Rift Fishing News

[p]Hello fishers :)![/p][p][/p][p]There have been some hotfixes for the Demo of which I haven't posted the patch notes yet on Steam discussions, plus hotfix 0.3.4 released just now.[/p][p][/p][p]The most important bits might be better networking for characters, the boat moves smoothly now, as does the Spinball Toy (even tho it still has some multiplayer desync problems), as well as bunny sounds.[/p][p][/p][h2]Hotfix 0.3.2 live[/h2]

• [p]The blue cat is back, despite improving the networking (I've never made a networked game before :s). I'll implement a crude fix for now, that will periodically and after certain actions update the player customization. This way player customization should fix itself over time, keeping the blue cats at bay. After some testing today, I think I found the problem, but it will need more time to properly fix. If you do see the blue cats, you can try typing "/updateall" into the chat box to update all other players and "/updateself" to update your own character visuals for others (this is limited to one command every 10 seconds).[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Placables will now disappear properly when a player leaves the game[/p]
• [p]Fixed: When reeling in the fishing line, it should not be going past you infinitely under the docks (and similar areas) anymore[/p]
• [p]Options 'Simplify minigame visuals' will now hide the blue interaction highlight during the circle matching minigame[/p]
• [p]When performing well during the minigame, it drains the escape meter of the fish. This was very low and has been increased. Generally balancing the minigames and the equipment (totems / anchors) is going to involve getting a lot of feedback.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Hotfix 0.3.3 live[/h2]

• [p]Bunnies have sounds now! Happy/Squeak/Angry (triggered with C, V and B by default)[/p]
• [p]Glimstep and Jellove have their jingles now (these played Shimmerscale placeholders before)[/p]
• [p]Finally added Credits page in main menu[/p]
• [p]Interaction hints have been added for all shops, signs, boat and the docks (expeditions)[/p]
• [p]Small Rifts last 20 seconds longer, so other players can catch a fish reliably from it[/p]
• [p]Fishing Menu: Added small hint about rewards & difficulty[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Bug report menu can be opened multiple times[/p]
• [p]Fixed: The directional input minigame is now more responsive. You can press the next directional key now while the previous one is still pressed. Additionally, there are new 'Minigame' key bindings that will only be used by minigames that require this type of input like the directional input minigame. These are set to WASD as defaults, so you don't need to change anything and they won't affect normal movement. But if you prefer the minigame to be on different keys, you can change it now.[/p]
• [p]Since this makes inputting the arrows quite a bit faster, there is a new slider in the Fishing menu that lets you add 1-10 more arrows to the directional input minigame. This is for testing and gathering feedback on it. The setting does not save in between game restarts. Small calculation bug in this slider I just noticed: Low tier + rarity fish will only get more arrows with values past 3 arrows
  [/p]

[h2]Hotfix 0.3.4 live[/h2]

• [p]The boat moves muuuuch smoother now[/p]
• [p]When fishing from the boat, the fishing will look correct now. You can't slow-reel yet on the boat, I still need to add that. But you can use space bar to cancel fishing before a fish bites. There might be some smaller visual bugs still.[/p]
• [p]The Spinball Toy moves muuuuuch smoother now, but still has some other multiplayer issues where it sometimes resets back to the previous location[/p]
• [p]Spinball Toy is now only 25 Currency (down from 250)[/p]
• [p]Selling Anchors gives now 200 Currency (up from 5)[/p]
• [p]Selling Totems gives now 50 Currency (up from 5)[/p]
• [p]This previous fix is actually fixed now, it was still a problem on the bridge: "When reeling in the fishing line, it should not be going past you infinitely under the docks (and similar areas) anymore"[/p]
• [p]The spawn positions have been slightly changed to combat spawn blocking a little[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Hotfix 0.3.5 live[/h2]

• [p]Boat doesn't do an extra violent round anymore when it loops[/p]

[p][/p][p]Hello fishers! :)[/p][p]The Demo is live! [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]I've noticed too late that the Demo save files share the same location as the Playtest save files. It shouldn't cause any major issues to keep your old save file, but if you experience issues with inventory or settings, then please create a new character.[/p][p][/p][p]You can find your save games in the folder C:\\Users\\Username\\AppData\\Local\\RiftFishing\\Saved\\SaveGames Here you can also completely delete save files, or even delete the Options.sav to reset your general options in case something is acting up here. Happy fishing![/p][p][/p][p]This delayed announcement also comes with the first hotfix: [/p][h3]Hotfix 3.0.1 live[/h3]

• [p]Fixed: Selecting Day/night time does not work[/p]
• [p]Fixed: "Control stuck after opening UI with Q and closed with Esc while fish is caught". This also fixes the "fish caught" window and/or animation being stuck when having the Options / PocketPal menu open or simlar. Please do report if there are more cases of getting stuck. I'm hearing about an evil crab.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: "Emote wheel stuck on screen"[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Mossback has 0 HP and gets instantly caught[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Circle minigame sometimes fails[/p]
• [p]Backwards-compatibility fix for older save games for: Fishing and old outdated quests still showing[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Missing quest icons[/p]
• [p]Potential fix: Rarely minigames can get stuck on screen, this should fix itself now when starting another minigame[/p]

[p]Hello fishers! :)[/p][p]The Rift Fishing Demo is very close! Specifically on Monday, February 23rd, 2026 03:00 AM PST.[/p][p]I'm sorry that it has been so quiet from my side, but a lot has been happening behind the scenes. My full-time job holidays ended shortly after the playtest and that job is currently taking quite a bit of time away from developing Rift Fishing. Things have been pretty stressful and I needed every minute I can get to focus. I won't be able to reply to questions for now, while I'm still working through the weekend.[/p][p]In regards to the Demo itself, expect it to be a more polished version of the Playtest. The focus was on bugfixing, especially for networking / multiplayer and a fishing minigame rework. Not all known bugs are fixed. There's a bunch of other smaller additions and quality of life features.[/p][p]I'm still working full steam on the Demo itself and will also be patching and updating the Demo with some new content for the first few weeks. So, please keep reporting bugs as you encounter them during the Demo :) [/p][p]Short list for the Demo:[/p]

• [p]Lots of bugfixes[/p]

• [p]12 new fish (5 more to come), reworked fishing system / 4 minigames with stats-improving equipment from Rifts[/p]

• [p]Player report function, bigger lobbies, host migration with chat + player position[/p]

• [p]Singleplayer bugs fixed[/p]

• [p]Color picker, pixelation filter, brighter nights[/p]

• [p]Snarl/Purr/Whine expressions[/p]

• [p]PocketPal to open menus and find Rifts + players[/p]

• [p]Placables: Campfire, Lantern, Bench[/p]

[p]Much love

[p]12 new fish, all modelled by @Golditale (with 5 more to come during the Demo patches)[/p]

• [p]There are 4 minigames (including 'Hold input only') to choose from and they all work a little differently.[/p]

• [p]The circle matching minigame has been fixed and generally made easier. Especially the first tier of fish will be much easier. Then it ramps up.[/p]

• [p]Fish have proper unique stats now, which are influenced by their size and rarity.[/p]

• [p]Tying into fishing is the new
• *equipment system**. When you fish in a Rift you can get Anchors or Totems. These come with different stats that influence your chances to get certain sizes / rarities of fish and improve your performance during the minigames. You can equip 1 anchor and 3 totems at a time. Anchors will have unique effects in the future.[/p]

• [p]The new system will need some balancing. The goal is to have all fish be catchable with equipment you get passively for relaxed fishing. But players who want to min/max a little, can hunt for equipment with the stats they like to let them fish faster and target certain sizes / rarities easier.[/p]

• [p]Rifts spawn more often (their chances were lower than intended, and I upped it from there), are easier to reach and provide the equipment. The extra time until a fish from the Rift bites has been reduced. I wanted to rework Rifts for the Demo, but didn't have the time. Phased fish aren't as valuable as intended right now (as special rewards etc are missing), so the chance to catch an Equipment piece is 50% right now.[/p]

• [p]There are active spots now, bubbles in the water, where time until a fish bites is 3 times faster.[/p]

• [p]Minigame won't start until you are done typing in chat[/p]

• [p]3 second countdown before the minigame (can be turned off in Options)[/p]

[h3]MULTIPLAYER[/h3]

• [p]There is a new Report function for players that can be found in the Lobby Management menu, the same menu that shows all players in a lobby. Players banned from the lobby can now be seen by everybody, to make reporting psosible after a person has been banned from the lobby.[/p]

• [p]Lobbies can now have up to 24 players, if you think your system can handle it[/p]

• [p]Host migration should be much more stable and carries over the old chat and the old player positions. Also, a host will be prompted to start host migration if they try to leave a lobby, which gives everybody a warning and timer to choose to quit the lobby or stay for migration.[/p]

• [p]Customization reset when having the customization menu open while a player joins should be fixed[/p]

• [p]Player customization not showing on other players and nametags disappearing should be much more stable. But it still needs some work. As before re-opening and closing the customization menu (K) will refresh how you appear to other players.[/p]

[h3]SINGLEPLAYER[/h3]

• [p]All of the weird singleplayer bugs should be fixed, like the Unstuck button not working or being able to walk through water.[/p]

[h3]AUDIO[/h3]

• [p]3 new tracks composed by @Finn were added[/p]

• [p]Spinball and Leafskate have their own catch jngles now. All new fish also have a jingle.[/p]

• [p]The Riftpedia let's you play the jingles of caught fish (and jingle play behaviour can now be changed in the options)[/p]

• [p]Other sound effects have been added. The 'mysterious bird' sound bug was also fixed.[/p]

• [p]It was probably expected, but the Demo does not have instruments yet.[/p]

[h3]UI & PAINTING[/h3]

• [p]Many new icons for UI buttons and body customization have been added, drawn by @Golditale[/p]

• [p]The chat box has now customization options (gear icon) like Font Size, Background Opacity and more. As well as a simple /roll command. There is also a /me command in the game, for everybody who didn't know yet.[/p]

• [p]A color picker has been added. It can always be used, without a need for ink. Ink is now only used to create color palettes, and the cost for ink is only 10% of the original cost.[/p]

• [p]Unfortunately Painting is still work in progress. I was not able to fix bugs like the color change when two people draw, or the rework in general to have joining players see the paintings. But I'll still try to find the time to fix this in a Demo patch.[/p]

• [p]Quests should work properly now. The Playtest had a bug that broke quest progression.[/p]

• [p]Sell All button has been added to shops[/p]

• [p]You can hide all UI with H[/p]

• [p]Pixelation filter added[/p]

[h3]MISC[/h3]

• [p]The phone / prism is now the 'PocketPal'. You can open it up with Q, then click the icons or press the numbers 1-6 to open menus like the Inventory, Customization etc. directly. Here you will also find the new Fishing menu to switch your minigame. More things will be added to the Fishing menu in the future.[/p]

• [p]When the PocketPal is open, you can see markers in the world. Those show other players and active Rifts to make finding both easier.[/p]

• [p]You can snarl / purr (cat) or snarl / whine (wolf) with V and B now. This is temporary, and in the future there will be a proper 'Expressions' menu with more options, similar to the Emote Wheel.[/p]

• [p]Placables: This is not the finished system for Placables, but the shop offers a Campfire, Lantern and Bench now. They can be used infintely, but you can only place one light source (Campfire or Lantern) and one bench at a time. Please don't harass other players with this.[/p]

[p]Small changes like:[/p]

• [p]Double-tapping an item on your hotbar to unselect it[/p]

• [p]Rarity shown on hotbars[/p]

• [p]Items have VFX depending on their rarity[/p]

[h3]New Options[/h3][p]Video:[/p]

• [p]Brightness Adjustment[/p]

• [p]Gamma[/p]

• [p]Color Temperature[/p]

[p]Graphics:[/p]

• [p]Pixelation filter (6 strengths, mix it with Screen Percentage for fine control)[/p]

• [p]Color Depth (for posterization effect)[/p]

• [p]Chromatic Aberration (Default is 0)[/p]

• [p]Typical UE5 graphics options that didn't do anything have been removed from the menu[/p]

[p]Audio:[/p]

• [p]The wrongly set Emote slider is fixed (it visually showed 0, but still played at full volume)[/p]

[p]Controls:[/p]

• [p]Mouse Sensitivity Horizontal / Vertical[/p]

• [p]Mouse Zoom Modifier (how quickly you zoom)[/p]

• [p]Invert Mouse Axis X and Y[/p]

• [p]Sprint Toggle[/p]

[p]Controls - Keybinds:[/p]

• [p]Toggle Mouse Cursor is now re-bindable[/p]

• [p]The new expressions are bound to V and B by default here, but like mentioned the system will change. At that point in the future it will be a single keybind again.[/p]

• [p]Toggle UI visibility with H[/p]

[p]Gameplay:[/p]

• [p]Camera Zoom Max Distance to zoom out further (a sort of free cam is still coming)[/p]

• [p]Night Brightness ('Darker' is the initial setting from the Playtest)[/p]

• [p]Fishing Jingle (let's you change how often the Fishing Jingle plays when catching a fish)[/p]

• [p]Skip Fishing Countdown (skip the newly introduced 3 second countdown until minigame starts)[/p]

• [p]Skip Fishing Rewared Popup (completely skip the popup)[/p]

• [p]Simplify Minigame Numbers / Visuals (will hide some new visuals that some players might dislike)[/p]

[p]Hello fishers! :)[/p][p]Thank you all so much for playing and testing the game! So many bugs have been found already, that we're getting many, many duplicate bug reports. Don't worry for now in regards to reporting more of them!

If you have trouble joining your friends, please use public lobbies for now![/p][p]Also feel free to join our Discord (https://discord.gg/riftfishing), there are many helpful community members and the most up-to-date information.

It's very late here and I'd just like to announce that with the amount of active players the Playtest will be extended by one day, exactly 24 hours.
That means until 06:00 AM EST / 11:00 AM GMT of the 13th of January.[/p][p]Much love

[p]Hello fishers! :)[/p][p]I'm very excited to confirm that the Playtest will open tomorrow, 06:00 AM EST / 11:00 AM GMT on the 9th of January and run until 06:00 AM EST / 11:00 AM GMT of the 12th of January with a chance of extension depending on community feedback.[/p][p]The game has seen a lot of progress in the past weeks! The original focus has shifted a little bit, which means that the map from the trailer got replaced with a new one, which features nicer visuals, multiple areas and lots of cozy vibes. I thought this was essential to have you enjoy your chatting sessions more :3[/p][p][/p][p]I know that we're all excited, but please be patient with me. This is a first playtest, therefore there won't be too much content. There will be (digital!) bugs! I'm hoping for your feedback and help in bug reporting (Press F6 in-game)! Systems and features will be improved over time, and everything you see is subject to change. I'm also making improvements to the painting system. Because of that you can't currently see other players paintings when you late-join. I'm working on this, but otherwise you can paint just fine with other players. The Equipment system is not in the Playtest, Anchors and Totems can't currently be obtained. [/p][p]Also, we now have Emotes and Expressions (meow/bark, and much more in the future!), more fish in the Playtest than planned and a boat that drives you around! You can fish on the boat, but it might still make your fishing line streeetch. And yes, boats will get a bigger focus in the future.[/p][p]After the playtest, we will post a survey in which you can give your feedback in more detail. With your input we will be able to steer the ship in the right direction :)[/p][p]Hopefully you will enjoy this first playtest, or even, first look at Rift Fishing! And please report any bugs or misconduct![/p][p]Much love