The Riftbreaker News

Hi!

We would like to thank you all for joining the Survival Mode stream from The Riftbreaker!

We hope that the stream gave you a good idea of what the gameplay is going to look like. Many elements of the game are still under development, so nothing is set in stone. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please share them with us! It’s incredibly important for us to know how you feel about what you’ve seen so far. Let us know in the comments and on our Discord server - www.discord.gg/exorstudios.

If you missed the stream, do not worry. We have uploaded the complete VOD to our YouTube channel. You can find it here (It might take a while for it to be available in full HD, so we ask for your patience):

https://youtu.be/ZJob51C8B48

We plan to start streaming regularly very soon to show you the improvements we make on a week-to-week basis. It’s a very exciting moment in development, as new features are added almost daily!

You can also check out the exclusive gameplay video we shared with IGN. A couple of things have changed since we recorded that one, but the general premise stays the same. You can find the article and the video here:

https://youtu.be/W_OF1TPfix4

Thank you and see you soon!

EXOR Studios

The stream is live right now! Join us at https://mixer.com/EXOR_Studios to check out the current state of the game!

Hi!

We would like to make a friendly reminder that we are going to stream The Riftbreaker Survival Mode today at 3 PM CEST on our Mixer channel. You can find us here: www.mixer.com/exorstudios

During the stream, we are going to enable the interactive streaming features, giving you, the viewers, the chance to either help us or to make the gameplay much harder for us. You do not need to install anything - it's all going to happen through the MixPlay interface.

If you want to check out what it's going to look like, you can check out the 25-minute video with commentary that was published yesterday. Here's the link:

https://youtu.be/W_OF1TPfix4

We hope you will join us on the stream! All feedback and interaction welcome! After the stream join us for a chat on our Discord server - www.discord.gg/exorstudios We will also upload the VOD to our YouTube channel later. :)

EXOR Studios

Hello!

For the past couple of weeks, we have been showing you the dissolve feature we have implemented in The Riftbreaker. We use it to remove objects from the scene, change them from one to another, or, like in the case of buildings, to gradually introduce them into the game world. Today we will show you the smaller elements that undergo dissolution in the game.

The regular texture of Mr. Riggs' energy blade.

This is what makes all the magic happen

In order to make the dissolve effect happen, we need two textures. First - the regular texture of the object we want to apply the effect to, and second - a special dissolve texture. It resembles a cloud of smoke, as it is irregular and grey. However, those things exactly are its key properties. The pixels on this map represent values, from 0 to 1. Once projected onto the regular texture of the object, we can start removing parts of it. We set up a threshold that changes over time. All the elements that fall below this threshold are removed by the shader.

The weapon is automatically hidden at the start of the mining process. Also, you can see the shadow of something being built nearby!

In The Riftbreaker you will often see this while gathering resources. The drill is not an equipable item. We want the player to always have access to it, but without taking up an inventory slot. Drilling is a context action. When you approach a resource that you can mine, pressing a button will automatically change what you’re holding in your right hand to the drill. We employ the dissolve effect here to avoid a sudden change of the item. We also apply an additional emissive light to make it feel more ‘magic’.

The gibs don't dissolve all at once.

We also dissolve the parts that spawn from destroyed enemies and elements of the environment, also known as ‘gibs’. Instead of making them transparent using the alpha channel, we decided to also dissolve them. Since there are so many of them they do not get any emissive lights, that would only distract the player. The effect is very subtle but makes for much nicer visuals.

Make sure to join us on Thursday for the stream! You will find us at www.mixer.com/exorstudios at 3PM. We are going to show off our streaming features, as well as a full-length survival mode gameplay (as long as the stars align right ;) It's still pre-alpha, so we might encounter some problems.)

You can also join us at www.discord.gg/exorstudios. We chat with our users regularly and everyone is welcome.

Other social media:
www.facebook.com/exorstudios
www.twitter.com/exorstudios
www.mixer.com/exorstudios
www.discord.gg/exorstudios
www.twitch.tv/exorstudios

In The Riftbreaker you arrive with next to nothing. Then, a couple of days later, you find yourself in the middle of a massive base. How is that possible?

Ashley’s mission on Galatea 37 is to establish a two-way portal back to Earth and enable the colonization of the planet. Such an undertaking requires a lot of power, so it is necessary for her to build up a base. In order to achieve the required energy level, Ashley must set up a network of mines, refineries, power plants, and many other useful facilities. How is that possible when the only thing at the Riftbreaker’s disposal is the Mecha-Suit?

This is what the building process looks like from start to finish. The building speed is not final and it will vary depending on the size of the building.

3D printing is the answer. Centuries of development allowed to reduce the size and necessary materials required by this technology. That pushed humanity to an entirely different level of progress. Each building is a marvel of science and engineering. Thanks to the use of Nano-Paint it is possible to print buildings quickly and efficiently, with no user action required. Mr. Riggs is equipped with building cube launcher. The cubes are an all-in-one printing solution. Once Ashley chooses the blueprint and starts the building process, the cubes autonomously fly to the destination and deploying a structure similar to a scaffolding, which serves as railing for the printer itself.

This is what the ghost of the building looks loke. If you try to place a building, but do not have sufficient resources, it will flash red.

Here's the complete version of the building above. Our printing process essentially 'reverse dissolves' it, so that it looks as if it is printed on top of the ghost version.

Let’s take a look at how this all happens, Schmetterling-wise. ;) The building process is a variant of a dissolve, technically speaking. We print buildings from the ground up. By looking at how much of the structure has been completed, the player can assess the overall progress of the building process. Each vertex of the building model has its own position in the local coordinate system. Given this position and the overall height of the building, we can project the printing line on the model exactly where we want it.

Notice the fluctuation of the printing line.

The completed parts are given their regular PBR material. The remainder of the building is shown in the form of a ghost, using a classic blue fresnel effect. To indicate what is currently being built we apply a strong emissive light. In order to make the effect even more spectacular, we added some waving in the XZ plane. The end result looks as if someone was filling a vessel with some liquid, so it is a little irregular, but much more lively.

Here's what it would look like if the line was completely straight. Artificial and uninspiring.

Add a couple of particle effects, some cool sound samples and you’re done! If you want to sell a building that is no longer useful, the process will repeat, but this time in reverse. Questions? Thoughts? Leave them here: www.discord.gg/exorstudios

Other social media:
www.facebook.com/exorstudios
www.twitter.com/exorstudios
www.mixer.com/exorstudios
www.twitch.tv/exorstudios