A patch is out for The Cycle: Frontier, the new free-to-play extraction game that’s like a friendlier, sci-fi version of Escape from Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown. The small update makes some weapon tuning adjustments, fixes a few bugs, and cranks up the anti-cheat detection a bit. With cheaters running rampant in The Cycle during its first few weeks, developer Yager says it’s devoting a lot of attention to ramping up its anti-cheat systems.
Patch 1.3.8 makes a few important changes to some of The Cycle’s in-game systems. A few PvP missions have had their completion requirements reduced, now asking you to kill one or two fewer enemies out in the field. Some similar changes have been made to several PvE missions as well, which now have reduced numbers of in-game hunting targets.
Yager has also reduced the maximum number of active players on both maps by one, and made some tweaks to the matchmaking system in order to “protect fresh players better and to increase the challenge for good squad players.” In other words, brand-new players will have a better chance of being matched with more players at the same starting skill level, rather than facing experienced squads right off the bat.
The developer also says that it’s “reduced some detection thresholds for our internal anti-cheat measures,” which means that it takes less to trigger a response from the system. Going forward, executive producer Jonathan Lindsay says the studio will be devoting a concerted effort to improving its cheat detection and interdiction systems.
Late-game guns have gotten a tuning pass to make them “slightly less ‘across the board unruly,'” the developers explain. So far, the team says they’re seeing the kind of spread they had expected, with experienced players getting better gear and winning most of their fights against players with lower-tier gear. However, there are always adjustments to be made along the way.
Another nice fix with this patch is the improved server performance, which Yager says should result in a smoother overall experience.
The full patch 1.3.8 notes are available on Steam.