It's finally here folks, launch day! We hope you enjoy the game, please let us know what you think... We are going to be editing this post throughout the day adding reviews and lets plays as we find them.
...you decide to play one more round, and somehow you end up playing for twenty minutes on the best run of your life. You’re afraid to quit because you’ve never been on such a roll, but if you don’t quit you’ll be late for work. And somehow you’re still playing.
Cycle 28 is a fast-paced modern take on a classic 2D space shooter that is simple in design and offers great replayability. The skill ceiling is only as high as you want to make it and the action that unfolds on screen is accompanied by a great soundtrack.
If you’re looking for a game that is well worth the measly asking price of £3.99 then look no further, it’s a great game to pick up and have a blast on and will only take up as much time as you want to put into it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FPXrf2Le_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndq0XTAFeqY
Let's Plays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBttpZR2diM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDPfVS9Thng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggfqqa_NI-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88OhPxb-yG4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI-sSIoAlBM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv0ayurEw5w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiwRwMeetQc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kuWZVP9-eg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHNIomJQYrc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp2bTmWQbLA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSaJMZT2sgA
The first person to solve the mystery of Cycle 28 gets every Pill Bug game – past, present, and future – for free
Yes, you read that headline correctly.
The first person who solves the mystery of Cycle 28, unlocks the game’s final achievement, and emails the solution to sean@pillbug.zone will get the Pill Bug Golden ticket. The Golden Ticket will give you access to all Pill Bug games ever made, forever!
There are two sides to Cycle 28. On one hand there is the satisfying space combat which keeps you coming back to do just one more run. On it's own that will be enough for most people, but we wanted to put something extra in for players who love a mystery. That's where the second side of Cycle 28 comes in, a community-driven puzzle which may require some international collaboration.
Since this will be a community effort, the Golden Ticket winner will also be able to nominate up to five players who helped them in their quest for answers. Those nominated players will receive exclusive Cycle 28 rewards and content.
Not all of the clues have been made available yet, so press and beta testers do not have an unfair advantage (looking at the leaderboard they are too busy trying to beat each others' high scores anyway). The final clues will be carefully positioned on Friday when the game releases.
All the clues are now in place...
Cycle 28 won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. But that’s okay. You’re not going anywhere.
Dev Shoot-Out #8 - Milk goes sour in just ONE SECOND!
“It’s the last Saturday . . . and we’re together again.”
*digital hugs*
*ahhhhhs from the crowd*
Yes, it’s the last Saturday, but no, it’s not quite the apocalypse (though those of you who are in the UK might be feeling otherwise right now).
More importantly it’s the last Saturday before Cycle 28 launches on 9th March. Which means Dave and I have one last week to improve our standing on the leaderboard before it truly goes global. It’s been a wild ride full of ups, downs, early deaths, disappointment, elation, unlocked upgrades, flu, and a house move. If you’ve missed any of our previous Dev Shoot-Outs they’re all available on our YouTube page.
But the real question remains: who won the final Shoot-Out? Who can hold their head high as a pilot among pilots? And who will bear the shame of defeat for the rest of their cycles?
Who?
You’ll just have to watch to find out...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XvUhpJwgEk
But wait there’s more!
I also found time to sit down and explain the obsession I’ve had over the camera controller in Cycle 28. In a lot of ways I started designing the camera before I started the game, if you are interested in the behind the curtains of game development check out this video…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxqtbrmLWMM
We also both sat down and recorded a bunch of ‘More Like This’ videos. One of them was lost to the video recording gods, but we did post a video of me playing Bit Blaster XL. Bit Blaster XL is a really interesting title which we have constantly been looking at for sources of inspiration, mainly from the way the game was marketed and produced. Listen to our thoughts below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih7c7g-bdzM
As always subscribe to our YouTube channel to get the latest #content. We look forward to seeing you on the leaderboard next week!
Beta Dev Shoot-Out Run 7 - Dave is AWOL
Happy Saturday to everyone out there. Hope you have an exciting weekend planned.
Mine started okay, Dave is moving house so I decided to try and climb up the Cycle 28 leaderboards without him distracting me. Things were going pretty good then... well you'll have to watch to see what happened...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPSHJeZsE1U
To prove that Dave and I are in fact two different people, earlier in the week we decided to appear on camera at the same time. We discussed the upgrade system, specifically how you unlock them, which is a little different to most games. Learn more by watching the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGYyXw2ETvs
To keep up to date with all the latest be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. I'll give Colin one dog treat for every sub this week ːsteamhappyː
Get a free copy of the soundtrack!
We are currently giving away free copies of the soundtrack for our next game, Cycle 28, when you sign up to our mailing list here.
I'm really proud of what we have created with Cycle 28, the soundtrack in particular is pretty special. It was composed by Jordan Rees who has worked on trailers for movies and games, including Call of Duty and Blade Runner 2049.
Dev Update - Cycle 28 is finished!
It's a weird weekend.
Firstly it's weird because we didn't post a Cycle 28 game play video. Instead we started a series called "More Like This" where we play games which Steam suggest are "Like Cycle 28". We start by playing 64.0, which is currently on sale. I liked it quite a lot and you can watch me playing it below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFdAes3HbzI
It's also weird because for the first time in in a long time I don't have any coding to do because Cycle 28 is finished. Now our beta testers are hard at work starting to break it and Dave and I are hard at work trying to promote it.
We also bought cameras this week and the first thing I did was share my thoughts about what it's like releasing an indie game in 2018. You can watch those below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcMOMcTIfnw
As always, we like to hear from you so follow us on Twitter (@pillbugint), or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PillBugInt/ , or chat on Discord: https://discord.gg/yGfqpVu
One of Olivia's better Valentine's Days
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Olivia isn't having a great one this year, being stuck in Cycle 27 and all. But we thought we'd share with you one of her better Valentine's Days. Here's a little extract from her story. (More to come with the release of Cycle 28!)
*
‘You mean Robert Bergen? He wasn’t that into you,’ Martina said, looking me square in the eye.
I put my beer back on the table. ‘How could you say that?’
‘Because it’s true, Olivia.’
The place was all but empty, just a few sad figures slumped over the bar. Some of them were in old leathers and wore their hair in ponytails. Those guys, and us. Martina had insisted we come here even though there were better places closer to her work. She didn’t want to see any couples; I couldn’t argue with that.
‘It was uni,’ I said, ‘you were probably too drunk to notice.’
‘He said that he liked you? Robert said that?’
‘No. Well, not to me.’
‘Then—’
‘It was something people said after.’ I ran my thumb over the lip of the bottle. ‘A while after.’ I leaned back in the booth, stretching, but also getting a better look at my old friend.
She hadn’t changed much since I last saw her – she still had bags under her eyes, and her hands were stained and marked by the dyes she worked with. She smelled of sweat and chemicals. But all that stuff, all that Martina, used to have a little more life to it.
‘I saw him,’ I said.
‘Robert? You never . . . when?’
‘A few cycles back. Fifteen, maybe He didn’t see me.’
Behind us an ancient jukebox spluttered into life, right on an old crooner and his lost love.
‘Was that you?’ I said.
She held up her hands, as if to say, “I’ve been here the whole time.”
‘Where did you see him?’ she said.
‘At a local exhibition.’
‘You went to an exhibition? What exhibition? You don’t—’
‘I go to things, Martina.’
‘You’re getting soft in your old age,’ she said.
‘I’m getting shy. Not long ago I would have walked right over and said hello.’
‘And said, “You used to be into me, remember?”’ She laughed, but not in a cruel way.
‘I now know where he works.’
‘A little creepy, but okay, where?’
‘He has a studio,’ I said. ‘It’s not far from here.’
‘We’re going.’
‘What, no—’
‘Yes!’ Martina slammed her bottle back, and then wiped her mouth.
‘Uni was so long ago. He won’t remember,’ I said, but I finished my beer almost as quickly as she had.
‘He will if he was into you, Olivia.’
Beta Dev Shoot-Out Run 6 - Sean is AWOL
“Talk to me, Goose.”
If you listen hard enough in this week’s Beta Dev Shoot-Out, you might be able to hear me whisper these iconic words as I tackle a scoring run in Cycle 28 . . . alone.
No, don’t worry, Sean didn’t suffer a catastrophic neck-and-head injury whilst ejecting from Cycle 28. He’s got the flu. So, I had to fly without my wingman, my foil, my motivation for pushing himself to get better. Be better.
How did it go?
You’ll have to watch the video here to find out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGoOkCpjNVs
But I’ll say this much: I think I did enough to make Sean, and Goose, proud.
We want to hear from all the pilots out there! Come share your flight stories with us on Twitter (@pillbugint), or Facebook, or Discord: https://discord.gg/yGfqpVu
Last week, one pilot did just that. Ben, from the TankedUp and Out of Lives podcasts gave us his first impressions of Cycle 28 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8iuv6cJNUk
Thanks, Ben! There’s still time before launch to work on that flyin’, Lieutenant!
Beta Dev Shoot-Out Run 5
In this week’s Beta Dev Shoot-Out, Sean and Dave have a pretty big announcement to make. You’ll have to watch the video for full details, but essentially Cycle 28 is moving into the next phase of development. This means more competitions and giveaways in the run-up to the full release.
It will also mean more competition on the leaderboard. This is great news for the game, but maybe not so good news for our hapless, mediocre-scoring devs . . .
This week, Dave continues his domination over Sean (to both of their surprise). But can they improve their overall standing and claw back some much needed dignity?
If you enjoyed this video, please like and share on Steam, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
You can also join our Discord channel here: https://discord.gg/yGfqpVu
Beta Dev Shoot-Out Run 4
In last week’s Beta Dev Shoot-Out (Run 3) I made some pretty bold claims about upgrades in Cycle 28, and our lack of need of said upgrades. I chose to do so by referencing the classic line at the end of Back to the Future .
I’d like to apologise for those claims, and that disrespectful reference. Because at first glance it would appear that Sean and I really, really need more upgrades if we’re going to progress up the Cycle 28 Global Leaderboard.
But, as this week’s Beta Dev Shoot-Out suggests, it might be a little more complicated than that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSybI_GPHTI
This is the first week we’ve recorded with the very first upgrade players unlock in the game: Multi-shot. It’s a bit of a fan-favourite. Who doesn’t want more bullets? Over the course of our closed-beta we have made some changes to Multi-shot. Initially, the arc of fire was much wider. This led to the feeling of not having to aim quite as much – not so satisfying, even if it did lead to more kills. No one celebrates a headshot after peppering the entire building/wall/tank with bullets first (you probably have one friend who does this). So, we tightened Multi-shot up a little to get the best of both worlds: the feeling of more pew-pew, and that you still needed some skill to make the most of the stream of bullets.
But perhaps our biggest concern with Multi-shot was the classic upgrade worry: is it OP? Does it break the game? Does it make all our carefully crafted challenges a cake-walk?
This Beta Dev Shoot-Out, if nothing else, puts that worry to bed.
If you enjoyed this video, please like and share on Steam, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
You can also join our Discord channel here: https://discord.gg/yGfqpVu
