The Riftbreaker News

Earlier this week, we published an experimental update for The Riftbreaker that added support for Mod.io alongside Steam Workshop. Additionally, that update featured balancing changes for Hard and Brutal difficulty levels of the survival mode in the form of improved Alpha and Ultra creature attack waves in the later stages of the game on the Desert, Acid, and Volcanic biomes.

The latter change has significantly increased the expected power level of the waves that you are going to encounter in those biomes. Previously, the difficulty level only affected timers, damage, and resource multipliers. It didn’t really change the quality of the creatures that you had to face. With the addition of the improved waves, we are about to witness a new chapter in the survival metagame.

While the number of creatures in each wave did not change, you are much less likely to encounter regular strains of enemies, while Alpha and Ultra variants are going to be a common occurrence. Those aliens do not only pack a punch but can take one on the chin as well. You are going to need significantly more firepower to deal with the new attack waves. That means you will need more ammo and power, which means you will need a better economy. You can see what kind of trouble is waiting for you at the end of a Brutal survival run in this video, taken from our stream (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3 PM CET, https://www.twitch.tv/exorstudios):

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
What a chump, right?

Before we decide whether to push the reworked Hard and Brutal survival structure to the default branch, we would like to issue a challenge to all of you.

Get on the experimental branch (be careful though, back up your saves), and record your successful playthrough of a Brutal survival run on Acid, Desert or Volcanic biome. Post it anywhere you like and send the video to voidreaver (via DM) on our Discord - https://www.discord.gg/exorstudios.

[h3]The first three people to complete this challenge without the use of any cheats are going to receive a limited Mr. Riggs plushie![/h3]

Phone, hands and wall not included.

We will announce it on Discord when we receive 3 qualifying, winning entries. One entry per person. We ship worldwide! NO MODS, PLEASE.

Try it if you dare!
EXOR Studios

Hello Riftbreakers!

We have just published a patch to the experimental branch of the game that addresses some of the most common issues reported by the community. Thank you for the reports and apologies for all the issues you have experienced. If you have run into any of the following problems, you can try downloading the experimental version and seeing if the issue has been fixed.

Since we haven’t fully finished testing this update yet. We strongly recommend you to back up your save files before moving onto the experimental branch.

How to join the experimental branch:

1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
   
2. disable Steam Cloud save backup
   
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.

[h2]The Riftbreaker Experimental Update, December 9th, 2022. EXE: 588, DATA: 334. Changelog:[/h2]

• Enabled wave spawn markers in all jungle biome attack waves.
  
• Fixed building selector size bug that occurred after jumping to another biome through the Orbital Scanner action menu.
  
• Fixed a crash in DiscoverableSystem.
  
• Fixed unsynchronized access to audio sources that caused crashes.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused players not to get AI cores back after selling a damaged defensive tower.
  
• Fixed multiple obscure crash bugs and minor glitches.
  

EXOR Studios

We have just released a new experimental build of the game, featuring many changes that we would like to try out before they go out to the public.

This update is very important for modders, as it adds support for Mod.io - a 3rd party mod hosting service. Mod.io is integrated in the same way as Steam Workshop - you can access it in-game through the Mods menu. Once Mod.io is populated with user-generated content you will start seeing mods from that site on the available mods list. The Riftbreaker World Editor Suite is getting an update that will allow mod creators to upload their mods to both Steam and Mod.io.

Adding mod.io support is an important step, as it will allow non-Steam users to participate in the modding scene. We strongly encourage you to experiment with this platform and upload your mods there. All feedback when it comes to this integration is crucial to us.

The changes that are likely to have the most significant impact on your gameplay experience are the additional hard and brutal difficulty waves that were added to the Desert, Acid, and Magma biomes in Survival Mode. The two higher difficulty modes for these biomes were not quite on par with Jungle and Metallic Valley regarding the power level. With the addition of the new waves, all biomes should now be challenging on the hard difficulty and really demanding on brutal.

This patch also fixes several crash bugs and other errors that you pointed us toward in your reports. Thank you for that. To test these changes thoroughly, we have included some additional debugging logs and tools in this build. It means that the experimental build is very likely to run slower than the default version of the game. Once we gather enough information and deem these changes to be safe, we will remove the extra logs, and the performance is going to go back to normal.

Since we haven’t fully finished testing this update yet. We strongly recommend you to back up your save files before moving onto the experimental branch.

How to join the experimental branch:

1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
   
2. disable Steam Cloud save backup
   
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.

[h2]The Riftbreaker Experimental Update: Mod.io support and gameplay tweaks. December 7th, 2022. EXE: 584 DATA: 331 Changelog:[/h2]
[h3]Changes[/h3]

• Mod.io modding integration added. This service allows you to upload and install mods using the mod.io website and through the in-game interface in the Mods menu. This service is implemented in a similar way as Steam Workshop. This will enable users from platforms other than Steam to access mods.
  
• HBAO improvements incoming! Our old SSAO was running at 720p res, which didn't yield great results. The new HBAO utilizes adaptive resolution (and a few tweaks), resulting in a much greater quality-to-performance ratio. If you don't use raytracing, you should see a noticeable difference in the ambient occlusion quality after this patch.
  
• New Hard and Brutal difficulty balancing in Survival Mode on the Acidic Plains, Radioactive Desert, and Volcanic Area biomes. They are much more difficult now. You have been warned! (Feedback will be much appreciated)
  
• Added Acidic Plains biome alpha and ultra attack waves for survival mode.
  
• Added Radioactive Desert biome alpha and ultra attack waves for survival mode.
  
• Added Volcanic Area survival mode alpha and ultra waves.
  
• Enabled difficulty-specific final attack waves in the survival game mode in the Acid, Magma, and Desert biomes.
  
• Enabled difficulty-specific regular attack waves in the survival game mode in the Acid, Magma, and Desert biomes.
  
• Added wave spawn markers in multiple desert biome attack waves, which were previously missing.
  
• Added some acid biome attack wave spawn markers, which were previously missing.
  
• Added additional safe mode localization strings.
  
• Reduced sound volume for some buildings in 'working' state.
  
• Added a popup that informs players about the Terms of Service of the modding feature.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a crash that occurred when performing a Power Jump skill.
  
• Removed unnecessary button from the Tower Ammo Factory action menu.
  
• Fixed a crash that occurred when building the Planetary Scanner before researching it (through cheats).
  
• Mini Miners no longer keep working indefinitely after leaving them behind on an Outpost.
  
• Fixed a missing header on the Sentry Turret entity.
  
• Prevent building overlap by making sure that the grid culler nodes are populated after building spawn.
  
• Research Screen: fixed a research tooltip when the subspecies field is empty.
  
• Buildings should now connect to pipes in a proper way.
  
• Safe Mode now ignores any startup commands and launches the game in an intended way, with the safest values possible.
  
• Fixed random crashes that occurred during loading.
  
• Increased the limit of world entities from 300.000 to 1.000.000.
  
• Fixed a crash in the inventory system.
  
• Fixed Day Only/Night Only time of day modes in Custom Difficulties.
  
• Fixed the appearance of the seasonal event popup.
  
• Fixed a crash that occurred when stereo files were used for spacial sound on multichannel (e.g., 5.1/7.1) systems.
  
• Fixed FSR 2.1 ghosting effect on DirectX 11.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused players not to get AI cores back after selling a damaged defensive tower.
  

EXOR Studios

We have just published a small hotfix that solves the following issues:

The Riftbreaker Hotfix, December 5th, 2022, EXE: 635 DATA: 255:

• Fixed a SwapBuffer error issue that happened because of a mouse cursor rendering error.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused double buffering of the graphics scene that could lead to crashes and slowdowns.
  
• Fixed an issue with the ConcurrentQueue function that caused crashes during loading.
  
• World entity limit increased from 300.000 to 1.000.000 entities.
  
• Fixed an error during pipe removal.
  
• Fixed a deadlock that occurred due to an error when a seasonal event is active.
  

There are no other changes in this build.

Hello Riftbreakers!

Humans have always had the tendency to look at the stars in search of the unknown. While stargazing, it is pretty easy to forget that space is not the only place that holds secrets. Hundreds of unresolved mysteries could be waiting closer than you’d think. Sometimes all it takes is to know where to look. The Riftbreaker: Into the Dark is the second World Expansion for our game, this time taking Ashley and Mr. Riggs on a journey beneath the surface of Galatea 37.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2108630/The_Riftbreaker_Into_The_Dark/

Into the Dark begins with Ashley and Mr. Riggs encountering groups of native Galatean creatures affected by what seems to be a parasitic, crystalline growth, similar to what Ashley encountered before on Orion. This unknown pathogen affects the creatures’ physical abilities, as well as their behavior, as they viciously attack Mr. Riggs and Ashely’s base. An investigation into the source of the attacks leads Ashley to discover a giant, maze-like structure of underground caverns that seem to emit strange signals. There is only one thing our heroes can do - venture into the dark and seek the source of this newfound threat.

Some concept art for the new types of crystals you're going to find in the Crystal Caverns.

The second World Expansion will allow you to enjoy a new portion of the Story Campaign that takes place in a previously unexplored, underground caverns biome. Given that it is wildly different from every other area of Galatea 37 that we have previously seen, you will be able to employ various new tactics and mechanics in order to stay alive. One truly groundbreaking addition to The Riftbreaker arsenal will be the ability to dig out your own tunnels and caverns.

An early preview of the excavation mechanic. We're going to tweak it so that it feels satisfying and quick.

Using Mr. Riggs’ upgraded drilling arm, you will be able to excavate portions of the softer rocks that make up the majority of the structures you find underground. By doing so, you will find large deposits of valuable resources, as well as give yourself an opportunity to set up an outpost in the cavern system itself. You will need one in order to conduct research and analysis of your underground findings. However, defending it will prove to be challenging in itself. The inhabitants of these caverns will not make your life easy.

Thousands of brand-new mushrooms (and more!) await the meeting with your Bioscanner!

The Crystal Caverns biome comes complete with its own little wildlife kingdom. Apart from the crystallized forms of other Galatean creatures you might have encountered earlier, you will also discover some entirely new species capable of traversing the caves and corridors much more efficiently than you, even utilizing the walls and ceilings. There are even giant behemoths that dig their own tunnels! Be wary of your surroundings when exploring the area. The potential rewards are great, as exploration will grant you new abilities and technologies that will help you survive in the unknown.

Some of you were asking for this art, so here it is in hi-res - https://imgur.com/a/H1j19GZ

Since we want to take a much more open approach during the development of Into the Dark, we are going to regularly (as much as the production’s schedule permits) release updates on how the development is going and what additions you can expect when it comes to items, enemies, technology and much more. Just as with the first World Expansion, the new Crystal Caverns Biome is going to be available as a free update to be played in Survival mode. We would also like to run some beta tests ahead of the release. This new biome introduces many completely new game mechanics that we want to iterate on together with the community. If you want to be the first to get information on that process, join our Discord at www.discord.gg/exorstudios. We will let you know once we have more details on that!

See you next time!
EXOR Studios