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Ground Branch
Asid:
based on the real life subsection of the Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Homepage: Here
Official forum: Here
Steam: Here
YouTube: Here
Single-player, Co-Op, Multi-Player
Ground Branch Kickstarter Teaser Published on Apr 16, 2012
About
BlackFoot Studios premiere title; Ground Branch is based on the real life subsection of the Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Special Activities Division typically carries out deniable covert operations on foreign soil and often goes into a situation before anyone else, before Special Forces, before the SEALs, before DevGru; SAD Ground Branch is the true tip of the spear. SAD Ground Branch operatives are mainly recruited from Army Special Forces or CAG units and are experts in field craft, surveillance, small arms, hostage rescue and Close Quarters Battle.
Being a CIA unit Ground Branch has a free hand to get the job done and as such will take measures which military units cannot. There are laws in war and Ground Branch tears those pages out of the book when necessary. They are the gunslingers of modern day warfare and are not a direct combat unit but instead rely on stealth and hit and run tactics. This means their operational manners may be deemed questionable by some at times. Ground Branch isnt sent in to be an ambassador of good will, they are sent in to get very specific results.
As players, gameplay will be deliberate, calculated, gritty and heavy. Without the consequence of death and loss there is no depth to the game. Loss will be personal and unavoidable. We are not taking the moral high ground but players will sense the impact of their actions. Your gear choices, route choices, team plan and actions against the enemy will all play into your success or failure. Multiplayer games will be methodical with pockets of quick but intense firefights all the way to long drawn out engagements against an equally matched team. There is no artificial balancing, but the individuals skill and decision making will be what allows them to succeed.
Features
Please note that this (planned) feature list is not complete, and features will come online as they are developed.
General
Squad based team play
NO unlocks or kill streaks!
Using latest version of industry leading Unreal Engine
Player view
True First Person System 2.0 that gives no disconnect between what you see of yourself and what others see of you
Correct and realistic first person weapon view
Freelook style first person system. Players can look around independently of weapon
Weapons
Tactical reload system with both loaded and dry reloads
Each weapon has its own reload sequence
Reload animations can be interrupted
Realistic magazine system. Each mag tracks how many rounds it contains at any given time
Empty mags fall to the ground and mags still containing rounds go back into pouch for later use
Weapons collide with the world. Your weapon is truly in the world and will collide with objects in it. This means that weapon choice will actually matter as longer weapons might not be the best option to equip yourself with if operating in a CQB environment.
Accurate and realistic weapon transitions. Main weapon falls to chest on sling while drawing secondary or special item
Fully customizable weapons. Setup your weapons how you choose with various attachments that operate as they would in the real world
No limit on number of saved customizations.
Ability to edit and recall saved customization while in server lobby
Items used in game requires time to equip
no magical NVG turning on or instant grenade throws. Equipping items takes time
Realistic representation of optics usage on weapons including choices in placement location
Various melee abilities including accurate portrayal of knife usage as well as muzzle jabs
Inventory and ammo
Inventory system that has each magazine track its own rounds
Pickup and drop weapons on the battlefield
Supported shooting with bipods
Customizable character gear. What you take into battle is all you have and physically shows on your character
Ability to share gear with others (carry more ammo for a buddy)
Save and recall any number of individual weapon/character customized loadouts. Not limited to a small number of presets
Movements and injuries
Ability to accurately and realistically jump in the game
Ability to clamber onto and over objects
Prone, crouch and stand postures
Lean and peak system that includes a step out ability to quickly step out from cover then back in
Ability to move while leaning
Encumbrance system that takes weight and bulk of items into account for movement. Variations will not be drastic but noticeable. We are portraying highly skilled operators here
Choose between numerous uniform types and a variety of body armor and vests/harnesses, all with in game tradeoffs
No regenerating health, but ability to administer first aid to non-lethal injuries for reduced combat effectiveness
Players will have visible injuries including limps and non/reduced functional limbs
Ability to stay in fight if non mobile from non-lethal wound. This means that you may be able to shoot even though you are no longer able to physically move.
Ability to drag team mates to safety to administer first-aide or to safely recover their unused ammo and gear if they are no longer alive
Game world and maps
Material/surface specific penetration
Accurate but not overly complicated ballistics model including bullets originating from muzzle of weapon and lethal/accurate locational damage
Fully functioning doors that can be opened/closed at variable speed, kicked open (might take more than one kick) as well as breached with weapons or explosives
Unique environments from all over the world
Areas in maps have multiple entry points
Full featured Training ranges, including Killhouses with completely random target placement
All enemies spawned and patrolling at start. No monster closets or magic enemy spawns based on where you are located
Single Player and Co-Op (More info to come)
Unique mission design that delivers smaller more localized sets of mission groups based around world hotspots
Centralized intelligence portal to monitor world hotspots and receive mission orders
Ability to complete missions individually or with friends
System designed to continually add and evolve missions over time
Multiplayer
Full and free Dedicated Server support. Host a server wherever you want
Full support for MP ladders
User made arm patches
In game 3d VOIP with ability to set comm channels within team as well as mute options
Full MP lobby system with pre/post game chat
Private password protected lobbies/rooms
After Action Review after each round
Clan/Unit friendly
Various adversarial and Co-op style MP game types available at launch
Controller support on PC
Armory
Ground Branch will provide a strong set of weapons that would be used by real world units today. We are not aiming to have the uber arsenal with walls of weapons, but will provide a solid assortment with various attachments that allow the player to make unique and effective load outs. We are going for a gritty realistic approach and are concentrating on a focused team that uses tried and true weapons that would be used in the real world today in these types of situations.
Armory images and details: Here
Ground branch early access roadmap
You can see it: Here
Asid:
Ground Branch AI work-in-progress update #15
Published on Apr 12, 2017
Video showing some work on the cover probe actor for Ground Branch.
Asid:
1020 Testing Build Update - 2827723
02/06/18
Lots of bug fixes, quality of life updates and a few new things in this build. Some main points:
1. Stacked inventory drop downs
2. Testing grenade throw arc
3. Some updates to spectator view
4. NVG enhancements
5. AI enhancements
6. First pass at TH on Storage Facility (Its hard!)
7. Tons of fixes and small changes that just make things better
Game
Build Id: 2827723
Approx. Size: 1.4gb
Dedicated Server
Build Id: 2827811
Approx. Size: 35mb
CHANGELIST:
CONTENT
* Ready Rooms
* Added roster board back in
* Cleaned up some misalogned geomtery
* Rebuilt lighting in case that was the cause of slowdown (Don't think it was)
* Added icons for MP5SD Adapter and rail
* Turned down brightness on holosight reticles to get rid of blurryness in some lighting conditions
* Added roster board to Operations Rooms so players can tell who is still out in the common area
* Optimized wood hit effect
* Added icons for MP5SD Adapter and rail
* Turned down brightness on holosight reticles to help get rid of blurryness in some lighting conditions
* Added roster board to Operations Rooms so players can tell who is still out in the common area
* Changed wood hit effect to old one for now
* Looks better
* Sounds better
* More efficient
* Set holosight reticle brightness up a few notches to make it more visible in different lighting conditions
* Opened entry to RR Shooting Range to be larger
* Updated NVG overlay mask
* New look as well as corners/edges not masked for some minor peripheral vision
* 747
* Now available in map list for TE game type testing
* set some meshes to build distancefields and upped lightmap sizes
* More work on terrain areas
* Added blocking wall to edges of play space
* Beginnings of work on main building
* New reticle for V3 sight
* Adjusted laser to be more visiible in more lighting conditions
* Added LODs for AKS-74u and M4_Block II
AI
* Added AIThreatSelectionComponent and broken out threat functions from GBAIController into that. Later will modify to allow better threat scoring functions.
* Added AITest map for later use as regression testing for AI
* Modified BP_Badguy a little to not always fire full auto
* Added a few mission actor types for use in near future AI work
* Added some data assets for use with AI (navlink and ladder stuff)
* Modified a few BT nodes for use with ThreatSelectionComponent
* updated BP_TerroristHunt to spawn AI controlled operators and instantly start the round
* makes for easier AI debugging etc.
* updated BT_GBAI
* replaced old shoot - wait - stop shooting with a dedicated BTTask_ShootFirearm
* added reloading check based on gameplay tags
* AI can now shoot and move at the same time.
* AI will now run to cover, to get LOS of sight etc.
* AI will now move and look around randomly when set to Guard/Idle
* added basic 'follow' command and relates tasks etc to use with the AI controlled operators when debugging terrorist hunt
CODE
* udpated GBCharacter to repliate ItemAnimationType from server (hopefully fixes getting stuck in wrong base pose after throwing grenade etc)
* hooked up to Steam's screenshot system so that screenshots captured in Steam no longer show UI elements.
* FIXME - need to update it so it still includes "Work In Progress" watermark.
* removed deprecated Enaged FOV slider from video settings
* updated RBEvenetManager macros to remove unneeded extra parameter
* updated all affected C++ classes.
* updated inventory slot system to stack similar items
* 3 = grenades
* 4 = equipment
* selecting an item or slot again will put corresponding item away.
* updated grenades
* attempt to improve how they are thrown
* added basic arc to show trajectory - don't really like the idea of an arc, but we can try it.
* made attempt to fix dropped firearms stuck in full auto
* changed location of throw to take lean into account
* put missing pre-compile step back in uproject file
* moved AI assets from /Content/AI to /Content/GroundBranch/Core/AI or into Phil's dev folder.
* added IsAlive() to ITacticalInterface
* updated AIThreatSelectorComponent
* switched back to Kris' method of threat checking to fix AI rushing for now
* switched from using KeyNames to KeyIds.
* updated CoverPointActor
* commented out PrimaryActorTick.bCanNeverTick = false to allow tick to be enabled for debug purposes.
* added default scene root component in case coverpoint is used without a Blueprint to prevent it reverting to world origin.
* added IsSimulatingInEditor() to GBFunctionLibrary
* updated GBAIController
* switched from using KeyNames to KeyIds.
* added pitchj limit to UpdateRotation() when not aiming at an actor.
* made sure BlackBoard value SelfCharacter was set to current character when ever Possess() is called.
* updated GBBotManager
* made contstructor set BotControllerClass to /Game/GroundBranch/Core/AI/BP_AIController
* renamed Add/RemoveBot to SpawnNewBot() and RemoveExistingBot().
* fixed AddToSquad() creating multiple squad actors for bots in a coop game.
* created GBTriggerComponent::IsFiring()
* returns true if TimerHandle_NextShot is valid and active.
i.e. firearm is actually firing.
* updated AGBRoundManager::PreRoundFreezeStartedDefaults()
* checks bots can enter play
* if not, ensures they are prepped and have an insertion point selected.
* made sure all usages of WayPoint Blueprint were replaced with GBAIWayPoint
* updated BP_CoverPoint
* replaced usage of static mesh and material interface with simple red or green sprites.
* now shows debug line to the AI that has the point reserved.
* updated BP_Door_Swinging
* removed ChildActorComponent that was used to spawn nav links.
* added editor callable function to spawn nav links based on door collision extents.
* updated BP_GrenadeArc to use a spline to show the arc, with a simple sphere at the end to show if impact point (if any)
* updated WBP_FrontEndMenuManager, WBP_NetworkFailureOverlay & WBP_TravelFailureOverlay to include more information about the network/travel failure.
* created BTDecorator_IsVectorSet
* wasn't sure if internal BB check would consider 0,0,0 as valid or not, so I so created this one - returns true if BB vector is not 0,0,0.
* updated BT_GBAI to fix follow branch that suddenly broke (UE4 baby!).
* moved all non-nav mesh bounds volume navigation related actors to _Geo maps.
* made sure all doors spawned correct nav links.
* made sure all gameplay maps had nav mesh volumes.
* modified nav mesh volume on TH-Depot to include train bridge insertion points
* created TH-StorageFacility
* updated TH-TankerShip
* added nav links to empty door frames
* added nav links to think walk stairs in engine room
* updated living quarter AI spawns
* removed spawn points
* added spawn volumes that encompasse each entire level, include mid level (which originally had no spawn points)
* added way points for each level.
* setup the spawn volumes to random assign AI to patrol or guard.
* add bridge to engine room patrol
* updated BP_Door_Swinging
* improved check used by AI to dermine if door should open.
* added trigger to close door on AI leaving it, if that AI was the last to use it, doesn't have a threat and the trigger has no other AI in it.
* added default character appearance & loadouts
* loaded and stored in GBGameState.
* used by GBGameMode if it ApplyCharAppearanceAndLoadout() doesn't find an appearance or loadout.
* defaults are stored under /CharAppearances & /CharLoadouts, by profile name.
i.e. NoTeam.kit, GoodGuys.kit
FIXME - make default team kits.
* updated night vision goggles
* overlay now appears on usage
* post process is now cleared on death/no longer viewing someone with night vision enabled
* whether or not a player has night vision enabled is now replicated
* updated BP_AN_PEQ_Master
* listens for night vision event and will show/hide designator as required.
* visible to anyone with night vision enabled.
* Laser & Designator no longer turn off if unequipped.
* updated tac lights to not turn off if unequipped.
* updated rifle laser to not turn off if unequipped.
* updated BP_IRStrobe
* listens for night vision event and will show/hide IR stobe effect as required.
* removed ability to enable/disable - is just on by default.
* only visible to team mates.
* disabled collision between characters while in the ready room.
* quality of life change to reduce possibility of griefing and make it easier to move around in general
* updated GBCharacter
* added IsNetRelevantFor() to include NetworkChannel check.
* updated PossessedBy() to set NetworkChanell to 1 if in RR.
* updated UWorks from 18-08 to 18-11
* updated C++ & Blueprints affected by UWorks update.
* added report option to WBP_TeamKillOptions overlay
* created GBPlayerController::Report() for a player that does not forgive a team kill.
* updated ServerManager
* added MaxTeamKillsBeforeKick config variable (defaults to 10)
* added ReportTeamKill() that will kick of a 30 second timer if a report is placed against someone with MaxTeamKillsBeforeKick or more team kills.
* added TeamKillCheck() timer that will kick anyone who still has MaxTeamKillsBeforeKick or more team kills once fired.
* updated GBCharacter
* changed InventoryList to replicate to its owner.
* updated DestoryInventory() to use InventoryList on server & look for attached client side autority items on client.
* created DropItems() to send a gameplay event to the character ability system and kick off a predicted drop ability.
* replaced OnItemRemovedFromInventory() and OnItemAddedToInventory() with InventoryItemRemovedEvent & InventoryItemAddedEvent.
* created default appearances & loadouts for Alpha & Bravo teams
* moved team profiles from /Content/TeamProfiles to /TeamProfiles
* udpated GBSkinDataAsset Swatch variable to get it to be part of "UI" asset bundle.
* resaved all affected SKIN_ data assets.
* updated GBCharLoadoutInfo to clear existing inventory in case default had been applied first.
* updated GBItem
* removed deprecated Drop() implementable event.
* added OldGBInstigator as variable to OnSettingGBInstigatorEvent().
* updated GBPouch
* added ModularPouchClass variable to track the modular pouch that originally represent a pouch (if any)
* updated Encode/Decode functions to save/load the ModularPouchClass as ModularPouchId.
* added timer to automatically replace a pouch with its ModularPouchClass if its valid and the instigator is a UICharacter.
* updated WBP_CharacterEditor to get all modular pouches to replace themselves before saving the result.
* updated RBEventManager
* removed UnboundEvents variable.
* changed references to UnabountEvents with ObjectEventMap.Find(this).
* renamed BoundEvents array to ObjectEventMap.
* updated AddUnboundListener() & RemoveUnaboundListener() to use the Manager itself as the bound object insted of nullptr.
* updated AddBoundListerner() & RemoveBoundListener() to add validity checks on both the InBoundObject and the InLister parameters.
* changed CharLoadoutVersion from 5 to 6 to force everyone to prevent any issues caused by missing or incorrect json entries in existing/old appearances/loadouts.
* moved default character teamprofiles, appearances & loadouts from root directory to /Content/GroundBranch/Core to make sure they are left alone.
* updated C++ to reflect this change.
* fixed bug in GBPouch that prevent pouches attached to character from being decoded.
* added TeamProfiles, CharAppearances & CharLoadouts directories in the DirectoriesToAlwaysStageAsNonUFS array of DefaultGame.ini
* updated AGBSession::RegisterServer() to add a gentle warning instead of a hard crash if the net driver is missing or incorrect.
*** ENGINE CHANGES ***
* added NetworkChannel variable to Actor class to use as a quick way to filter relevancy.
* updated AActor::IsNetRelevantFor() to include NetworkChannel check.
* updated SetOwner() to copy owner's NetworkChannel to owned Actor.
FIXES
* FIXED bad rock hit effect that didn't have proper transparency setup
* FIXED falling through ground on Small Town near basement door
* FIXED missing illuminesent stripe on top of ACOG 4x32
* FIXED time limit crash caused if no maplist is defined (oops)
* fixed crash (I hope) due to bad component being accessed by particle collisoins on client/in stand alone game.
* fixed name of player missing when following in spectator mode
* fixed death overlay appearing during map change
* fixed not being able to use items after map change
* fixed spawning in RR when entering spectator mode for the first time
* fixed freecam spectator mode controls not working
* adjusting speed with mouse wheel now works
* moving up/down with space/c now works.
* FIXED incorrect scale on PMII_5-25x scope LODs
* fixed issue with selecting/using breaching charges
* FIXED missing illuminesent stripe on top of ACOG 4x32
* fixed insertion point to auto-selection in GBServerManagement::HandleToPlayArea()
* fixed chat overlay preventing player from clicking on spectator/rr buttons
* fixed inconsistent insertion point selection in RR caused by selecting an insertion point while game is already in progress (I hope).
* fixed possible nones in next BTXXX_XXX classses.
* FIXED mispelling of Flecktarn in customization screens
* FIXED grenades hitting invisible wall in RR shooting range
* FIXED missing collision on drywall walls in PowerStation map
* FIXED M4 block II muzzle devise(suppressor) location not correct
* FIXED M4 Block II magazine placement
* fixed slight horizontal offset on AK side mount for on the SKEL_AK74
* fixed AK side mount for on the SKEL_AKS-74u being way too far back to the rear of the mesh.
* fixed references to 'none' BP_AN_PEQ_Master & BP_IRStrobe when in character editor.
* fixed possible usage of missing GBInstigator or GBInstigator->Controller in BP_Grenade_Master
* fixed dropped binoculars not removing binocular overlay or making hands visible again.
* fxied inventory switching issue caused by non-replicated inventory list.
* inventory list now replicated to owner only
* requiring fixing several C++ classes and Blueprints that were hoping to access the non-owned inventory list on the client
* fixed slight offset on BP_1P78_Kastan_Scope.
* fixed scale being set on BP_PSO_1M2Scope.
* fixed BP_optical_PMII_5_25x not rendering due to odd scale on scene capture component.
* fixed bad default setup for BP_BodyArmour, BP_LBT_6094 & BP_TacticalVest.
* fixed rail attachments "walking" up the rail as they were if loaded and saved multiple times due to rounding errors.
* fixed BP_ModularAmmoPouch_Master based pouches spawned wrong replacement pouch if replicated when character is missing appropriate firearm.
* fixed skin swatch display for appearances and items in character editor.
* fixed character restrictions not limiting access to appearances/items that had no skins
* fixed magazines encoding non-external magzine components as there 'well'
* fixed platforms not applying skin to child pouches immediately
Attila:
Nice a new Tactical Shooter (hope it will be realistic)
Asid:
1020 Testing Build Update - 2848626
09/06/18
Small update with the focus on no more unlimited magazines and weapon/mag pickup. What you take magazine wise into the game is what you get now. Plus you can pickup and use dropped weapons/ammo.
Game
Build Id: 2848626
Approx. Size: 536mb
Dedicated Server
Build Id: 2848582
Approx. Size: 34mb
CHANGELIST:
CONTENT
* Changed some texture LOD bias settings so they aren't loading at 4k res
* Played with lazer beam material added world position sample into noise + moving directional offset and made some parameters (still needs some tweaking)
CODE
* removed deprecated Pending & TargetPickup arrays from GBCharacter
* updated GBDroppedItem class
* updated SetupPhysics() so that bUseCCD = true is set BEFORE SetSimulatedPhysics(true).
* disabled anti-rattle hackfix in OnPhysicsCollision() to test if updated SetupPhysics() fixes it instead.
* removed MakeInteractive() and instead rely on MakeInteractiveEvent() blueprintable event to handle making a dropped item interactive.
* updated GBItemDropFrom() to ensure child items owner relevancy is up to date.
* updated GBPlayerController class
* added InteractionTraceBlocked state variable to allow multiple abilities/actions to disable the interaction trace as required.
* updated interaction trace to only work if IsAlive() is true
* If is alive fails, InteractionTraceBlocked state variable and the CurrentInteractivePrimitive are reset.
* interaction trace will swap to head location & rotation if not in first person.
* updated BP_DroppedFirearm
* fixed interactive component being misaligned in multiplayer by using the replicated root component primitive origin instead of the associated actor origin - why that was offset, I don't know!
* added large interactive box collision to make it easier to high light
* set widge & height that should encompasse most firearms, with the length adjusted based on each weapon.
* widget updated to match world space of dropped item instead of center lower part of screen.
* created BP_DroppedMagazine based off BP_DroppedFirearm
* created new pickup animations from marketplace assets
* updated ABP_GBCharacter
* moved shared IK prep to base rifle & hangun pose, making everything follow the poses much easier to work with and removing ht need for DisableHandOffPoseAlpha animation curves etc.
* added KeepRightArmAlpha animation curve for use when playing a montage to allow the b_RightClav onwards to match the base pose while the montage plays on everything else.
* fixed IK NoAim bone names and usage.
* udpated GA_PickupItems
* fixed missing montages using newly created pickup animations
* updated GA_Reload_Master::GetNewMag()
* removed unlimited magazine spawning
* auto-magically finds fullest mag based on last magazine or default magazines class
* adds simple on screen message with rough estimate of mag ammo count or indication that no magazine was found
* removed stubbs from GBAssetManager
FIXES
* FIXED Sunglasses clipping head mesh
* FIXED bad b_Item_Right location in A_Unarmed_X animations.
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