Reality Break News

Reality Break Patch 3 has gone live as version 1.1.1.

Dev notes: This patch includes some new Ascension Auto-Talents as catchup from v1.1, along with a raft of fixes and other improvements.

If you are experiencing super low frame rates, please update your graphics driver or rollback to a version that worked. We realize this may sound a little like boilerplate IT Support 101, but it's not: we have gotten player reports of 200%-300% fps increases after replacing a problematic driver. However, we are still investigating various performance issues reported by some players.

[h3]DLC Survey[/h3]
Also, as we look ahead to next year, one of the options in front of us is to produce paid DLC for Reality Break. We would love to gauge player interest in this, so we've prepared a few questions for you. This will greatly help us in understanding what players would want out of an expansion! (the link below is for the English survey, and we will announce translated versions when available)

Take the survey here: Reality Break DLC survey

Thank you for playing Reality Break! :)
~Courtney & Sarah



v1.1.1 patch notes:
[hr][/hr][h3]Performance[/h3]

• Substantially improved performance of Swarmer weapon projectiles, especially at high rates of fire or in high density combat situations.
  
• Improved performance of projectiles expiring and spawning their death fx.
  

[h3]Content[/h3]

• New automatic Talents have been added to the Ascended Form, conferring AP bonuses and quality of life improvements.
  

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• Fate Villain (assault and random) now slows down while channeling Focus Ability.
  
• Increased damage of Fate Villain (random) Focus Ability.
  
• Weapon effects that increase effect radius over time now reduce their physics impulse strength at a distance.
  
• Improved loot drops from various boss drops to make rewards from all boss side missions consistent and guarantee at least one Epic+ item.
  
• Stratified loot drop rates for the Shaper of Knowledge talent by rarity.
  

[h3]Quality of Life[/h3]

• Improved multiple aspects of gamepad virtual cursor handling for Crafting rewrites.
  

[h3]Modding[/h3]

• Added ExtractionEchoCount to ScientistSettings.xml, which controls the Adjacency Bias affix count.
  

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• fixed items dropping at Epic+ rarity without becoming unique (e.g., Salvage mission target items)
  
• fixed items awarded through a reward instead of as a drop not being flagged as New
  
• fixed some unique Sensors and CPUs not dropping with crit chance and crit damage, respectively
  
• fixed weapons below level 3 being prevented from rolling affixes if they're Epic or better
  
• fixed Void Striker's Blink Strike ability sometimes detaching it from the nav mesh
  
• fixed lock-on reticle being unclear on certain enemy ships
  
• fixed physics impulse resist buff not stacking properly on enemies hit by knockback effects
  
• fixed weapon effects that have expanding effect distance over time, such as Novas, frequently applying physics impulses multiple times per activation
  
• fixed asteroids and other entities that can be affected by knockback not using the same rules and constraints as enemy ships
  
• fixed loot drops ejected from destroyed fast-moving ships having an overly high velocity
  
• fixed homing projectiles sometimes not acquiring targets correctly if Attack Chain was available
  
• fixed Ship Dialog Stat Details panel stat tooltips not remaining visible
  
• fixed Warship+ items sometimes getting a bonus rewrite path
  
• fixed Timespace Cache subtalents allowing for infinitely stacking affix upgrades when combined with Affix Extraction
  
• fixed Timespace Cache subtalent Infused Favor boosting item level by more than intended at high enough Break RP levels
  
• fixed Shaper of Knowledge bonus not dropping Anchored items at the correct minimum rarity
  
• fixed Analysis being made inoperable when an item being Analyzed was Extracted
  
• fixed enemy waves that had a spawn delay timer incorrectly being cleared on death in several story missions, interfering with mission objectives or expert goals
  
• fixed Fate Echo launcher missile debuff never going away
  
• fixed Story Skip becoming enabled before seeing the True Ending if the profile was broken after starting the final story mission
  
• fixed the Permissive Conduit talent reducing stats when interacting with multiplier affixes below x2 and being underpowered in other scenarios
  
• fixed item Rarity rewrite to Epic+ rarity clearing all existing Rewrite Paths
  
• fixed Clairvoyance subtalent Guided Leniency randomly re-triggering each time a Rewrite Path's costs were refreshed
  
• fixed Survival mission objective timer counting down while player ship is in the miasma
  
• fixed delayed map load on warp if the Pilot dialog was opened while the camera was fading to black
  
• fixed Shaper of Knowledge talent bonus not updating for existing enemies when a new set is Anchored
  
• fixed being able to Anchor sets without having the Shaper of Knowledge talent unlocked
  
• fixed Spectral Understanding subtalent Wide Aperture not requiring any items of the higher rarity to have been collected
  
• fixed mission items and non-equipment items being valid Prime Unique targets
  

Reality Break hotfix v1.1.0.2 has gone live.

Courtney's notes: We wanted to get this out to you all before the weekend since it has a couple of high-priority fixes along with a few other improvements that are low risk. Thanks for your continuing feedback and your immense help in making the game better.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• fixed being unable to access Reality Stream Tiers or Subtalents that had been unlocked before the previous hotfix's Talent rebalancing
  
• Substantially reduced the cost scaling curve for standard Ascension.
  
• Reset the cost multiplier for standard Ascension when loading a v1.1 profile.
  
• fixed not being able to respawn after being destroyed by the side boss mission Fate Villain's super attack
  
• fixed Sun Breaker not updating debuffs and other abilities when too far off-screen, preventing certain mechanics from working
  
• fixed Epic Railgun item Splinter gathering invalid targets, such as projectiles, for its secondary attack
  
• fixed enemy cloak detection indicator not hiding one of its rings when detected, and fixed them not getting cleaned up on despawn
  
• fixed projectile hits on Elites still triggering Ultimate Superlaser item's secondary attack
  
• removed some unnecessary debug logging for sprite loading that snuck into the final build
  

Reality Break hotfix v1.1.0.1 has gone live.

Courtney's notes: As always, thank you for posting your thoughts and sending bug reports. Basically 100% of this hotfix is directly from player feedback. There's still more to do, but we wanted to get an updated build out there asap. Enjoy!

[h3]Stability[/h3]

• Bulletproofed against the Overlord Mission Type rewrite sometimes causing loss of profile progress if it failed to match the specific map index.
  
• Addressed an instability when opening Ascension dialog while there is an Aptitude upgrade or unlock queued up to display in the Reality Stream.
  

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• Substantially increased the Ascension Point gains from banked Reality Points as well as from a full Reality Stream.
  
• Rebalanced the Reality Stream to make Talent levels more consistent and to fix Tier levels not reaching exactly 100 with a full set of Talents.
  
• Substantially reduced the cost scaling curve for standard Ascension. (dev note: the multiplier will also be reset when loading a v1.1 profile)
• Reduced the unlock thresholds for Reality Stream subtalents and tier unlocks to compensate for the revised Talent maximum values.
  
• Massively buffed the damage output of Ultimate rarity Drone and Armor item procs.
  
• Reduced the damage output of the Ultimate Superlaser special proc.
  
• Gave Ultimate Superlaser item proc a small initial and recurring cooldown.
  
• Increased health, shields, and damage output of random boss mission version of Raider Factory.
  
• Added enemy spawns to Raider Factory boss random mission.
  

[h3]Polish[/h3]

• Expanded the description for the Prime Uniques talent to include all of its bonuses.
  

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• fixed Ship dialog Stat Details panel overflowing if it had too many stats to show
  
• fixed rewriting Unique Mod Type on certain unique items not updating various stats until unequip/re-equip or going to a different map
  
• fixed multiple bugs with the Confiscation Flow Bonus: it was not applying to the player's ship, the effect's value did not match the display string, and the display string listed Siphon Energy instead of Energy on Hit
  
• fixed problems arising from Extracting an affix with no remaining room in the inventory (such as extracting an equipped item with a full inventory, or extracting an inventory item with a full inventory and the Extraction Echo talent)
  
• fixed Unique Mod Type rewritable entry display string
  
• fixed Intrusion Coder buff calculation not incorporating Unique Mod Type rewrite
  
• fixed missing icon for Energy Weapon Power rewritable affix type
  
• fixed rewriting to Overlord Mission Type sometimes causing loss of profile progress if it failed to match the specific map index
  
• fixed certain ship destruction fragments not using gravity on relevant maps (e.g., Syndicate Enforcer on Cloud City), like particles already did
  
• fixed Uncatalogued Space boss debuff fx going away even if the debuff's duration was extended by destroying its sub-structures
  
• fixed a certain Boss Remnant sometimes not dropping at the correct item level
  
• fixed front end music taking too long to fade out when Ascending
  
• fixed certain Fate Council ships not using their secondary weapons
  
• fixed Ultimate Armor item proc not working after warping into a sector without re-equipping it
  
• fixed extraneous items getting Preserved via Multiversal Cache talent
  
• fixed Extinguished characters being broken and "reset" during Pure Ascension
  
• fixed Favored Favorites that have been Preserved into ship inventory after a manual break not being preserved during a Pure Ascension break
  
• fixed missing visual effects if performing two standard Ascensions without leaving the front end menu
  
• fixed mission CL rewrite Experience display being clamped to unsigned int range for display
  
• fixed Compromising Field subtalent of Foe Undermine not having any effect
  
• fixed Foe Undermine talent not working on entities spawned via a specific delayed registration mechanism in the game
  

[h3]Today, I’m delighted to release the Ascension Update!![/h3][p]Ever since Reality Break launched in February, players have suggested dozens of cool ideas that I have wished to include if given the opportunity, including new progression systems as well as expansions to existing gameplay mechanics. I have already included a few of those in the two Patches and ten Hotfixes released so far. But now, thanks to all of your support for Reality Break, many more of those wishes have become reality![/p][p]In the Ascension Update, you'll find a True Ending progression path that unlocks the all new Ultimate item tier, a system for Endless Progression, unique new Rewrite types, the ability to Preserve more unlocks across Profile Breaks, and much more! See below for more details.[/p][p][/p][h2]But first...[/h2][p]I am also thrilled to announce today that @sarahelementgames has joined forces with me at Element Games! She is a brilliant, insightful game dev who has helped a ton with this update as well as helping me with the game's launch this past February, and I can't wait to see what we can accomplish together. After 11+ years of solo indie dev, it will be a nice change of pace... not to mention how incredible it will be to work on games with her!![/p][p][/p][h2]Features[/h2][p]Here's a partial list of what you can expect in this update: [/p][h3]New Progression Path[/h3][p]Once you've achieved the game's True Ending, a new Talent progression path becomes available in the Reality Stream. This uses a new currency and enables some of the most powerful upgrades the game has seen![/p][p][/p][h3]Ultimate Items[/h3][p]Some items cannot be found. They must be created. In the Ascension Update, you will be able to break the limitations of item rarity itself![/p][p][/p][h3]Endless Progression[/h3][p]Unlock the option to continue increasing your Tier bonuses directly... and permanently. [/p][p][/p][h3]And Lots More![/h3][p]Preserve your Specialist Upgrades across Breaks, analyze items multiple times, and occasionally Extract multiple Affix Fragments. You will also be able to challenge Bosses as often as you wish via repeatable Boss Random Missions, with a new custom Boss Health UI![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Ongoing Updates[/h2][p]This update represents the continuation of my incorporating player feedback in shaping where I take the game. As before, I will hotfix issues as they come up.[/p][p] [/p][h2]Daily Deal! Special Bundles! More Cool Games![/h2][p]In celebration of the update, starting at 10AM PST on 7/28/2025 we're running a Daily Deal with our highest ever discount of 20%. Not only that, we've also teamed up with a few of our friends to hold a special "Four Galaxies" sci-fi extravaganza! We're bundling with three other sci-fi games that have major releases today: Star Valor with its new Base Building DLC, Astronomics with its Better Bots Update, and last but not least, Star Vortex which is launching today into Early Access! All games are available bundled with each other for extra discounts, so there's a ton of cool new stuff for you to check out!![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]Feedback[/h2][p]The best way to give feedback is to email me at [email protected] or to join the official Element Games discord! This is especially helpful if you encounter something that breaks the game for you or prevents progress in some way - go to your %localappdata%low\\Element Games\\Reality Break folder and email me all of your *.sav and *.log files along with a description of the issue you're experiencing. This will help me fix things much faster. [/p][p][/p][h2]Enjoy![/h2][p]Oh but, one more thing: as you can probably tell from the above, it took a lot of effort to synchronize this Four Galaxies event, months in the making for all four of us to hit this singular date! That does mean that a few things didn't quite make the deadline... but, as an extra little surprise, stay tuned for a few small goodies coming to Reality Break over the next few weeks that were scheduled for the Ascension Update ;)[/p][p]That's enough from me - much love, and happy breaking! Reality Break full version build v1.1 has gone live![/p][p][/p][h3]Performance[/h3]

• [p]Addressed an issue with the Recursion skill effect not being cleaned up correctly, which was causing it to stack to ridiculously high spawn counts and bogging down performance after long play sessions.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Quality of Life[/h3]

• [p]Implemented first pass at support for ultrawide aspect ratios, defaulting UI elements on the left and right sides to the edges of the game window. (Courtney's note: The previous behavior that placed the main ingame UI in a virtual 16:9 rectangle can be restored in the Options dialog for those players who requested it)[/p]
• [p]Implemented Story Dialogue Auto-Skip option, allowing you to choose whether it automatically skips all dialogue or only fast forwards what you've previously seen.[/p]
• [p]Show confirmation dialog when resetting a Subtalent in the Reality Stream.[/p]
• [p]Display a more prominent centered flyout visual when completing a mission and gaining its rewards.[/p]
• [p]Loot drops are now spawned into the world more quickly, speeding up gameplay when destroying elites, warships, and other difficult enemies that drop many items at once. You can adjust this in GameSettings.xml via WorldDropSpawnIntervalSeconds and WorldDropMaxSpawnsPerUpdate.[/p]
• [p]Duluh'a now drops her loot near your ship and does it much sooner instead of waiting 9 seconds for full despawn.[/p]
• [p]The Storage dialog UI now slides over to the side anytime the Rewrite dialog is visible.[/p]
• [p]Item tooltips now always show the item's sell value.[/p]
• [p]Moved the colossus interior map from Colossus Demolition side missions into Excursion, Elimination, and Salvage.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Content[/h3]

• [p]Added new Talent progression tier, available when the game's True Ending has been achieved.[/p]
• [p]Added new Ultimate item rarity. Ultimate items are created in a unique way, described when you unlock this feature ingame.[/p]
• [p]Added Boss Side Missions. (Courtney's note: Renamed the Demolition mission type to Disruption, since Demolition is now the broader category of boss takedown missions)[/p]
• [p]Implemented the Bonus Resources rewrite type for treasure crates. (Courtney's note: yay Calcium!)[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Balance[/h3]

• [p]Improved the Precision Guide talent to grant a flat bonus to crit chance instead of boosting the current crit chance by a percentage.[/p]
• [p]Increased the chance that treasure crates are rewritable.[/p]
• [p]Prevented Affix Value rewrites from generating for defined item guaranteed affixes. (Courtney's note: this created outlandish balance problems, much like when other affix rewrite types could hit them)[/p]
• [p]Increased Reality Point gain from equipped Epic items by 100%.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted difficulty curve of Story Campaign missions as well as enemy power scaling from Challenge Level and Omen. (Courtney's note: Patch 2's balance rework needed some TLC)[/p]
• [p]Changed the Tier 3 bonus to Fate Ward, which increases Ship Armor.[/p]
• [p]When crafting an item from a Chassis, the resulting item's rarity is no longer decreased to the lowest slotted Affix Fragment rarity.[/p]
• [p]Buffed the Concentration pilot skill from +100% to +400%.[/p]
• [p]Improved the Fate Council boss fight: they have a lower chance to use propulsion and a longer propulsion cooldown, they receive a speed and damage vulnerability debuff after using propulsion, and the game camera is zoomed out during this fight.[/p]
• [p]Improved the Fate Villain boss fight: they can now use their own Focus Ability, and have nearly complete immunity to knockback.[/p]
• [p]Improved the Expanse boss fight: destroying the outer structures now grants it a far more substantial buff that improves its Haste when spawning various adds and hazards, and its hazard spawns deal additional damage.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted Uncatalogued Space boss: reduced the strength of the damage vulnerability debuff when its panels are destroyed.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Polish[/h3]

• [p]Added unique UI for visualizing Boss health and shields.[/p]
• [p]Improved tooltip scaling at high resolutions so they aren't so tiny.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Modding[/h3]

• [p]Mission specs (such as Elimination, which corresponds to specific missions) are no longer hard-coded, and can be used by multiple CMissionProto XML definitions. [/p]

[p][/p][h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• [p]fixed tiny scale for Choose Aptitude dialog and various other UIs at very high resolutions[/p]
• [p]fixed Aggression Boon talent not displaying percentages correctly[/p]
• [p]fixed tooltips not being constrained by the top edge of the game window or screen[/p]
• [p]fixed side missions sometimes rolling higher rarity than intended[/p]
• [p]fixed some random missions still defaulting to the current Omen level when generated[/p]
• [p]fixed various talent and tier fx not getting cleaned up when closing and reopening Reality Stream[/p]
• [p]fixed default binding for Reset Talent being the same as the binding for Cycle Tier[/p]
• [p]fixed Accumulated Brilliance talent multiplier applying twice when Breaking a profile[/p]
• [p]fixed Scionic Boom talent bonus not displaying in Break Profile tooltip[/p]
• [p]fixed Nexus capital ship only having a warship-sized health pool[/p]
• [p]fixed rewriting Unique Mod Value not propagating to Unique Mod Type rewrite on the same item[/p]
• [p]fixed various affix rewrites, such as weapon damage benefit and pilot skill benefit, not scaling up when the item's rarity was rewritten[/p]
• [p]fixed Damage Flyouts radio buttons not initializing properly in Options dialog[/p]
• [p]fixed Through The Looking Glass clone not having extra drone equip slots[/p]
• [p]fixed various unique items no longer working properly after swapping loadouts[/p]
• [p]fixed Chaos Vortex lightning fx and prologue explosion fx not despawning properly on scene transition[/p]
• [p]fixed mission objective flyout showing Next Objective section before showing the next objective[/p]
• [p]fixed certain mechanics, such as the Home Turf unique affix, not getting cleared properly when out of range[/p]
• [p]fixed Fate Council not being able to use their Secondary Weapons[/p]

[p]Hi all![/p][p]The Summer Sale is on, and it is a great time to pick up Reality Break. Since launch, I've released a ton of significant updates: drastically improving performance, obtaining the Steam Deck Verified badge from Valve, adding new content, and implementing many player-requested QoL features - all ensuring a much smoother gaming experience.[/p][p]Also, some fellow sci-fi game devs and I have joined forces to make some bundles available, featuring Star Valor, Astronomics, and Stand Survivors. All fantastic titles from our friends, available for extra bundle discounts![/p][p]If you do grab the game, let me know your thoughts! Also, please leave a review when you get a chance. That’s always appreciated![/p][p]~Courtney[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]p.s.,, one more thing. Make sure you're ready for the next big update... coming soon ;)[/p][p][/p]