If you want a TL;DR of this article, this commentary trailer will give you all the essentials in a nutshell.
We have just released a huge, free content update for The Riftbreaker! It features the highly anticipated World Expansion IV, including the brand-new Cryo Fields biome, as well as an entirely new way to play the game - the Open Campaign mode. This update brings many changes and improvements to the game.
We might be a little biased, but this artwork hits all the right notes for us.
All the features of the World Expansion IV Update are available both in solo and co-op play. If you want to test the co-op mode, please make sure that all players are on the same version of the game. You can check the build number at the bottom of any menu screen in the game. This is also important if you want to play using the dedicated server. You must update the server separately from your main copy of the game.
All the features from this free update are availalbe both in solo and co-op modes. Invite your friends to try the game - it's free to play for the weekend!
It’s also a great time to try The Riftbreaker if you haven’t played yet! The game is 66% off right now, the deepest discount to date! Moreover, The Riftbreaker is free to play on Steam as part of our Free Weekend promo - you can play the game absolutely for free until Monday, the 9th of March.
Judging by the intensity of Brutal Survival such a layout would never happen. However, freedom is the name of the game in World Expansion IV - you can set your game up in a way that allows you to build pretty bases like this one.
The Open Campaign Mode is finally here! This new game mode allows you to skip the Story part of the regular Campaign, and gives you full control over how and where your mission on Galatea 37 begins.
You can choose any of the biomes available in the game as your starting area. No DLCs required! Each biome will put you in a completely unique early-game situation. Starting in the Tropical Zone is perfect for those who want a smooth start with few threats from the environment. Choosing harsher regions like the Volcanic Area or Acidic Plains will immediately test your survival skills with environmental hazards and limited technology options. However, we can guarantee that all biomes are viable starting points that allow you to complete the game - we checked ourselves!
Some biomes offer a more relaxed start, others are complete chaos from the first minutes. This mode is not intended as a first-time experience, but you can try!
There are no dialogues suggesting what to do next. There aren’t any short-term objectives to follow, either (apart from dynamic, random encounters). Your only goal is to construct and activate the Prime Rift Station. How you go about completing this task is completely up to you. Resource availability, environmental threats, and expansion strategy will all depend on the starting biome you choose and the decisions you make along the way.
Building a structure that requires a ton of liquids in the desert just because a buddy said it would be funny? Sign me up!
Open Campaign Mode is available in both single-player and Co-Op. It’s a great alternative for players who want a more open-ended experience and greater control over their progression from the very beginning. You’ll also enjoy it if you like figuring things out on your own - no hand-holding whatsoever!
The new Cryo Fields biome can sometimes look serene and beautiful. Sometimes being the key word. Prepare for mayhem.
This is a permanently frozen region where nearly everything behaves differently from what you’re used to. One of the first things you’ll notice is how far apart the resource deposits are. They’re much larger than usual, but rarely close to each other. During our internal playtests, this quickly pushed us toward building multiple smaller outposts rather than a single centralized base. Trying to stretch a single base across the entire region usually creates more problems than it solves.
Unless you want to take over the entire map, we recommend building smaller extraction outposts. Resources are spread far apart in Cryo Fields.
You’ll also find natural Supercoolant deposits here. Until now, Supercoolant was something you had to manufacture yourself. In the Cryo Fields, it occurs naturally in large quantities, ready to be extracted and transported wherever you need it.
How many of you are wondering what will happen if we touch this thing?
The local ecosystem is very much alive. Creatures that evolved in these conditions won’t behave like anything you’ve encountered in other biomes. Some of our usual early-game defensive setups performed surprisingly poorly here. We had to adapt and come up with new strategies for survival, and you will likely need to do the same!
Wonder no more.
You can access the Cryo Fields biome in the Story Campaign through the Mission Generator after completing the Palladium Handling research. In Open Campaign, you can start there immediately. Godspeed, you brave soul!
Pro tip: attack waves in Cryo Fields are often accompanied by strong wind. Make sure to have a couple of turbines ready to take advantage of this effect.
The Cryo Fields biome is also available in Survival Mode. If you’re looking for a more intense and demanding Survival experience, this is it - Brutal difficulty level does not forgive mistakes here!
If the sheer number of storage buildings shown previously is making you dizzy, we have some good stuff for you, too.
We’ve added larger versions of the Solid Materials Storage and Energy Storage buildings. These are significantly bigger and more expensive than the regular ones, but the capacity increase is hard to ignore. Once your base reaches a certain size, replacing several smaller storages with a single large one simply saves you space.
A typical solar farm in the Radioactive Desert. The Solar Panel/Energy Storage split is roughly even.
Now, you can replace the smaller storage buildings with the new large storage. It's a lot more space-efficient and will allow you to better utilize the room in your base.
Both storage types are available in three upgrade levels. At higher tiers, they can support much larger production chains without running into a storage cap every 15 seconds. Be careful, though, the Large Energy Storage gets volatile when damaged…
And here are the three levels of Large Solid Material Storage.
There are also three new defensive towers.
A complete opposite of a 'warm welcome.'
The Icicle Tower fires a cryo projectile that breaks apart on impact and slows enemies in the area. It doesn’t deal a ton of damage to most creatures, but if you target something that’s vulnerable to cryo-damage, the effects are pretty spectacular. The added bonus of crowd control gives you and your other towers time to deal more damage. We think it’s a great addition to the lineup.
If you like the idea of HCM, but are afraid of pipes, this one is for you!
The Inferno Tower launches cluster fire projectiles that split mid-air and ignite the ground. It covers a wide area and works well as a mid-range defensive option. It’s like a mini-HCM. Perhaps it doesn’t deal as much damage, and the range is much shorter, but it’s only a fraction of HCM’s cost! Plus, you know, there’s fire. We like fire. There are also several explosions. We like those, too. When fire and explosions are put together, we are happy. Does this tower make you happy?
Acid-laced, splitting, razor-sharp needles are a nightmare scenario for me. Also for these Krocoons.
The Shredder Tower fires a rapid stream of acid projectiles. The individual hits aren’t the strongest, but the sustained fire adds up quickly. The little acid needles split on impact, hitting several other enemies with every single impact. It’s primarily a single-target weapon, but thanks to the extra cluster projectiles it will hold its own against groups, too.
The various rock structures will make you feel like you are inside a cave at times.
World Expansion IV also includes plenty of smaller features, changes, optimizations, and bug fixes. Take a look at the full changelog if you would like to see what we were up to these past couple of months!
This is an official invitation to the "build a functional Prime Rift Station in the weirdest place you can find" challenge. No rewards, this is just for fun and pushing your limits!
Additions and Changes:
Open Campaign is not any easier than the regular campaign. Every battle can turn into a full-scale war.
The Open Campaign does not have any objectives that tell you where to go next. Random encounters can still happen, though!
Fixes:
Enough talking, go and fight for peace on this planet engulfed in interstellar war, that you most certainly had nothing to do with!
As always, we are grateful for all the feedback and support that allowed us to finish this expansion so quickly. We hope you will have a lot of fun with the Open Campaign. We also hope that the falling ice blocks in the Cryo Fields biome won’t hurt you too badly (they absolutely will). Have fun conquering these new challenges!
If you would like to always be up to date with The Riftbreaker and EXOR Studios, sign up for our newsletter and join our Discord server at https://www.discord.gg/exorstudios.
EXOR Studios
PS. Sorry, Wirawan, for breaking your mod again!
