Scopey

Special Announcement: Kythera AI

Today, we’re taking a little break from working on the V1032.1 patch for a special announcement.

It is no secret that bots in GROUND BRANCH are still very bare-bones and have a long way to go, which is why AI will be one of the main focuses of our upcoming major releases. As many players are aware, developing human-like tactical AI is, to say the least, extremely tricky even for large triple-A studios — let alone a small team like BlackFoot Studios — and capable AI developers willing to take on a niche project like ours are not easy to come by.

While game development can be an infinitely deep can of worms, it is made a little bit easier today by solutions such as Epic’s Unreal Engine and the ecosystem of plugins that support it. Enter Kythera AI: a middleware toolset that greatly enhances and facilitates AI development with features like their 2D navigation system (which includes formations, contextual pathfinding and character avoidance), automatic markup (to help generate cover and vaulting points, for example), spatial query system (which will help with combat maneuvering, among other things) and advanced behavior trees.

With that introduction, and as you have probably guessed by now, we are excited to announce that the Kythera AI toolset is now fully licensed for GROUND BRANCH! We very much look forward to resume AI development from V1033 onwards, as well as start giving players a more realistic and immersive PvE experience with Kythera’s partnership as we move forward. In John’s own words:

Great AI is crucial for us, and as a smaller studio without dedicated AI engineers, Kythera AI is the perfect solution. Their toolset easily integrates with our existing work in Unreal and lets us provide comprehensive, intelligent AI that we can maintain and continually improve. We can’t wait to roll out the first of these updates in the near future!

So there you have it, folks. Our AI has gone bare-bones for long enough, and as promised, we’re picking it back up very soon — with a leading industry solution to boot. While this will not mean state-of-the-art tangos and squad AI at the press of a button, we are confident that in addition to giving us the technical support we need, Kythera will offer a better foundation for our AI and generally make our lives much easier while developing it.

We’d like to thank Kythera AI for their partnership, and we can’t wait to start putting their tools to good use. To find out more about Kythera AI, check out their website here.

Build Update #032: V1032 Released + SALE!

Build ID: 8098273 (Client) / 8098322 (Dedicated Server)
Download size: 4.1 GB (Client) / 433 MB (Dedicated Server)
IMPORTANT: CLEAR YOUR OLD FILES

If you are coming from V1031 or have not updated CTE in a while, you need to delete all contents in the following locations (copy-paste the path into your File Explorer address bar and hit Enter):

   1️⃣ %LOCALAPPDATA%\GroundBranch\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor
   2️⃣ Documents\GroundBranch

⚠️ Not doing so will cause various asset and input issues in your game.

If you are coming from a recent CTE version, clear them anyway to be sure.

Roughly a month and a half ago, the first testing build for GROUND BRANCH V1032 went live on our Community Test Environment (CTE) app.

And after and a very busy holiday season, no less than 13 public test builds and well over 1,000 bug reports, V1032 is now finally available on the main branch as a stable release!

If you are among the few who decided to wait for it, we hope this version of the game leaves as good an impression as it has for many of our community testers. And if you’re among those who have been waiting for a price drop, we got good news for ya:

🔥 Lunar New Year Sale: GROUND BRANCH is 30% OFF!

As part of the Steam Lunar New Year Sale, GROUND BRANCH is 30% OFF on for an entire week — until February 3rd.

❤️ CONSIDER BUYING DIRECTLY FROM OUR STORE

Buying the game from our Store ensures that we get the full cut of the purchase, as opposed to Valve taking 30%.

💰 Use code  GB1032  at the checkout to apply the 30% discount.

Please note the GB Store can only charge US dollars (via PayPal) and has no regional pricing!

You know the drill: go tell that friend of yours who’s on the fence, spread posters around the neighborhood, maybe grab an extra key or three to gift your buddies. Just don’t let it go to waste.

Alright! Moving on!

Build highlights

A fully comprehensive list of changes would be unrealistic for such a complex update, so we’re going to keep things more summarized with these release notes while still covering as much as we can afford. Let’s get to it.

New Ready Room and Ops Board

Upon first loading up a mission (or into server), you will likely notice that the Ready Room has been slightly renovated and now sports a more somber and concrete-y look.

Walk into the Ops Room, and you’ll se a slight rearrangement: the Ops Board screen is now much larger, and its contents a little easier on the eyes:

The Ops Board as seen during a round of the updated Intel Retrieval game mode. Note the “Intel Search Areas” field which indicates possible intel device locations (represented by the red circles on the map)

Functionally, not much has changed: you still set the game mode options and time of day, and then pick your preferred insertion point. It’s all just laid out better, and the satellite/drone map images should be a lot easier to visualize.

New character assets and customization

Every single character asset in GROUND BRANCH has been updated from V1031. That’s right: every asset (save for the Holster, which was updated in V1031) from the character heads all the way to the dump pouch has received a new model and textures in this update.

It’s not just you: Male 02 (second from left) is an absolute dreamboat

On top of that, several entirely new items were added, such as the Shemagh (which can be worn as a scarf or head cover), the Ghillie Hood/Trousers, the Work Boots, the Flannel Shirt and the list goes on.

Keep in mind that not all of the old assets were recreated: some were replaced by a different item, while others were scrapped for various reasons (usually just not being in line with a certain generation of gear).

💡 Although we probably will not be adding new gear models for a while, we will be adding more skins as we go, and anything that we don't end up adding ourselves — whether models or skins, pre- or post-release — will most likely be modded in by the community.

For information on what is definitely planned, check out our roadmap.

Unfortunately, the new facial hair will have to wait. Due to the assets being made specifically for each individual head, they require additional logic that our programmers could not get to just yet. Beards are expected to be back in V1033 at the latest, possibly alongside some basic hairstyle choices.

Clipping is both known and expected with the large amount of possible asset combinations with several layers of animation on top. Eradicating clipping in a game like GB is virtually impossible even for AAA studios, but we hope to be able to improve particularly bad and noticeable cases as we go.
❗ Certain pouches now use an open design, meaning that the magazine is exposed. Although the magazine may not currently match what you are carrying, making it so is on our list. As an example, the SMG/PDW pouch will always show an MP5 magazine — for the time being.
🎨 More skins are on the way, as are tweaks for the current ones. Spotted a bad camo? Let us know.

New weapon assets

As teased in the last couple Intel Updates, we also have entirely new models for the following items:

  • MK14 EBR: Based on the Mod 1 variant, this battle rifle by Cody Cudmore is replacing the more precision fire-oriented MK14 Mod 2. Has its own suppressor too.
  • MK46 (Mod 1): A 5.56 NATO light machine gun replacing the old MK48 Mod 0. Suppressor still pending!
  • Updated M4-series and HK416-series models (all assets by Bakr Assad aka Raider3D):
    • M4A1 SOPMOD: The classic M4A1 with a KAC quad-rail handguard.
    • M4A1 Block II: The SOPMOD Block II variant with a full-length quad-rail handguard.
    • M4A1 Block II (FSP): Same as Block II, but with a cut-out for the original “A2-style” front sight post (FSP).
    • MK18: Still based on the Mod 1 variant, but now fitted with a Magpul CTR stock for some variation.
    • HK416D: One of the most widely used variants of the HK416, with a 14.5-inch barrel and “Crane” stock.
    • HK416D CQB: A short-barrel variant of the HK416D, also known as the D10RS.
    • All M4 and HK416 variants can now also be fitted with a 20-round STANAG magazine.

We have also finally added a G3 battle rifle, specifically the G3A3 variant. It’s one of those weapons mainly meant as an OPFOR gun, and as such doesn’t allow much customization just yet — but you can add a top rail adapter for optics (the adapter uses a placeholder model).

Top to bottom: MK14 EBR, MK46 and G3A3

💡 None of the weapons have different skins to choose from anymore, but that is only a temporary bummer — new paint jobs are under development.
New weapon attachment assets

The following weapon attachments have all received new models:

  • HWS 553
  • HWS EXPS3 (comes in both black and FDE)
  • T-2 Micro
  • Specter DR 1x/4x (currently FDE only)
  • G33 Magnifier (3x) (black and FDE)

And these new models are replacing older items:

  • The MBUS and Micro folding iron sight pairings replaced the previous iron sights.
  • The MK4 (3.5–10x) variable-power scope replaced the M-233 (12x). It features a Picatinny rail mount for red dots.
❓ WHERE DID THE [INSERT OBSCURE ITEM THAT WAS YOUR WHOLE REASON TO BUY THE GAME] GO?
Models may need to be replaced or dropped for a variety of reasons during development. The Galil SAR, for example, was removed due to being an old and low-detail model which made it impossible to animate properly. Although not all removed assets will necessarily make a comeback, there is always a chance that they will be either reintroduced later or modded in.

Gameplay and mechanics

In V1032, we are introducing several gameplay features and mechanics to help players navigate, coordinate and fight better.

Mag Check

You can now hold the Reload key (default R) to estimate the amount of rounds you have left in your magazine or belt. The HUD icon indicates the status as being one of the following:

  • Fairly full
  • About half-full/empty
  • Nearly empty
  • Empty

Icons, timings and animations for the mag check are all subject to change, so let us know how it looks and feels to you.

💡 We also plan to allow the magazine to stay out (with the icon in view) for as long as the Reload key is held down, as well as automatically displaying the status icon when a used magazine is being loaded in.
Tablet (Map Device)

You can now easily figure out where you are in relation to objectives and teammates by tapping M or selecting the Tablet item from the Equipment menu (4).

The Tablet during a round of Intel Retrieval. Note the markers for players (diamonds), objectives (red circles) and extraction point (arrow going up). Players can now also organize into Team Elements (more info on those in the next section)

The Tablet is automatically equipped on all players and displays the following information:

  • Your location and bearing
  • Your teammates’ location (with indicators as to whether they’re above or below you)
  • Team roster and elements (more on that in the next section)
  • Objective areas and extraction points (Intel Retrieval)
  • In-game time
  • Time remaining for the current mission or round

If used well, the Tablet can drastically reduce friendly fire, as well as improve overall situation awareness.

💡 To put the Tablet away, tap M again or simply select a different item. You may find yourself using the Tablet most often during Intel Retrieval missions.
💡 If your teammates are killed, their markers will disappear from the Tablet, but their names will remain listed.
Team Elements

As shown in the Tablet screenshot in the previous section, players can now also assign themselves — or be assigned by a server admin — to one of four Team Elements: Alpha (A), Bravo (B), Charlie (C) and Delta (D). Team Elements are akin to fireteams or squads.

Team Elements are displayed next to player names (in the Ready Room and when spectating), as well as on the Session Roster screen and the Tablet. At the moment, they are merely an aid for teamwork and coordination, especially by organizing and color-coding player markers on the Tablet.

Upon joining a session, players are automatically assigned to Alpha. To change to a different Team Element, press Esc and access the Session Roster tab in the top menu bar. Then, simply click the letter icon next to your name, and choose a new Team Element from the list.

💡 REASSIGN AND REGROUP AT WILL, BABY
Your Team Element can be changed at any time — even during a mission/round.
💡 In due course, there will be features such as Team Element-specific radio channels.
Movement

Movement speeds for walking and sprinting were slowed down slightly but noticeably. As with most such adjustments, these new speeds are not necessarily final, but they seem to feel better to most players so far.

Recoil

As part of the animations update (more on that in a bit), recoil should now feel more pronounced both due to actual recoil animations, as well an added layer of camera shake — all subject to change, as usual.

Weapon collision (short-stocking)

Weapon collision has been reworked to use short-stocking, a technique in which the shooter progressively moves the stock over their shoulder in order to continue pointing the weapon forward if there isn’t enough room in front of them to keep the weapon fully extended.

This change allows players to remain combat-effective to a much larger degree than in V1031 (where the weapon would be pointed up as soon as weapon collision was detected).

New pistol Close Ready position

The Close Ready pose for pistols has been updated to be a lot less compressed (close to the chest), ensuring that you actually know where it is if it’s ready to shoot. It feels a lot nicer too.

ADS Sensitivity

You can now set your preferred aiming (ADS) sensitivity per magnification (“zoom”) level under SettingsControls:

NOTE
The number value is for how much the sensitivity should be scaled for a given magnification level. For example, a value of 1.0 would make a magnification level use the same sensitivity as the Normal Sensitivity. A value of 0.5 would make it half as sensitive, while 2.0 would make it twice as sensitive and so on.
Beefed up smoke grenades

Smoke grenades have been beefed up a bit to give more effective concealment. Performance may suffer if you spam a whole lot of these, but it’s a stop-gap solution until we have these effects remade and optimized.

New Wristwatch modes

Your Wristwatch has a few new functionalities related to different game modes.

  • In all game modes, a “time remaining” warning will be briefly shown on the watch at 5, 2 and 1 minute(s) remaining.
  • In Intel Retrieval, you can now turn on the “Proximity Alert” mission setting (on the Ops Board) to get a vibrating alert when within 5 meters of the intel device.
  • In the new Dynamic Take and Secure (DTAS — more on that in the Game modes section), your watch will display DTAS-specific information:
    • Approximate distance to the flag once placed (in meters). Also present in Fox Hunt mode, indicating distance to the Asset.
    • Direction of the flag once placed (yellow arrow).
    • When in range of the flag as a defender, a green alert will pulse.
    • When in range of the flag as an attacker, a yellow alert will pulse.
    • When the flag is being captured, a red alert will pulse (defenders get no warning of flag captures).

Animations

Animations have of course received the first stage of a major overhaul.

It is a massive improvement over V1031, but keep in mind that a lot of it is a work in progress and still fairly janky in a few areas. Here’s the rundown:

  • Reprocessed all existing character locomotion animations for new skeleton. (Locomotion will be entirely redone over the next few updates with mocap.)
  • All weapons have completely remade animations for shooting and weapon manipulation (reloads, fire selector, mag checks etc.).
  • First pass on custom foregrip hand poses:
    • The character’s support hand will grip the weapon depending on which type of foregrip is equipped (if any):
      • Angled foregrip: “Thumb over bore” grip (“C-clamp”)
      • Stubby/short foregrip: “Thumb break” grip
      • Full-length vertical foregrip: “Beer can” grip
      • No foregrip: Hand pose varies depending on the weapon.
    • Some foregrips will cause the left elbow to stick up — this is a known issue.
  • Added camera recoil animations.
  • Added basic idle character animations (only visible on other players).
  • Reworked weapon positions and transitions.
  • Body part-specific death animations, including extended death animations that have a 11% (1 in 9) chance of happening.
  • First pass on basic ladder climbing.
  • Vaulting now has an associated animation (which is pretty bugged, per the Known issues section).
💡 WIP ANIMATIONS
V1032 is largely the groundwork for the animations overhaul — the first part of an ongoing process with many iterations to come.

Maps and level design

V1032 features two new maps, a map overhaul and various smaller map-related changes.

❗ Please keep in mind that map visuals, performance, audio and design are all an ongoing development.
[NEW MAP] Compound

One of the most highly anticipated additions in GROUND BRANCH history, Compound is set in an undisclosed Pakistani village with flat terrain featuring crop fields, a main road and several man-made structures from small sheds to multi-storey houses — one of which appears suspiciously fortified.

Compound can be played in any of the existing game modes.

🔈 Soundscapes (ambient audio) for Compound are not yet finished.
[NEW MAP] Rig

Rig — reliable sources claim it’s short for oil rig — is likely the largest map in the game now. Comprised of multiple decks, each with sublevels, it’s a gargantuan tactical nightmare.

Rig can also be played in any of the existing game modes.

🔈 Rig currently uses downgraded soundscapes and sound occlusion due to audio stutter issues we have not been able to fix yet.
Storage Facility overhaul

Storage Facility has received an overhaul to include a new industrial area at the top of the hill and a new route down into the tunnels, which have been spruced up and expanded in various ways. The dock area has also been extended.

💡 The new Storage Facility is also currently undergoing a visual update, as will all older maps eventually.
Other significant map changes
  • Power Station has a new entrance west of the Substation insertion point leading into the tunnels.
  • City‘s central area was changed to add a new route to the previously “unconquerable” stairwell.
  • Run Down has a new stairwell access to the roof.
  • New and improved props have been put into various maps, most notably Tanker.
  • Terrain materials have had a “de-tiling” pass.
  • New water has been added to multiple maps.

Game mode updates

Intel Retrieval [PvE]

Intel Retrieval has received a major overhaul. Here’s what changed:

  • Instead of searching multiple laptops for the intel, there is now a target laptop to search and extract.
  • Approximate search areas are described and indicated as red circles on the Ops Board and Tablet.
  • By default, there will be one true location and one false location, but the number of possible locations can be changed under Mission Parameters.
  • The true laptop location and the extraction point will usually have additional AI guarding and/or patrolling them.
  • Please note that the visual search location circle is approximate, and you should treat the location text as definitive (for example: on Tanker, one search location is “Whole of Deck 3”, so search the entire deck rather than just the circle mark).
Terrorist Hunt [PvE]

Terrorist Hunt has not fundamentally changed, but it benefits from the new AI placement system to ensure less predictable placement and more replayability.

Dynamic Take and Secure (DTAS) [PvP]

DTAS is an entirely new PvP game mode (actually a recreation of a game mode in the early 2000s UT mod Infiltration) where both teams spawn in a random spot on the map.

The Defenders then have a short amount of time to place a flag, which marks the centre of a capturable zone. The Attackers must capture the zone, by getting a minimum of 2 attackers in range. The defenders can block an attack by getting a minimum of 2 defenders in range.

The Attackers can win by wiping out all defenders; the Defenders can win by killing all but one of the attackers.

Our own Matt “Fatmarrow” Farrow — who programmed this game mode — created a short video explaining how it all works:

As with most game modes, admins can tweak several parameters to their liking.

Fox Hunt [PvP]

Fox Hunt is a further new game mode hidden within DTAS.

When there are insufficient numbers of players on the server to start a DTAS round (by default: 6), the Fox Hunt mode will be engaged.

  • In this mode, one Defender is designated The Asset, and all players will receive an approximate distance (but not bearing) to their position.
  • Attackers win by eliminating The Asset.
  • Defenders win by keeping The Asset safe until time runs out.

A reduced time limit is automatically applied when Fox Hunt mode is engaged.

Team Elimination [PvP]

This mode remains unchanged, but has been extended with the possibility of player and/or team reinforcements (respawns). This is still an experimental addition. When you die, the game will try to respawn you near a teammate, but will fall back to the additional spawn if necessary (this is to try and mitigate spawn camping in the reinforcements mode).

Uplink [PvP]

The core gameplay remains the same, but a visible search area is automatically computed (based on the laptop locations) and displayed on the Ops Board.

Deathmatch [PvP]

This very non-tacticool but classic game mode now allows you to specify a target frag limit or time limit, to allow a winner to be decided.

You can also specify a minimum number of players: if there are fewer human players than this limit, additional AI enemies will be spawned to make up the numbers.

Training

The Camp Peary Training Facility (aka The Farm) has received a few small updates:

  • Targets for the regular shoothouse were rearranged, and many more possible target locations were added.
  • The Ops Board, light switch and Target App screen were moved around a bit for better usability.
  • The Ops Boards received some basic instructions on how to use The Farm’s facilities.

User interface (UI)

In addition to the Ops Board overhaul, other UI updates can be seen elsewhere. Perhaps most noticeably in the Customize Operator screen, which has received entirely new icons.

The item selection menu has also received a much-needed upgrade and now displays items on a grid, with items being directly customizable (no more selecting and then clicking the cog to edit) and custom item names being set in orange so you don’t have to search as much for your builds.

Here are some of the other main changes to look out for in the UI:

  • A lot of the text has been increased in size, which should make things a lot easier to read in 1080p and below.
  • You can once again tailor the AI difficulty straight from the game — no more INI file editing. To set your own values for the “Custom” AI difficulty, simply click the Advanced AI Setting button at the bottom-left of the Lone Wolf and Host Game screens and start editing.
  • Mission Settings now have an advanced settings category, which is hidden by default on the Lone Wolf and Host Game screens.
  • A brief description of the game mode type is now also given on those screens, and the map description is now displayed on each map tile.
  • If you try to select an OPFOR count over 30 (the recommended maximum), you will get a warning message and the OPFOR count itself will be displayed in red as a performance warning.
  • The After Action Report (AAR) has been overhauled and expanded. In addition to individual results, different tabs may now display team results, rounds won/attempted and more, depending on the game mode. (For the full set of AAR tabs, try new game mode DTAS.)

AI

Basic AI behavior remains the same, but some (mostly cosmetic) changes have been made:

  • Callouts are now less frequent.
  • The placement of AI on maps has been overhauled to make it more random, yet still plausible. In Intel Retrieval, AI is now spawned conditionally in some places, so that laptops and extraction zones are more heavily guarded than other areas of the map — which can give you a clue as to the laptop location if you observe carefully.
  • AI loadouts have been updated slightly to account for inventory/asset updates.
💡 A more significant AI update is planned for the next major release, V1033.

Audio

The sound department (aka Mikson) has seen a lot of work, from all-new reload SFX to dynamic range options. Here’s what got done:

  • New reload sounds for all weapons to go with the new animations and assets.
  • Audio mix overhaul: adjusted levels of all sounds to make sure gunshots and explosions sound more powerful.
  • Dynamic Range presets (Settings › Audio):
    • Full: Gunshots and explosions are significantly louder than other sounds. Recommended for headphone users.
    • Medium: Recommended for speaker users.
    • Low: Gunshots and explosions aren’t much louder than other sounds. Recommended for speaker users playing at night and for players with impaired hearing.
  • New Channels option: Binaural. Recommended for headphone users for more accurate sound navigation. Not recommended for speaker users!.
  • Re-implemented panting sound for low stamina. It starts fading in when stamina drops to 50%.
  • Added crouching/standing up SFX.
  • Added water footstep SFX.
  • Added pain and death sounds for bots. These are still placeholders, consistent with current voice lines by Daeln Murphy.
❗ As mentioned in the "Maps and level design" section, soundscapes for new maps Rig and Compound are unfinished. You may also notice some sound anomalies in Run Down due to faulty acoustic portals.

Missions and mission editor

  • Almost every mission (i.e. objectives, spawn points, AI placement etc.) has been reworked and the AI behavior slightly tweaked.
  • Certain game modes now allow you to play on sections of a certain map. For example, you can now play Team Elimination on City (Streets) or City (Subway), which are versions of the original City map restricted to the areas above the ground and underground, respectively.
  • The Mission Editor was reworked to be a bit more user-friendly. To access it, type editmission in the console when in a Lone Wolf level.
  • New features in the Mission Editor include laptop-supporting meshes (meshes that automatically spawn with laptops when placed for Intel Retrieval or Uplink), mission meshes (additional meshes that can be placed in a specific mission, e.g. to block line of sight for spawns, or to block players from parts of the level), and mission-blocking volumes (invisible walls to block players from places where they shouldn’t be).
  • Also see the new (and somewhat invaluable) Validate Level command in the file menu.

Admin

  • New command admin motd will broadcast the server MOTD (message of the day) to all players on the server.
  • The admin resurrect command has been altered to respawn players at their death location always (rather than where they might be spectating, if their body has disappeared). A new admin resurrect all version is available, which does what it says on the tin.
  • New command admin resurrectnear (also accessible as admin resnear) will respawn players in the vicinity of a teammate rather than where they died. You can also add ‘all’ to the end of either command (e.g. admin resnear all) to resurrect all players in the vicinity a teammate.
  • Map voting is now limited by default to maps that are included on the server map list.

 

📢 This has been BUILD UPDATE #032!
We'll start gathering reports as soon as they start rolling in, so expect hotfixes and patches in the upcoming weeks.
To all of the CTE testers: thank you for helping us get to the main branch!
We hope you enjoy V1032. Stay safe and we'll see you soon.

CTE Update #009: V1032 Testing #3

🆔 GROUND BRANCH CTE
Build ID: 7948164 (Client) / 7948168 (Dedicated Server)
Download size: 471 MB (Client) / 89 MB (Dedicated Server)
⚠️ NOTICE
These release notes are for the V1032 testing build currently available in the GROUND BRANCH CTE (Community Test Environment) Steam app — not to be confused with the actual (and upcoming) V1032 release for the regular GROUND BRANCH app.
🚨 CLEAR YOUR OLD FILES
To avoid input and asset conflicts, delete all files/folders located in both of the following locations (copy-paste the path into your File Explorer address bar and hit Enter):

1. %LOCALAPPDATA%\GroundBranch\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor
2. Documents\GroundBranch

As we mentioned on Twitter, we have been squashing bugs all holiday season to get some of the most pressing CTE issues ironed out before the new year.

Here’s the list of fixes and additions for today’s GROUND BRANCH CTE patch:

Gameplay and customization
  • Tweaked leaning to be a lot more useful again. It’s a stop-gap solution until we get the rigging/animations figured out properly.
  • Fixed M16A4 not having fire mode selection and mag check capability.
  • Fixed unlimited shotgun reloads.
  • Reoriented dropped item interaction boxes.
  • Adjusted recoil and rate of fire for G3A3 and FAL closer to real-life values.
  • Updated Micro T-2 red dot sight with new models.
  • Added plain button-up shirt with 5 skin choices (icon pending; currently shares plaid shirt icon).
  • Fixed/tweaked various character asset skins and textures.
  • Fixed arm mask clipping too much on some long-sleeve tops.
Maps and game modes
  • Prevented people spawning crazy inter-dimensional AI and players (sorry to spoil the fun).
  • Fixed collision issues on Storage Facility.
  • Fixed lots of lights popping on/off on Run Down.
  • Added light switch boxes to Compound.
  • Fixed Team Elimination game mode.
  • Fixed bad extraction points on Storage Facility’s creek (Intel Retrieval).
  • No more rogue Russian gear-wearing bot on Small Town (Intel Retrieval).
  • Intel Retrieval now logs laptop name as well as number so you can find it in the mission editor.
  • Greatly reduced the number of dead bodies sticking around in respawn modes.
Audio
  • Added radio syncing beep audio cues on round start and end.
  • Audio work and fixes done on various maps and weapons.
  • Added crouching SFX.
  • Ambient sounds and sound fixes on Storage Facility.
  • Possible fix for VOIP issue where player input signal is too quiet (may have caused VOIP to be too loud!).
  • Increased sound occlusion for the Ready Room’s shooting range.
Graphics, performance and online replication
  • Performance pass on inventory textures (downsized, optimized).
  • Graphical performance passes on Rig and Compound.
  • Tweaked graphics settings (Low/Medium/High/Epic etc.) to try and get those working better.
  • Updated doors to fix long-standing replication bug (doors have different states on client and server).
  • Tentative fix for PiP scopes making areas too bright.
  • Tweaked lighting across all maps to improve consistency and nighttime lighting — highlights and shadows should now be less harsh, generally.
  • Disabled eye adaptation.
  • Fixed various clipping issues.
  • Default lens reflection texture changed to better placeholder before it loads in properly.
  • Redid laser dots so all lasers have big bright IR dots in NVG (still a WIP).
  • Changed alternative respawn behavior in Team Elimination from always respawning next to a teammate (“Always Teammate Respawn” option) to always respawning back at the insertion point (“No Teammate Respawn”).

When is V1032 stable coming?

We are only 3–4 days away from the new year — meaning the stable release for V1032 will not be here before 2022 as we need this build to get a decent testing period to make sure the fixes work and that nothing else broke in the process. There’s plenty more polishing we’d like to do too.

With that being said, with a little luck the official release is not likely to take more than a few weeks. So keep an eye out for game-breakers and fingers crossed!

This has been CTE UPDATE #009!
Thanks for testing V1032 and reporting all those bugs!

To those of you who celebrate it, we hope you enjoyed the holidays. And to all of you supporting and playing GROUND BRANCH: we could not be more grateful. Thank you so much for sticking with us through another year.

Till the next update, and we'll see you in 2022!

CTE Update #007: V1032 Testing

🆔 GROUND BRANCH CTE
Build ID: 7850759  (Client) / 7850775 (Dedicated Server)
Download size: 4.7 GB (Client) / 442 MB (Dedicated Server)
⚠️ NOTICE
These release notes are for the V1032 testing build currently available in the GROUND BRANCH CTE (Community Test Environment) Steam app — not to be confused with the actual (and upcoming) V1032 release for the main GROUND BRANCH app.
🚨 CLEAR YOUR OLD FILES
To avoid input and asset conflicts, delete all files/folders located in the following locations (copy-paste the path into your File Explorer address bar and hit Enter):

1. %LOCALAPPDATA%\GroundBranch\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor
2. Documents\GroundBranch

You’re not seeing things: our Community Test Environment (CTE) for version 1032 is finally live!

For anyone arriving now, GROUND BRANCH CTE is a separate Steam app (available to anyone who owns GROUND BRANCH) where we deploy test releases for broad public testing. If you are okay with major bugs and possibly unstable releases, go ahead and install it to start testing and previewing V1032, our upcoming major update.

Before we get on with the change list, let’s go over some of the major known issues — also known as things that don’t need reporting.

Known issues

  • Character assets and item skins are generally a work in progress (WIP). Things like clipping and missing/inaccurate skins are known and expected.
  • Similarly, animations are all WIP and subject to change. Expect bad skeleton behavior here and there (like wonky arms and necks), as well as unfinished implementations like vaulting, ladder climbing and leaning. Issues may be more pronounced in multiplayer.
  • Vaulting will sometimes fail to get the character over an obstacle and resemble a sliding motion.
  • There are still no animations for certain actions, such as jumping. Some actions also use placeholders.
  • Audio stuttering is expected on Run Down and new map Compound.
  • New map Rig is missing sound occlusion and environment-specific gunshot tail sounds and reverb. Those were disabled to temporarily prevent bad audio stuttering.
  • There are currently no footstep sounds for stairs.
  • Weapon stance transitions sound effects are out of sync with the animations.
  • The in-game map tablet is not fully integrated yet, so expect wonkiness.
  • Eyewear may be stuck in view inside the Ready Room when playing online. To make it go away, either hold F near a locker or workbench, or simply deploy to the mission area.
  • When playing online, players who hit the Spectate button after dying will hear a wounded grunt that should be assigned to dying enemy AI only.
  • For those using debug cams for pictures and videos: the “unarmed” pose (weapons slung/holstered) will currently not play the walking animation properly client-side (other players will see it normally online, however). The same applies to the subtle idle animations, which can only be seen on other players while playing online.
  • The Rangefinder’s NV mode is currently broken.
  • Picking up items from the ground is fairly bugged and can result in floating and/or unusable items.
  • In the Customize Operator screen, clicking the Save/Load button for any kit column will cause your list of saved kits to be displayed at the bottom of any item selection menu you open later. This bug is cumulative.
  • Weapon attachments may be strangely rotated.

What’s new

💭 The T in CTE is for Testing
Our goal with the Community Test Environment is to gather valuable data and feedback from a larger group of players. Needless to say, everything is a work in progress and subject to change.

Gameplay and mechanics

Mag check

You can now hold the Reload button (default R) to estimate the amount of rounds you have in your magazine/belt. You will get a HUD icon that indicates one of the following:

  • Fairly full
  • About half-full/empty
  • Nearly empty
  • Empty

Icons, timings and animations are all subject to change.

Map Tablet

You can now easily figure out where you are in relation to objectives and your teammates (if you have any) by tapping M or selecting the Tablet item in the Equipment menu (4).

The tablet displays the following information:

  • Your location and bearing
  • Your teammates’ location
  • Your team’s roster
  • Current objectives (as well as relevant markers on the map)
  • The in-game time of day (local time, in the top-right corner)
  • The amount of time remaining to complete your objectives

You may find yourself using the tablet a lot during Intel Retrieval missions.

New watch modes

Your wristwatch has a few new functionalities:

  • In all game modes, a “time remaining” warning will be briefly shown on the watch at 5, 2 and 1 minute(s) remaining.
  • In Intel Retrieval, you can now turn on the “Proximity Alert” mission setting (on the Ops Board) to get a vibrating alert when within 5 meters of the intel device.
  • In the new Dynamic Take and Secure (DTAS), your watch will display DTAS-specific information:
    • Approximate distance to the flag once placed (in meters). Also present in Fox Hunt mode.
    • Direction of the flag once placed (yellow arrow).
    • When in range of the flag as a defender, a green alert will pulse.
    • When in range of the flag as an attacker, a yellow alert will pulse.
    • When the flag is being captured, a red alert will pulse (defenders get no warning of flag captures).

More information about DTAS and Fox Hunt in the Game modes section.

Beefed up smoke grenades

Smoke grenades have been beefed up a bit to give more effective concealment. Performance may suffer if you spam a whole lot of these, but it’s a stop-gap solution until we have these effects remade and optimized.

AI can still see through them — sorry.

Team Elements

The new Team Elements feature (akin to player squads or fireteams) allows players to assign themselves — or be assigned by a server admin — to elements within your team for the purpose of aiding in coordination.

Team Elements are displayed in various places as differently colored letters: A, B, C and D, corresponding to elements Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. To change your Team Element, press Esc and access the Session Roster tab (top menu). Click the letter next to your player name, and choose your new Element.

There will in due course be features such as Element-specific radio channels, but for now you will see different Elements displayed in different colors on the in-game tablet.

Movement speed

Movement speed has been slightly tweaked. We’re being deliberately vague here as to not sway anyone — try it out for yourself let us know how it feels to you.

Game mode updates

Intel Retrieval

Intel Retrieval has received a major overhaul. Here’s what changed:

  • Instead of searching multiple laptops, there is now a single laptop to search and extract.
  • Approximate search areas are described and indicated on the new Ops Board, as well as the new map tablet item.
  • Typically, there will be one true location and one false location, but the number of possible locations can be changed under Mission Parameters.
  • The true laptop location and the extraction point will usually have additional AI guarding and/or patrolling them.
  • Please note that the visual search location circle is approximate, and you should treat the location text as definitive (for example: on Tanker, one search location is “Whole of Deck 3”, so search the entire deck rather than just the circle mark).
Terrorist Hunt

Terrorist Hunt has not fundamentally changed, but it benefits from the new AI placement system to ensure less predictable placement and more replayability.

Dynamic Take and Secure (DTAS)

DTAS is an entirely new PvP game mode (actually a recreation of a game mode in the early 2000s UT mod Infiltration) where both teams spawn in a random spot on the map.

The Defenders then have a short amount of time to place a flag, which marks the centre of a capturable zone. The Attackers must capture the zone, by getting a minimum of 2 attackers in range. The defenders can block an attack by getting a minimum of 2 defenders in range.

The Attackers can win by wiping out all defenders; the Defenders can win by killing all but one of the attackers.

Our own Matt “Fatmarrow” Farrow — who programmed this game mode — created a short video explaining how it all works:

As with most game modes, admins can tweak several parameters to their liking.

Fox Hunt

Fox Hunt is a further new game mode hidden within DTAS (see above).

When there are insufficient numbers of players on the server to start a DTAS round (by default: 6), the Fox Hunt mode will be engaged.

  • In this mode, one Defender is designated The Asset, and all players will receive an approximate distance (but not bearing) to their position.
  • Attackers win by eliminating The Asset.
  • Defenders win by keeping The Asset safe until time runs out.

A reduced time limit is automatically applied when Fox Hunt mode is engaged.

Team Elimination

This mode remains unchanged, but has been extended with the possibility of player and/or team reinforcements (respawns). This is still an experimental addition. When you die, the game will try to respawn you near a teammate, but will fall back to the additional spawn if necessary (this is to try and mitigate spawn camping in the reinforcements mode).

Uplink

The core gameplay remains the same, but a visible search area is automatically computed (based on the laptop locations) and displayed on the Ops Board.

Deathmatch

This very non-tacticool but classic game mode now allows you to specify a target frag limit or time limit, to allow a winner to be decided.

You can also specify a minimum number of players: if there are fewer human players than this limit, additional AI enemies will be spawned to make up the numbers.

Training

The Camp Peary Training Facility (aka The Farm) has received a couple small updates:

  • The regular shoothouse’s targets were repositioned, and many more possible target locations were added.
  • The Ops Board, light switch and Target App screen were moved around a bit for better usability.
  • The Ops Boards received some basic instructions on what to do on The Farm.

Maps and level design

New maps

New maps Compound and Rig are now available. Keep in mind that visuals, performance, audio and design are all an ongoing development.

Storage Facility overhaul

Storage Facility has had an overhaul to add a new industrial area at the top of the hill and a new route down into the tunnels, which have been spruced up and expanded in various ways. The docks area has also been extended.

Other significant map changes
  • Power Station has a new entrance west of the Substation insertion point leading into the tunnels.
  • City‘s central area was changed to add a new route to the previously “unconquerable” stairwell.
  • Run Down has a new ladder access route down from the roof.
  • New and improved props have been put into various maps, most notably Tanker.
  • Terrain materials have had a “de-tiling” pass.
  • New water has been added to multiple maps.

Missions and mission editor

  • Almost every single mission (i.e. objectives, spawn points, AI placement etc.) has been reworked and the AI slightly tweaked.
  • Certain game modes now allow you to play on sections of a certain map. For example, you can now play Team Elimination on City (Streets) or City (Subway), which are versions of the original City map restricted to the areas above the ground and underground, respectively.
  • The Mission Editor was reworked to be a bit more user-friendly. To access it, type editmission in the console when in a Lone Wolf level. (Please keep in mind however that there is currently a show-stopping bug with object selection and manipulation.)
  • New features in the Mission Editor include laptop-supporting meshes (meshes that automatically spawn with laptops when placed for Intel Retrieval or Uplink), mission meshes (additional meshes that can be placed in a specific mission, e.g. to block line of sight for spawns, or to block players from parts of the level), and mission-blocking volumes (invisible walls to block players from places where they shouldn’t be).
  • Also see the new (and somewhat invaluable) Validate Level command in the file menu.

Animations

Animations have received a major overhaul, most of which is still behind-the-scenes.

  • Reprocessed all character locomotion animations for new skeleton.
  • All weapons have completely remade animations for shooting and weapon manipulation (reloads, fire selector, mag checks etc.).
  • Added camera recoil animations.
  • Reworked weapon positions and transitions.
  • Body part-specific hit and death animations, including extended death animations.
  • First pass on basic ladder climbing (still missing mounting and unmounting).
  • Vaulting now has an associated animation (which is pretty bugged, per the Known issues section).

Ready Room and UI

  • New Ready Room look.
  • The Ops Board has a new layout and map images that emulate drone/satellite imagery.
  • The UI has received a general art pass, and most text is now in a slightly larger font size.
  • Customize Operator screen: new icons and improved item selection menus. Custom item builds are now also colored differently.
  • Mission settings now have an advanced settings category, which is hidden by default on the Lone Wolf and Host Game menus. A brief description of the game mode type is now given on those screens, and the mission selection tiles at the right-hand side now provide a description of the map.
  • Advanced AI Settings are now customizable (again) from the Lone Wolf and Host Game screens, allowing you to edit the various properties of the custom AI difficulty level.
  • If you try to select an OPFOR count over 30 (the recommended maximum), you will get a warning message and the OPFOR count itself will be displayed in red as a performance warning.
  • The After Action Report (AAR) has been overhauled and expanded. Extra tabs with extra info are added when appropriate. For the full set of AAR tabs with custom player and team scoring, check out the DTAS game mode. This may be extended in the future.

Character and inventory

  • New MK14 EBR model based on the Mod 1 variant, replacing the old Mod 2.
  • The new MK46 (Mod 1) light machine gun in 5.56 NATO replaces the old MK48 Mod 0. Suppressor not yet implemented, but on the way.
  • New M4-series and HK416-series models:
    • M4A1 SOPMOD
    • M4A1 Block II
    • M4A1 Block II (FSP)
    • HK416D
    • HK416D CQB
  • All-new character assets:
    • Character heads
    • Outfit and gear items
    • Beard selection currently disabled (still in development)

AI

  • Basic AI behavior remains the same, but some essentially cosmetic changes have been made to their loadouts and callouts (mainly reduced frequency). A more fundamental pass on AI is, of course, still planned.
  • The placement of AI on maps has been overhauled to make it more random, yet still plausible. In Intel Retrieval, AI is now spawned conditionally in some places, so that laptops and extraction zones are more heavily guarded than other areas of the map (which can give you a clue as to the laptop location if you observe carefully).

Audio

  • New reload sounds for all weapons.
  • Audio mix overhaul: adjusted levels of all sounds to make sure gunshots and explosions sound more powerful.
  • Dynamic Range presets (Settings › Audio):
    • Full: Gunshots and explosions significantly louder than other sounds. Recommended for headphone users.
    • Medium: Recommended for speaker users.
    • Low: Gunshots and explosions aren’t much louder than other sounds. Recommended for speaker users playing at night and for players with impaired hearing.
  • New channels setting: Binaural. Recommended for headphone users for more accurate sound navigation (not recommended for speaker users!).
  • Added water footstep sounds.
  • Pain and death sounds for AI (placeholders, consistent with current voice lines by Daeln Murphy).

Admin

  • New command admin motd will broadcast the server MOTD (message of the day) to all players on the server.
  • The admin resurrect command has been altered to respawn players at their death location always (rather than where they might be spectating, if their body has disappeared). A new admin resurrect all version is available, which does what it says on the tin.
  • New command admin resurrectnear (also accessible as admin resnear) will respawn players in the vicinity of a teammate rather than where they died. You can also add ‘all’ to the end of either command (e.g. admin resnear all) to resurrect all players in the vicinity a teammate.
This has been CTE UPDATE #007!
We're sure there's plenty we forgot to add here, so if you have any questions or would like to point out any glaring omissions, leave us a comment or reach out via social media with the links below. As always, thank you for your continued support and we hope you enjoy this test build!

Intel Update #009: Road to V1032

Alright, everyone, it’s time for another Intel Update!

These last few months have seen no shortage of setbacks — big and small, both inside the development and outside — but we’re chugging along like we always do. Humans are not built for waiting, and believe us when we say we absolutely hate how long this is taking, but we’re hoping this dev blog will give everyone another good taste of what’s coming.

➕ For those who missed it, our last blog post is available here: Intel Update #008: Reinforcements

Some will argue that the succulent previews you are about to see actually make the wait worse. To those, we say: scroll no further, for this shall be painful.

This is going to be media-heavy, so double-check you’re not on mobile data and let’s move on.

Optimization

In our last Intel Update, we introduced you to Bad Rhino Studios, a company that has been helping us with mostly under-the-hood development.

As part of our partnership, they have ran a thorough performance profiling on GROUND BRANCH and found that the biggest offender was indeed audio- and AI-related. More specifically, AI audio event calls causing big spikes in CPU usage.

Another performance issue we had was related to navmeshes (the areas of maps that bots are allowed to navigate on), and determined to be caused by how the AI interacts with doors within the navmeshes — hence maps Run Down and Tanker having the worst PvE performance, as they have the most doors.

Fixes have been applied to both issues, and appear to have yielded positive results in testing so far. Hell yeah, Bad Rhino Studios.

Further reinforcements

We cannot get into detail just yet, but we’ve recently gotten a tech artist on board. To put it simply, tech artists bridge the gap between programmers and artists (a job that Kris has so far been solely responsible for, on top of his regular coding duties), so we’re talking a very valuable acquisition for the team here.

There are a couple other positions that may be filled soon, but it’s a little too early to confirm. Bottom line is, we’re putting those sales to good use and will continue to build up the team.

Art assets

Character customization

One of V1032’s biggest attractions is, of course, the brand-new character assets. Even the heads are all getting replaced with much better ones, with more models to come later:

We have yet to figure out how we’re going to use the dirt/wound layers; whatever we go with, we promise these heads are going to have eyes

And here’s a little selection of loadouts you can make with the new gear, showcased with a new pose that Mike hooked us up with specifically for the Customize Operator screen:

Although not 100% of the assets are new (we’re still missing a few items, like the Ball Cap and Headsets), they are all set to be updated within the next few releases.

In fact, here’s some upcoming eyewear — in various stages of development — that will be in V1032:

And just as a little demo of how much complexity full customization adds to development, here’s a study sent to us by our trusty character asset artist Pau Peñalver as we try to figure out how to deal with goggle headbands vs. helmets vs. helmet accessories (e.g. ear pro/comms):

how goggles ?

Decisions, decisions. Anyway, more shots to gawk at:

Swatch system

As mentioned in a previous Intel Update many moons ago, most of the new character assets are setup to essentially take any color or pattern we want. As a result, the days of mismatched camos and inconsistent pouches will be over as soon as V1032 hits, and you’ll be able to MultiCam OCP the sh*t out of your kit:

Never Always go full MultiCam OCP…?

In keeping with the authenticity that GROUND BRANCH is going for, we are for the most part creating skins that exist for the real-life counterparts of our assets. We may get more flexible as we go (OCP Black?!?!), but one thing we know for sure is that you’ll never see neon or brightly-colored skins in this game — not by us, anyway.

Y’all got any more of them new models?

New MK14 EBR (WIP)

We have a new MK14 EBR model under development by Cody Cudmore to replace our old Mod 2 variant currently in the game.

We know, you may not be exactly excited about a new EBR, but we figure these renders might help:

Here it is again, a little further along:

This new EBR is based on the US Navy’s Mod 1 variant (photo) — a better fit for the game overall, as it is fitted with a shorter 18″ barrel and an adjustable-length stock (which you will be able to switch out for other models in the future).

Click here for a preview of another upcoming GROUND BRANCH weapon (that's for a later update, though!) at Cody's ArtStation page.
➕ For a list of all known upcoming weapons and more, see our Early Access Roadmap. Yes… a SCAR-H is coming. *sigh*
MK46 (WIP)

We’re also getting a MK46 Mod 1 light machine gun made to replace the old MK48, a model that is just as old as the current MK14 Mod 2 EBR. We aren’t 100% sure that it will make it to V1032, but here are some progress shots anyway:

Much like the updated EBR, the MK46 is a better fit for the game for a few reasons: it is lighter, shorter, and more likely to be seen in a small, high-speed unit. The 5.56 mm caliber, however, means a firepower downgrade when compared to the MK48’s 7.62 mm round.

We’d like to get at least one additional stock made for this LMG, so drop your suggestion in the comments!

🔫 We have a new M1911 in the making, but that isn't far along enough to showcase just yet. It may or may not make it to V1032.
Updated accessories

The SpecterDR 1x/4x scope has been updated with a new, highly-detailed model by Cody:

… and so has the EXPS3 holo sight, by the same author:

Also in FDE!

Other V1032 weapon accessory changes will include an updated AK suppressor, new/updated backup iron sights (BUIS), and a new MK4 3.5–10x scope to replace the old generic 12x.

Updated M4/MK18 assets

You have probably noticed by now that our M4/MK18 platforms have all been updated with entirely new models — including an FSP M4 Block II rail option — but here’s a close-up just to really get the point across:

The classic M4A1 SOPMOD is also being updated, but since the previous model wasn’t as old, the different isn’t quite as jarring. Still, it’s nice to have art consistency, the potential for cross-modability and, well, the correct barrel length:

Although these will be setup as standalone weapon platforms in V1032, we’ll eventually have a basic “gunsmith” feature where you’ll be able to (for example) select a base M4 platform and swap out the stock, handguard and possibly barrel; that will make customization more flexible and the UI cleaner.

Animations

New weapon positions and stance transitions

As teased a couple weeks ago on our Discord and Twitter, we have new animations and poses for the weapon positions. Although nothing is set in stone and this is all one big work in progress, we’ll be trying this style out and update as the feedback comes.

One thing we at BlackFoot Studios agree on is that they look and feel a lot better, especially with the smooth transitions.

Notice the trigger discipline finally adapting to the stance
⏳ More natural, full-body character movements will all come in due time.

We’re sure there will be justified concerns about flagging — and again, these are not final — but we’re looking into having collision act as the “safety trigger”, so to speak: if you get close enough to a friendly unit, your character will automatically point the muzzle lower (if you’re at Low Ready) or higher (if you’re at High Ready).

It’s also worth noting for these previews that things like animation timing and camera/head movement are TBD.

New High Ready (primary weapons)
New Compressed Ready (pistols)

As we progress, Mike will also be creating variants of the new ready positions/transitions that account for weapon length and weight. As an example, bringing a machine gun to ADS will be slightly slower than a carbine, while longer weapons may use a more “tucked in” High Ready position to mitigate environment collision and clipping.

⏳ V1032 will be merely our first big animations update. It will lay the foundations for animations and features to be added and improved all the way to the v1.0 release.

IK foot placement

The magic of IK, or inverse kinematics, will allow character’s feet to conform to the inclination and height of the environment, as displayed by this silly screengrab from 3 weeks ago. We don’t have a more recent shot because something broke the IK since, but don’t let anybody tell you game development isn’t endless fun:

This initial implementation is guaranteed to create plenty of wonky moments, but that’s what iterations are for.

Reloads

All-new reload animations also mean all-new reload sounds. Sound designer Mikson has also been busy making sure the audio is in sync with the new motions, as well as improving effects all around as he went along.

Make sure you’ve also checked out the STANAG vs. PMAG (metal vs. polymer) reload audio comparison from the last Intel Update here

Death animations

Another part of the animations update will be a first pass on death sequences. While the current method — a mix of ragdoll and hand-made animations — does not allow for the animations themselves to be as accurate as fully rendered ones, it lets the ragdoll physics maintain full effect, so bodies still react to falling against the environment or off platforms while the animation plays.

Here’s a little demo:

As the video hopefully conveys, enemies no longer drop like a sack of potatoes: they have animations for being hit in different parts of the body, and even the direction they’re shot from has an effect on how they drop.

There’s more to these animations than just that, but we’re not spoiling it all just yet. Not bad for a first pass, huh?

Maps

In addition to upcoming maps Compound (working title) and Rig, already showcased previously, Storage Facility is getting a revamp consisting of a considerable expansion of the outside play area, a new way into the tunnels, and a huge makeover of the tunnels themselves.

If all goes well, the updated Storage Facility will have also received an extra art pass by the time you get to explore it.

Game modes

GROUND BRANCH V1031 brought us Lua-based game modes, which semi-officially opened up game mode modding to the community. Although development isn’t streamlined at this point, a few community-made modes have already been created:

Dynamic Take and Secure (DTAS)

Those who follow our Roadmap know about DTAS – Dynamic Take and Secure, a PvP game mode we added to the board a while ago. As it turns out, DTAS has been under development over the past several months by our friend and occasional collaborator fatmarrow, also known for his community maps (you can find his progress and tutorial videos here).

In DTAS, teams alternate as attackers and defenders. Once defenders set up the flag, attackers are free to start tracking it down. To win the round, attackers need to have more players inside the flag’s capture radius than defenders. If attackers are down to only one player or fail to capture within the time limit, defenders win. All parameters — time limit, capture radius, team balance — are customizable by admins.

It is currently in advanced testing, and will be available once the first V1032 CTE is released.

💡 DTAS was originally a game mode for Infiltration (aka INF), an old tactical realism mod for Unreal Tournament (1999).
Rendezvous

Fatmarrow has also helped create Rendezvous, a game mode by community regular V2. The description and rules for this scavenge/escape game mode can be found in this Discord link, and the download is right below:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/480702286943879168/858760420990648321/Rendezvous_20210628.zip

Kill Confirmed / Breakout

GB community member eelSkillz has created an additional 2 solo/co-op game modes, dubbed Kill Confirmed (a VIP assassination mode) and Break Out (another take on a scavenge/exfiltrate mode).

You can download the game modes from eelSkillz’s GitHub here and discuss them on the Steam thread here.

For a few demo runs of both modes (also featuring V2 and his Rendezvous mode), check out eel’s YouTube channel.

Nvidia DLSS & GeForce NOW

Just to make it official: GROUND BRANCH will support both GeForce NOW and Nvidia DLSS in the near-future!

GeForce NOW is the better-known Nvidia subscription-based cloud gaming platform where, instead of running on the player’s PC, games are run on powerful PCs somewhere else in the world and streamed to the player.

Nvidia DLSS (Deep Learning Super-Sampling) takes advantage of GeForce RTX technology to generate high-resolution, sharp, detailed images from low-resolution native samples via AI. This video offers a good demonstration of how it all works and looks:

This has been Intel Update #009!

We’ve just started internal testing, and although a lot of the game still needs to be put back together, dev builds have been stable and performing well. When we’re done with the major fixes, we’ll start rolling builds out to the CTE so you can all have a look and help us make sure we have a solid release.

As a final reminder, V1032 won’t be the ultimate animations update, but it will help us get there in a lot of ways. It’s all about paving the way for new features and a game that looks and feels better as development progresses.

Lastly, the only reason GROUND BRANCH has made it this far is our community’s continued support over the years, months, days or however long you’ve known about our game and talked about it with your friends, bought a copy, started a discussion thread, streamed it, hung around the Discord or even just followed us on social media.

And so as always, thank you for keeping us going, and we’ll see you on the next update!