Reality Break Patch 1 has gone live as version 1.00.1.
Courtney's notes: This is the first Patch for Reality Break. The distinction between this patch and the hotfixes I released previously isn't black and white, but mainly: I will use hotfixes if something needs an urgent fix, and stick to a somewhat regular patching schedule for other improvements to the game.
I'm excited to announce that Reality Break got the official Steam Deck Verified badge from Valve! My work on performance and UI legibility isn't done, but at the very least the game now has a solid foundation for handheld play. Thank you to everyone who sent feedback! Please keep it coming.
I've also overhauled the Mission Challenge Level rewrite UX to address multiple areas of confusion and to improve clarity via layout and tooltips. Hopefully this will improve the experience for players, especially those who didn't realize there was a dropdown there in the first place or that challenge levels could be increased past CL11.
Performance is now better in heavy combat scenarios due to configurable per-object caps on visual effects for various abilities. This patch also includes four unique new items, including a Shields item to help complete an item set as well as three Epic drone items. And, I've done another pass on reducing the large size of certain UI elements after the recent legibility pass, and revamped the Aptitudes dialog UI to improve legibility on handheld devices.
I'm still diagnosing an issue experienced by a few players that can cause save file corruption on system power loss. Until I find out what's happening, I've implemented two different kinds of profile backups. They are described in the Stability section below.
I've also included some catch-up patch notes for improvements and fixes that weren't listed in the notes for prior hotfixes. These are listed in a separate section at the bottom.
I love working on this game, so thank you all so much for making my dream a reality! A reality break, if you will!
Performance
Note: the UserConfig.xml file referenced below can be found in the game's installed files under your Steam root game directory at Reality Break\Reality Break_Data\StreamingAssets\Config\UserConfig.xml, where you can also find additional instructions for each setting.
- spawning of auto-pooled visual effects is now capped per effect, configurable in UserConfig.xml via AutoPoolingPerObjectMaximum (dev note: for example, projectile launch and impact effects)
- filling the object pools can either be done over time or all at once, configurable in UserConfig.xml via FillObjectPoolsOverTime (dev note: this is mainly for players on HDDs who want to let the game load more up front rather than have it stutter while filling the pools over time after startup)
- added an experimental setting that turns on auto-pooling for almost all ability effect objects, which you can enable in UserConfig.xml via EXPERIMENTAL_AutoPoolAllAbilityEffects
- added an experimental setting that decreases the chance an auto-pooled object will spawn if the current proportion of spawned objects relative to the hard limit exceeds the EXPERIMENTAL_ReducePooledSpawnChanceThreshold setting in UserConfig.xml (dev note: (this means objects with capped pools will gradually decrease their spawn rate by default as they approach their hard cap rather than just shutting off when the limit is reached)
Stability
- the game now creates a backup of the current pilot save file before it proceeds with a profile save
- in addition, the game creates session backups the first time the Reality Stream or any pilot are loaded successfully after a fresh launch of the game (dev note: if something happens to your profile, you can check %localappdata%low\Element Games\Reality Break for save file backups)
- fixed game getting into a bad state if it tried to import a demo profile but a demo folder did not exist
- fixed instability if an Analysis timer was reduced below the minimum possible value for DateTime via Inspection Point rewards for already-completed analysis
Quality of Life
- the Mission Challenge Level rewrite UI has been revamped to make it more obvious that different levels can be selected by the player as well as to teach various additional concepts via layout and tooltips, including showing the enemy difficulty increase as well as the improved rewards from higher CLs
Content
- added "Premium Cycler" unique Shields item, Screen specialization
- added "Sudden Followthrough" unique Drone item, Targeter specialization
- added "Evasion Protocol" unique Drone item, Orbiter specialization
- added "Voltaic Fortifier" unique Drone item, Transformer specialization
- improved legibility of Aptitudes dialog on handheld devices
Balance
- the Sublimation affix has been adjusted: its baseline potency, minimum increment, and scaling with item level, rarity, and ship class have been reduced (dev note: this affix was an extreme power level outlier, contributing in large part to some players being able to trivialize CL99 enemies and even the Overlord; I will be doing an Aptitude balance pass in the future that will aim to bring everything closer together, at which point this and other unique affixes will be adjusted further)
- the Ambush affix has been adjusted: its scaling with rarity has been increased
- the Devastator affix has been adjusted: its minimum increment and scaling with rarity and ship class have been reduced
- Affix Fragments are no longer blocked from installation by matching affixes on the target item, except for a crafted fragment with a matching affix that is already installed in that item
- reduced damage output of Federation Destroyer by 60%
Bug fixes
- fixed various affix and stat calculation inconsistencies by removing order dependencies (dev note: among other things, this fixes interactions between affix multipliers and other bonuses based on the order in which items were equipped)
- fixed the Aptitude dialog showing portions of UI for undiscovered Aptitudes
- fixed certain labels not using localized strings on Aptitude dialog
- fixed Superlaser weapons not being flagged as Beam weapons
- fixed rewriting Unique Modifier Type not updating the item's internal UniqueModifier for later use
- fixed certain Affix values being applied both to the additive and multiplicative components of the bonus calculation
- fixed being unable to scroll certain lists by grabbing and dragging their scrollbar handles
- fixed being able to equip drones into phantom slots after using alt compare on a drone tooltip and then switching to a pilot without as many slots unlocked
- fixed being able to extract an Affix Fragment from the Fate Core
- fixed mission rewards showing CL 106 as required for next Aptitude rank
- fixed regression with camera shake and screen edge effects option toggles no longer functioning
- fixed overly small labels on pilot profile UI
- fixed visual effects being offset and scaled after antialiasing was turned off, until a game restart
Previously
- clarified the Unique Bonus description for Epic Gatling weapon The Shredder to make it obvious that its projectile damage boost degrades in flight
- toned down flashbang of Nexus capital ship destroyed debris
- toned down flashbang brightness on one of the Epic Gatling weapon's unique bonus visual effects
- Reinforced Coffers are now guaranteed to drop at least an Epic item
- treasure crates with additional Bonus Equipment now get extra loot quality and drop at least Rares, but cost 3x
- fixed Rewrite dialog background sorting against bright Navigation map mission node UIs
- fixed Rewrite dialog not making its rewrite entries operable if fate pulses were picked up while it was open
- fixed Codex dialog being partly cut off at certain screen aspect ratios
- fixed Nucleic Injector projectiles not spawning their impact fx on collision
- fixed Haste region mod entries not displaying as percentage
- fixed inventory sort not segregating different item types correctly, such as Equipment vs Resources
- Armor value on ship dialog UI now uses large number formatting if necessary
- reduced the delay before you can skip the first line of dialogue in a story conversation from 900ms to 300ms (dev note: it's there so players don't accidentally miss the first line if clicking rapidly; for advanced users, it is configurable in Reality Break\Reality Break_Data\StreamingAssets\Proto\Settings\GameSettings.xml via InputCooldownForFirstStoryIndex)
- reduced the delay before you can dismiss a tutorial popup from 900ms to 500ms (dev note: confgurable in GameSettings.xml via DefaultTutorialDismissDelay)
- renamed Shield Capacitor to Factory Capacitor so that it matches the Expert Goal's naming
- fixed miscellaneous bug with Rare set item names not matching the item that was acquired for that set item slot