Hello everyone! Long time no see! These past few weeks have been very intense for us at EXOR Studios. We have been working very hard on preparing The Riftbreaker for release and we come with some good news for you. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34659267/b4c474e52aafdafd23238cfa0d240723833903ed.jpg[/img] First of all, we managed to prepare a substantial update for The Riftbreaker Beta version. It’s a major update, with multiple fixes and reworks for the systems that needed them most. The Beta 2 update includes a completely redesigned crafting screen, reworked pipe and liquid resource system, lots of performance and memory optimizations as well as multiple other fixes that you’ve been asking for. The full changelog for The Riftbreaker Beta 2 Update is included at the end of this article. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34659267/458dd38d9abb0c5daf41e1a389d3ef1241266e81.jpg[/img] As usual, we are going to celebrate the release of the patch with a Beta giveaway stream. Join us today, August 24th, at 3 PM CEST on www.twitch.tv/exorstudios. Simply be there and be active in the chat to take part in the giveaway - we’re going to gift you codes at random times during the entire stream, so don’t worry if you can’t make it on time - you will still get your chance to get into the Beta. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34659267/5a6d511b4f472dc7ec7c261bbc54bc19cbbb08e5.jpg[/img] There is one more thing we would like to share with you today. We are still on track for release this autumn. Naturally, this requires us to shift our focus and resources entirely towards bringing the game up to the level of polish that is both satisfying for us and for you. That’s why we’ve been so quiet lately. The good news is that we’re making great progress and we should be able to announce the game’s precise release date within the next few weeks. There are going to be plenty of events accompanying the release, with some sweet prizes for you to win as well. The best way to keep up with all the news is to sign up for our Discord server at www.discord.gg/exorstudios. Now let’s take a look at the changelog: [h1]The Riftbreaker Beta Update 2 - 24th of August 2021:[/h1] [h2]FEATURES[/h2] [list] [*] The crafting screen has received a massive overhaul. All feedback is appreciated. [*] Pipe system has been reworked. It allows for draining pipes that were filled with liquids and is generally more robust. That being said, try as hard as you can to break it. [*] All game menus can now be operated on the gamepad using a software cursor controlled by the analog sticks on your controller. [*] Bioanomalies have been added. You can read more about them here: [*] When Mr. Riggs loses all weapons in any of his hands, the game automatically equips a basic version of the power fists. You are no longer defenseless after dropping all the boomsticks. [*] Max FPS limiter has been added to the settings menu. Thanks to this option you can manually reduce the maximum workload of your GPU without enabling V-Sync. [*] Cursor size setting has been added to the settings menu. There are three available sizes and the game chooses the right one according to your screen resolution, but you can change it manually if need be. [*] New ribbon effects have been added to all throwables, melee attacks and bigger projectiles, such as rockets. They are fully dynamic and much better at showing you exactly what's going on on the screen. [/list] [h2]CHANGES[/h2] [list] [*] The Geoscanner and Bioscanner are no longer craftable items. You don't have to equip them either. If you have Cobalt Handling technology, you can use the Geoscanner at any time by pressing the space bar (X on Xbox controller, square on PS controller). The Bioscanner becomes available after researching 'Alien research'. The key for that one is the middle mouse button (LB+RB on gamepads). [*] The Geoscanner and Bioscanner effects have been improved. [*] Changed the basic research tree layout and costs: - geothermal lvl1 is easier to get - solar and wind lvl 2 and 3 are easier to get - cultivators are much cheaper to research [*] Much bigger solid material storage - +200 from +100 at level 1, +400 from +200 on level 2 and +800 from +400 on level 3. [*] Ground_unit_artillery type added to bomogan, baxmoth, lesigian and nurglax. This is important because: [*] Ground_unit_artillery set to the highest priority target in artillery and heavy artillery towers. You're welcome. [*] Baxmoth reworked - less hp, more murderous drones, fixed behavior patterns. [*] Added Baxmoth attack waves in the jungle survival biome [*] Increased the minimum number of sludge volumes generated on the jungle map. [*] Added a sound for collecting dropped weapons. [*] Less powerful basic fists - much less stun and lifesteal, smaller damage radius [*] Survival - shorter build time for uranium centrifuge [*] Tweaked some weapon mods - some are less powerful, some are actually useful now. [*] Tweaked how foliage fire is spreading for all you pyromaniacs. [*] Ground textures have been tweaked to give them more contrast. [*] Reworked alien research tree to allow easier rare resource handling [*] Split up melee weapons research into separate items. [*] Blue moon event is really blue now. [*] New sorting order for resources on HUD. [*] Increased creature volume respawn time. [*] Less powerful reflect damage upgrade. [*] Ammo storage and solid material storage buildings now have separate models for all building levels. [*] Longer protection time for loot pickups. [*] Reduced arming timer in mines. [*] Much brighter flashlight on the mech. [*] Added support for screenshots in auto saves. [*] New sound sets for baxmoth. [*] Fixed krocoon stun animation and changed his resistance from physical to area [*] Updated skins for kermon [*] Power jumps - shorter cooldown but less damage and smaller radius [*] SettingsMenuScreen: `vibration` and `camera_shake` are now power sliders, allowing you to fine-tune the intensity of those effects. [*] Continue Game' option has been added to the main menu. It will load the newest available save file. [*] "How to play" removed from options because you know how to play. [*] Icons added to shielding research. [*] Fixed names in all shielding researches. [*] Fixed icons for building limit, towers and bioscanner [*] Tweaked build menu order for defense category. This is still not the final version of the build menu, but it will do for now. [*] Laser pointer removed from bioscanner. [/list] [h2]FIXES[/h2] [list] [*] Improved CPU and GPU performance, especially on larger maps with lots of creatures. [*] Improved creeper performance. [*] Improved performance for scenarios with large radar coverage. [*] Grass models have been changed to have a lower impact on the GPU. [*] Updated seed for the GPU benchmark. [*] Small amount of storage added to liquid pumps to fix setups with short pipelines. Pipes are being reworked atm. [*] Fixes for metal floor 3x3 and 2x2 tiles appearing darker in some conditions [*] Fixes for memory harvesting and leaks. [*] Fixed raytracing glitches and crashes. [*] Fixed a lot of random crashes and performance issues. [*] Achievements: fix `Walk in the park` not being bound to campaign type [*] Minimap: `cheat_minimap_teleport_on_click` will work only within playable bounds [*] Minimap: tweak disappear/appear dissolve timers for cheat teleport [*] PauseOverlayScreen: fix 'new' adorner being always visible on DatabaseScreen icon [*] DamageSystem: generate lifesteal events only when attacking units [*] Launcher: fix for `languages` changes not being properly written to file [*] MissionObjectSpawner: prevent spawning objects on blocked/taken cells [*] Achievements: fix crash when equipping extreme quality mod in towers level 3 [*] Fixed crafting screen gamepad shortcuts [*] Achievements: change `Book worm` trigger to 50% [*] mine_layer_drone.lua: fix for drone being stuck in `landing` animation pose [*] flora_cultivator.lua: make sure there is always biomass_sapling item [*] flora_cultivator.lua: fix crash when selling building [*] Fixed terrain segments issues (viewport border blinking) [*] Multiple fixes that should increase stability when raytracing is on [*] Fixed blocking build menu entry/exit due to psychotic user behavior [*] Fixed resetting the map to the starting state after save corruption is detected. [*] Similar items should now be correctly displayed in the inventory. [*] Fixed a couple of severe memory leaks. [*] Saves will no longer end up in 'unknown' folder. [*] Flora cultivator retains the sapling after being upgraded. [*] A lot of other fixes, changes and improvements that were never logged and forgotten. [/list]