in day mode gameplay.
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New Maps
With the new logistics system and procedural mineral deposit distribution system, old and small maps will no longer be used. Instead, a tundra and steppe variant of the current 'Great Meadow' map will be used, scaled 25% larger. You can experience the new great tunda map in this update and steppe biome is being completely overhauled and will be released in the next minor update.
New Effects
Community
- Crispy Bread Grant It can be achieved through successful distribution of the relevant product (Herbed Garlic Bread) within the 'store'.
- Early Investment It can be achieved through successful distribution of the relevant product (Toddler Formula) within the 'store'.
- Sweet Addition It can be achieved through successful distribution of the relevant product (Fruitpie) within the 'store'.
Mechanical
- No staff at the central freight station
- Overloaded Districts
- Shortage of Fuel
- Worn-out road networks
- Lack of Staff
Improvements, Balancing and Fixes
In line with the roadmap and in response to feedback and community requests. Those not on this list but in the planning/production phase will also be included in the 'Roadmap' document.
Important changes
- Some buildings (Pubs, infirmary etc.) have been moved from the 'Utilities' menu to the 'resident' menu.
- All road, belt and other logistics structures have been moved to the 'others' menu.
Gameplay
- The freestyle road placement component has been improved, automatic snap and curve precision has been strengthened.
- During the road- and building construction phase, the labeling of the collisions that occur along the entire component intended to be produced and the structures and elements that perform them has been refined.
- The bar on the main HUD where resources are displayed and managed has been modified to display one row and two rows, as well as a third row. 'This feature is defined as a sequence to the same activation button’. After the customization of this panel, the problems that could be experienced in the save/load process have been fixed.
- The ability to set how many minutes a New Cycle day will run has been added to the 'Settings' menu.
- Improved the calculations during tree and plant removal when placing a building.
- Fixed a bug that prevented selecting more than 6 products on the Conveyor Belt separator UI
- Aging mechanics (for age groups 60 and over) process values were revised.
- Special structures 'Sculptures' can now be erased and rebuilt.
- ‘Diesel’ production formula and output values rebalanced
- ‘Tin Ore’ and ‘Tin Ingot’ production formula and output values rebalanced
- ‘Rubber’ added to 'Workwear' production formula
- The 'Conveyor' system was shifted an Era with the addition of the Vehicle mechanic so as not to overwhelm the gameplay as systems accessed simultaneously.
- In the trade panel, tooltip plugin indicating the products in the warehouse has been added
- In the maintenance structure Ui content, the high, medium and low cost buttons are prevented from refreshing on every click.
- Added the ability to 'Save/load' during the Tutorial phase.
- The Solarstorm event cinematic sequence and effects duration have been shortened by 50%.
- In the Storage structure Ui panel, areas that allow you to set the maximum storage limit for materials by manually entering data have been activated.
Assets
- Improved and reorganized the 3D models of a few intermediate products such as Basic Tool, Wire, Motor displayed on the Conveyor Belt.
- Fixed 'CampName' change not being saved in Scout building Ui
- House Ui panel has been revised.
- In the winter season, the visibility and color of the 'outline' showing selected objects has been readjusted.
- Fixed the display of the winter season negative factor on the Ui of the 'Farm' structure
- Edits were made on the 3D model of the ''Refinery'' structure. Removed loose parts and added a chimney.
- Renewed Apartment Complex, Communal Kitchen, Small Workshop, Tubule Cave, Warehouse, Building UI Header Images
- Updated Ui icons for ‘precision tools’ and ‘supply box’ products
- Diesel Generator construction case remodeled and added
- Remodeled and added roof crane of Lumbermill II building
- Fixed premature display of the ventilation part that appears during the construction phase of the ‘Apartment complex’
- Fixed premature display of the ventilation part that appears during the construction phase of the ‘Mine III’
- Fixed large surface collision on one side of the ‘Water pump’ structure
- After the placement of the narrow-gauge railroad tracks, the visible segregation on the rails was fixed.
Our content for the next major update and the minor updates before it will focus primarily on the following topics;
- Upgrade for the 'small workhall' which produces intermediate and final products such as 'Tanned Leather' and 'Herbal Tea'. The reason why this is not included in this update content is that this structure needs new intermediate products and structures that will come with the 'chemistry' product tree at advanced levels.
- Variety of belt components; we are working on new belt components with more feed and output sockets. We are also working on a solution for users who want to install an underground belt system.
- Integration of 'chemistry' based raw material group and intermediate products. This expansion, which will diversify the production tree and bring us a little closer to simulating the ordinary flow of life, will also include new structures and developments.
- Completion of the operating model of the Cycle progression process. We are working on a system that will work according to 'Population, owned infrastructure and reputation' indicators instead of the current progression format 'Population and Knowledge'.
- Adding a Region map variant. At this stage, we are running a completion process centered on city management, production trees and buildings. Before the completion and integration of the story-oriented content that will enrich the Region section in the future, we are trying to bring at least two playable Region maps to the next major update content.
Localization
Due to some unforseen issues with editing and our localization pipeline, text will partially default to English. We're working hard at a solution and will fix this asap! Please reach out to us on our community discord server if this is impacting you experience!