1. The Riftbreaker
  2. News

The Riftbreaker News

Experimental Update, June 20th, 2024.

Hello Riftbreakers!


We just published a large patch for the Experimental Branch with a lot of fixes and improvements that we've been working on for the past week. We didn't have enough time to prepare a detailed change log for this patch, but it contains 99% of the changes that we've been posting in the daily change logs on our Discord server since June 14th (quite a lot). The next update is going to be the public release of the World Expansion III update. The following patches are going to be incremental, so their download size is going to be much smaller. Thank you for jumping with us through all these rifts! See you on the other side!

This update is (most likely) incompatible with any current mods. Please remove all mods before playing. MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR SAVE FILES! Make a copy of 'The Riftbreaker' folder from your documents and keep it safe.

This Experimental Release is available to everyone on an opt-in basis. Please be aware that things might not work as intended and you may encounter problems. If you don’t want to take any risks, please wait for the public release of this update.

[h3]With all these warnings out of the way, here’s how to access the experimental branch:[/h3]

  1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
  2. disable Steam Cloud save backup for The Riftbreaker
  3. go to your Steam Library
  4. right-click on The Riftbreaker
  5. select 'Properties,’ then 'Betas,’ and use the following password: IknowWhatImDoing


After that, you will be able to choose 'experimental' from the drop-down menu. Download the update, play the game, and let us know if you encounter any issues. We also have a channel on our Discord: #rb-experimental-feedback - we highly encourage you to join in and share your feedback.

Thank you for all the feedback so far, keep it coming!
EXOR Studios

Release Date Announcement + Experimental Update

Hello Riftbreakers!


We have been very busy lately. We haven’t had much time to produce preview content for the upcoming World Expansion III. However, all the hard work we’ve put in over the course of the past few weeks will pay off today. We’re coming to you with some good news - let’s start unpacking them.

[h3]First of all, we’re proud to announce that The Riftbreaker: Heart of the Swamp will be released in just one week - on June 21st, 2024, at 10 AM PST. [/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506610/The_Riftbreaker_Heart_of_the_Swamp/

In Heart of the Swamp you will have to rethink most of your strategy and develop new skills in order to sustain your bases. Luckily, you will get some new technologies to support that.

Heart of the Swamp is a new paid DLC allowing you to explore a new branch of the Story Campaign in the Fungal Swamp biome. Together with Ashley and Mr. Riggs, you will dive into the unknown once again and try to save the delicate ecosystem of the Swamp from certain doom. You will complete a variety of unique missions that will test your survival skills in completely new environments. We’re quite happy with how it turned out and curious to hear what you have to say about it.

[h3]Secondly, the World Expansion III, our biggest update to date, will also arrive on June 21st. [/h3]

World Expansion III brings some massive, new towers to play with, among other technologies. We hope you will enjoy raining fire on the heads of your foes.

This is a massive free content update for all our players. World Expansion III introduces massive overhauls of many systems, optimizations of our game engine, as well as quality of life improvements. It will allow you to explore the Fungal Swamp biome in two wildly different Survival Mode environments - the flooded Fungal Swamp map with very limited building space and a more traditional Fungal Forest map. The free update contains over 70 new technology items for you to use in both Survival and Campaign modes. We don’t think there is a single part of the game that’s been left untouched while we were developing this expansion. We hope you enjoy all the new content!

[h3]The last piece of news for today is that we have just updated the Experimental Branch of The Riftbreaker with the last update before the release. [/h3]

You can start testing the new technologies and how they fare against the new enemies right now! Join the Experimental Branch and see the preview content today.

It features many fixes and improvements that you have suggested to us after your testing sessions. It should give you a good idea of what the official release will look like, but it is not final yet - we are still working on many additions and fixes, including the rework of our gamepad controls. As always with the experimental builds - be careful and mindful of what you’re doing.

This update is (most likely) incompatible with any current mods. Please remove all mods before playing. MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR SAVE FILES! Make a copy of 'The Riftbreaker' folder from your documents and keep it safe.

Canceroths will make sure that you at least break a sweat while playing. Have fun!

This Experimental Release is available to everyone on an opt-in basis. Please be aware that things might not work as intended and you may encounter problems. If you don’t want to take any risks, please wait for the public release of this update.

[h3]With all these warnings out of the way, here’s how to access the experimental branch:[/h3]

  1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
  2. disable Steam Cloud save backup for The Riftbreaker
  3. go to your Steam Library
  4. right-click on The Riftbreaker
  5. select 'Properties,’ then 'Betas,’ and use the following password: IknowWhatImDoing


After that, you will be able to choose 'experimental' from the drop-down menu. Download the update, play the game, and let us know if you encounter any issues. We also have a channel on our Discord: #rb-experimental-feedback - we highly encourage you to join in and share your feedback.

These are the most important changes since the previous experimental update. Please treat it as a potential spoiler.
[expand]
[h3]The Riftbreaker Experimental Branch Update, June 14th, 2024. EXE: 944, DATA: 539 Changelog:[/h3]
  • Rare resources are now needed to craft the Wasp Launcher, Flame Blade, and Root Gun.
  • Brought back a large part of the gamepad functionality. However, it is still work in progress and a lot of things do not work as intended.
  • Added voiceover lines for the Swamp biome weather events.
  • Changed some Poogret sound and sound scripts - still not final.
  • Changed the tornado skill to fire tornado - it is objectively cooler, even though it's hotter.
  • Added an acid tornado skill variant.
  • Additional game performance optimizations have been introduced.
  • Changed the small loot container in the Fungal Swamp to a dedicated model in four variants.
  • Charged shot descriptions have been removed from the Crystal Gun, Flame Blade, Wasp Launcher, Root Gun and Trident inventory tooltips.
  • Charged shot description has been added to the Immolator.
  • A new, generic "Too close to another building of the same type" warning has been added.
  • Minimum distance radius to another building of the same type has been added to the new, big 3x3 towers.
  • Power Rod Tower Level 1 now require Titanium to be built.
  • Missing minimap icons have been added to projectiles from several sources.
  • Adjusted the sizing of minimap icons for various projectiles, towers and traps.
  • Fixed smoke attachments for power rod and HCM
  • Nuclear explosion effect has been added added to the final destruction level in all 3x3 towers.
  • Flame Blade now has a new hit effect and hit pattern.
  • Poogret Poo is no longer radioactive.
  • Added missing building icons to the build menu.
  • Changed various sounds to release candidate versions.
  • Increased the outpost limit from 10 to 12.
  • Changed Survival Swamp loadout - Floating Mines have been replaced with Repeater Rifle.
  • Fixed issues with research screen timer display.
  • Fixed issues with generating wind power in the Caverns biome.
  • Fixed an error that caused players to get the biome completion achievements after watching a single cutscene.
  • Fixed some errors with water simulation around the mech.
  • Fixed an error that caused the Holo Decoy to drop the player's weapons after being destroyed in combat.
  • Fixed Mortar Sentry Superior research item - it now grants the correct item.
  • Fixed Floating Piercer Tower aiming constraints to reduce the possibility of them not shooting enemies that are close to the minimum range.
  • Fixed many missing localization strings in various spots in the game.
  • Fixed many crashes and small errors - too many to list.

[/expand]

Experimental Update, June 7th, 2024.

Hello Riftbreakers!


We have just published a small hotfix for the Experimental Branch of The Riftbreaker.

This update is (most likely) incompatible with any current mods. Please remove all mods before playing. MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR SAVE FILES! Make a copy of 'The Riftbreaker' folder from your documents and keep it safe.

This Experimental Release is available to everyone on an opt-in basis. Please be aware that things might not work as intended and you may encounter problems. If you don’t want to take any risks, please wait for the public release of this update.

[h3]With all these warnings out of the way, here’s how to access the experimental branch:[/h3]

  1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
  2. disable Steam Cloud save backup for The Riftbreaker
  3. go to your Steam Library
  4. right-click on The Riftbreaker
  5. select 'Properties,’ then 'Betas,’ and use the following password: IknowWhatImDoing


After that, you will be able to choose 'experimental' from the drop-down menu. Download the update, play the game, and let us know if you encounter any issues. We also have a channel on our Discord: #rb-experimental-feedback - we highly encourage you to join in and share your feedback.

This is the full changelog for this patch. Please treat it as a potential spoiler.
[expand]
[h3]The Riftbreaker Experimental Branch Update, June 7th, 2024. EXE: 691, DATA: 520 Changelog:[/h3]
  • Fixed missing localization IDs in several places.
  • Fixed the "Channel does not exist" error in Streaming options.
  • Fixed the Action Menu getting stuck in some cases.
  • Fixed an engine issue that caused the resource deposits to be rectangular. The issue was much deeper, and broke many things, but it's likely that you've noticed only this one.

[/expand]

Thank you for all the feedback so far, keep it coming!
EXOR Studios

Experimental Update, June 6th, 2024.

Hello Riftbreakers!


We have just published an update to the Experimental Branch of The Riftbreaker. It features a lot of bug fixes to the issues you found with the previous build. It also brings a portion of improvements and balancing changes.

This update is (most likely) incompatible with any current mods. Please remove all mods before playing. MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR SAVE FILES! Make a copy of 'The Riftbreaker' folder from your documents and keep it safe.

This Experimental Release is available to everyone on an opt-in basis. Please be aware that things might not work as intended and you may encounter problems. If you don’t want to take any risks, please wait for the public release of this update.

[h3]With all these warnings out of the way, here’s how to access the experimental branch:[/h3]

  1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
  2. disable Steam Cloud save backup for The Riftbreaker
  3. go to your Steam Library
  4. right-click on The Riftbreaker
  5. select 'Properties,’ then 'Betas,’ and use the following password: IknowWhatImDoing


After that, you will be able to choose 'experimental' from the drop-down menu. Download the update, play the game, and let us know if you encounter any issues. We also have a channel on our Discord: #rb-experimental-feedback - we highly encourage you to join in and share your feedback.

This is the full changelog for this patch. Please treat it as a potential spoiler.
[expand]
[h3]The Riftbreaker Experimental Branch Update, June 6th, 2024. EXE: 689, DATA: 518 Changelog:[/h3]
  • HCM's and Power Rod Tower's targets no longer need to be in direct line of sight.
  • Increased the minimum range for HCM and Power Rod.
  • Added target markers to HCM and Power Rod projectiles.
  • HCM - less damage, higher ammo cost, shorter burning time.
  • Mortar Sentry - longer range, more projectiles.
  • Root Gun - faster projectiles, better effects.
  • Reduced ammo storage and production speed for High Caliber Tower Ammo.
  • Power Rod Tower - reduced fire rate, lower damage, increased ammo consumption, reduced damage over time.
  • Floating Piercer Tower - increased ammo consumption.
  • Flame Blade - reduced swing rate.
  • Trident - reduced swing rate.
  • Repeater Rifle - increased damage.
  • Fire damage is now unable to destroy vegetation unless it is a direct melee attack. Vegetation can still burn as usual.
  • Thanks to the fix above, the Flame Blade is now finally useful and will not bounce off random blades of grass!
  • Tornado damage type has been changed to physical. Tweaked damage, radius, and lifetime.
  • Acid Pools produced by the Swamp Nests are now much more visible - even in water.
  • Gas Extractor ruins mesh changed to show the Gas Vent.
  • Fixed Phirian attack trigger origin to fix problems with accuracy.
  • Hedroner can now walk through Sludge.
  • Flammable Gas Vent now has a shadow casting light.
  • Added constraints to Floating Immolator Tower to fix problems with aiming.
  • Improved sound effects for Power Wells.
  • Added a special sound for surprise attacks in the Swamp Biome.
  • New effects and sounds for the Gravity Modulator.
  • Ammo Consumption for Mortars has been lowered.
  • Increased ammo consumption for Grenade Launcher.
  • Multiple Improvements to the Charged Bomb.
  • Increased the minimap icon size for the 3x3 Towers.
  • Changed the shooting pattern in Shotgun Tower.
  • Fixed melee weapon positioning in the Inventory Screen.
  • Fixed the texture on HCM level 1.
  • Fixed player getting stuck in the 'interact' pose.
  • Fixed garbage letters in foundation_vine.ent for Dmitry!
  • Fixed the Boss Attack option in the Debug Menu.
  • Fixed the Unlimited Ammo cheat in the Debug Menu.
  • Fixed Resin Trees not producing any resources.
  • Fixed effects and attachments for the Power Rod Tower.
  • Fixed issues with animating props behavior after they are burnt.
  • Fixed some issues with gamepad and keyboard navigation in multiple menu screens - gamepad support is still not final.
  • Fixed a crash in BlueprintReloadSystem.
  • Fixed first frame issues for EmissiveDayAndNightAffector, ShadowDayAndNightAffector and LightDayAndNightAffector. These were small glitches that frequently appeared upon loading into the game, caused by wrong order of operations in our engine.
  • Fixed a crash in GridRenderableSystem.
  • Fixed a crash that occurred when unequipping saplings and other similar items.
  • Multiple other fixes and changes - too many to list.

[/expand]

Thank you for all the feedback so far, keep it coming!
EXOR Studios

Experimental Update, May 29th, 2024.

Hello Riftbreakers!


We have just published an update to the Experimental Branch of The Riftbreaker. It features a lot of bug fixes to the issues you found with the previous build. It also brings a portion of improvements and balancing changes.

This update is (most likely) incompatible with any current mods. Please remove all mods before playing. MAKE SURE TO MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR SAVE FILES! Make a copy of 'The Riftbreaker' folder from your documents and keep it safe.

This Experimental Release is available to everyone on an opt-in basis. Please be aware that things might not work as intended and you may encounter problems. If you don’t want to take any risks, please wait for the public release of this update.

[h3]With all these warnings out of the way, here’s how to access the experimental branch:[/h3]

  1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
  2. disable Steam Cloud save backup for The Riftbreaker
  3. go to your Steam Library
  4. right-click on The Riftbreaker
  5. select 'Properties,’ then 'Betas,’ and use the following password: IknowWhatImDoing


After that, you will be able to choose 'experimental' from the drop-down menu. Download the update, play the game, and let us know if you encounter any issues. We also have a channel on our Discord: #rb-experimental-feedback - we highly encourage you to join in and share your feedback.

This is the full changelog for this patch. Please treat it as a potential spoiler.
[expand]
[h3]The Riftbreaker Experimental Branch Update, May 29th, 2024. EXE: 684, DATA: 510 Changelog:[/h3]
  • New neutral creature added: Lurkid - a small, neutral creature that crawls around the Swamp. It feels comfortable both on the ground and in water. It will replace Quelver in all Swamp missions. It's also very cute, even though it looks like a snail piranha.
  • Power Well - improved appearance, added new effects and animations, added the interact pop-up icon.
  • Improved 'damaged' skins on units with reflective properties. If you destroy a Krocoon, for example, you should now be able to see cracks in its shell.
  • Improved sounds and effects in HCM and Power Rod Towers.
  • New sounds added for Stickrid, Canceroth, Carnicith, Drexolian, Fungor, Invigor and Poogret.
  • Nurglax is correctly marked as an artillery unit on the minimap.
  • HCM Tower now has a bigger minimal range and a longer cooldown. However, its rocket hit is more powerful and the ground stays on fire for a longer period.
  • Decreased minimal range in Power Rod Tower.
  • Improved shockwave effect in Power Rod Tower hit effect.
  • Disabled the 'Confirm' button in the Customize Controls screen if no changes to the control scheme were made.
  • The Research screen will retain its zoom level after switching tabs.
  • Fixed performance degradation over time caused by revealing large swaths of "fog of war"
  • Fixed 'Damage Over Time' stat display in Power Rod Tower.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the top menu buttons to become inaccessible in some cases in the Inventory Screen.
  • Fixed pipe attachments in HCM tower to properly align with the grid.
  • Fixed Bio-Condenser pipe attachments.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the Mech's drill to become stuck in the 'interact' pose.
  • Fixed an issue that allowed players to amass storage by removing outposts from the Orbital Scanner screen.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Fungor to stop dealing damage to objects after the initial hit.
  • Fixed issues with equipment list refreshing while dismantling items.
  • Fixed issues with Resin Tree resource display in Build Mode.
  • Fixed download and research income values display.
  • Fixed research time calculations display.
  • Fixed menu buttons alignment between various screens of the menu system of the game.
  • Fixed a crash that occurred when upgrading buildings.
  • Fixed a crash in the DestructibleVolumeSystem.
  • Fixed a crash that occurred when leaving the Inventory screen.
  • Fixed a crash in the Orbital Scanner menu screen.
  • Fixed a crash in the audio engine.
  • Numerous smaller fixes and improvements.

[/expand]

Thank you for all the feedback so far, keep it coming!
EXOR Studios