Hello, this update will be the final minor content update until the next major content update 'The Rock' is released, of which should be ready near the end of next month. Before disclosing information on the development status of 'The Rock', here are some of the additions and fixes that have been brought over in this minor content update.
- Physics/Time Complete Overhaul
- Added Main Menu
- Removed Meter and replaced it with Fever mechanic
- Overhauled combat VFX
- Added world blood decals
- Added movement VFX
- Major adjustments to character meshes
- Overhauled Air Chase physics to more reliably chase down targets
- Overhauled hit registry system
While these are some of the larger additions and changes, there are many, many, many smaller additions, fixes and tweaks that I cannot even begin to list.
In regards to The Rock, while the initial target for The Rock was 3 months, we knew from the start that this update was going to be a larger one and we were not making that release window. While we are off schedule, I do believe that it will be a good chunk of story progression.
We are in talks to bring more people on board so maybe for future content updates we will be able to meet these 3 month release targets, even though these deadlines are important, we absolutely refuse to release content unless it is true to the game and of the quality we expect. If you want more frequent and consistent updates please check out the game's Twitter page here:
https://x.com/p1105405
Well that's all for now, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to reach out and DM me on Twitter.
Goodbye for now. -Collin Hansard.
MINOR CONTENT UPDATE: 'CONTACT UPDATE'
Hello, today we are releasing a minor content update that brings over alot of features from the imminent release of the next content update 'The Rock' While there are too many changes to list, here are a few major standout ones.
MAJOR ADDITIONS
CONTACT SYSTEM, while targeted, press and hold Q / Right Shoulder to interact. These actions include: Talk, Change Character, Readout, Set AI to Follow, Set AI Combat, and more.
PROCEDURAL JIGGLE BONES
ANIMATION BLENDING OVERHAUL
JAPANESE / SPANISH LOCALIZATION.
OIL PAINT SCREEN SHADER
UNMASK SHARPEN SCREEN SHADER
FILM GRAIN SCREEN SHADER
ADDED SCREEN SHAKE
ADDED HIT SCREEN EFFECT
Like I said there are many more additions and fixes but there are too many to name,
We are locking down and focusing on finishing the next content update 'The Rock', shouldn't be too much longer so keep an eye, out.
Also expect a couple of hotfixes in the coming days.
Alright that's all for now, I'll catch ya' 'round. -Collin Hansard
Minor Content Update: LOCAL MULTIPLAYER UPDATE
I'm very happy with this little doodle, as it's the first time I've been able to get a close up of (Main Character)'s face to look decent in an illustration.
Hello guys, I am very exhausted. I was not able to test this update as much as I'd like so if you find any bugs let me know and I'll have it fixed within 24 hours. I'll be providing hotfixes where necessary and will be maintaining this LMP update with further updates as the weeks progress. Here are the list of changes, this isn't all of them as some of the smaller additions/fixes/changes are very numerous and small.
-Added Local Multiplayer -Added Steam Remote Play support
-Added Animation Shapekey drivers to (Main Characters) mesh. All animations for (Main Character) now have procedural muscle flexation.
-Added X rotation factoring to auto slope correction for player rig, meaning you can strafe left and right while perpedicular to slopes face direction, meaning slopes are just easier to handle in general.
-Started "Phase 2" Animation Pass on (Main Character). I will be minimizing new animations for her and focus on making her existing animations extra polished and detailed.
-(Main Character)'s Form Hook. Overhauled Form hook follow up and replaced it with a backhand-check + follow through hook.
-Fixed Out of Bounds not working when falling off map.
-Fixed Resolution change and application window type changing during map transitions
-Reduced the distance of (Main Character)'s lunge and increased the state time
-Modified (Main Character)'s mesh.
-Fixed Transient Targeting from resetting to incorrect rotation
-Fixed Steam Cloud syncing, is now functioning as expected.
CYCO UPDATE 08.26.24
Hello my name is Collin Hansard, Sole developer for 'CYCO'.
As you can see from the video above we have managed to get local multiplayer working over Steam remote play with minimal issues and by using only one purchased copy of the game, though your mileage will vary based on your network conditions. Also in the video you can also get a glimpse of the CYCO machines.
We are getting the 'Local Multiplayer Update' ready for release this week, we are going to release this new feature alongside many major additions, changes and fixes on August 31st, this Saturday. We are considering this update to be a 'mini content update' so I will be preparing a little poster for the update as every content update gets it's own illustration, though this one will likely be somewhat of a doodle.
We have had to re-tool alot of the systems in the game in order to get LMP to work, so expect stability to take a hit during this update, we anticipate alot of audio issues as the entire audio of the game had to be virtually 100% reworked. Though that's not to say this is a 2nd class update, we are aiming to make the LMP overall experience a first class ecosystem that will be a core element of the game for the indefinite future of the games life cycle, we really should have had this feature out at launch but better late than never.
As far as 'The Rock' goes we are wrapping up the content creation phase and are going to be entering the Implementation phase starting September, as of the time of writing 11/12 of the new character types are modeled and rigged with animations and state implementation partially started. The layout of the level geometry has been established and one area is completed. While I can't say if we are going to make the 10/31 target until the end of the implementation phase I'd say the probability is 'Likely' at this time, I may have to scale the release down and divide The Rock into two phases where the 2nd phase would be released at the end of November, but we will have to wait and see on this.
I will be doing a full write up on all the additions for the LMP update on Saturday so keep an eye out, there are more major features than just the Multiplayer Addition so get ready.
Check out our Twitter page for more frequent product updates.
Thats all for now, until next time. -Collin Hansard
CYCO UPDATE 08.19.24 MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
Local Multiplayer is coming to CYCO.
Hello my name is Collin Hansard, sole-developer of CYCO.
As you can see with the video above we have successfully completed work on bringing local split screen multiplayer to CYCO.
We are going to be releasing this feature to the main branch of the game by the end of August, as well as two weeks worth of additions, updates and fixes and we will be considering this update to be a 'Mini-Content Update' that is going to be referred to as 'The Local Multiplayer Update'.
We are releasing this feature prior to the release of the next major content update 'The Rock', as this feature is far too valuable to wait until then. Keep your eyes peeled on next weeks update for more release information for the 'Local Multiplayer Update' and check out our Twitter page for frequent product showcases.
Local multiplayer will be core to the project going forward and we will be exploring new thematic motifs with it.
Steam Remote Play will be active so you can play LMP over the internet with only one copy of the game.
Thank you for your continued interest and words of encouragement, the best has yet to come!
Until then, catch ya' 'round. -Collin Hansard
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE 08.12.24
Hello, my name is Collin Hansard, I am sole-developer for the game 'CYCO'.
I have decided to make these updates more concise and compact as I cannot manage to put out lengthy article styled postings every week, so instead I'm going to treat these updates as an investor conference meetings as y'all are the people who actually have or eventually will buy the game and keep you updated on the state of development rather than product news. If y'all want product updates please go check out the Twitter page, I am starting to post on there frequently.
We buffed the main character.. Literally.. We are going to start to roll out characters with shape key drivers. Animations will have procedural flexing muscles, improved finger/hand/feet/toe animations, proper clothes and hair blending, ect. Here is a preview of these shape key drivers in-game.
This week we will release the biggest update yet, we will be introducing many 'The Rock update' major features, major engine side improvements and Shadowbox specific fixes and improvements. More info on this game update when the update is released later on this week.
Initial pre-planning has totally flown from my hands and we're floating in the void at this point. This is fine and we are used to this, as historically, we eat disaster like candy. The development sector sweep method did not work out, so I am rolling back to the tried and true development method, that being the month of August will be content creation, September is implementation and October will be stabilization and polish. I kind of expected this would happen. What has mostly caused this is the 'market' portion of the level, I initially was going to make the market a 'normal sized' area however I decided to make it the core part of the map and scale down the other parts of the map.
While the direction of development has changed, the pre-planned content target remains rock solid and likely won't change.
For those who made it to the bottom of this page your reward is a game-play preview of the next playable character. More info on her later.
Alright, that's this weeks update, catch ya 'round.
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE 08.05.24
New 'enemy-type' + assist character. This is one of my favorite things when it comes to development is 'Turning the worst one into the best one' I am very happy with how both of these asset's re-imagining turned out.
Hello, my name is Collin Hansard, I am sole-developer for the game 'CYCO'.
First up I'd like to say last week the game got Steamdeck certified, I personally own a Steamdeck and I must it is truly amazing device and re-ignited my interest in the medium, the new version of CYCO was built from the ground up to target the Steamdeck's hardware and we intend to continue doing so hopefully until the end of project's lifespan.
As promised I will release the 'nightly' version of The Rock, but I must say I am not happy for people to be seeing it in it's current state, as it is in a somewhat scuffed state in that it shows too much of the 'back end' of the game, and this will likely be the only time the bad end of the game will be visible to non-internal developers. Not to say I don't like the idea of a 'nightly' version of the game, last week the 'Market' portion of the map took a life of it's own and went off the pre-planning I had established for it, also deciding to prioritize work on the level editor and on one of the new enemy types did not help either. Though when I say I'm going to do something I do it, I would rather put myself in a compromising position than to go against my word, I will learn from this experience and not announce things until they are ready to be announced. I will post the nightly Steam unlock code at the bottom of this article, however at this point in time I do not recommend that you try it out at this point.
Onto more cheerful news: In regards to the level editor after further testing it is looking like we can have custom levels be made available soon, likely before or during the release of The Rock. I am aiming for it to be extremely easy for the player to load a map from their file system. I will also be looking into Steam Workshop support for the game as well. If you wish to start working on a map you can already do so, the level editor I have been referring to is 'Trenchboom', there is a tutorial series on how to use Trenchboom on Youtube that is very clear concise, I was able to learn how to use the program in under 20 minutes (Note: I have extensive experience with brush based mapping). I will being work on setting up the FGD file so that you can access the game's entities and place them in your maps.
Some tips for making maps that coincide with CYCO's combat:
-Large and Expanse Areas are preferable -Arena type layouts works well -The characters can automatically detect and climb around and over walls / ledges -Try to keep level geometry angular -Characters automatically can traverse terrain automatically
-Avoid using slopes, there is a slope handler function in the game that works perfectly fine, however slopes are inherently unfair as attacks can wiff due to environment factors -Avoid many changes in elevation for the same reason as above, this one is not the biggest deal however constantly jumping around to different platforms is not conducive to coherent combat. -Avoid cramped Interior spaces
While I say avoid certain things we are looking for ways to make these things have a less pronounced effect on the gameplay, but there is not timeframe I can give to where we can fix these elements as the solution has yet to reveal itself.
We will continue to keep y'all updated on news regarding the CYCO level editor in future updates.
One final thing I'd like to bring up is I'm still figuring out how this PR thing works, I think I am showing my hand a bit to much and need to dial it back and focus more on showcasing what is already established. There are many secrets that are already present in the game that I don't want to haphazardly reveal, I've learned that explicitly explaining things totally destroys the thing you are trying to achieve. Though, one thing I am most excited to see is the secrets y'all will uncover that eluded me. Also I need to work on my spelling and grammar, bear with me.
Alright, that's this weeks update, not the most exciting but next weeks update will likely be more exciting and cheerful. Until then take care.
Nightly Unlock Code: cyconightlyunlock
SHADOWBOXING,UPDATE.003
This update and Monday's update counts as this weeks full update suite. Next week's update I am going to attempt to tackle the in-game stutter and one final push to bring the boot time to an absolute minimum.
Added visual guidance markers on points of interest in Shadowboxing.
Added Hitstun indicator next to combo count
Implemented Visibility Occlusion, Increasing overall game performance.
Cleaned up Shadowboxing, removing many unused non-visible objects in the map, speeding up performance and shortening boot-up time.
Fixed Transition UI not working for certain scenes
SHADOWBOXING.UPDATE.002
Somewhat of a minor update but important stability fixes and improvements from the main branch are included, will have a more beefy update on Thursday.
Improved main menu blur
Changed default gamepad 'Focus' input from Right Shoulder to Right Stick Click
Fixed AI Combat Button UI hover not working for gamepad.
Fixed scrolling on gamepad for INFO UI page
Reordered INFO UI page to be more clear
Improved Toggle Button UI element
Improved Button UI element
All Scrollable UI pages now start from the top when opening
Changed default AI behavior to passive for demo version of game
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE 07.29.24
Weekly video:
Hello, my name is Collin Hansard, I am sole-developer for the game 'CYCO'. Before I go touch on some big news I'd first like to go through a couple things.
Last week we managed to finish the first area of 'The Rock' in 8 days which means that it is possible that we can get the content update on schedule, this has been a long sought after dream of this project to be able to get content updates out every 3 months, much of the re-release's development want directed so that we can hit these schedule targets and it looks like that work has paid off. The new area is called 'Scout's Field' and features many new AI behaviors.
This area also marks the first level made with a new form of level generation we are deploying, we have never been able to make satisfying level geometry, however this new brush-based approach I think is the way to go and is geared towards better gameplay and more interesting layouts. On that note we are strongly considering including a level importer so players can make their own levels, having user generated maps would both somewhat solve the content drought the game is in and also help discover what level geometry works best for the game. More updates on this later as I have to continue testing this new method and do more research into this avenue, but know it is a high consideration at this point.
It is turning out 'The Rock' will be somewhat the inverse of Shadowboxing in that we are going to be explicitly telling the player how to play the game rather than the subconscious method we deployed previously, not to say that either one is better or worse but the aim is to have atleast one of the methods impact the player. I think when y'all play 'The Rock' y'all will likely inherently see that I am dedicated to teaching the player how to become familiar with the combat system, though this content update will likely be the last 'teaching' or 'playing around' level, where as content update 3 will likely be the start of the core demands the game expects from the player.
One other note on 'The Rock' is that we will be making ShadowBoxing non mandatory, meaning you can enter 'The Rock' at the start of the game without having to complete ShadowBoxing's story content.
Last week we put out the first update for the re-release version of the game, this update fixed some of the issues regarding the shader cache system. We're going to continue trying to isolate and resolve this issue and be mindful of this concern whenever new assets are implemented. In this update we also enabled the ability to toggle the Enemy AI in Shadowboxing. Please let us know if there are any other issues or additions you'd like to see and we'll try to get them resolved / implemented. One other thing we've changed in the update is the is combo curve scaling. We inverted the damage scaling for higher combo counts, while this is the opposite of how fighting games typically work I think it feels more rewarding, we also staggered the combo curve scaling so there is no more gradient as it was impossible to gauge exactly how much the combo count was effecting your attacks, here is the before and after for the combo curves, please share your thoughts if you have any on this change.
OLD:
NEW:
So far the game has been in a non-confrontational state so the players can acclimate themselves to the combat paradigm, however we are approaching the point in time where we are going to develop the main game loop. We have done alot of experimentation in the past with many different systems and mechanics, so we have a decent idea if what generally works and what doesn't. We are aiming for something that is satisfying but fair. We are also looking to make a game loop that is captivating and will attract people to keep coming back for more, we are trying to hit a sort of 'healthy addictive' quality that has alot of depth and meaning behind it. Also we are trying to develop these systems so that they will integrate a future plan that cannot be disclosed at this point, but what you may be thinking is probably what I am eluding to.
As for the big news, we have decided that we will be releasing a public build of 'The Rock' so people can play 'The Rock' early. While I try my best to 'not show the artists hand' I think that the lack of content warrants it. We will likely release this 'nightly' version a week from now.
One final thing is that you may be wondering why I switch between the words: I and we, when I am the only developer working on the project, I do this deliberately because this I don't consider this 'my game', it's everyone's game. I am merely just the keeper of this project, and know it or not everyone has their role to play in it's development, including the players. I have worked on this game for so long that I am completely blind to trying to perceive what it'd be like to play the game for the first time as a new user, as my experience has been a diffused gradient of watching it grow over of all these years, I have seen it's creation from it's beginning to where it is today and I have a good idea of where it is going, so I can only guess as what it would be like seeing it from a player's perspective. So know when I read y'all's input I am seriously considering what y'all are saying.
That's it for now, keep an eye out for next weeks update. -Collin Hansard
