Rock Excavation: First Look
Hello Riftbreakers!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2108630/The_Riftbreaker_Into_The_Dark/
In our announcement article for the second Riftbreaker World Expansion - Into The Dark, we told you about a major new game mechanic - rock excavation. The areas beneath the surface of Galatea 37 are teeming with life and troves of resources, often buried under tons of rocks and rubble. However, the naturally formed caverns and tunnels aren’t always accommodating for a four-meter Mecha-Suit. The only way of getting to those underground riches is by getting your hands dirty and doing the digging yourself. This article will tell you all about our excavation system, how it will affect the gameplay, and what you can expect to find in the unknown depths of Galatea 37.
Sometimes Crystal Caverns offer nice views!Let’s start with the technology behind the excavation mechanic. Maps in the caverns biome are filled with two general kinds of rock formations. The classic, indestructible rocks give each map tile its individual layout and set the structure of the play area. What’s more interesting is the second category: destructible rocks. They are visually distinct from the structural rock formations and make up the majority of what you’re going to see in the caverns. This doesn’t mean things are going to get boring - far from it. You can dictate where you want to go, which areas to defend, and exactly how much you want to explore. The soft, destructible rocks can be excavated using Mr. Riggs’ upgraded drilling arm. The process is very simple: you walk up to the wall you want to get rid of, hold the interact button, and in a couple of moments, you will be able to enjoy more room for your future endeavors.
When you get bored of manual digging, you can use nukes.Now, let’s get down to the bottom of how all of this really works. The destructible rock formations are really comprised of individual boulders. They are densely stacked one next to another in what we call a ‘prefab’. For more information on prefabs and how they work, you can check out this article. The destructible rock prefab fills the area marked by the level designer with tons of individual pieces that you can later dig out. To save performance, the game renders only the outside walls of these areas, spawning new ones as you progress to give you the feeling of digging out individual pieces of rock. If we simply stacked 2x2 walls next to each other, it would be impossible to dig out any shape other than a square. Utilizing boulders of various shapes and sizes and rotating them gives us much more freedom and granulation.
As for the gameplay itself, the Crystal Caverns biome will welcome you with a couple of open areas where you can set up your initial headquarters. However, the existing caverns won’t be large enough to set up a base strong enough to withstand the enemy attacks (yes, you read that right, you’re not safe, even underground). You will have to walk the fine line between excavating more room for expansion and opening your base to attacks from creatures of the dark. Every corridor you open and every cave you create has the potential to be crawling with monsters straight out of your nightmares. They can feel your presence… and they can dig, too!
Always watch your back!Even the best plans can fail miserably if a massive creature decides to dig a path right to the middle of your outpost. Radars play a big role in detecting these threats early and preventing the destruction they might bring. Large creatures that are able to excavate tunnels are often followed by a horde of smaller ones. Make smart decisions and make sure you take the necessary precautions, otherwise, you might lose everything.
Terrifying as it might be, excavating new tunnels and caverns also yields great benefits. Apart from discovering new resource deposits, you can also find places that will allow you to boost your energy production. Wind Turbines and Solar Panels do not generally work in the Crystal Caverns biome. However, you can find some spots where the cave's layout creates strong air currents. You can take advantage of that by placing a Wind Turbine farm around the spot. That won’t be enough to power you for long. What you really want to find and take advantage of are Geothermal Vents. They will keep the lights on in your base and keep the darkness at bay.
You can find a lot of treasures in the caves. Treasures and horrors beyond comprehension.Into the Dark changes the way you play The Riftbreaker in many ways. We are excited for what’s to come and we can’t wait to let you play! We’re definitely going to hold an extended experimental period for Survival balancing purposes. If you want to get information about that first-hand, you should definitely join our Discord at www.discord.gg/exorstudios. You can also check out our VOD of the first pre-alpha Survival mode session right here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1718954824. We will tell you more about Crystal Caverns in the coming weeks, so don’t miss it!
EXOR Studios
No, Mr. Riggs! You can't eliminate your competition in a running contest!
