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The Cycle: Frontier has been inching towards its official first season; and a pre-season will be released just before that, which will give players ample time to jump into the game and see what it’s all about.
On the surface, it’s a PvPvE first-person shooter game focused on extracting resources and materials. Gamers play the role of prospectors (armed to the teeth, of course) and are welcome to engage in PvP or PvE.
The Cycle: Frontier is currently only available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. While most PC gamers will be comfortable using a keyboard and mouse, controller support is available as well. Although the controller integration isn’t perfect, it can be done with some tinkering.
How to play The Cycle: Frontier with a controller
Before players can start playing The Cycle: Frontier with a controller, there are a few prerequisites that need to be completed:
- A controller with a USB cable
- An open USB port (preferably the most up-to-date port)
- Make sure to update drivers (should happen automatically when connecting a controller)
Once those are covered, players will need to complete the following steps:
- Step 1: Plug in your controller. Use the most up-to-date port (USB 2.1 over USB 2.0, for example).
- Step 2: Open Steam, and from the top-left corner, open Settings from the drop-down menu.
- Step 3: Select Controller on the left-hand side. Pick General Controller Settings.
- Step 4: Choose the configuration support that is related to the controller. For example, Xbox Configuration Support should be chosen for an Xbox controller.
- Step 5: Save the changes and launch The Cycle: Frontier.
In addition to the steps, TheWaken, a YouTuber, has made a really helpful video on some changes that players should consider.
Players should keep in mind that The Cycle: Frontier still does not have official controller support. The game won’t launch its first official season until June 22, 2022. Players should also keep in mind that while controllers do work in the game, their functioning is rather janky in some areas. It works for the most part, but there are still some issues that the developers might eventually iron out.
Players using a controller may experience:
- Frustrating inventory management performance
- Vanishing point and or pointer turns into a mouse cursor
While the first one can be easily fixed by using a mouse to manage the inventory, the second issue might cause significant problems for the players during PvP situations. While it can easily be fixed by opening the main menu, it is a tall order when players are in the middle of something important.
The TCF Community Manager, Freya, mentioned on The Cycle: Frontier’s official subreddit that the official controller support will be added to the game later on.
“Full controller support will come at a later point in time, using a controller should be possible though.”
In the meantime, players can either deal with the issues that using a controller tends to create (and have a keyboard and mouse on standby) or stick to a keyboard and mouse setup. Given that it can be very tedious to use a mouse, keyboard, and a controller at the same time, it’s probably best to go with a keyboard and mouse.
