The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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Paingod
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The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Paingod »

The Riftbreaker is on sale at Steam and GOG.com, and I suppose Epic as well.

The game kind of defies a genre, which is instantly appealing to me. There's a demo available, which is also appealing. Test it out, see how it rolls for you. I played the demo and just bought the game. Last night I played until midnight and really wanted to keep playing but had the whole "sleep and work in the morning" thing to contend with.

You're "The Riftbreaker" - sent to an alien planet in a hyper-advanced robotic suit to try and secure a foothold for humanity since we've essentially destroyed Earth. Base building hack & slash, both done to a degree that doesn't make either side of the coin feel diminished.

The Hack & Slash comes in as you wander the map in your suit and combat hostile alien swarms with an array of weapons you can swap in and out, research, build & mod. You can stick a few mods in your suit, change out how it dashes/jumps, and outfit different abilities and sensors. The Base Building is pretty robust. There's everything from your basic walls and power supplies all the way up to teleportation portals to jump around the map and a multitude of support structures. A good number of weapons to equip and the ability to swap out three in each arm on the fly makes it a lot of fun to roam around smashing scenery and slaughtering hoards. Wander the map seeking rare item blueprints and hidden resource veins.

It's no slouch in base building, either. You get the basic walls and towers, but that ramps up into flamethrowers, artillery, armory upgrades, ammo generators, repair towers, solar panels, wind generators, geothermal power, biomass burners, water pumps, resource nodes, orbital surveillance ... well - I'm only 3 hours in and dawdling on the first map, but I haven't touched 1/4 of the research tree and will need to leave the starter world before I can see much more of it. Creatures come at your base in waves, but also as random mega-spawns. Earthquakes, tornadoes, ion storms, heavy fog, dead winds, asteroid strikes, meteorites, and other hazards create chaos in your base that you need to manage in between assaults from outside. Resources aren't "Power and Metal" either - you're juggling multiple metals, biomass, plant matter, electricity, AI cores, and more.

I have yet to have a dull moment. The first map has been fun and I've found myself going off-script without consequence (but ultimately needing to go back to following the tutorial checklist to progress).

Aside from some visual stutters (likely because I have graphics cranked up high on a 5-year old computer) I haven't run into a single bug. It's made to be a single-player game - having more than one heavy mech running around would create a massive imbalance in the game. If you're absolutely nuts, you can go Permadeath. I've avoided that particular option on my first run - and I've died a few times to prove the point.

I'm reluctant to rate the game as there's a demo available and it's a modest representation of the finished product (it's shallower, lacking upper-end buildings and any research options). My taste in games doesn't align with many others. I would personally give it a least 6/8 tentacles right now - but that's my scale. I suspect the score goes higher as I go further into the game.
Last edited by Paingod on Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by coopasonic »

I put this on my wishlist but then I noticed it's on Gamepass. "Free" is the best price tag!
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by Victoria Raverna »

Do you get to relax in this game or it is mostly just rush building and defending against waves and waves of enemies almost nonstop?
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by naednek »

Victoria Raverna wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 11:16 pm Do you get to relax in this game or it is mostly just rush building and defending against waves and waves of enemies almost nonstop?
there's breaks. During the breaks you're exploring, shoring up defenses, and building.
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by Paingod »

naednek wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 11:54 pm
Victoria Raverna wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 11:16 pm Do you get to relax in this game or it is mostly just rush building and defending against waves and waves of enemies almost nonstop?
there's breaks. During the breaks you're exploring, shoring up defenses, and building.
It's not pure insanity. If you get a feel for how you'll be attacked you can create fairly durable hardpoints on your walls that will break a strong wave of enemies. Waves happen infrequently, as do natural disasters. When a wave is coming, you're alerted to where it'll originate and given 2 minutes to prepare. When an enemy base spawns waves to attack with, you're shown where that base is located so you don't have to explore the map searching for it.

I'm still enjoy the game quite a bit. I'm a turtle in RTS games and prefer to savor a journey instead of mow down the game with my head down and eyes forward. This game appears to reward my desire to savor it. A few more notes based on my longer journey...

Not really a spoiler, but I felt it should be said:
Spoiler:
Your first map isn't your first map. It's your HQ. I took a big dump all over this map before I realized it and wished I hadn't. My base is a zig-zagged mass of unplanned expansion. It doesn't have to be. The first map is your HQ - a jump point to the rest of the world's locations.
An annoyance I've found in the game, related to the above.
Spoiler:
Because I have a sprawling mass of land and scattered buildings, I don't have a good auto-repair plan in place. My base was hit with heavy hail that partially damaged ALL of my buildings. Fixing this meant walking all over the map and dragging my Repair tool across all my walls, pipes, buildings, and turrets. Repairing is instant, but I still had to visit everything I ever built that wasn't already in range of a repair tower.

Because my base is a shambling mound of garbage planning, I'm seriously considering starting it over or tearing it apart piece by piece and relocating the essentially elements into tighter clusters so I can repair/defend them easier. It'll make me more vulnerable to tornadoes, but I can handle that if it means less headaches in other ways.
Some cool things I've bumped into...
Spoiler:
The game rewards extended exploration but doesn't make it a requirement. At some point you get a Bioscanner. If you wanted to, you can largely ignore it after you tag mission objectives with it. HOWEVER ... those mission objectives are just the beginning and you can run around and flesh out your entire catalog of flora and fauna. The more you learn about something, the more resources it drops and the more you know about it's weaknesses and strengths. I go on expeditions just to scan things now, and at each stage (number scanned: 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 70, 100, 130, et) you learn something new about a species.

That ties right into bioplanters you get later. If you've studied the local foliage well enough, you can plant it and harvest it automatically. Whoopdie-doo, right? No. If you plant a tree species that has a chance to drop ore, you actually start using that as a source of automatic ore gathering. It solves a lot of problems once your secured ore deposits dwindle. Some harder to find plants also drop advanced ores. The ore deposits inside my walls dried up a long time ago and I'm thriving on just my recycled plants.

In addition to manufacturing resources, basic plant biomass can be converted into power at a gain. Collect leaves > compost into gas > burn gas for fuel. It takes a fair bit of water (extracted from mud, a byproduct of geothermal power or mud pits) but with a little planning you can generate a heafty amount of your needed ore and power internally. Setting this up was reminiscent of getting Oil working in Factorio. Pumps, pipes, converters, & burners balanced in conjunction with each other.

I love the way each weapon has a use, but find myself leaning on melee Spears heavily. They have good range, slow enemies down, and don't require costly ammo to use. Every time you or a turret fires a gun, the bullets have to be rebuilt. That costs resources. Melee is free. Now that I've made perpetual ore generation a thing in my base, I'm probably going to shift back to rocket launchers and machine guns.
I'm still really enjoying the game and can't believe how much content there is in a $30 title.
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by Lordnine »

From the name I assumed this was some type of generic FPS and had been skipping this thread entirely. This looks really cool, definitely adding to my Wishlist.
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by Paingod »

Lordnine wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:47 pm From the name I assumed this was some type of generic FPS and had been skipping this thread entirely. This looks really cool, definitely adding to my Wishlist.
"Stompy Mech Alien Combat Base" is a cumbersome title... :D

That does make me wonder if I've accidentally passed on a game because the title sounded too much like a genre I didn't like.
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by Chraolic »

Paingod wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:02 pm That does make me wonder if I've accidentally passed on a game because the title sounded too much like a genre I didn't like.
I had zero interest in The Good Life until I found out it's a Swery game, and now I want to check it out just to experience the madness.
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by coopasonic »

Paingod wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 3:18 pm Fixing this meant walking all over the map
Teleport points are very cheap and you can access them from the map instantly. You should have one in every outpost you care about.

=====

I think I am on the final objective. I am playing on easy because normal crushed my spirit and soul and I had no idea what I was doing. On easy, I think it is too easy because you don't learn how to properly set up defenses because you can do it all yourself. For that final objective,
Spoiler:
you can't do it all yourself and the basic (tier 3) turrets I have been using are NOT up to the task. Throughout the whole game, base attacks involve three kinds of enemies, that changes dramatically and painfully for that final objective.
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Re: The Riftbreaker

Post by Paingod »

coopasonic wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:27 amOn easy, I think it is too easy because you don't learn how to properly set up defenses because you can do it all yourself
I've been playing "Normal" and could probably do with a dose of "Hard" now.

I've stopped walling in my bases and hoping to line them with enough turrets. I now create fortifications on my outskirts. Enemies seem drawn to the nearest buildings when they spawn. My little forts are meat grinders. 18 small arms turrets, 4 flamers, 4 rocket launchers, 4 artillery. All walled in tidy little boxes with repair and radar. So far nothing has breached it. As I get new turret types, I find ways to add them.

I did start over, losing a couple evenings of play instead of spending evenings trying to tear everything down and rebuild it. The problem came down to storage. You have to build storage. I didn't want to build a side base so I had enough storage/power/defense to break down my main base and rebuild it. I think structures are refunded at 100% build cost when you tear them down.

I was fascinated to discover that the maps are entirely randomized. My new HQ map is nothing like my last one. There's no reason to randomize them, but they did. I suppose it lends a little to replayability. Your choke points will shift around the map with each play. My current map even has a region in the top-right corner I can't access as it's cut off entirely by a cliff/valley.

I planned better the second time, though, with more mud siphons going to a central space that in turn pushed out water to a large garden and fuel depot - planning a layout similar to one I might use in Factorio.

I'm still just enjoying the atmosphere of the game, though, and not rushing to the end. You (coopasonic) seem to chew through games as fast as you can. Often impressively so. I like to take my sweet time, sometimes to a point where I get bored before I finish a game.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by coopasonic »

Speaking of, I just finished on easy. Now that I know what's up, I am somewhat tempted to try again on Normal just to see how much difference it makes. I definitely saw the value in outposts as distractions and for clearing hordes. I didn't really play it like tower defense, which is a big piece of why I was having trouble. I wanted to do all the killing myself and never really paid much attention to all the towers and what they were most useful against.

Before and after final mission pics of my map:
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Paingod »

It's interesting that you're in the corner down there. I worked to set myself up in the middle - or close to it. The middle of your map is a giant blob of rocks. When I get back to the apartment I'll see if I can post pictures of what my base looks like right now. I haven't done any of the "big" objectives and am mostly just putzing around, researching, and building what the game allows without going out into other zones. I haven't even mapped my whole HQ map. I'm doing that now, and scanning everything as I go.

Gardening...
Spoiler:
A solid garden is like cheat codes. Pick plants that provide resources and create a big grid of different plants. Scanning 10 of any plant species lets you grow it. You'll suddenly have all the power and materials you need without having to mine any of the basics. All it takes is a lot of mud.

Tier I Purfiers make 50 water/sec for 100 mud. Tier II make 75 per 100.
Tier I planters take 100 water/sec. Tier II Planters do too, but send out 3x the drones.
Tier I Research takes 10 water/sec
Tier I Bio-composters take 10 water/sec

I'm collecting 1100 mud per second right now, which becomes 825 water (Tier II). I'm running 6 growers (600 water), maybe 12 harvesters, 10 bio-composters (100 water), and 2 Research labs (20 water). I have 105 surplus water and that's okay. I'm producing in 2500 power/sec along with lots of basic materials and all of it is 100% renewable, running day and night, wind or not.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by coopasonic »

Paingod wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 11:35 am It's interesting that you're in the corner down there. I worked to set myself up in the middle - or close to it. The middle of your map is a giant blob of rocks.
I didn't really look at the map when I set up the base, I was just looking for a concentration of resources, not realizing I was in the corner. On that blob in the middle, it looks like that is actually unexplored territory mixed with some rocks (I can't open imgur links on my work PC (( and by PC I mean MacBook Pro :P )) to zoom in). If I were to play again, I would def explore the full map before setting up my base so I could take best advantage of the natural defenses the map provides.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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coopasonic wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:29 pmIf I were to play again, I would def explore the full map before setting up my base so I could take best advantage of the natural defenses the map provides.
I tried to do this on my second attempt. It's easier said than done. You start with a sword and a machine gun. Ammo does not regen, consumables do not regen. Once you're out of heals, you're out. Same for ammo and mines. With no base to respawn at, if you die you die.

I cleared a fair portion of the middle of the map, but there's no way I could have scouted the whole thing.

I suppose you might just run like a son-of-a-gun and not stop, but I'm pretty sure some enemies follow you endlessly once aggro'd. When you finally stopped, you'd have an epic train following you. Thankfully, most land enemies won't enter mud.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Blackhawk »

I'm trying this on GamePass. Playing the tutorial. Step 1: Find carbonium. Step 2: Build defenses, which take carbonium and Ironium (sp?). Hurry, you're on a timer! Step 3: Find Ironium.

There is a flaw in the flow here somewhere....
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Blackhawk »

A couple of quick questions, an hour and a half or so into the campaign:

1. How many maps does it have (roughly)
2. Is the initial base/planet something you come back to repeatedly (something gave me this impression), or do you keep rebuilding from scratch for each mission? It would make a difference as to how I build.


BTW, if i were going to describe the gameplay,, I'd say that it is like a classic RTS, ala Command & Conquer/Supreme Commander/Total Annihiliation/etc, with the same base building ideas, except that you have only one unit, which controls like an action game (think Diablo, although the controls are a bit different.)
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by naednek »

Blackhawk wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:34 pm A couple of quick questions, an hour and a half or so into the campaign:

1. How many maps does it have (roughly)
2. Is the initial base/planet something you come back to repeatedly (something gave me this impression), or do you keep rebuilding from scratch for each mission? It would make a difference as to how I build.


BTW, if i were going to describe the gameplay,, I'd say that it is like a classic RTS, ala Command & Conquer/Supreme Commander/Total Annihiliation/etc, with the same base building ideas, except that you have only one unit, which controls like an action game (think Diablo, although the controls are a bit different.)

I think it's more like a 3rd person version of They are Billions
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by IceBear »

No idea as to the number of maps. Before I restarted (similar reason as Paingod) I think I had about 7 maps I could rift to and yes you keep coming back to your starting map and it was persistent.

One thing I was worried about (as the would have been too frantic for me) you don't get warnings about attacks or events at your outposts or main base if you're not on that map. I'm pretty sure I left my main base once when there was a 2 minute timer for a horde and it paused while I was away. Not realistic but I appreciate the decision from a playability point of view
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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You will end up with bases on 5 maps at a minimum. The first map is your forever map/base, or at least the story makes it seem that way. In theory it doesn't have to be, but I haven't tested that. There are 4 resources that you will need to get from different worlds so you will set up mining outposts on those worlds and, like IceBear says, they don't seem to get attacked when you aren't present. A number of temporary maps are visited for story progression, they will be open to you forever if you build anything on them and you have the option to remove those outposts and maps from your list at any time.

I can see the RTS comparison, my thoughts were that it is like Factorio with much less focus on logistics and much greater focus on fighting.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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After taking a screenshot of my base I realized that it really didn't tell much of a story. My base sprawls. I've got chains of power nodes that run off into small, but lethal bunkers around my perimeter and a giant blob of well-organized structures in the center. Any remote location I'm harvesting mud from also has a smaller bunker on it that's enough to delay an attack and let me teleport in. My garden is large and sprawling and keeps me well supplied with power/resources.
coopasonic wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 7:06 amit is like Factorio with much less focus on logistics and much greater focus on fighting.
Like Factorio in a very, very, very loose way. Walls, turrets, armored suit, liquid logistics. No trains, logic circuits, complex structures, or spider mechs... :D

A small bug appeared on my map 2 nights and was still there last night - a single DNA pickup is "stuck". It's visible, it moves and rotates. It glows. I just can't pick it up. It's been there for 3 hours of play between two evenings.

I ran into my first serious problem with the game last night. It's crashing every 5 minutes or so, but only if I'm actively engaged in combat. Since I'm exploring the map, that's a frequent event. If I stay in my base and let my walls handle the attacks without getting near them, it seems okay. I have no idea why it's doing this.

I've tried updating video/pc drivers, re-installing the game, re-updating, adjusting game settings/visuals. I suspect there's something corrupt in my world and the game seizes when it tries to autosave and I'm anywhere near the offending problem.

This started after a new enemy spawner came up. For some reason that spawner only sends hydralisks at my base. No zerglings or ultralisks. I know the names are wrong, but you know which enemies I'm talking about! I'm going to try pushing through and destroying the spawner to see if it makes any difference. I'm also going to jump to a different map and see if I can play there without problems and adjust my autosave timer from 5 to 30 minutes. If it turns out it's an autosave problem, I don't mind playing the game with that off.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Thank goodness no one is saying it’s like Defense Grid. That would push me over the edge to buy yet another game that likely won’t get played.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Blackhawk »

coopasonic wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 7:06 am You will end up with bases on 5 maps at a minimum. The first map is your forever map/base, or at least the story makes it seem that way. In theory it doesn't have to be, but I haven't tested that. There are 4 resources that you will need to get from different worlds so you will set up mining outposts on those worlds and, like IceBear says, they don't seem to get attacked when you aren't present. A number of temporary maps are visited for story progression, they will be open to you forever if you build anything on them and you have the option to remove those outposts and maps from your list at any time.
Thanks. That tells me that it is worthwhile to fix up my base and reconfigure it for the long haul. If you left and never came back, I wouldn't bother. In fact, now that I know how things work, I'm moderately tempted to start over with a smarter design.
Carpet_pissr wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 8:26 am Thank goodness no one is saying it’s like Defense Grid. That would push me over the edge to buy yet another game that likely won’t get played.
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It is not a tower defense game. I am sticking with what I said - the base building is straight out of old-school RTS games, with you harvesting multiple resources, having an upgradeable limit to the number of buildings you can build, having power generation that you have to balance with which buildings are using power (and having the ability to turn buildings off), constructing buildings to access better units (in this case, better weapons), upgrading buildings, putting out walls and defensive structures, etc. That's pure C&C/Total Annihilation/Starcraft.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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Blackhawk wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 8:55 amThat tells me that it is worthwhile to fix up my base and reconfigure it for the long haul. If you left and never came back, I wouldn't bother. In fact, now that I know how things work, I'm moderately tempted to start over with a smarter design.
I made it quite a ways into my first base before figuring out it was my HQ. I had made a complete mess. Presented with the choice of trying to clean that up, living with it, or starting over ... I opted to start over. I'm not proud, but I will admit my new base is far more efficient in terms of space utilization and self-repair capability. I also stopped trying to use perimeter walls and just use perimeter bunkers now instead.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Blackhawk »

Yep, I didn't have the information I really needed when I set up my base. They sent me out looking for a single resource (carbonium), without telling me that I would also be needing large amounts of ironium. I found a carbonium deposit and started building around it, just dropping down my main building and throwing up a few things nearby with no real idea of where it was going, only to run up against the other resource needs fairly quickly. I thenI discovered two deposits of ironium not to far away, along with two geothermal vent(ium)s, which I assume will be useful later. Now, I can try to build outposts around each of them, or I can make my base a massive, sprawling mess to include all of them. Or I could just go the same spot, move my main building about a screen to the left, and have a roomy, efficient, easy-to-defend base that includes all five points.

Had I known I'd be needing those other things, I'd have scouted a bit more first, and had I known that the base I was building was going to last for the whole game (as opposed to an hour-long mission), I'd have built with more expansion and efficiency in mind instead of just treating the first mission like the tutorial I assumed it was. So, now I can either start selling and rebuilding, shifting the entire base around in the midst of invasions, or I can restart and build smart from the beginning, saving a massive number of resources in the process.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by coopasonic »

Keep in mind you will need way more space than you think you need initially. Look at the size of my base in the map pics. Lots of room for storage of both resources and ammo, plus all the power generation and power storage... and leave good space in the center, most easily defensible spot for the rift gate oh and access to water(mud) without a long run of pipes would be optimal.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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Yeah, I hit a spot last night that required me to build (something) that started with a foundation - and it was huge. I got the hint then that this was more than an hour-long mission, and that my base needed to be way, way more organized than it was already. That was when I started thinking about restarting and coming at it with that understanding in mind, and realizing how many resources would be wasted in rebuilding (and I don't think I'd be able to move my HQ, which isn't ideal.)

Mud. I have a couple of puddles nearby. I'll look again and figure out the ideal layout in my current game, then restart.

I'm really liking the game. It's considerably deeper than I realized going in, but it really does need to provide a better tutorial. There is a lot of information that they don't really provide that would be helpful. For instance, they tell you that it's a good idea to mix power sources, but don't really let you know why. It would affect the way I build for sure.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by coopasonic »

Yeah, I've finished the game and I think I am mostly prepared to play the game properly now. There is a lot to understand. Do you get the power source thing now? The main sources are wind and solar. Solar is more efficient but only available half the time. Various weather events impact wind and solar differently so a mix gives you better protection and power storage gives you a necessary buffer. I never used any other sources consistently but you can also get power from plants, meat, steam vents, nuclear and I think there may be others. I just had a couple of screens full of top tier wind turbines and solar panels.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Blackhawk »

coopasonic wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:08 am Yeah, I've finished the game and I think I am mostly prepared to play the game properly now. There is a lot to understand. Do you get the power source thing now? The main sources are wind and solar. Solar is more efficient but only available half the time. Various weather events impact wind and solar differently so a mix gives you better protection and power storage gives you a necessary buffer. I never used any other sources consistently but you can also get power from plants, meat, steam vents, nuclear and I think there may be others. I just had a couple of screens full of top tier wind turbines and solar panels.
Yep. I've played enough games with base building and power generation that the idea of running off of power storage, using solar during the day to keep the storage full, and managing the whole power economy is nothing new (hell, No Man's Sky used that same concept.) The simple fact that the wind periodically stops, though, completely changes how to plan. It increases how much storage is needed if the wind dies at night, for instance, and raises the possibility of a super-powerful alternate that can be toggled on in an emergency, say a nightime attack during a wind reduciton (like the plant-based power station - I had one of those, and it provides a crap-ton, but eats through plant storage fast.)
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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Blackhawk wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:52 amMud.
A little PSA about mud. Your pumps have a radius. It's possible to tie in two or three (or more) pumps by placing them at the edges so there's still space for another at another edge. Pipelines can also run across mud. Only thing I've seen build on it.

It took me a while to actually realize that. I had been dropping my mud pumps in the middle, because aesthetics.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by naednek »

so i'm supposed to supply liquid to the lab... where is this liquid?
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

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There are sludge (green) and mud pools (brown) that you can pump to a purifier. A geothermal power plant also produces mud
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Blackhawk »

I rebuilt in a spot that gave me an ironium deposit, one carbonium, a mud bog, and a geothermal vent all within my walls, with another ironium right outside when I need it. I've reinforced the walls right in front of all of the turrets as well (made them double-thick.)
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Paingod »

naednek wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:09 pmso i'm supposed to supply liquid to the lab... where is this liquid?
As mentioned, mud or sludge. Be sure to pay attention to the radius of the pump when plunking it into the muck. Most pools can hold 2-3 pumps if you position them around the edges.

Pump Tier I > 100 mud/sludge
Pump Tier II > 150 mud/sludge
Pump Tier III > 200 mud/sludge

Water purifier Tier I > 200 Mud/sludge > 50 Water
Water purifier Tier II > 200 Mud/sludge > 75 Water
Water purifier Tier III > 200 Mud/sludge > 100 Water

Bio-Composter uses 10 water & plant matter to make flammable gas
Research Lab uses 10 water to run
Planter uses 100 water to make a large diameter of a selected plant over time

Liquid logistics is the only real "logistics" chain you'll have to argue with in this game that I've found. It essentially comes down to doing the math. I might use 80 water for 8 Bio-Composters to fuel 4 Gas Generators (500 electricity each at Tier I) and 20 water to run 2 Research Labs, then dedicate the rest to planters that are automatically harvested for plant matter, carbonium, ironium, et. As research opens higher tiers of pumps and purifiers, I expand my production line.

Lessons from Factorio helped here. I pull all my mud or sludge into one central location, build tidy rows of purifiers, then split that off to generate power and plants in separate orderly columns. In my first HQ map I made the mistake of fragmenting myself all over the place. A pump here or there, pipes sloppily laid down that blocked each other, water purifiers placed for single purposes instead of group accumulation. It's hugely helpful to settle somewhere specific on the map, reserving a large empty area for a good pipelines > purifiers > planters & power generation layout.

Base Tip - Harvesting & Research
Spoiler:
It seems that your outposts don't need to just be "mining" outposts. They can also supply your HQ with research, plant-harvested minerals, and other "remote" services like mineral storage. When I build out on an outpost, all of those buildings work for the HQ as well - so I can move all of my hugely space-consuming research, storage, and harvesting concerns to remote areas that I don't have to fuss over once I set them up. That's freed up a lot of space in my main HQ so it doesn't feel so claustrophobic.

The Acidic Jungle has proven to be a great place to set up a large garden for perpetual resources. TONS of Sludge pools to turn into water & power.
Game crashing every 2-5 minutes in combat
I solved my extremely annoying game crashes. It was entirely related to a spawn point on the map. Somehow THAT was corrupted and crashing my game when I got within 1/4 of the map of it, but only if I was near it for more than 60-120 seconds. No idea how that was working, but I solved the problem by visiting the Volcanic Recon map and strip-mining the entire thing while I researched up some heavier weapons (without crashing once). Then I went back to my HQ and mowed down everything in my way towards that corner for 30 seconds - jumped back to my base, saved, jumped back to the last waypoint - mowed everything down for 30 seconds - jumped back to my base, saved ... It took several jumps to and from, but I cleared out the entire area and suddenly my crashes stopped. I can play on my HQ map now without concern and go anywhere I want again.

I did verify that the area was still game-crashing corrupted after my visit to the Volcanic areas by attempting to simply play and get near that spot again. Crash, crash, crash. :evil: Killed everything down there, including a "Titan" creature, and the crashing stopped.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by coopasonic »

Just a random note that I got from browsing reddit that might impact how people perceive and describe the game. Apparently the combat works very well with a controller, which makes sense as it is really a twin stick shooter. Using KB/M, I would frequently lose track of my mouse in the mayhem. With a controller that problem disappears completely. Point and shoot!
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Blackhawk »

Yeah, I realized that when I saw the control scheme was WASD and screen oriented. My son has my controller for now, or else I'd try it (he uses it constantly - but the problem will be solved on his birthday in a couple of weeks.) :ninja:
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by naednek »

what does this icon mean?



I'm thinking an indicator of full capacity.
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by IceBear »

Full storage
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by naednek »

coopasonic wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 9:51 am Just a random note that I got from browsing reddit that might impact how people perceive and describe the game. Apparently the combat works very well with a controller, which makes sense as it is really a twin stick shooter. Using KB/M, I would frequently lose track of my mouse in the mayhem. With a controller that problem disappears completely. Point and shoot!

I first started with the controller. I found the mouse and keyboard works better with aiming
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by IceBear »

I use a controller for combat and mouse and keyboard for base building and research screens. It takes whatever one is giving input
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Re: The Riftbreaker (Isometric Hack & Slash Base Builder)

Post by Paingod »

Sharing my base, revamped with solid walls and all optional buildings rebuilt in an Outpost.
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The gardening Outpost in the acid forest
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