It's hard to portray the Open Campaign mode in a visual form, so we're going to use this opportunity to show off some WIP shots of the yet unnamed ice biome (name suggestions welcome). You can click the images to see them in a higher resolution. These visuals do not represent the final quality of the update.
Since we dropped the news about the Open Campaign mode that is coming to you with the free World Expansion IV for The Riftbreaker, we have received numerous questions about this new game mode. We’re not surprised - it’s hard to describe what the entirety of the Open Campaign will be like in the short tidbits we have been posting. Today, we’d like to share some information about this new way to play The Riftbreaker Campaign. Much of it is still work in progress. As we playtest our ideas, new problems and challenges emerge. However, this is the fun part of game development: solving problems to create something unique and enjoyable. Here are six things we know for sure about the new Open Campaign Mode in The Riftbreaker. Minor Story Campaign spoilers ahead - you’ve been warned!
Video form here: https://youtube.com/shorts/XQqsWqK5s0c?feature=share
The enemies you encounter in the new biome are adapted versions of creatures you know already. However, their strenghts and weaknesses are different now, so you will have to figure out new tactics to deal with them.
The Riftbreaker’s Story Campaign begins in the Tropical Zone of Galatea 37 - the most tame and Earth-like biome of them all. It is not a coincidence. Quantum scans of the planet indicated that it should be the most welcoming zone. We wanted to ease you into the game and give you the chance to learn the basic mechanics and features in the safest environment possible. The Open Campaign is intended for experienced Riftbreakers and throws this safety net out the window. You can choose your starting biome freely based on its unique advantages and disadvantages. For example, starting your Campaign in the Radioactive Desert will pretty much guarantee UNLIMITED POWER thanks to the increased performance of Solar Panels. On the other hand, you might have a hard time building up your base due to the omnipresent quicksand and intense radiation. No matter which biome you choose, you start with only the basic technologies. You will have to research everything else on your own. Thanks to this, each biome will present unique challenges and require you to develop new build orders based on your current needs.
When exploring the new biome, you will often encounter these icy Kermons. They look like a more primordial version of the original creature, and lack the cloaking ability, but they are no less deadly.
You won’t have to complete any missions in order to unlock tech items in the research tree. Let’s continue with our Radioactive Desert example and the quicksand problem. You will need the Extra Stable Floor to utilize all the real estate on the map. Normally, you would have to progress through the story a little bit in order to unlock that technology for research. In Open Campaign, all you have to do is reach familiarity level 2 of the Stregaros species, which is already present in your starting location. This is the case for all research items in the technology tree. All requirements are clearly stated in the research screen, and you can plan your path forward ahead of time.
The Randomized Mission Generator will be one of the most important tools in the Open Campaign.
Do not underestimate the dangers of this biome - even in these conditions, the local wildlife will try their best to destroy you.
In the Open Campaign mode, we will not hold your hand through the process of pre-colonizing Galatea 37. You will have just one goal - establish a stable rift portal connection back home. We will not be interfering with your process. You will get the ability to generate missions using the planetary scanner interface for all biomes right from the get-go (as soon as you construct the Orbital Scanner building). If you want to explore the entirety of the planet and establish Outposts all around the globe - that’s great. On the other hand, we won’t stop you if your goal is to completely speedrun the Prime Rift Station building process. As long as you find a way to get the necessary resources, you are free to do as you like. We want you to set your own goals and pace - even if it means completing the entire campaign in one sitting (send us a video if you manage to do it).
Even the predatory plants of the Fungal Swamp have adapted to these conditions. Beware of Carnicynths, especially when assaulting creature nests!
The fact that we will not dictate the pace of the game with objectives doesn’t mean that this is going to be a 100% sandbox experience (unless you choose the sandbox difficulty level - duh). You will still get attacked by hordes of Galatean wildlife, and they are just as angry as ever. The Open Campaign mode will allow you to choose a difficulty level, just like in the case of the Story Campaign. It will dictate the strength of alien waves that come knocking on your doorstep. Main events, such as opening the portal, will still cause thousands of enemies to swarm you from all sides. It’s a good idea to be prepared and fortify your positions.
If you want to, you can start in the Volcanic Zone. We don't guarantee that you won't curse this place afterwards, but you can do it! You can even place megastructures there.
Our previous World Expansions always arrived in two parts - a free content update for all our users, and a story-based campaign episode in the form of a paid DLC. Since the Open Campaign does not put an emphasis on the story, it doesn’t make sense to impose an artificial limit on you. When playing the Open Campaign, you will be able to visit all the Galatean biomes as part of the base game experience. You will have the chance to set up your resource outposts in the Metallic Valley, Crystal Caverns, and the Fungal Swamp. It will be the first time our base game users will be able to utilize the resources from these biomes in their Campaigns and enjoy them outside of the Survival Mode.
If you pick the right tool for the job, defending your base gets a lot easier!
The Open Campaign logic is extremely simplified compared to the regular Story Campaign. Everything has been stripped to the bare minimum necessary for the game to function correctly. This makes it much easier to inject custom-made missions and entire storylines into the campaign if you want to. With such a simplified logic structure, you can make sure that all the events you design for your mods run exactly as you want and without getting stuck on some random story tidbit that got in the way. You can come up with an entire alternative storyline for Ashley and Mr. Riggs - the only limit is your imagination.
As you would expect, fire works pretty well against most creatures here, but it's not catch-all!
The Open Campaign mode in the Riftbreaker will offer a fresh perspective on the conquest of Galatea 37. While it is intended for those players who are already familiar with the game, we will not lock access to it behind completing the main story. There is a large community of players who enjoy being thrown into the deep end and having to piece everything together on their own. If you are one of these people, this will be the perfect way to play for you. You will be free to tackle the challenges offered by the game in any way you like, with no explanations in the form of dialogues, in-game tips, or required objectives.
The creatures of the ice biome will get their own preview articles, where you will be able to see the Alpha and Ultra variants as well. Here's a glimpse of a couple of them.
Even though the basic rules of this game mode might sound simple, implementing it is not trivial. Adapting each biome to support the Headquarters was no small feat. We had to ensure that all biomes in the game have all the necessary resources and building blocks to allow you to build up your main base wherever you want. Additionally, the original Story Campaign features many requirements and locks. They were placed there to ensure you always know what to do next and have all the required tools to progress through the story. We are currently in the process of unraveling this entire structure, as we need to make sure that you can complete the Open Campaign no matter where you want to start and which path to follow. The options are infinite, and we won’t be able to test it all by ourselves. Would you like to help? If you would, sign up for our newsletter here and join the Discord server at https://www.discord.gg/exorstudios to learn about testing opportunities and get informed about the experimental releases.
See you there!
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