Interview: Alp Gaven Confirms Plans For Release Of New Cycle On Consoles

New Cycle Title Screen
New Cycle

New Cycle is a city-building game that went through extensive development to offer a unique experience to a wide audience. Core Engage did a perfect job of crafting each aspect of the game, especially the hyper-industrialized world battered by an apocalyptic event of Solar Flare.

The game demands resource management, with a solid challenge of survival. It comes with a unique learning curve that gives everything to the player and allows them to pave the way for progressing the game. To get more information on the New Cycle, we got Alp Gaven, developer of New Cycle, over an email Q&A session. 

New Cycle massive world
New Cycle – via Core Engage

Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your work on New Cycle.

Alp: I am Alp Geven. I’m one of the two developers of the New Cycle universe. Since we are a small and independent studio, I have multiple responsibilities, such as game design, technical art, VFX, lighting and animation, 3D concept art, and main story.

In addition to the responsibilities on the production side, I also carry out administrative tasks such as marketing, management, and corporate relations simultaneously.

Is there a particular reason why you went for a hyper-industrialized world set in 2073? Were any other settings considered in the initial stages? If so, could you tell us about them?.

Alp: From the prototype stage, the line that the New Cycle project would follow was pretty clear. 2070-80 was a logical date range that could offer the necessary conditions for an apocalypse with its conditions for a fictional universe living for half a century to reach sufficient maturity.

I can say that my concept and design work on how a civilization, which had to give up technology and its blessings in a day, could reach the point I had imagined after facing what sort of destruction and what kind of experiences in half a century did not change much from the beginning.

The reason I prefer this perspective is that at any not-too-far-fetched moment, we may face this situation. The primary purpose of the narrative is my belief that in such a scenario, the most powerful quality of our species, the ability to “adapt,” will take the reins again and reshape humanity’s journey forward within the framework of an alternative reality, even if it is a little shaken.

As we progress in production, I think we have captured the development steps that can allow the rebirth of an industrial metropolitan city with a few additions and adjustments.

New Cycle's destroyed world
New Cycle – via Core Engage
The game was just released in Early Access, and the reviews have already started pouring in. What has the initial feedback been like?

Alp: We are in an Early Access period where we’re trying to make a complex pool of mechanics as simple as possible, which presents risks and challenges in many ways. In addition to general acclaim, we’re getting feedback that the basics of the game’s traditional architecture are sometimes hard to get used to, especially early on. In such a massive universe setting, our in-game tutorials might be somewhat lacking, but we are already working on addressing it since this was an expected and manageable outcome.

I would also like to say that our approach to building a deep-rooted connection with the consumer of the genre has resonated more than we expected, and we’ve seen a pretty strong community response that we’re taking the first steps in the right direction.

How long does the team want to keep New Cycle in Early Access before going for the full release?

Alp: After completing our settlement management and sociocultural community-oriented mechanics, we want to create a fresh gameplay style by opening a defensive-oriented action angle if our technical infrastructure allows us to do so. Within the framework of these main goals, we have a roadmap that will take 12-24 months and will be heavily shaped around community feedback.

How much more content can we expect to see in the full release? Are there any particular features you plan on adding later on?

Alp: The game world currently has most of the main backbone that we plan to have. However, with many mechanics and modes planned, we have a solid content goal to spread over a wide area. With the addition of unique structures, new production trees, production types, and sub-mechanics that manage different needs over time, we can say that we aim for version 1.0 with almost as much more content.

New Cycle's Development Tree
New Cycle – via Core Engage
The city-building genre has recently received great titles; some of them bring a unique take, making them stand out more than others. In what way would you say New Cycle differs from such titles, and what new things does it bring to the table?

Alp: The answer to this question is not straightforward. We aimed to create a robust hybrid with partial innovations at many points while remaining faithful to the architecture of the genre. Considering the shining examples of the genre, the features that we can all say, ‘I wish we had that,’ and the intersection clusters of these are our priority.

We aim to create a distinctive game in a rough holistic sense, with the Belt system and the defense mechanics that will be introduced in later versions. The game universe itself is not very unique but rarely comes together.

Within the first month of Early Access, we think we have done a solid job at articulating this intention with many sub-mechanics and a strong universe foundation. With the different challenges that different biomes will bring and the expanding pool of mechanics, we intend to progress in a texture that does not upset the player with micro-management but does not have the boredom of repetition in a very short time.

Although it is a bit too early to talk about that, are you planning on supporting the game long-term after launch?

Alp: We have a roadmap and all the appropriate administrative preparations in place for a targeted expansion of New Cycle under all circumstances for the two years following our Early Access release date. We intend to complete a regular production process in any case and move forward as a team that has proven its intention to develop a complete story from start to finish with its first product.

Are there any plans to release the game on consoles?

Alp: Potentially yes, we have a plan in line with the development steps of Early Access and the inclination of the playerbase in the future. We’ll keep everyone informed if there is a final announcement to make.

New Cycle
New Cycle – via Core Engage
Core Engage has another title in the works, a multiplayer FPS with various mechanics. Could you tell us a bit more about that game and when we might receive an official announcement?

Alp: We have two FPS prototypes in the very early stages. Since we naturally have been working hard on the New Cycle project, we avoid making an official announcement. 

Nevertheless, throughout the New Cycle development process, we have been able to invest in the training and integration of young talents into the industry at a scale that could almost double our staff soon. Once the New Cycle universe reaches a certain degree and we feel the time is ripe, we can share some content for the second game. At this point, we’re building a proper foundation for a product that we plan to build on the depth of New Cycle, aiming for co-op gameplay and appealing to a broad pool of consumers, not forgetting the genre differences.

Anything else you would like to share with the readers?

Alp: We are grateful for their interest. As a new team, every feedback and every reflection we can get from our player base is an incredible source of motivation and happiness for us, despite all the difficulties we may experience in a product in its birth phase.

New Cycle is a city-building title developed by Core Engage and published by Daedalic Entertainment. The game was released in Early Access on January 18, 2024, for PC. 

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