Moin moin, here's the zap, welcome to a new format that is "pure-nosed & teased",
my short test series.
In this episode, I introduce "The Cycle".
The game is in an Open Alpha test of 05. to 08.
July.
The Cycle is available at Epic Games for PC, Playstation and XBox and everyone is free
get a taste of it, that's what I did and I want share my first impression with you.
► What is The Cycle? The Cycle is a match based collectible shooter,
in which one as a lone fighter or in teams from up to 4 players lands on a planet.
Altogether, however, 20 players land at the same time on the map.
The planet has a kind of energy field, that in a 20 minute rhythm around the planet
therefore one must necessarily end up in the end call and use the evacuation ship
to escape alive.
The planet is about ores and others To gather resources against the monsters
and to defend the other players there and try so many resources in 20 minutes
as possible, without doing so to die.
In the end you just have to live on the planet escape and if possible in the final evaluation
be better than the other survivors.
► Where is The Cycle and what does it cost?
The Cycle is currently available for free at Epicstore available and is still in the alpha
Test phase.
It is probably synonymous in the long term as Free2Play designed and owns despite the early stage of development
already a shop where one founders packages can buy.
These contain only skins and Emotes as well as Itemshop currency with which one
can buy more cosmetic things.
At least for the moment, that does not mean Pay2Win included in the game.
The Cycle is by Yager Development from Berlin developed so far, especially with the bleak
War Shooter Spec Ops The Line and Dreadnought, a science fiction fight flight simulator,
have drawn attention to themselves.
► Open Alpha Development Yager goes an unusual way, she
want the game together with the community develop and feedback as early as possible
collect and implement to the current version, but also consider ideas of the players.
There are Open Development Weekends, where everyone just looks into the game
and feedback.
Since this is an unfinished alpha version There are bugs, unfinished game features
and the game can get over the next one Months also change a lot.
This should be considered, and maybe take a look, if
one likes the gameplay.
And since the game costs nothing so directly, you have nothing to lose.
► Engine, technology, graphics The game is based on the Unreal Engine 4
and offers the usual good graphics quality and usable performance even on middle class
PCs.
My short test was rather unexpected for an alpha, quite stable and without strong
Stuttering.
The Cycle had massive pop-ins though to fight some grass and bush objects,
that were visible and sometimes invisible, depending on how you stood.
Flying mushrooms and grass models show that the design of the card is far from finished
is.
The Gunplay worked in the short test well and fluently.
The monsters are in combat but little behave credibly.
They just spawned somewhere, respectively jumped out of the ground and marched
then straight to the ore extractor, until they became aware of the character,
then they just ran to the figure or They spit on her mucus.
So you could walk sideways relative dodge well and easily defeat the opponents.
However, only if the Zufallsspawn not right behind you or right in the middle of it
Figure happened.
Then you got damaged very quickly, without you really could have dodged.
Here is probably still all sorts of work on the spawn system and needed at the AI ​​of the opponent, who worked
still very unfinished on me now.
But it probably has a reason why the developers Alpha version to write the game.
► How to play The Cycle?
First of all, you either sign up as a lone fighter or the same as a squad for a game.
Then the matchmaking begins, though to take some time right now
seems.
There are always 20 players needed to get one Match to start.
It does not get started before, so it's waiting until the 20 people were found.
Meanwhile, one can perform exercises, to pass the time, but this
will probably not be so exciting in the long run.
At the night I waited about 5 minutes until the game finally started.
And even on a Saturday afternoon were 3-4 minutes wait until it is
went down to the planet.
And it stayed with some game starts Try and I got 17 out of 20 people
again thrown out of the match and the wait went off again.
If you can then start a match, will to be sent to the planet with a capsule.
The map is at least currently always the same, the start location is determined randomly.
Once at the bottom you get out and you can start To collect resources for the contracts.
Contracts are, so to speak, small collective quests, for which you get a certain amount of ores, mushrooms
or collect other things.
So you put extractors on ore deposits or collect mushrooms, take bases and almost
everything you do attracts both monsters, like other players.
These players can now be removed ask to join a squad if you can
no 4 people group has, or you stop can shoot at them, but probably no
good idea is if you are not already good Has weapons and a team.
A match in The Cycle takes 20 minutes, because then the revolution of the planet
that leads the area of ​​a kind of energy storm that you do not survive
can.
This is the game in a fixed time caught.
► Contracts The game offers small mini-quests called
Contracts.
Every contract, just like any dead opponent, gives money or resources as a reward.
For the money you can get new weapons on beam or collect the planet,
to later found in the main menu with more Materials to upgrade weapons, new ones free
to switch, etc.
These contracts seem largely pure To be a collecting task, which has a certain
Amount of ores, mushrooms or other resources get it.
If you have collected this amount, you get directly a "Collect more of it" task.
Then there is a heavy mission, too which one conquer, for example, a laser drill
and has to hold, this is more in the Direction of King of the Hill or similar
Shooter ways of playing.
At least at first glance, this works now not very imaginative and not very interesting.
But for a competitive multiplayer shooter maybe this could even be enough.
But I think more variety and interesting little stories in this area would
The game certainly does not hurt.
► Fractions There are already factions in the game,
These have different orientations.
At the beginning of a match you set for which fractions you want to fight, and then
you also get experience with this faction.
As the level increases, the factions switch then free different equipment.
So Korolev Heavy Industries gives rather heavy Weapons and thick but slow armor,
on the contrary, Osiris tends to be faster and Ausweichvermögen brings and the Independent
Civilian Advisory a balanced approach tracked.
► Resources When traveling on the planet you collect
in addition to money all sorts of resources that one then use for crafting.
There are a total of 18 different materials and some of them are very rare.
Partly you will also find finished items the surface and certain materials
you only get in the buildings to fight for becomes.
► Archetypes and skins, emotes, costumes The game currently offers 5 different archetypes,
which you can then individualize.
As far as I could see, distinguished These characters look only in appearance.
The game probably also offers in the run the time then numerous skins, emotes
and costumes with which the funding of the game is to be achieved.
► Weapons and Devices (Kits) At this early stage of the game there
it already unlock nearly 30 different weapons, which are very different.
In addition, each weapon can still with four mod slots be improved so that you can be his arsenal
with time strongly to your own style of play should be able to adjust.
There are also accessories like a revitalizer, with which you can heal your squad members,
a directional scanner, resources and others Player can uncover and a teleporter,
with which you define a callback point can, so you quickly out of trouble
Can remove layers.
In addition, there are the so-called Kits, here you can get improved double jump opportunities
and acquire improved Dodge, thicker Shields or an improved jetpack.
Because you only select one of these kits at startup can, is probably also something here
hidden tactical depth.
► Skills Also on the ranks of the factions
you can then also a selection of currently 6 unlock skills.
Here are orbital attacks, traps, healing fields, Guns, warp and radar.
But there are only four skill slots available are also on top of that for cures and remedies
Grenades are needed, you have to be good choose which things you equip and
which ones prefer not.
So the skills bring more tactical Considerations in the game, and an approach of
Customizability of the gameplay.
You can play in a fixed squad probably his gear a bit too
coordinate and be more skilled as a team act.
► first impression, conclusion and opinion The Cycle looks pretty pretty,
it reminds optically but very strongly of No Mans Sky.
An alien planet with oblique color combinations, a lot of shimmering spores, mushrooms, strange ones
Monster.
Also, collecting resources is quite reminiscent roughly to the game of Hello Games.
But as it comes to the fight, it changes The Cycle becomes a competitive multiplayer
Shooter, and by the time pressure of 20 minutes Matches creates a completely different combat feeling.
Settling on the planet at a random Job evokes memories of the typical
Battle Royale titles like Fortnite, and it is also a pretty big part of this
Game mechanics included in The Cycle.
By improving the weapons in the longer term to collect over several matches and reputation
but with the fractions the "everyone starting at zero, "as for Battle Royale
Games is typical.
I think The Cycle has fans for shooters an interesting mix, through the Squad System
It also has a strong co-op component.
Here you have the opportunity with his friends build a powerful team that
contains matched characters.
So I do not know at the moment how good the game permanently for single player players
will be, even if it is very simple engage with other players directly in the match
to do together.
For pure PvE players, however, The Cycle is absolutely nothing, at least to the present extent.
Even if there is a possibility that all 20 players the whole match over not on
shoot each other, but only for the bet Collecting resources, you have none
Possibility not to be attacked and Non-PvP matches are currently available
neither.
And the opportunity to shoot each other is easy for most players
not refusal.
In my opinion, Yager is following with The Cycle an interesting new approach, as
Mix of collector's game, loot shooter and Team shooter.
I am curious how it will be in the coming years Months will develop even further.
For an alpha, the game actually runs already unexpectedly round.
And through the current Free2Play approach without Pay2Win component it certainly has
a certain potential, a larger player base to find.
What do you think about The Cycle?
Have you already played it or are you planning to download the game for free?
Let us discuss together in the comments or on my website zapzockt.de - There
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