GROUND BRANCH News

⚠️ There have been new Community Test updates since this release. See our Events page.

Welcome to the public testing for GROUND BRANCH V1034!

In our last Intel Report, we established today (December 19th) as a hard deadline to push the V1034 release into testing. And so here it is — with all the new stuff, which includes a lot of very broken stuff that we'll be fixing on our way to the stable release with your help.

Please keep in mind that a lot of things are expected to be broken, which is kind of the point of public testing: the more people breaking things and reporting them, the faster the issues are discovered and the easier it is for us to prioritize fixes and changes.

[h3]❓ How to join the Community Test beta branch[/h3]

• Right-click GROUND BRANCH in your Steam Library and select Properties…
• Click 'BETAS' on the left-hand list menu
  
• Select 'communitytest - Community testing branch' from the drop-down menu
  (no password required)

Steam will begin downloading the files for the testing branch. Patching may take a while.

[h3]🐞 Where to report bugs[/h3]
You can report bugs and issues using any of these methods:

• The in-game Bugs & Issues screen (press Esc once in-game and look along the top menu)
  
• The Steam forums: steamcommunity.com/app/16900/discussions/
• The #bug-reports channel on the official GROUND BRANCH™ Discord

Your reports help us locate and fix issues faster, so keep them coming!

All done? Alright, this is what to look out for:




Major changes and additions:

• The new Prone stance is accessible via the Z key (default)
  
• Players can also change stances by binding the new Stance Up and Stance Down keybinds
  
• First pass on new enemy AI — we have rebuilt the AI from the ground up and it is neither fully tested nor feature-complete, so please bear with us as we collect feedback and iterate during this testing period
  
• Six female characters can now be selected under the Appearance tab
  
• A few hairstyles are now available for all characters, along with a shorter beard for male characters
  

⚠️ Weapon modding is still set for addition in the final V1034 release, but it is not currently available in the public testing.

⚠️ As mentioned previously, the new AI is far from final and will continue to be worked on over several updates.

Things you can report, but may not need to:

• Enemy AI may be unresponsive/idle/stuck in various contexts — if you see it, please make note of whether it was online (dedicated server? Listen server?) or offline, which game mode was being played, as well as map and location etc. (this may be an issue with legacy mission setups rather than the AI, so let's figure it out)
  
• Changing directions (WASD) with a primary weapon equipped will cause visible "hitches" in the weapon movement
  
• Weapon movement, poses and animations in general are still being put back together after the prone overhaul — please bear with us
  
• Leaning is bound to feel particularly strange, due to the combo of new poses and the ongoing animation work (all WIP)
  
• Walking or running with a primary weapon equipped causes the character's right foot to "hover" before it actually touches the ground
  
• Prone does not conform to terrain angle
  
• Aiming (ADS) with a pistol while crouched is offset to the right
  
• Character and weapon collision while prone is pretty finicky! Let us know how it all feels to you
  
• The Tablet (map) is currently offset to the bottom while crouched, and unusable while prone
  
• Various combinations of hairstyles and headgear items have visible clipping or overall jankiness
  
• The Galil ARM and SA58 OSW are lacking bolt/ejection and charging handle movements (in the weapon themselves)
  
• The default Galil ARM and SA58 OSW builds are missing a magazine
  
• The SA58 OSW does not have the correct reload animations hooked up
  

Here's the full list of changes in this build:

[h2]Maps[/h2]

[h3]City[/h3]

• Major overhaul at street level (new enterable central buildings, enterable peripheral buildings and a large new bank section)
  
• Missions rejigged to conform to and take advantage of new features
  
• Cleaned up a lot of collision issues
  

[h3]Compound[/h3]

• Calls to prayer added using new Time of Day alarm system
  

[h3]Creek[/h3]

• Fixed specular value on creek embankment material so it better matches the ground
  
• Reworked terrain and collisions to reduce possibility of getting stuck on trees
  

[h3]Depot[/h3]

• Optimized grass meshes
  
• Switched guard tower at main gate to the mirrored version
  
• Added some cover plates to top platform area of Depot guard towers (gives more cover to that area for AI and players)
  
• Tweaked grass wind settings
  
• Increased draw distances for log foliage and some door frames
  

[h3]Power Station[/h3]

• Added light blocker mesh to stop sunlight coming into Power Station tunnel when sunlight is at very low light angle
  

[h3]Rig[/h3]

• Added the vista from Tanker
  
• Fixed some poor tiling on the legs/superstructure
  
• Texture sharpening
  
• Replaced all industrial doors with new ones, improved opening directions, yaws and clutter around them for better movement
  
• Fixed some inverted or bad normal maps
  
• Replaced wood interior doors with newer version
  
• Replaced roll up doors with newer version
  
• Converted glass blueprints to Depot style
  
• Some PFX optimizing
  
• Material tweaks
  
• Optimized light settings
  
• Improved bloom and light shaft settings, same as Depot
  
• Fixed DFAO bleeding on some interior wall meshes
  
• Reduced complexity of derrick railings
  
• A few material tweaks
  
• Set some small props to Projectile collision profile
  
• Sun light optimization
  

[h3]Small Town [/h3]

• Consistency and cosmetic overhaul
  

[h3]Storage Facility[/h3]

• Fixed some props and decals hidden in walls
  
• Fixed some reflection captures that were in the void
  
• Tweaked signage
  
• Material tweaks
  
• Fixed inverted phone
  

[h3]The Farm[/h3]

• Consistency and cosmetic update
  
• Extended distance of some foliage and added a bit of unevenness to the Farm shooting range terrain to help with foliage culling leaving the terrain bare at distances
  

[h3]Tanker[/h3]

• Added new life raft pods, tweaked draw distances for large meshes
  
• Cleaned up collision with Tanker internal staircase railings
  

[h2]Weapons and attachments[/h2]

[h3]New weapons[/h3]

• Galil ARM
  
• SA58 OSW
  

[h3]Updated weapons[/h3]

• MPX (new model)
  
• FAL (new model)
  
• Adding back in old metal AKM mag due to popular request
  
• Fixed bad normals on FAL magazine
  
• Fixed bad setting for metallic texture on 1P78 Kashtan sight that made it black in shadow
  

[h3]Optics and attachments[/h3]

• SRS model and textures updated
  
• AN/PEQ-15 lasers now emit from the correct apertures depending on type selected (visible/IR)
  
• Laser beam point light effect reworked slightly
  

[h2]Customization[/h2]

• Created male and female subtypes of clothing
  
• New Flannel Shirt style (previous version renamed to "Light Flannel")
  
• Some pouches removed on rigs and vests to accommodate new radio asset
  
• Updated/cleaned up a lot of inaccurate color schemes for various tops and pants
  
• Changed cap and reverse cap to have callsign at the back
  
• All country patches removed except those representing dev team countries (US, Australia, Brazil, UK, Germany, Canada and Spain)
  
• New patches added:
  
  
  
  
  • Blackbeard
    
  • Too Deep
    
  • Tertia Optio B
    
  • United States B (R)
    
  • United States B (L)
    
  • United States IR (R)
    
  • United States IR (R)
    
  • US–UK Friendship Flag
    
  • SCOPetrol
    
  • Ram Airways
    

[h2]AI[/h2]

• Migrated from Unreal AI system to Kythera AI middleware (huge change)
  
• Main updates in behavior:
  
  
  
  
  • New target acquisition based on engagement time and distance
    
  • New perception system, with different cone of visions that take lighting and time of day into account
    
  • Basic suppression (firing at last known location)
    
  • Crouching and going prone when no cover is available nearby
    
  • Holding fire when another bot is in the line of fire
    
  • Replaced pathfinding/navmesh system with Kythera solution, including ORCA avoidance
    
  • Scouting out of windows
    
• AI loadouts updated to take account of new kit and disappearing pouches
  
• At lower skill levels, AI fire tracers with increasing frequency and have more frequent muzzle flash effects
  

[h2]Character and controls[/h2]

• Added female characters (new heads and clothing assets)
  
• Morph targets added to create female variations of existing kit
  
• Various under-the-hood changes to integrate with new Kythera AI systems
  
• Hair styles added for both male and female models, with different options according to head type and gender
  
• Updated eyelash meshes created and added for all characters
  
• Radio and PTT module added to relevant platforms
  
• New beard style (short/spotty)
  
• New prone action mapped to Z key by default
  
• Stance Up / Stance Down keybinds now available, as an alternative stance control scheme to move between standing, crouched and prone (uses only two keys)
  

[h2]Graphics[/h2]

• New headcam-style camera for Spectator Mode and Debug (Ctrl + Up arrow)
  
• Updated DLSS and Streamline plugins
  
• Underwater effects added to all water volumes which can be entered by going prone or looking down while crouched, depending on depth
  
• Added various new branch, log and tree assets
  
• New colorblind graphics settings, including colorblind correction modes and custom reticle and laser colors
  
• Main menu max FPS is now capped to value of new MainMenuFPS config variable (default 60 FPS)
  
• Spectator Mode night vision now cycles through green and white phosphor settings (previously only green)
  
• Replaced static normal texture for callsign patches with a procedurally generated normal, to make the letters stand out (literally)
  
• Added specular and AO (ambient occlusion) into the patch decal chain, to remove AO and to set a constant specular value on body patches (previously there was some speckle in shadow caused by underlying AO)
  
• Small pass on tracers (visuals and onset)
  
• Callsign patches now added to the back of helmets (or to the back of the NVG counterweight, if equipped)
  
• Specular AO mode enabled
  
• Brought the post-processing on the UE4 debug camera into line with the normal character post-processing
  
• Changed AA samples to 16, since it was causing issues/artifacts with DLSS SR
  
• Reworked handling of DLSS FG when in main menu and when the game is starting
  
• DLSS FG (Frame Generation) will be turned off in the main menu, only be enabled when game starts
  
• Added smooth Time of Day transitions for TimeOfDay console command
  
• Big pass on consistency and values of colors and brightness of inventory/outfit items (let us know if you catch any inconsistencies!)
  
• Changed default resolution from 1280x800 to 1920x1080 (may need some further work for Steam Deck)
  
• Various tooltips converted to GB standard
  
• Fuse boxes, DTAS flags and other gameplay props set to never distance cull
  

[h2]Animation[/h2]

• Introduction of prone posture and transitions
  
• Overhaul of all movement animations and poses
  
• New animations for body and head recoil (reacting to weapon recoil)
  
• Updated MK17 animations with polish pass
  
• Updated M24 character animations so they were mesh additive
  
• New mag check animations
  
• Prone death animations
  
• Created SA58 OSW animations
  
• Created Galil ARM animations
  
• Polished FAL animations
  

[h2]VFX[/h2]

• Overhaul of all bullet impact and other VFX
  
• Reworked smoke materials, especially with regard to ambient lighting
  
• Smoke grenades tweaked to last longer and to have different smoke propagation
  
• New muzzle flashes: suppressed, flash hider, and AK-specific FX created
  
• New shell ejection smoke FX
  
• Added color control for the muzzle flash smoke elements
  
• Adjusted the M67 Frag dirt explosion
  
• Reworked Breaching Charge and door explosion effects
  
• New blood impact effects
  
• New manhole/steam FX in City
  
• Bug system added to various lights (bugs circle lights at night)
  
• Dynamic light system now uses separate VFX for shooting out the light when on vs off
  
• New footstep FX
  
• Set physical materials for a large number of materials that were missing one
  
• Lights can now be blown out by grenade explosions
  
• Created FX for light fixture destruction
  

[h2]Servers and multiplayer[/h2]

• Added server-configurable door to block off firing range in Ready Room
  
• Server browser and dedicated servers updated to transfer new information relating to mods and player names
  
• Server browser now displays a list of players and a list of mods that are active on all servers
  
• Enabled some engine anti-cheat settings
  
• Added AllowVotesWhenAdminPresent property (if FALSE then no votes can be started, except by admins, when an admin is online)
  
• Added server setting for ready countdown time (default 45 seconds), which is used unless overridden by the map list
  
• If a dedicated server is started up without a map list, a basic one is generated (previously dedicated servers would just hang until restarted with a maplist.ini added)
  
• New rules (e.g. DisplayFriendlyNameTags) are now added and are editable if not already present (e.g. because using a legacy Server.ini file)
  
• Added server restart settings to admin/server settings widget
  
• Added new ServerRestart admin console command, which is by default only enabled for admins, and causes the immediate restart of the server.
  
• Added shutdown options to Server.ini in ServerConfig, including new "shutdown at hour of day" option (previously servers only restarted after specified length of time)
  
• Added vote settings to server settings admin menu
  
• Added VoteDelayFromRoundStart setting to vote.ini — votes not allowed until X minutes of play have elapsed
  

[h2]Game modes and gameplay[/h2]

• Added Randomize Objectives feature to Ops Board and to game modes (OnRandomiseObjectives)
  
• Added pause feature (in single-player only) when in game menu is accessed
  
• Added player volunteer feature to game modes and server roster (players and admins can set a "volunteer" flag that can be read by a game mode to determine who to pick for a random role such as flag carrier or hostage)
  
• Changed mission setting process in UpdateMissionSettingsTable() in GBGameMode to only set (and thus record as changed) mission settings that were actually changed
  
• Intel Retrieval, Terrorist Hunt, Team Elimination and Uplink updated to incorporate Randomize Objectives feature
  
• Flashbangs do not always stun if they are more than 0.5 meter above player's eyes (to prevent bangs through floors)
  
• Fixed bomb mission actors, and added Lua callbacks for when bomb takes damage from projectiles and grenades, and a test mode in which shooting a bomb causes immediate detonation
  
• Rejigged/repurposed old PVE “Defuse” game mode, intended as mod example. Added missions for Small Town, City and Rundown
  
• New short range friendly name tags (if server rule UsesFriendlyNameTags is TRUE)
  
• Teamkill warnings for the team killer should now display every time it happens
  
• Team balancing code moved into Lua library and added to Team Elimination and Uplink modes
  
• Team Elimination, Uplink and Hostage Rescue modes are changed so that if auto balance is off, defender spawns are shown in the ready room (otherwise they are obscured until round start)
  
• NVG automatically flips up now when equipping tablet, and automatically flips back down when tablet is put away
  
• Pathable news helicopter added to City map (flees when shot at)
  
• Passing a nil AI class reference to ai.GetControllers now returns default AI controller class
  
• Added new Rig Hostage Rescue (Living Quarters) mission
  
• Created new door sign component and added it to doors in Rig crew quarters area for easier call-outs
  
• Changed spawning behavior so that if spawning mid-round, there is no player freeze and gun starts in (mid) ready (* isn’t it ADS now?)
  
• Added time of day alarm system, optionally providing events based on astronomical time (e.g. sunset, midday, sunset) rather than hours
  
• Changed mission editor to send player back to ready room after edits
  
• Underwater mode added, in which weapons cannot be fired or brought to ADS, and breathing is limited, forcing the player out of prone when breath runs out; if the player cannot move out of the water, they will quickly take drowning damage
  
• Hackable laptop now auto-equips after hack (to avoid accidentally leaving behind in intel retrieval, etc.)
  
• Added Player Stance property to PlayerStart mission actor, so players can spawn in either upright or crouched
  
• New library calls available to game modes to kill or damage players, and to spawn an effect at a player
  
• Female characters who become hostages in Hostage Rescue are made male during captivity (because some of you are weirdos)
  
• Added double-click-to-zoom-to-actor functionality in the actor list in the mission editor
  
• Improved validation for TH missions by alphabetically sorting the list of guard point names in the event of a discrepancy with number of guarding squads (may also automate finding odd one out)
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]

• Implemented new dynamic reverb system that accounts for the size and layout of indoor areas
  
• New main menu music and stingers from Venus Theory
  
• Depot audio level updated
  
• Updated City level audio, added idle vehicle sounds as well as ambient city sounds such as sirens and horns
  
• Updated level audio for Depot, Creek, Run Down, Power Station
  
• Resynced reload audio for AKs, ARs, FALs, G3A3, M1014, MK14 EBR and handguns
  
• Added dynamic window audio and fixed missing audio
  
• New sounds for news helicopter (City)
  
• Implemented power box interaction and electrical hum
  
• Music manager subsystem added
  
• Created underwater filter and set up water foley sounds
  
• Female characters now have a female voice playing in the Comms Menu (G)
  
• Acoustic portals now open and close and the correct time
  
• Stray acoustic portals are now autodetected by coincident doors
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• Renaming of various settings names and other UI elements
  
• Ready Room locker hints hopefully less confusing now
  
• Server, game mode and mission details added to the Esc menu
  
• Swapped Rotate and Pan camera actions when click-dragging in Customize Operator screen (for character and for items)
  
• Added is-modded and has-kit-restrictions filters for server list
  
• Split up Gameplay settings into an additional screen (HUD)
  
• New stance icon for Prone and related UI changes and additions
  
• Holding down Ctrl will hide UI elements in Customize Operator screen
  
• UI pass on admin server settings menu (mainly prettifying names)
  
• Reduced opacity of AI hotspot marker
  
• Tweaked mission editor UI a bit to make key shortcuts work in more cases and to fix minor UI issues
  
• Added match info screen to loading screen
  
• Hid advanced AI settings button (new AI settings need to be dialed in first during testing)
  
• Added some new loading screen tips
  

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

• GetShadowIndex() == 0 silent crash fixed
  
• Capsule shadows should be handled better by character items
  
• Fixed bug where sometimes dragging spinbox (e.g. in mission settings) would result in a value 1 more than expected
  
• Fixed the ‘T count’ bug where you can't change the terrorist count on the Ops Board (may also fix other related bugs in custom modes and similar)
  
• Fixed up NVG, Binoculars and Rangefinder to remove overlay if not in first-person view
  
• Fixed incorrect velocity settings for 7.62×39 mm (AKM) round
  
• Fixed broken laptop placements in City, Docks, and other maps
  
• Tweaked the autobalance code to NOT balance teams with only 1 player playing if the ideal team size difference is 0 (i.e. symmetric game modes like Team Elimination that aren't attacker/defender-based)
  
• Fixed IR strobes still flashing after NVG turned off
  
• Fixed NVG overlay remaining sometimes after removing NVG
  
• Tablet screen is now blurry again (consistent with overall NVG effects)
  
• IR strobes reduced in intensity
  
• Reworked NVG bounce algorithm (causing lens misalignment) to be more FPS-invariant
  
• Improved the logging when an item fails to spawn
  
• Body patches now have working normal maps (depth/texture)
  
• Hostage run exploit patched
  
• Fix for laptops causing collision when not active
  
• Rangefinder NV mode fixed up a bit
  
• Fixed resurrect command not working via admin menu, and added missing SuperKick and ResurrectAtMe options
  
• Activating debug camera now destroys associated player state so no more phantom players appearing in roster and stopping SP games from starting
  
• Fixed Tablet missing a dropped item class, causing issues with picking up
  
• Updated grenade code in relation to inconsistent throw location
  
• Fix for eyewear items not taking on proper skin when leaving character editor
  
• Changed default player freeze on round start to last until end of pre round wait period rather than for the pre round wait duration (in case players spawn in late)
  
• Fixed no validation for bad ASCII characters when setting name in character editor
  
• Fixed Patches dialog not preventing background clicks
  
• Custom collision component added to dynamic lighting blueprint to fix problem with (e.g.) shooting a pole breaking the attached light
  
• Fixed reticles not changing size when zoom is changed while not ADS
  
• Placement of Breaching Charges prevented while 'frozen'
  
• Use of detonator for breach charge prevented while 'frozen'
  
• Fixed out-of-level exploit in Rig Top Deck Deathmatch, Last Man Standing and Team Elimination missions (stairs East of shack 5)
  
• Tentatively fixed bots running out of cargo door in 747 Terrorist Hunt (Interior)
  
• Big pass on collision in Creek to try to eliminate instances of getting stuck on trees
  
• North-facing doors now register a close event properly
  
• Fix for equipment and weapon attachments showing shadows when "Use Simple Character Shadows" is set in settings
  

Hey, everyone!

We're back with another Intel Report as the development of GROUND BRANCH V1034 continues diligently behind the scenes. Here's the usual reminder:

[h3]⚠️ This report is not an exhaustive list of V1034 features![/h3]
For the most up-to-date list of expected V1034 and later features, see our roadmap. You may also want to check out our Intel Reports for June (#015), July (#016), August (#017), September (#018) and October (#019).

And with that out of the way, we got just one more thing before we can take a look at what's been cooking since our last dev blog:

[h2]🍂 Steam Autumn Sale: GROUND BRANCH is 25% OFF![/h2]
We weren't planning on it, but Valve approached us with a nice exposure deal to participate in the Steam Autumn Sale, and so we accepted at the last minute.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/16900/GROUND_BRANCH/

If you have a PayPal account and are willing to pay the game's USD price, consider buying your Steam key from our official store using code GBFALL23 at the checkout to apply the same 25% discount.

🚨 The Autumn Sale ends November 28 — don't miss it!

Alright, on to the report!


We've mentioned it a lot before, but just in case this is your first Intel Report: upcoming release V1034 will introduce the new prone stance into GROUND BRANCH.

And as much as we would've liked to be proven wrong, adding prone has been as massive an undertaking as we predicted, with entire systems being reworked to support it.

In addition to all of the things necessary for prone to be implemented on the character side alone, care is being taken to support it within maps (environment interaction) and to generally make sure it doesn't break various areas of gameplay. For example: did you know that preventing the characters' legs from clipping right through a wall if you crawl backwards towards it requires additional programming? Regular character collision used while standing or crouching doesn't automatically apply to prone, so extra logic has to be created specifically for it.

The same is true for something as seemingly simple as making the character conform to sloped surfaces while prone (instead of disregarding the terrain and always looking like it's lying on a perfectly flat surface) — all of that requires intricate logic to happen. Take a look:


Arm and weapon collision also had to be reworked for prone, as the short-stocking and other collision animations don't just carry over for the stance. For the time being, obstacles will simply prevent players from turning their aim beyond a certain point (this may or may not change as prone develops and feedback is received).

Before collision

After collision

Another factor we had to account for: what happens if you go prone in water? Which leads us to…

[h2]Underwater effects[/h2]Section by Matt "Fatmarrow" Farrow

One consequence of bringing prone into the game in V1034 is that it is now possible to go underwater in areas that were previously not accessible.

We are still not decided as to whether we want to let players go prone underwater; it is not something we intended as a core gameplay feature, and it is probably something we would like to prevent entirely (older players might remember 2001's Ghost Recon line "Too deep" whenever you tried to lower your stance in waters that would submerge your character).

Nevertheless, as an interim solution in V1034, we have added some underwater effects for those players who want to leopard-crawl their way through the watery deep.

In our interim solution, you can hold your breath for a short while, but when you start seeing pulsing effects on screen, you will soon be out of breath. At that point, the game forces you out of prone to take a breath (and too bad if you are in front of an enemy). While underwater, you cannot shoot, use items, or aim down sights. It may turn out that this is a game mechanic we are happy to keep, but until then, have a go and see what you think. See below for a demonstration of the new underwater effects in Creek (as well as a demonstration of the new smooth time of day transitions).

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

💡 Even if we end up preventing players from going underwater, the effects will be useful for non-gameplay camera purposes such as Spectator Mode and screenshots.

[hr][/hr]
Though prone is currently highly functional — in the sense that the foundation is there and it allows all essential actions (moving, shooting, aiming, reloading, switching items) — there's still plenty to fix and refine, even if we're not expecting to release a fully fleshed out iteration straight away.


New enemy AI systems continue to be developed, with existing features also having to be rebuilt within the new Kythera AI middleware. This month, we'll be focusing on more sight detection.

Take a look at this first video:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
In the video above, a character walks into the cone of vision of an AI bot, quickly raising its Alertness Level from "Idle" (Alertness = 0) to "Suspicious" (Alertness > 0). Once Alertness reaches 1.0, the bot goes into the full "Alert" state and is instructed to engage the enemy.

When the character is no longer visible, the AI goes into a "Cautious" mode and is instructed to start searching for the target after a short period of time. (This, of course, is just the basic behavior, which will be expanded over time.)

💡 Why are there 2 cones of vision?

• The wider cone (gray) is the actual visual perception cone for the AI: any enemy activity picked up within it will raise alertness.
  
• The smaller cone (red) is used for target selection: targets within this cone will be engaged according to priority — more on that in a future report.

But how does visibility work? Well, target visibility is determined by various factors such as:

• Distance: the closer to the target, the faster the AI will identify it
  
• Angle: targets that are in the primary cone of vision (red) will raise suspicion more quickly than targets in the secondary cone (gray)
  
• Time of day: broad daylight makes detection easier by increasing the range/length of the cone, while nighttime makes it shorter
  
• Light sources: proximity to artificial light sources can make targets more easily detectable
  

To illustrate the last two points (time of day and light sources), here are two quick demos:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
In the demo above, the player character is outside of the AI's cone of vision for nighttime. As time of day is changed to daytime, the cone expands and the player is now within the AI's visual range.

But nighttime isn't the only factor to consider:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Above, the player is initially invisible to the AI. As the character steps into the light, however, you will notice how the Alertness value quickly increases until the AI is alerted and starts engaging.

💡 Please note that these videos and visualizations are merely for demonstration purposes and don't necessarily represent final AI detection behaviors or values.

💡 For earlier AI-related news and demos including grenade usage, shooting out of windows, cover system and world interactions, make sure you've checked out Intel Reports #017, #018 and #019.

Although we have basic light detection in the game currently (in V1033), these systems had to be rebuilt with the move to the new AI middleware. They should hopefully be more consistent and efficient than the current implementation, as well as better integrated with other AI behaviors.

Section by Matt "Fatmarrow" Farrow

We have now implemented what we call a Time of Day alarm system in order to implement an appropriately timed call to prayer in the Compound map.

Islamic prayers are not synchronized with hours of the day, but are aligned relative to astronomical phenomena like sunrise, midday and sunset. Luckily, we have already established an internal system which maps a "standard day" to an actual day of the year, where hour 6 is designated sunrise and hour 18 is designated sunset (this system is what already allows you to use shorthand like "sunrise" instead of a specific time of day). Of course, the times of sunrise and sunset depend on the date and latitude, but this is also taken into account in the system.

For example, the Fajr prayer (the first of the day) takes place at the first light of dawn. Through trial and error, we determined that a "standard" hour of 5.5 or so (a little bit before the standard sunrise at 6:00am) reasonably satisfies this criterion. In the Compound level itself, a blueprint plays a call to prayer sound effect on receiving an alarm event from the time of day system.

💡 The system can also be rigged to work with "normal" or "actual" hours, for example to have a bell sound every hour.

One reason for this deep dive is to point out one of many features that modders will soon be able to use to help them bring their own maps and props to life (though map mods will not be available just yet, as we are focusing on weapon mods in V1034). There is an eclectic but relatively extensive library of features that will be available to player-authored blueprints. In due course, we will provide documentation to assist with this.





[h2]Female voices coming to the Comms Menu and other audio updates[/h2]
With the introduction of playable female characters, V1034 needs basic call-outs for the Comms Menu (default G). Here's a quick look:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

🔊 Audio reverb is also being updated. Whereas in V1033 the reverb is essentially binary, accounting only for whether you're "outdoors", in a "large room" or in a "small room" — with no in-betweens — in V1034 reverb should dynamically adapt to the size and layout of rooms.

[h2]Making sure you retrieve that intel[/h2]Section by Matt "Fatmarrow" Farrow

You know how it goes. You play Intel Retrieval for the first time. Excitedly, you search the laptop and then you hot-foot it to extraction. But why is the round not ending? The laptop, of course, is where you left it, and not with you at extraction. It is a GROUND BRANCH rite of passage, but it isn't all that fun.

So in V1034, we'll try having players pick up the laptop automatically after searching it. There was some concern about players being "locked" into the pickup animation, but in practice it is not really a great inconvenience or vulnerability. You can say a fond goodbye to the "did I remember to pick up the laptop?" meta game.

[h2]Patching out certain patches[/h2]
It turns out that making country flag patches was a bit of a minefield.

Rather than be forced to make what might be construed as political decisions regarding which country flags/patches to include (or not), we have decided to limit the official selection of flag patches only to those that represent the countries of our development team.

The good news is that the process of making and sharing modded patches will soon be streamlined via Steam Workshop, so we anticipate that the community will step in to fill the gap if there is demand.


In this month's bugfix corner, we have a few doozies that will be in V1034:

• Fixed reticle not updating when scope magnification levels are changed by the player while not in ADS (aim down sight) mode.
  
• Fixed lights being blown out when shooting poles and other parts of light fixtures rather than the bulbs or light strips themselves (a particular issue on Small Town and Depot, for example), and some new VFX has been added for lights shot out while off, and also to add some visual feedback when multiple shots are required to take out a light (for example the large floodlights in Depot).
  
• Tweaked various outfit and gear skins to:
  
  
  
  
  • No longer mismatch with other items of the same skin (especially camos)
    
  • Have better consistency in camo pattern scaling
    
  • Tone down excessive brightness (most noticeable in desert patterns/colors)
    
  
  
• Breaching Charges can no longer be placed or detonated while the player is "frozen" (e.g. at round start).
  

Though we wanted to have a full V1034 release before the end of the year, difficulties with the implementation of prone have thrown the proverbial wrench into those plans, as is probably clear at this point. So we're settling for releasing the public testing version of the update by then.

As much as we don't like giving out ETAs: we'll be aiming to start the public testing on December 19 — about three and a half weeks from today.

So hang in there and pray to the gaming gods that we get as much as possible in order by that date.


We have a testing branch to put out, so next time you hear from us, it should be a Build Update rather than another Intel Report.

Enjoy the weekend, and as always: thank you for your continued support of this project. We'll see you next time!

We know. We said we wouldn't do it again until the game's actual release, or at least that we weren't planning to.

But believe it or not, Valve begged us to do it. They said, "the Tactical Shooter section of the sale won't be complete without GROUND BRANCH. Please." And then, folks, the begging turned into veiled threats of shadowbanning the game in the Steam store. When they eventually threatened to release Half-Life 3 as a mobile game, we finally succumbed.

(This is mostly a joke. Valve, please let us stay.)


https://store.steampowered.com/app/16900/GROUND_BRANCH/


Anyway, you read that right: after 8 long months at full price, GROUND BRANCH is on sale again — a sweet 25% OFF until November 28. And since we're getting closer and closer to another major update (expect a new Intel Report this week!), this is as good a time as any to jump aboard the tactical realism train and start giving it a whirl before V1034 drops.

[h3]🧡 Consider buying from the GROUNDBRANCH.com store![/h3]
Please consider grabbing your discount key straight from our website so we get the full cut of the sale! Head over to the GB Store and use code GBFALL23 at the checkout.

➤ Please note our store requires a PayPal account and is US dollar-only, so there's no regional pricing.

So there you go! Whether or not you already own GROUND BRANCH, remember to let your friends know about the sale and maybe even consider buying an extra copy or two to gift them. We're near the holiday season, after all 🎁

[h3]Enjoy the sale, everyone![/h3]

Oh, hey! Hi.

Welcome to another Intel Report! This month we're bringing you previews for upcoming release V1034 and beyond, as well as other development news. But first, the usual disclaimer:

[h3]⚠️ This report is not an exhaustive list of V1034 features![/h3]
For the most up-to-date list of expected V1034 and later features, see our roadmap. You may also want to check out our Intel Reports for June (#015), July (#016), August (#017) and September (#018).

Due to personal lives clashing with work (such as 3 members of the team being in the process of moving places) this report might be a little thinner than previous months in the eye candy department, but we’ll try to make up for it with previews for things that won’t be in the game until V1035 and later.

Alright, let’s get going.


With female characters being included in V1034, we needed at least one female voice recorded and processed for the "commo rose"-style pre-recorded messages (accessible with the G key). But because writing and recording lines is all one big intertwined process (and because we want new voices sooner rather than later) we decided to go the full length.

Hence our announcement, a couple months ago, that we were looking for talented voice actors.

And thanks to our followers and the awesome voice actor community who helped spread the word, we were able to find and cast a roster of 18 (!) voice actors, male and female, in four different languages: most of them English (US), but also Russian, Spanish (Mexican) and Arabic. In case that isn't obvious, we'll not only be replacing the current enemy voice lines; we'll be replacing them with native language voice lines for 3–4 different OPFOR factions, each with 2–3 different actors.

Here are some samples:

[previewyoutube][youtube video of voice lines][/previewyoutube]
Lines for the player and the team will consist of 3 different voices for male operators, another 3 voices for female operators, and one for the team handler — a CIA lady back at the TOC (tactical operations center) keeping tabs on the mission and communicating with the ground unit in real time.

💡 Should we expect new voices in V1034?
The main goal for V1034 — as far as voice lines go — is implementing the female counterpart for the existing pre-recorded voice messages. As a stretch goal, Zack will process one of the new male voices to replace the existing ones.

As of this writing, about a third of the actors have been recorded. It's a lot of work ahead, but we're super excited about the results so far! We look forward to hearing them in-game and sharing the footage with you as soon as we have it.


Due to other tasks that required his attention, programmer Chris (not to be confused with Kris) has been bashing a variety of things into shape this month, but has still found time to keep working on the AI. He's back on that full-time this week.

Over the last few weeks, Chris has implemented what he's calling world events: stuff that is happening in the game world that should arouse the AI's suspicion and trigger certain reactions. For now, he has created two event types: one is dead bodies, which the AI should eventually check on and take appropriate measures, such as alerting other AI actors; the other is power switches being shut off, which will eventually trigger enemies to go check the relevant switches and turn them back on if uninterrupted.

Though these world events only add the underlying logic and basic behavior so far (as in, bots will simply move to the appropriate actors), they represent the foundation for the fleshed-out behavior, which will of course be accompanied by appropriate animations and voice lines.

💡 Among the other things Chris has been busy with are: compiling a list of build steps for mod kit distribution alongside Callum, keeping the development builds up and running as John moves the server around Ohio, tackling some graphic setting requirements from Nvidia, and adding motion vectors to various UI elements. Don't worry: most of us don't know what any of that means either. But the point stands — man's been busy.

Section by Matt "Fatmarrow" Farrow

So far we haven't said much about the new modding features coming in v1034, but this month we'll take a deepish dive into the new modding system helmed by programmer Callum.

Up to now, modding in GROUND BRANCH has been a rather unofficial affair, requiring players to manually place (and in some cases replace) files inside the game directory. Some kinds of mods, like missions and game modes, are essentially server-side only, but other kinds of mods like patches and asset replacements have required manual installation of the mod in both the server and clients. This has been quite a hassle. But soon, all this will change!


In V1034, we will start using the Steam Workshop as a repository and delivery system for mods. This is a tried and tested system, popular with modders, and the automatic background updating of mods is a key feature that should greatly enhance user experience. Getting content set up in GROUND BRANCH is rather complicated — not least because we are still developing some core systems — so we are going to introduce different kinds of modded content in subsequent updates. That way, we can hopefully get everything right before unleashing a modding free-for-all.

We'll be kicking it off with one or two weapon mods to show you how it's done. In the first example, behold! The VSS Vintorez.


What you see in the following screenshot from the Customize Operator screen is the modded VSS appearing seamlessly in the list of rifles, janky icon and all. To get this rifle in-game, you go to the Workshop, find the mod, and click the Subscribe button. And that's it. The mod will be downloaded in the background, and the next time you run the game, the gun will be there.


So how will you make weapon mods? The answer is the GROUND BRANCH SDK (Software Development Kit), which is effectively a customized version of the Unreal Editor including some basic GROUND BRANCH bits and pieces.


We will in due course be providing tutorials and so on to explain the process in detail, but essentially you import your gun model into the editor, create a weapon blueprint, set it up with various properties (such as magazine type, display name, and so on), and then use the in-editor modding tools to create a mod and upload it to your personal Workshop account.

🔫 Since handguns are setup fairly differently from long guns, we'll also include a mystery pistol as a mod example.

Kris and Mike continue to implement the new prone stance, which we have started previewing in the last couple months.

Since then, they have added item switching and reloading while prone, transitions between prone and other stances, as well as a proper rotating-in-place motion (instead of characters spinning on their pelvises). There's still plenty of jank to clean up, but it's almost fully functional from a gameplay perspective.

Here's how the more presentable actions are looking at the moment:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
In the video, you may notice how aiming from side-to-side while in the prone position has a limited angle. Once the threshold is reached on either side, moving the mouse will free-look a little further to the sides until that limit is also reached.

If you need to aim or look beyond those thresholds, you must reposition your character by holding one of the movement keys. In a previous iteration, the rotation would kick in automatically once the threshold was reached, which we realized felt dodgy as you were never sure at what point you would stop aiming/looking and get locked into the repositioning motion.

The amount of rotation applied to each repositioning is currently only about 30 degrees, which is likely to be increased to a wider angle somewhere in the 45- to 90-degree range — or whatever testing determines to be best.

💡 Animations and control schemes are all subject to change, so let us know how you feel about all of the above. You'll get to try it out yourself soon enough.

[h2]Animation optimization[/h2]
Section by Kris

As of V1033, animation updates are performed on multiple threads, but much of the logic relating to animations was still on the game thread. This is being addressed in V1034, with as much logic as possible being moved to a custom animation proxy, allowing it to be run outside of the game thread.

At the same time, we're ensuring that the animation graph conforms to what the engine calls the Animation Fast Path. (For those of you familiar with UE4 — or just morbidly curious — you can read more here.)

Both of these changes should lead to improved performance, especially for offline play and listen servers (the ones hosted locally via the Host Game option).

Section by Matt "Fatmarrow" Farrow

Servers will get another boost in V1034, with a few more options added to the Admin Panel to make things easier for admins and players alike:

• A server setting has been added for the default ready countdown time, which is used unless overridden by the MapList.ini parameters. Up to V1033, if you wanted to vary the default countdown time, you had to add a parameter to every entry in the map list. We know you have better things to do with your time.
  
• If a dedicated server is started up without a defined MapList.ini file, a basic one is generated and the server continues from there. Previously, dedicated servers would hang on startup until a MapList.ini was manually added to the ServerConfig folder.
  
• There's been a big pass on server restart options: you can now set a dedicated server to restart at (or at least near) a particular time of day, and it is now possible to configure the shutdown configuration via the Server Preferences menu.
  
• We have added a big red button and a console command to allow admins to reboot server from within the game. Sorry that took so long, admin folks.
  
• The majority of voting settings, previously editable only via the Vote.ini configuration file, have now been added to the server settings admin menu.
  
• There is a new AllowVotesWhenAdminPresent voting setting; if it is "false" then no votes can be started (except by admins) when an admin is online on the server.
  
• There is a new DelayVoteFromRoundStart voting setting; if "true", then the server will not allow votes to be called during the round until this many minutes have elapsed.
  

Updated Server Preferences screen

Clicking a server on the Server Browser will reveal additional information like a list of players and active mods

We may be able to squeeze a few more server quality of life features into V1034 (we are looking to improve the kick/ban process, for example), but we hope that whatever features do make it into the update will help to bring calm and relaxation to overworked server admins. Namaste.


Press F to pay respects to these V1033 bugs (which will be gone in V1034):

• The debug camera (ToggleDebugCamera in console) will no longer spawn a mysterious stranger in the player list, also preventing new rounds from launching properly afterwards.
  
• Eyewear will apply the appropriate skin that has been selected inside the character customization. In V1033, eyewear defaults to black once you leave the customization screen.
  
• This isn't a bug as such, but we have changed the mid-round spawning process to spawn you in without any freeze, and with your weapon already positioned at the Ready position (pointed forward). Hopefully this will reduce the number of "bullshit spawns" in Deathmatch and other respawn modes, where you get insta-killed before you can shoot back. OK, that will still happen, but it's going to be more your fault now.
  
• In fact, we're removing the janky, synchronized weapon drawing from round/mission starts altogether.
  

Regular contractor Pau Peñalver has been working on a lot of small tweaks and upgrades to assets.

Although the new items won't be available until after V1034 due to time constraints, we thought it would be cool to give you a little preview of some of them:

💡 Friendly reminder: these are special artist renders; they do not represent how assets will look in-game with dynamic lighting and other real-time restrictions.

As you can see, we'll be expanding the face-wear selection with a neck gaiter/face scarf, 3 variants of the single-hole balaclava, and a three-hole balaclava.

Female operators will also be able to wear a traditional head cover, which can be had either with or without the pattern seen above.

[hr][/hr]

We hope you’ve enjoyed these previews — we’ll probably have another batch for you next month — and as always, thank you for keeping up with the development of GROUND BRANCH! Your support, feedback and patience are greatly appreciated.

Take it easy, everyone!

Folks,

It's been a month since our last dev blog, and we once again take a quick break from working on GROUND BRANCH V1034 to give you a generous glimpse into development over the last few weeks. This is Intel Report #018, and today we'll be jumping straight into it.

[h3]⚠️ This report is not an exhaustive list of V1034 features![/h3]
For the most up-to-date list of expected V1034 and later features, see our roadmap. You may also want to check out our Intel Reports for June (#015), July (#016) and and August (#017).

One of the most anticipated areas of development in V1034, enemy AI continues to be built on by programmer Chris with more realistic and varied behaviors. Today we'll be taking a look at the new target acquisition system, as well as two new abilities: looking and shooting from windows and grenade throwing.

[h2]Nerfing the enemy aimbot[/h2]
In a way, programming AI bots sometimes involves more removing than adding. As a crude example, once you program a bot to visually detect the player, the bot will do just that — it doesn't matter if it's bright or dark, if there is foliage in the way, or even if the model is looking in the right direction. You need to actively program the bot to account for things like environment brightness, different types of visual obstacles, and field of view — essentially "removing" its über-detection abilities — so that it better emulates human vision.

💡 The first pass on the AI light detection system currently in V1033 is a good example of the above.

Getting 180-no-scoped by a bot 200 meters away has a similar root cause: once you tell the bot to point and shoot at the player, it'll act like a sentry laser cannon until you add further programming to nerf it to a human level. Though the current release of GROUND BRANCH (V1033) has a configurable period where bots will intentionally miss shots as a way to give players a better chance to react (the Deliberate Miss Time, which varies with difficulty level), once that period is over they're very unlikely to miss.

The new target acquisition system aims (no pun intended) to mitigate this issue by defining an "accuracy plane" — an area where shots may randomly land — around the target player/character. Over time, as long as bots maintain contact, the accuracy plane reduces in size until any shot fired will definitely hit the player.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
The system is being built with flexibility in mind, allowing for different sizes of the accuracy plane (as well as different amounts of time for it to collapse) depending on difficulty level and other conditions that will be expanded on, such as distance, movement and weapon type.

[h2]The AI guy taketh away, and then the AI guy giveth a little[/h2]
If you bought GROUND BRANCH or are considering it, chances are you're looking for a challenge — it's just no fun when most of the challenge comes from superhuman accuracy. And since we're working on improving that aspect of the game, it's only fair that we also bump up areas where the AI's abilities fall short to provide a challenge that feels realistic.

In addition to better cover usage and contextual stances (such as going prone when too far from cover), bots are also being programmed to use grenades. We asked Chris to do a little dive into the detail on this, because some of you tell us you like the detail:

The targeting system for the grenade throwing works different than for bullets, since they travel more slowly and are thrown in a pronounced arc. The grenade is thrown by the AI with a specific velocity. To make sure it lands at the desired target location, we have to take into account the horizontal distance and the vertical distance, e.g. when the target is standing on a hill. To determine at which velocity the grenade needs to be thrown to hit the target, kinematic equations need to be solved. To make this problem a bit easier, we say that the grenade will always be thrown at an angle of 45 degrees.

The equations below are used to determine the necessary velocity (v) to throw a grenade at 45 degrees so as to hit the target location. Implementing this formula into the game now lets the AI throw a grenade at the player:

Yes, you're still reading the GROUND BRANCH dev blog

We know 99% of you skipped the math entirely, so here's what you're really here for (minus the animations — they still need to be hooked up!):

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

GB PLAYER: pls improve AI?
GB TANGO: *throws frag*
GB PLAYER: not like th--🪦

V1034 will also give the enemy AI the ability to contextually look and shoot out of windows.

You might be thinking that enemies are already sometimes positioned by windows and will shoot out of them in V1033, and you would be right. The difference is that, in this upcoming release, any enemy that happens to be indoors can run up to a window to check outside if they hear something, and then shoot out of it if they spot a target. Whereas in V1033, window bots would be specifically positioned by windows and set to a "guard" state, while other bots would simply rush outside in search of players. Here's a quick demo:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

🪟 Window usage by the AI will present a unique challenge once bullets start flying, as any window might be hosting an enemy ready to take you down.

In addition to being visually updated, optional tracers will be added to enemy shots at lower difficulty levels to help identify the source of incoming fire. The system allows us to easily set the color and frequency of AI tracers.

Here's a quick WIP demo with yellow/orange tracers every 3–4 shots:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

💡 As with most AI settings, the use of tracers will be player-configurable.

Charles is also updating the bullet impact VFX for various surface types, as seen in the video below:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


Just as the title says, callsign patches will now be applied to the rear of all headgear that has an adequate spot for it. At this time, that includes all helmets and the NVG Head Mount.

This is an idea we had been mulling over, suggested a few times by players (and most recently by Discord member Otoramaru). One cool feature is that the patch will automatically apply to the NVG counterweight pouch if NVG are attached:



This addition is sure to be of great help when stacking up and regrouping, as identifying your teammates can be tricky with no HUD.

❓ Should the rear velcro of the Ball Cap also host a callsign patch? How about the big velcro on the Ball Cap (Reverse), since it's worn backwards? Useful? Goofy? Let us know what you think in the comments or anywhere in the community.

While we're talking patches, we're happy to announce that the normal maps for the arm and chest patches are getting fixed. They're still decals, but the normals help add a little bit of depth as currently seen on the headgear.



If you're wondering about that US/UK Friendship Flag patch, that's one of a set of new patches that will be coming to V1034. They'll also include:

[h3]Europe[/h3]

• Czech Republic
  
• Greece
  
• Estonia
  
• Ireland
  
• Lithuania
  
• Macedonia
  
• Switzerland
  

[h3]Americas[/h3]

• Bolivia
  
• Chile
  
• Colombia
  
• Cuba
  
• Peru
  
• Venezuela
  

[h3]Africa and Middle East[/h3]

• Algeria
  
• Egypt
  
• Iran
  
• Jordan
  
• Libya
  
• Morocco
  
• Saudi Arabia
  
• Syria
  
• Uganda
  

[h3]Asia[/h3]

• Thailand
  
• Vietnam
  

We might also include these in-game brand patches as examples for modded patches:

• Ramjet
  
• SCOPETROL
  

Map work continues behind the scenes, with John having recently started changes and additions to City that we hope to be able to showcase soon.

As teased in earlier reports, The Farm has received a small makeover — most notably in the outdoor range area — with a visual tie-in to Small Town. Here are a couple sneak peeks:

Tracer goes PEW

💡 In other map-related news, Hideout has been pushed back to V1035 to be better fleshed out, while new map Ranch (also V1035) continues to be carefully crafted by Elliot.

Here are some smaller new features and bug fixes that will be coming to V1034:

• Pressing N for Night Vision in Spectator Mode will cycle through green and white phosphor modes (thanks to Special Ed Forces for the suggestion!)
  
• Fix for the quick Resurrect admin option not working
  
• ResurrectAtMe and SuperKick (for kicking admins) options added to quick admin menu
  

[hr][/hr]

Thanks for keeping up with GROUND BRANCH! We hope you enjoyed going through these news and previews, and we'll see you on the next one in about a month.

Cheers!