I miss this game so much

[xSpFoxYTx]

the cycle frontier was some of the best fun ive had playing a game in YEARS, and i mean it. i invited my friends to play this game having hours of countless fun completing missions and killing people with my group. although running into a few cheaters or hackers we still kept out leveled head as we werent going to let some cheaters get in the way of our fun on this amazing game. if i could honestly ask for one thing this christmas is for the tcf team to do their best and reviving this amazing game making it 10000x better with the help of your loving community as we will always be here to support you guys in your miraculus effort to devolpe and bring us the content we deserve, but even if you cant deliver we'll stay by your side untill the day comes that tcf is game of the year as it deserved <3 love from Roly Missing the tcf everyday wishing i can drop in with my friends on the fortuna one last time

[Chase]

A lot of us feel the same bud.. REVIVE TCF

[bidet]

The game definitely felt populated enough. I don't understand why they just killed it like that.

[TC_Feralus]

Originally posted by Bimpson:

The game definitely felt populated enough. I don't understand why they just killed it like that.

That's explained here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/868270/announcements/detail/3685681434321802503

[scrumpycat03]

god I remember camping everywhere and ratting, using the most evil spots as well, good times

[Zedd Muddlefinger]

I enjoyed it too! It had fantastic art stule and beautiful levels! Although I wouldn't mind it being co-op instead of PvP

[Aeekto]

Originally posted by Zedd Muddlefinger:

I enjoyed it too! It had fantastic art stule and beautiful levels! Although I wouldn't mind it being co-op instead of PvP

Well, the very first version of this game (before it turned into an EFT clone) had so much potential and was actually an original idea a lot of us loved back then.
Sadly they changed it entirely at some point trying to jump on the extraction-shooter hype even a lot of us old fans said this game wouldn't stand a chance because it's still a niche genre and you need to be realy original to stand out.
The old version would have had a lot higher chance to survive in the long run (instead of changing the entire game they could have simply added an extraction mode) but this studio prefered to listen to business people and fanboys instead of experienced normal gamers.

[YannisP2004]

Originally posted by Aeekto:

Originally posted by Zedd Muddlefinger:

I enjoyed it too! It had fantastic art stule and beautiful levels! Although I wouldn't mind it being co-op instead of PvP

Well, the very first version of this game (before it turned into an EFT clone) had so much potential and was actually an original idea a lot of us loved back then.
Sadly they changed it entirely at some point trying to jump on the extraction-shooter hype even a lot of us old fans said this game wouldn't stand a chance because it's still a niche genre and you need to be realy original to stand out.
The old version would have had a lot higher chance to survive in the long run (instead of changing the entire game they could have simply added an extraction mode) but this studio prefered to listen to business people and fanboys instead of experienced normal gamers.

I never got the chance to play the original version. What was it like?

Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!

[Aeekto]

Originally posted by YannisP2004:

Originally posted by Aeekto:

Well, the very first version of this game (before it turned into an EFT clone) had so much potential and was actually an original idea a lot of us loved back then.
Sadly they changed it entirely at some point trying to jump on the extraction-shooter hype even a lot of us old fans said this game wouldn't stand a chance because it's still a niche genre and you need to be realy original to stand out.
The old version would have had a lot higher chance to survive in the long run (instead of changing the entire game they could have simply added an extraction mode) but this studio prefered to listen to business people and fanboys instead of experienced normal gamers.

I never got the chance to play the original version. What was it like?

Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!

It was PvEvP with a heavy lean to PvE and limited respawns during the match.
You had a lot of different activities during a match (when the storm hit, the current match was actually over) like capture&hold, horde with mining stations, crystalhunting (you showed up on map then), etc pp..... the goal was to gather as many point as possible through the different activities to win this round for extra faction xp.
There was no hotjoining during a match neither, the players were fixed until the end of this round.
There was NO equip loot, but through your activities you earned gold in match to call weapons/gadgets drops from the orbit you only use during this match (you permanantly unlocked stuff you could drop from orbit through faction progression and could mod them).
On top of it you had different suits which gave you different mobility skills (suits were basicly like classes), like double jump, dash, JETPACK, etc.
In the end you still had to extract stuff.... but only ressources and no weapons/armor.

There was so much more and a lot of stuff is hard to explain because you have to feel it yourself to understand.... BUT the most important part was, that EVERYONE was on the same playingfield and no one had huge advantages over others except personal skill (and some tweaks by mods, but each mod had it's downside too, like less ammo but more damage, etc).
Playtime just gave you more diverse arsenal to choose from, but no real advantage over new players which was a huge problem in the second version of the game where people in max equip fought against new players who stood no chance, lost everything and had nothing left to be able to fight back in a new round.
The old version even had longterm motivation to unlock specific stuff while the new version had nothing in longterm left since game would wipe each season anyways.

Most stuff (not all) was 100times better in the old version and the majority of the testers back then even said it when they suddenly came out with the new version out of nowhere and disabled the old.... sadly this studio didn't want to listen and they only listened to the minority of streamers who praised them. Afterwards the entire playerbased changed, most old fans of this game left and a swarm of streamer locusts joined for a quick hype (gaining some views) and then left again very short after letting the playerbase die.... because everyone was gone now, the longterm players because of the change and the locust players who jump from game to game anyways following their favorite streamers.

[TC_Feralus]

Originally posted by Aeekto:

Originally posted by Zedd Muddlefinger:

I enjoyed it too! It had fantastic art stule and beautiful levels! Although I wouldn't mind it being co-op instead of PvP

Well, the very first version of this game (before it turned into an EFT clone) had so much potential and was actually an original idea a lot of us loved back then.
Sadly they changed it entirely at some point trying to jump on the extraction-shooter hype even a lot of us old fans said this game wouldn't stand a chance because it's still a niche genre and you need to be realy original to stand out.
The old version would have had a lot higher chance to survive in the long run (instead of changing the entire game they could have simply added an extraction mode) but this studio prefered to listen to business people and fanboys instead of experienced normal gamers.

And yet, as explained tons of times, the old game never had a playerbase that was sustainable for the game.
The success that TC:F was, even if that did not last for long, was something that the old game could not have achieved as it simply did not stick.
Furthermore, as explained in the past as well, even if we would not have decided to change the game, the old version would not have existed anymore as well.

[YannisP2004]

Originally posted by Aeekto:

Originally posted by YannisP2004:

I never got the chance to play the original version. What was it like?

Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!

It was PvEvP with a heavy lean to PvE and limited respawns during the match.
You had a lot of different activities during a match (when the storm hit, the current match was actually over) like capture&hold, horde with mining stations, crystalhunting (you showed up on map then), etc pp..... the goal was to gather as many point as possible through the different activities to win this round for extra faction xp.
There was no hotjoining during a match neither, the players were fixed until the end of this round.
There was NO equip loot, but through your activities you earned gold in match to call weapons/gadgets drops from the orbit you only use during this match (you permanantly unlocked stuff you could drop from orbit through faction progression and could mod them).
On top of it you had different suits which gave you different mobility skills (suits were basicly like classes), like double jump, dash, JETPACK, etc.
In the end you still had to extract stuff.... but only ressources and no weapons/armor.

There was so much more and a lot of stuff is hard to explain because you have to feel it yourself to understand.... BUT the most important part was, that EVERYONE was on the same playingfield and no one had huge advantages over others except personal skill (and some tweaks by mods, but each mod had it's downside too, like less ammo but more damage, etc).
Playtime just gave you more diverse arsenal to choose from, but no real advantage over new players which was a huge problem in the second version of the game where people in max equip fought against new players who stood no chance, lost everything and had nothing left to be able to fight back in a new round.
The old version even had longterm motivation to unlock specific stuff while the new version had nothing in longterm left since game would wipe each season anyways.

Most stuff (not all) was 100times better in the old version and the majority of the testers back then even said it when they suddenly came out with the new version out of nowhere and disabled the old.... sadly this studio didn't want to listen and they only listened to the minority of streamers who praised them. Afterwards the entire playerbased changed, most old fans of this game left and a swarm of streamer locusts joined for a quick hype (gaining some views) and then left again very short after letting the playerbase die.... because everyone was gone now, the longterm players because of the change and the locust players who jump from game to game anyways following their favorite streamers.

Thank you Aeekto, and a very happy 2024!

[YannisP2004]

Originally posted by TC_Feralus:

Originally posted by Aeekto:

Well, the very first version of this game (before it turned into an EFT clone) had so much potential and was actually an original idea a lot of us loved back then.
Sadly they changed it entirely at some point trying to jump on the extraction-shooter hype even a lot of us old fans said this game wouldn't stand a chance because it's still a niche genre and you need to be realy original to stand out.
The old version would have had a lot higher chance to survive in the long run (instead of changing the entire game they could have simply added an extraction mode) but this studio prefered to listen to business people and fanboys instead of experienced normal gamers.

And yet, as explained tons of times, the old game never had a playerbase that was sustainable for the game.
The success that TC:F was, even if that did not last for long, was something that the old game could not have achieved as it simply did not stick.
Furthermore, as explained in the past as well, even if we would not have decided to change the game, the old version would not have existed anymore as well.

Dear developer, it's a pity there was no single player mode in TC:F.

From what I have read in developer posts, releasing a single player mode was difficult due to the reliance of the game code on the server.

Still, if a single player PvE mode were available, we would still be able to play that wonderful game.

Could the community not take up some of the effort to release a single player mode?

In any case, I wish you and the rest of developer team all the best for 2024!

[Aeekto]

Originally posted by TC_Feralus:

Originally posted by Aeekto:

Well, the very first version of this game (before it turned into an EFT clone) had so much potential and was actually an original idea a lot of us loved back then.
Sadly they changed it entirely at some point trying to jump on the extraction-shooter hype even a lot of us old fans said this game wouldn't stand a chance because it's still a niche genre and you need to be realy original to stand out.
The old version would have had a lot higher chance to survive in the long run (instead of changing the entire game they could have simply added an extraction mode) but this studio prefered to listen to business people and fanboys instead of experienced normal gamers.

And yet, as explained tons of times, the old game never had a playerbase that was sustainable for the game.
The success that TC:F was, even if that did not last for long, was something that the old game could not have achieved as it simply did not stick.
Furthermore, as explained in the past as well, even if we would not have decided to change the game, the old version would not have existed anymore as well.

it basicly had no playerbase in the end because there never was some real advertisement, rarely any gaming mag talked about it, no big press events, no paid big streamers, just absolutly nothing, but early access from a small studio with slow updates (which keeps a lot of players away too as long the game hasnt goldstatus).
most of us stumbled on accident into the game back then (early days of EGS) because of Epic Store, where there wasn't real advertisement either (not even long enough at the front page).
We all said it severall times back then and your studio didnt want to listen.
Real advertisement only began "AFTER" the change, not before.
How do you think a playerbase will grow, if no one knows about the game? .... hearsay? ... about an early access game?.... i guess not.

Nonetheless, the game is done.... but your studio should atleast use some selfreflection for future projects why things went wrong (like listening to some streamers and their fanboys who are known to grasshopp for quick viewergain, who have no interests for longterm goals).
Huge amount of shooters failed for the exact same reason the last couple years, lack of advertisement and/or listening to grashoppers.
Even Rainbow6:Siege was once at a point where they started to listen to streamers which lowered their playerbase like crazy in its early days, but they managed to recover before it was too late, reverted some changes and saw the playerbase increasing again and are now successfull for severall years.

[TC_Feralus]

Originally posted by Aeekto:

Originally posted by TC_Feralus:

And yet, as explained tons of times, the old game never had a playerbase that was sustainable for the game.
The success that TC:F was, even if that did not last for long, was something that the old game could not have achieved as it simply did not stick.
Furthermore, as explained in the past as well, even if we would not have decided to change the game, the old version would not have existed anymore as well.

it basicly had no playerbase in the end because there never was some real advertisement, rarely any gaming mag talked about it, no big press events, no paid big streamers, just absolutly nothing, but early access from a small studio with slow updates (which keeps a lot of players away too as long the game hasnt goldstatus).
most of us stumbled on accident into the game back then (early days of EGS) because of Epic Store, where there wasn't real advertisement either (not even long enough at the front page).
We all said it severall times back then and your studio didnt want to listen.
Real advertisement only began "AFTER" the change, not before.
How do you think a playerbase will grow, if no one knows about the game? .... hearsay? ... about an early access game?.... i guess not.

Unfortunately this is not the case. Before the change there was a ton of marketing and a lot of activations from streamers (heck even Shroud checked out the old version of the game) However, as with the normal players, it didn't stick with them and they did not like what they played, therefore the change was necessary, otherwise the old version of the game would have simply been shutdown as well (pretty much similar to what other games had to go through, that tried to be in line with the old version of The Cycle)

The new version had a lot more organic stickiness and overall the playerbase was enjoying it much more and therefore grew much bigger. All of this (in Beta and Season 1) happened organically, we did not pay Shroud e.g. to play and stream the game during that time, he simply did it cause he enjoyed it, until the cheaters ruined that experience.

It's always important to keep these things in mind when talking about both versions of the game.

[Rise]

Originally posted by Egi:

Originally posted by TC_Feralus:

Unfortunately this is not the case. Before the change there was a ton of marketing and a lot of activations from streamers (heck even Shroud checked out the old version of the game) However, as with the normal players, it didn't stick with them and they did not like what they played, therefore the change was necessary, otherwise the old version of the game would have simply been shutdown as well (pretty much similar to what other games had to go through, that tried to be in line with the old version of The Cycle)

The new version had a lot more organic stickiness and overall the playerbase was enjoying it much more and therefore grew much bigger. All of this (in Beta and Season 1) happened organically, we did not pay Shroud e.g. to play and stream the game during that time, he simply did it cause he enjoyed it, until the cheaters ruined that experience.

It's always important to keep these things in mind when talking about both versions of the game.

if you re-release this game, I will be ready to buy it for $100+. This is an amazing game that has no analogues in the gaming industry. The game just needed a good anti-cheat

This game needed not only anti-cheat - a different matchmaking principle is required. When one player kill everyone on server in every landing - it doesn't matter if he's a cheater or pro - with full-loot concept he destroy the game for others. Such gameplay was fun to watch on twitch - but this will not attract new players - it will only drive out those who are already playing. Who stayed in the last weeks of the game? Mostly cheaters and pro-gamers - couse they kicked everyone else out. Maybe it was worth separating them somehow at the beginning?

[igsgvard]

GABE, REVIVE THIS GAME! PLZ