Riftborne — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| 12.05++ Patch Notes | 2026-10-28 | - Fixed a critical bug causing intercepts to return without engaging in combat and added better server logs to record failed combat engagements if this happens again - Added 'total ships needed for active routes' to cargo route overview so you don't need to click into each route to check this - Added 'total current cargo capacity' of freighters when sending one off resource shipments so you don't have to click to the next page to check the math of your cargo capacity - Added the supply station capacity to the main left UI sidebar in the ship section so you can see your current supply limit and the astra % penalty - Added ability to repeat att |
| 12.05 + Patch Notes | 2026-10-26 | Stop and station in place now works properly in multiplayer Fog markers now appear only in unexplored space Unusual commander names no longer disrupt terminal text spacing Settlements in fog now open the action menu as normal and it doesn't assume it's an empty tile Eligible stars show 'Dyson Capable' as their feature Diplomacy changes stay as drafts until leaving the faction page Cleaned up a few places with cluttered and inconsistent UI During a transmutation the arrow in the top left resource summary will turn purple for the output resource Rare metal outpost ship upkeep is now displayed correctly at the colony that pays it Reusing a settl |
| New Multiplayer Server Starting October 24th + Version 12.00 Release! | 2026-10-15 | Hey everyone! We have our 7th Multiplayer Server launching next weekend - 24th October at around 1500 GMT. Pre-registration will be available tomorrow by opening the Multiplayer menu in game and selecting the Official Server at the top of the list. This update features a lot of new changes (most from community and player feedback) that we will be trying out on the new server. Looking forward to seeing you there! Radar & Vision Rework With the introduction of fog of war, radar upgrades and fleet espionage had become somewhat redundant. We've reworked radar to give upgrades more value and add another layer of strategy to gathering intelligence. |
| Patch Notes 11.86 - Finer Fleet Control | 2026-10-05 | Redirect travelling fleets and split them onward for new missions. Map controls offer 'Stop mission and station', 'Select', and 'Recall' for travelling fleets. This makes the radar cancel window redundant on fog of war worlds; radar features will be updated shortly. Map actions now separate fleet targets from tile missions, group shared defenders, and warn in yellow for empty space attacks. Intercept interceptions. Survivors continue on their original path, as with normal interceptions. Launch interceptions with pursuit even if you're too slow, in case the target stops or comes into range after redirection. Station alongside neutral or friend |
| 11.85 Patch Notes | 2026-09-24 | MISSION SCHEDULING: Added fleet scheduling option to missions to delay the departure for a specified time; cancel and edit scheduled fleets from Fleets page Other Changes - Expanded alerts shown with a hotkey to toggle the type displayed - Fixed issue where loot was not being displayed on intercept combat logs - Fixed hard locks in the tutorial; it now counts if tasks are completed earlier than reaching the page that requests them - Improved some server acks that were delaying actions - Added a marker onto fleets and stations on the star map detail to show when they are being intercepted/attacked by an ally - Leaders can now view a list of th |
| New Multiplayer Server Starting 19th September | 2026-09-12 | Come and join us next weekend for our 6th Multiplayer Server Experience! Pre Registration is now open.Fog of war onVisible fleet movementsFull independent spawn (no pre-set factions; they can be player created)Slower map travel speeds than previous serverMore details to come next week! |
| 11.83 + Patch Notes | 2026-09-11 | Overclocker Buff: Increased from 225% max bonus to 400% max bonus (20% per level) New Manage Shipyard Queues function where you can adjust the ordering and refund for 80% of original cost Astra costs have been increased a bit as the previous reduction went a bit crazy (it's still still cheap overall) More advance time improvement optimizations Storage building scaling has been smoothed a lot and they are now single copy buildings that can be built all the way to level 100 Keystone storage capacity has been reduced Not that anyone was considering it... but colonizing a win condition tile now voids starter protection |
| 11.83 Patch Notes - Bot Overhaul + More | 2026-09-09 | - AI overhaul: Bots now plan expansion, production, attacks and faction objectives more carefully, and use more expedition, relic and aid features. - Vision reworked: Vision now depends on a new ship stat and the fleet size. Vision expands as the fleet size grows. - Fleet pursuit: Attacks, raids and spy missions against stationed fleets can follow their target when it moves or splits. Pursuit ends if the target docks at home or disappears from shared vision. - More fleet control: Launch missions from reinforced ships, recall part of a stationed fleet, and choose which ships and cargo move together. - Allied station defence: Eligible allied fl |
| 11.81 Patch Notes | 2026-09-02 | Gameplay Changes Costs of resource production buildings has been decreased for higher levels and the overall cost curve has been smoothed. ROI scales much more smoothly now as they reach higher levels. Increased the cost of spire upgrades for each additional colony so new colonies get increasingly more expensive to create. Reworked the Dyson sphere cost scaling: Max Level is now Level 100 and it can now only be constructed on Star Planets. Dyson Sphere will now out scale multiple Solar Arrays after level 20. Shards gained from Kraken objective kills reduced to 25% of normal shard value QoL Added the ability to choose which minute of the hour |
| 11.80 + Patch Notes | 2026-08-31 | New QoL Feature - You can now designate a resource floor freighters may not pull a settlement below, and a ceiling they will not deliver past - This setting is accessible from Cargo Routes, by opening up your storage buildings via Infrastructure screen, or from the Economy -> Resource bands menu screen Other Bug and Gameplay Fixes - Fixed valor points not accumulating for custom factions - Fixed interceptions destroying Solar Harvest, Nebula, asteroid, bonus, feature, mining, or tile data. - Fixed cargo return leg charging 2x Astra upkeep to the receiver - Revanchism now accumulates losses from multiple attacks without overwriting existing re |
| 11.80 Patch notes (Guided Tutorial added + lots of QoL) | 2026-08-24 | **Game clarity and QoL** - Added a new guided tutorial accessible from the title screen. More advanced sections to come soon. - Reworked the cargo route and send interfaces screens into a simpler design - Reworked building descriptions into simpler, clearer explanations and stat breakdowns - Added explanations for diplomatic relationships in the relations matrix - Build queue forecasts improved (now accounting for astra upkeep). New total deficit, "to ship" and excess displays were added - Added a safer settlement destruction flow. **Bug Fixes** - Fixed a bug where stations were always too slow for intercepts, you can now use stations to inte |
| Visible Fleet Movements! | 2026-08-18 | - Added visible fleet movements to the star map on the multiplayer world, showing their direction of travel and composition when in your vision range, and these will auto move across the map. You can intercept directly from the map too when you are belligerent with someone. - Added visible fleet movements as a game startup setting (best used with fog of war) - Added two map filters - Stationed Fleets: Visible/Hidden. Travelling Fleets: Visible/Hidden. |
| 11.79 + Patch Notes | 2026-08-17 | Factions in the multiplayer server act normal, you inherit the colour display and faction label, can participate in equal resource exchange, the faction marketplace, the aid board, leader elections can take place and expeditions can be placed as normal by the leader. Factions created by independents now get a stronghold placed nearby the leader Can now add an escort fleet to your cargo route freighters Added more colour coding and symbols to the stationed ships to differentiate them on the map |
| New multiplayer server starting tomorrow! 👾 | 2026-08-14 | Hey everyone, pre-registration is now open for the rapid speed server starting tomorrow. Note: this server features some dramatic differences so consider it an experimental run. Hopefully it lets some of you have some fun before while we work on bigger improvements for the next slower official paced server. Server begins in 19.5 hours from this message. 1600 GMT / 1200 East Coast US. Balance Changes 80x80 MapFaster travel speeds (10x the previous server)Increased Resource Production to 500 base (plus you start with a larger cache)Massively reduced Astra building + ship costAll spawn as independents + you can form your own factions from the fa |
| 11.79 Patch Notes - Major Linux + Steam Deck Compatibility Update | 2026-08-14 | Linux + Steam Deck Changes > Fixed many problems related to native Linux and Steam Deck launching. This should dramatically improve the Linux launch experience. > If you were using steam-play-none via you should now be able to play direct without any additional compatibility settings enabled. New World Gen Setting Choices > New setting to accompany fog of war mode for "Visible Movements: Enhanced or Classic" where enhanced will reveal all fleet movements in your vision range, not just those traveling to or from your colony > New setting to accompany fog of war mode for "Send Stationed Ships on Missions: Yes or No" where 'yes' will allow you t |
| 11.77 Patch Notes | 2026-08-10 | Gameplay Changes > When you destroy storage buildings via siege, you will now loot the resources before the storage collapses QoL > \ Sim in Editor button from combat logs now imports and includes all the real battle conditions to the combat simulator; Defender tile defense, your own building levels, SPUs, directives and other launch buffs > Combat simulations now include attacker and spied-defender flagships, hide unavailable infrastructure, and clarify that unknown enemy SPU bonuses are excluded. > Improved construction queue control hotkeys allowing M to be used as confirmation for placement > Excluded rare metal mining outposts from cargo |
| 11.76 Patch Notes | 2026-08-04 | **Server Hosting Experience** - Added the option to host your server publicly, and added a list of publicly available servers to join - Renamed local server hosting to 'online' server hosting - Expanded the game setting options for online server hosting so it now includes option for stronghold starts and customised ship presets - Fixed an issue where tiles hidden by fog could not be interacted with let me know if this fixes it up for you - Added an 'Update server' option for private hosted servers to redploy/update to latest game version **Gameplay Changes** - Changed the name of 'Garrisons' screen to 'Fleets' and reworked this page so it dis |
| 11.75 + Patch Notes | 2026-08-01 | - Added cumulative resource costs to manage construction queue page - Added Intercept missions to combat simulator - Added multi-copy buildings to combat simulator infrastructure - Cleaned up some combat simulator formatting - Cleaned some incorrect Codex sections and Keystone target text - Added 20 more slots to multiplayer server - Added a 'host via linux server' option |
| 11.75 Patch Notes | 2026-07-29 | Garrison now shows traveling home fleets, hosted reinforcements, and your deployed reinforcements in one screen Reinforcements Abroad can now be selected and returned directly from main Garrison screen Astra upkeep and starvation now correctly include fleets stationed on the star map Resource transfers now show destination stockpiles and storage capacity Players can now cancel their own SPU market offers Return reinforcements is now available from the relevant star map fleet menu |
| 11.74 Patch Notes | 2026-07-27 | QoL - Colony ships now return automatically after outpost colonisation - Combat logs now report which ships died each round - Battlefield replay open a local battlefield visualisation! - Building copy level now shown on the left hand sidebar Bug fixes - Percentage buffs no longer amplify a ship's negative base stats - Fixed a bug with repair interaction blocked on multi copy buildings - Added colour coded per resource values on the faction resource flow instead of bare total - Aidboard notifications now jump to the aidboard - Fixed multiple issues with server rehydration so important information is not dropped off the packet - Expedition deta |
| 11.73 Patch Notes | 2026-07-21 | - Tile bonus multiplier display is now hidden for any non faction members @nyanism - Independents are all now treated fully independent, so no more shared combat logs or intel, or astra visibility on the map. (They still keep their independent chat, and will still spawn from same stronghold) @nyanism - The build construction queue ETA is now properly cumulative and takes into account all your production and resource transfers correctly, so you can more accurately judge when the queue will exactly be finished - On the manage construction queue page, there is an additional ETA countdown that will show the raw cumulative build time of your queue |
| Additional Multiplayer change for independent relations + expedition previews | 2026-07-20 | - Relation stances with independents now align with faction faction relations (Belligerent, Strained, Neutral, Cooperative, Allied) for simplicity sake. - With independents, cooperative and allied do not grant shared logs or radar, but instead grant a 20% cargo capacity bonus at cooperative, and 20% speed buff to resource trading with allied, for all forms of resource trading. - Cleaned up the two faction stance diplomacy screens into a simpler interface with everything in one place - Also cleaned up the expedition bonus previews so these display accurate stat previews before and during expeditions There will probably be cooler things we can |
| Multiplayer Hotfix Patch | 2026-07-20 | - When attacking, if your fleet withdraws before 3 combat rounds are complete, you will not gain intel on the composition or size of the defending fleet @_dotz - For intercepts, this applies to both interceptor and the fleet being intercepted - Defender logic remains the same, and they will continue to get intel on fleet composition attacking them - Server selection will be more readily available when opening the multiplayer menu from game title screen - Building screens cleaned up a bit for styling consistency when constructing / upgrading |
| Pre-registration for the Multiplayer #4 Battle of the Strongholds is now open 👾 | 2026-07-18 | Starts at 1600 GMT tomorrow (1800 CET / 1200 Midday US East Coast) Settings: Mirrored symmetrical map Choice to spawn with your faction or as independent (Warning: Independent is a HIGH RISK spawn in outer space with no team mates) Faction stronghold spawn: choose your starting colony Faction stronghold also acts as a resource sink to gain up to 20% bonuses for key ship stats (independents, you don't get this resource sink) 6 Hour Pause on game start to co-ordinate your colony location with team mates New reworked ship stats Each culture now has their own shard system to choose your playstyle path Fog of war: OFF Rally point ship relocation: |
| Pre Registration will be starting soon for server tomorrow | 2026-07-17 | Been a little delayed finding a good map seed and adding symmetry to the map! But pre registration will open up in about 5 hours from now :) 0200 GMT |
| 11.72 Patch Notes (Improved Bots + LOTS of QoL) | 2026-07-15 | Gameplay Changes > Improvements to bot intelligence to prevent stalling behaviors > Added a view of teammates' Astra, including current amount, storage and hourly trend > Added a new screen accessible via both the faction menu and logistics menu. It shows faction shipment history, a board for requesting or offering resources, and statistics on who provides the most resources and who is "leeching" > Added an option, enabled by default, to view cargo transfers on the home radar > Added an option to choose how many rows of each transfer type are shown before collapsing > Added another faction leader tab for changing the diplomacy stance toward e |
| 11.71 Patch Notes (Map Rework + Performance Update) | 2026-07-09 | Map Rework! > Added variable building slots to map tiles to deepen tactical depth of where to colonise > Added 'border' keystones to entice strategic skirmishes and wars > Removed black holes as the only central spawn tile > Central tiles still keep their negative astra malus as a risk, but can now be any tile type > Reworked Reactor placements for quadrant fairness > Big performance increase to the map so it doesn't feel sluggish or slow down advance time > Exotic/Star tiles are now more prevalent > Made the tile variation system to prepare for follow up player customizable tilesets > Added a map editor tool so you can create your own maps a |
| New Multiplayer Servers Launching 10th July + 17th July | 2026-07-07 | MULTIPLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT We have fixed the bugs that came up in the last server, introduced a lot of new features to the game, and changed many balance mechanics. Given the last server experience we want to ensure that the next server runs a lot smoother and any game breaking bugs are identified early on. Especially with all the new features we have introduced. For this reason, we are going to first run an INSTANT BUILD server (ships and infrastructure have no build time), where you spawn with MAXED OUT STORAGE AND RESOURCES, to test everything out. This will also give a chance for newcomers to try multiplayer out and decide if they want to j |
| 11.70 Patch Notes (ADVANCE TIME SPEED UP + New Buildings) | 2026-07-06 | Advance time + Simulation time speed Big improvements to advance time speed + simulation speed New Buildings! Siege Protection Bastion: While it stands, it is the sole target of incoming siege damage at that colony, overriding the attacker's chosen preferred target until destroyed. When destroyed, siege damage will spill over to regular targets. Attack Battery: The first building that contributes to defender offense, rather than only toughness like the existing Ion Shield. Reworked Keystone Vision Victory Conditions New Valor Conduit building (Keystone only) generates faction-wide Valor points (hard capped at 250,000) from a Keystone's curren |
| 11.69 Patch Notes (Add bots to local servers!) | 2026-07-02 | Gameplay Changes - You can now add up to 12 bots to your local hosted servers on server configuration (not applied on existing worlds) - World size can be reduced even smaller on local hosted servers to allow for 1v1s and lower player counts Bug Fixes - Kraken will no longer raid just because you spawn near its cluster Transmuting void reworkTransmuting Void no longer takes the same fixed time for every job. Instead, the time now depends on how much material you are transmuting and what level the Void is. Adds efficiency loss at low levels so transmutation is no longer lossless. New transmute math: Rate: 10 units/min at L1 → 200 units/min at |