It's been a year since Cyclone shipped in Early Access and it has been such an experience collecting feedback, improving systems, and learning new things. Today I'm happy to announce a few big changes in this update!
Flag Run
Besides puzzles, one thing that was apparent is how Cyclones are also good for platforming. Flying yourself across pits and wall climbing with the Cyclones is really fun. However, when you put these requirements in maps that advertise themselves as "Puzzles", reactions come back mixed and I didn't want to leave this style of game play all together.
With Flag Run, it's all about execution. You're tasked with retrieving the flag and bringing it back to the exit as fast as possible. Your time is saved and shared on the Steam Leaderboards so every second counts!
Missed stepped? Did your launch fall short? No problem! Using Flash Chamber technology, you can just teleport yourself back to the start with a key press and everything magically resets; No need to visit the menu!
You'll find the new map under the Play menu with the existing Crash Courses which have been condensed into one entry. Also, the term "Chapter" has been changed to "Collection" in the UI.
Action Mapper Is Now A Launch Option
There's a new launch option for Action Mapper right in Steam! You can now change bindings without navigating to the game directory. I dragged my feet with this because I was worried how this would effect the "Great on Deck" rating. Since only 5.9% of users played on the Steam Deck, I decided this was for the best.
Files Ship Unpackaged Now!
The previous way Cyclone was shipped was that all files were packaged in an encrypted file. This meant every time a texture or model was added or changed, you pretty much had to re-download the entire game again. Although the game is under 200 MB, this can get really annoying. As of this update, only the playable maps are packaged in little bundles holding their menu script and needed resources.
This also means that it's now possible for Cyclone to be easily modified and extended using third party tools! There's now a guide on how to set that up here!
I want to thank to all those who tested this during development and I'm excited to hear your feedback from this update! You can join the Discord server!