Hello Riftbreakers! This week we are beginning open tests of one of the most extensive updates for The Riftbreaker to date. It is the Modding & Campaign Update that was detailed as the first of the major updates that we're working on post-release. This major update introduces the much-requested Custom Campaign Difficulty Settings, extended modding support, modding tools and addresses some of the most prevalent bugs that have been impacting your experience playing The Riftbreaker. The patch also introduces some Quality of Life fixes, balancing changes, and improvements that have been suggested by you either here on Steam or on our Discord - www.discord.gg/exorstudios. Due to the significant amount and severity of changes, this patch will first become available on the Steam experimental branch. Here are the instructions on how to access it: To join the experimental branch: [olist] [*] create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker) [*] disable Steam Cloud save backup [*] go to your Steam Library [*] right-click on The Riftbreaker [*] select 'Properties,’ then 'Betas,’ and use the following password: [b]IknowWhatImDoing[/b] [/olist] 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. [b]EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:[/b] Saves that you create on the Experimental Branch WILL NOT be compatible with older versions of the game like the current, default branch of the game. They will be compatible with future versions of the game - save files only migrate forward. Please manually backup your save files if you plan on reverting to the default branch of the game. The experimental branch might contain severe errors and bugs. If you are not sure if you want to accept that risk, we recommend waiting until the patch is confirmed to be stable and until it arrives on the main branch. [h1]The Riftbreaker Experimental Update, December 3rd, 2021. Package #93, Binaries #370[/h1] [h3]NEW FEATURES[/h3] [list] [*] [b]The Campaign mode can now be played using the Custom Difficulty setting. You can adjust the parameters of your Campaign, such as resource density, creature damage, and the size of waves, similar to what you could do previously in the Survival Mode. You can modify the following parameters:[/b] [list][*] Enemy damage factor - (from 1% to 500%) - Determines how much damage a creature deals in combat (both to buildings and Mr. Riggs). For example: if a creature deals 100 damage per attack, and the multiplier is set to 50%, it will deal 50 damage instead. [*] Resource volume factor - (from 1% to 500%) - Determines how much resources the game will distribute in the resource deposits scattered across the map. 100% is the default value. Everything below 100% will mean that you will get less resources on your map. Everything above 100% will increase the size of the available deposits. [*] Research cost - (from 1% to 500%) - Determines the time necessary to carry out research. Values below 100% decrease the time, above 500% on the other hand increase it. [*] Building cost - (from 1% to 500%) - Affects the cost of most buildings in the game. At 1% they are almost free, while at 500% you will have to save up for every solar panel. The exceptions are the Headquarters and Solid Material Storage - their costs always remain the same. [*] Building time multiplier - (from 1% to 500%) - Affects the length of the building process. Values below 100% make it quicker than usual, while above 100% - longer than usual. [*] Items dropped after death - (from 0 to 6) - Determines the maximum number of weapons Mr. Riggs can drop after being destroyed. [*] Attacks per wave multiplier - (from 1 to 5) - Determines how many attack waves will attack you. The default is 1. When set to 2 or higher, the number of attacks will get multiplied. Warning - high numbers of creatures come at a performance cost! [*] Gravity scale - (from 1% to 500%) - This option affects how gravity works on physical objects. When set to lower than 100% all objects will appear lighter and fall down to the ground more slowly. It might make collecting some loot more difficult. Values higher than 100% make everything appear heavier. [*] Prepare attack time multiplier - (from 0.5 to 5) - This option affects how much time you will get to prepare once you receive the warning about an incoming attack. At the default value - 1.0 - it will be 2 minutes. [*] Idle time multiplier - (from 0.5 to 3) - This affects the hidden timer that counts down between unscripted attacks on your base. The default is 1.0. If you wish to get attacked more often, select 0.5. If you want longer periods of peace and tranquility, increase the value. [*] Enable negative events - (on/off) - This option enables or disables the negative weather events, such as acid rain, tornado or hailstorms. [*] Time of day mode - (continuous/only day/only night) - Allows you to enable or disable the day and night system and lock the game to perpetual night or day. [*] Sandbox control panel - (on/off) - Enables or disables the hidden sandbox control panel that you can access by pressing the F11 key. It contains lots of debug options that you can experiment with. [*] Enemy wave strength - (easy/normal/hard/brutal) - determines the strength of enemy waves that will attack your base. [/list] [*] All buildings now work while they are being upgraded. You're welcome. [*] [b]All keys are now rebindable in the Customize Controls menu screen. We added the following actions to the bindings list:[/b] [list][*] [gamepad] select building [*] [gamepad] build mode switch category [*] [gamepad] build mode select] [*] build standard floor [*] build extra stable floor [*] build acid-resistant floor [*] build max level [*] build basic lamp [*] quick save [*] quick load [*] journal[/list] [*] Players can now repair walls using the click-and-drag building system when the wall is selected from the building menu. This allows you to quickly rebuild the wall pieces that have been lost while also repairing the remaining ones at the same time. [img]https://media.giphy.com/media/y9h4puP0xqgZOO22CI/giphy.gif[/img] [*] Added an up/down gamepad D-pad shortcut for the Research Screen that allows you to move research items within the research queue. [*] Ghost 2x2 buildings will now snap to the middle of the grid instead of the bottom left grid. This should improve your feel for their placement and make it less probable to misplace a building [*] Added formatting for displaying values equal to or larger than one billion. [*] Rare Element Mine now has different models for all building levels. [img]https://i.imgur.com/KGNvIt3.png[/img] [*] A blinking 'Storage Full' icon appears in the top-right corner of the screen when you run out of storage capacity. The icon will blink only ten times and then disappear. [img]https://i.imgur.com/QMpRKEs.gif[/img] [*] Commands.lua: Added cheat_destroy_entities_by_type type, for dealing a lot of damage to entities [*] The game will now show a consent popup if the Game Pass sign-in requires it. This will prevent users from seeing an error message saying they are trying to log into another user's account. [/list] [h3]CHANGES[/h3] [list] [*] Optimized resource consumption in powerplants by adding high priority to resource converters. - Power plants utilizing liquids will no longer turn off before power plants that burn off fuel such as carbonium, plant or animal biomass, or uranium. [*] All Stregaros strains will now count towards the 'Find the unusual creature' objective. [*] Reduced damage values for Spears of all quality levels - their damage output proved to be problematic in conjunction with high range and the slowing effect. [*] Resource-depleted announcements will be less frequent now. [*] Save file opening method has been changed to a more stubborn one - the game will now try to open a file several times before declaring surrender. [*] Resource display on HUD is smoother now. We refresh the display every second but gather values over 5 seconds to take an average. This will prevent your balance display from blinking between positive and negative values. [*] Information about saving the game is now displayed 3 seconds ahead of time to prepare the player for it. [*] Enabled the carnicynth species in the discoverable system to prevent warning messages when playing with cheat_full_bestiary enabled. [*] Added a small delay for 'working' state effects in power plants. This allows us to prevent the annoying 'blinking' effect when your power capacity is near maximum or if the plant has insufficient fuel. [*] The 'Send Feedback' option in the menu now has a bigger text box, supporting longer messages. Please keep that feedback coming - we really do read all your comments! [*] 'Storage Full' icon was replaced with the 'Research' icon on the Alien Research Laboratory building. The icon appears when the Laboratory is idle. [*] Correct number of building cube effects will now spawn when building long walls to improve performance. [/list] [h3]FIXES[/h3] [list] [*] Fixed game flow being stuck in the desert_scout mission if the base Stregaros species would not spawn and only alpha or ultra variants were present. [*] Fixed Tower Ammo Factories turning on after the player uses a consumable. This bug could potentially result in huge resource drainage if the player had plenty of Tower Ammo Factories built. [*] Upgrading the Headquarters no longer blocks you from building other structures. [*] Fixed an error that prevented some players from activating the Rift Station in the final sequence. The game logic doesn't check the timer now, but the variable, making the flow more robust. [*] Building limit for Headquarters is now separate from Outposts. This fixes the issue where a player could not rebuild their Headquarters if they already had 7 Outposts built elsewhere. [*] Fixed an error that prevented players from respawning on a side mission after their outpost got destroyed, potentially blocking progress. [*] Fixed a bug that caused players to get stuck in permanent invisibility while using Alien Camouflage and building shortcuts. [*] The Maintenance Tools upgrade will no longer decrease AI core resource requirements for AI-powered buildings. [*] Fixed an error that prevented users from building the maximum level building due to running against the building cap. [*] Fixed a crash that happened when a building was trying to display a missing icon. [*] Fixed the Arachnoid Boss ranged attack. Visually, it looked as if the creature shot five projectiles, but in reality, it was twice as many. Now, there are five physical projectiles. [*] Fixed muzzle attachment position in Laser. [*] Slightly reduced the effectiveness of Reflective Armor. [*] Fixed textures for one of the tree types that prevented them from swaying in the wind. [*] All ground types that deal damage to the player should now do so correctly. [*] Fixed an error that caused the timer to display an incorrect value while harvesting the Bioanomalies. [*] 'Not enough ammunition for defensive towers' announcement will no longer play when buildings are missing energy or AI cores. [*] Fixes for inaccurate hitboxes on the Customize Controls menu screen. [*] Changed the dissolve pattern on floors while selling them. [*] Fixed constructor in logic_set_global_variable.lua to prevent memory corruption issues. [*] Fixed errors in journal paging with filters enabled. Previously it was possible to skip some entries while changing the page due to an error. All information will be displayed correctly now. [*] Moved graphics synchronize update after end frame sync point in GameplayExecutor to avoid memory corruption issues. [*] Fixed an issue that prevented dialogues related to underground mushrooms from triggering. [*] Fixed the disassembly popup when selling buildings from an outpost - it will now correctly stretch according to the number of buildings being sold. [*] Fixed elemental dash effects blocking damage from other sources. [*] Fixed research information disappearing while upgrading your Communications Hub. [*] 'No research selected' announcement will no longer play immediately after completing the construction of the Communications Hub. [/list] [h3]GRAPHICS[/h3] [list] [*] Added a special shader for animated quicksand, as well as liquid resources - mud, water, and sludge. [img]https://i.imgur.com/j9nc8Hb.gif[/img] [img]https://media.giphy.com/media/rSN5DQqZQTI9IjCOuW/giphy.gif[/img] [img]https://media.giphy.com/media/SlRIJZQBZHFeZAinIV/giphy.gif[/img] [*] Added new models for projectiles shot by Hedroner, Arachnoid Boss, Magmoth, and Corrosive Gun. New particle effects have been added to their attacks to properly align with physical projectiles. [*] The dash attack effects for Phirian have been improved. [*] Improved weather effects for the Super Moon event. The lights, fog, and particles should be more visible now. [*] Gravity Grenade icon updated to resemble the in-game model. [*] Proximity Mine icon simplified. [*] Desert levels loading screens have been altered - the crystals on the artwork now match the color of the crystals found in-game. [*] Added a highlight for the crafting button when selected. [/list] We aim to release the patch to the public branch before the Holiday season begins. Please let us know about any issues and bugs you come across. [h3]MODDING SUPPORT AND TOOLS[/h3] [b]This is the first public release of our internal game editing tools.[/b] We have used these tools to create The Riftbreaker and have been using them on a daily basis. As we've grown used to them and some of their shortcomings, we are aware that we may no longer see some of the issues that reside within, or we have learned to work around them without having to spend any time to fix them. Our initial goal was to put them into your hands as soon as possible, to start an open discussion about what works and what doesn't, and what the areas that you would like to see improved the most are. Please be aware that these tools are not very user-friendly and are very rough around the edges. We didn't have enough time to create any in-depth instructions for this experimental release, but we're already working on tutorial videos that will walk you through the basic concepts of using them. All of the modding tools are currently distributed inside the game's main folder structure under Steam and don't have a dedicated launcher. We are thinking about the optimal way of hooking them into the game's easily accessible launch options. The end goal for the default branch release is to have them available as a free DLC so that they don't bloat the game's package size for the users that are not interested in them. We will also be distributing these tools on GitHub - you can already find them here. [b]Ok, enough of the rambling. Here are some basic instructions on how to find the tools and how to launch them. [/b] The modding tools are located under Steam in this folder: [code]\Steam\SteamApps\common\Riftbreaker\tools\bin[/code] [b]WorkSpace Editor[/b] - This is a new tool that we've created specifically for modding. We recommend that you launch it first. It will allow you to create a new workspace for your Mod. All of the other tools will use this workspace and save all of the files that you create within that directory tree. This will additionally allow you to simply zip that single folder and distribute the zip as your mod. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34659267/244a11738883e38290a977a40a04c232e6b0763f.png[/img] [b]Level Editor[/b] - This tool is used to create new entirely custom maps as well as tiles and prefabs for randomly generated levels. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34659267/62872c24fb8042b0292d083cd1051ec7b88dbbf5.jpg[/img] [b]Mission Editor[/b] - This tool is used to create and edit custom mission logic. It's a bit complicated, so until we create some instructions, we encourage you to first browse the .logic files that already govern the game. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34659267/49afcf0bced32acd6014fc7aa56d348411fe7aee.png[/img] [b]Riftbreaker Data Editor[/b] - This is our swiss army knife for editing various game data - Weapons, Mods, Loot, Crafting, and Research. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34659267/09a9afc5f9084ad9f6274b02dabc0c76d18a4efd.png[/img] There aren't any instructions available for these tools yet, but we are already working on a set of videos that will introduce the basic concepts of editing the game. You will probably soon be asking - [b]when is Steam Workshop coming?[/b] - we are already evaluating the best way to distribute mods and we'll let you know as soon as we have some details to share. Thank you, EXOR Studios