Scopey

After a major refactoring that required rebuilding a massive portion of GROUND BRANCH’s systems and interfaces, Patch V1035.2 is finally here!

The big refactoring

Though this update doesn’t bring in a whole lot of shiny new features (the bulk of the work involved migrating existing features from Lua language to C++ and UE4 Blueprint) it gets us one step closer to our final goal on a more solid foundation.

💡 For a more in-depth look into the Lua refactoring, check out Intel Report #027.

Though the main advantage of the refactoring is future iteration, you might notice improved stability and performance here and there in this version.

We’ll go over the main impacts, pros and cons in the following subsections.

What does this mean for modding?

• Non-Lua mods will not be affected
  Once updated to V1035.2, most mods (e.g. item mods) should continue to work as before.
• Lua-based game modes and missions will need to be converted to Blueprint-based ones
  With rounds, settings and other game mode-related classes being far more modular now, it’ll be easier than how we had it setup. The Blueprint-based games modes we’ve included can be used as a base/example.

💡 WHAT ABOUT CUSTOM MAPS?
While you can convert older custom maps using the mission actor conversion tool, we’re also developing a proper map editor for future content.
For best results — and full compatibility going forward — we recommend building new maps with proper actors and assets once the new Map SDK is available.

Streamlining mods

Modding has been simplified in V1035.2.

Gone are the days of moving and dragging mods from your available list into your loaded server mods in order to make them appear. Now, if you have a mod, it will be hosted on your listen server and your players will be able to see it.

Dedicated servers have been simplified as well. For now, you will simply load the Mod IDs into the mods.txt file for the server.

💡 We are also working on a UI solution that will replace the old setup for admins who prefer to load them via the in-game menu.

Operations mode temporarily disabled

Though the “Silent Reach” campaign mission demo (accessible via the Operations menu) succeeded in giving players an idea of what a full-fledged GROUND BRANCH mission will look like, it was put together with considerable haste using a mix of Lua and hard-coding; this meant that the Lua logic would require migrating, while the hard-coded portion needed to be redone as part of a more expandable system.

In order to avoid delaying patch V1035.2 even further, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily disable the Operations mode while we create an expandable system for future campaign missions. Rest assured that the overall concept and much of the UI will be maintained — we hope to have an improved demo mission available again soon!

No more rubberbanding — online stability has been restored!

A massive achievement in this version has been online stability: the networking feels solid once again, with the widespread rubberbanding issue (that was present for the past few releases) having been fixed. Even with high pings (+300 ms), we’ve encountered no online issues after about 6 weeks of testing.

💡 Dedicated servers no longer need to be restarted after a few hours to recover online performance — huge relief!

We’re hopeful this win will be getting online numbers back up a bit, since the rubberbanding was a massive source of frustration.

Speaking of online problems…

Removed physics from doors

Doors have been a long-standing issue when playing online, due to how difficult it is to ensure that their position/status correctly replicates across clients. Physics simulation in games is (in)famously unreliable, and when the online component is added the issue becomes even worse.

After some debate, we decided to replace the physics-based implementation with an intermediate solution that is akin to the old Rainbow Six: Raven Shield mechanic. It is more rigid, but it fixes the problem of doors desyncing while playing online.

• Doors no longer have a fluid-looking opening and closing motion — this will be addressed in the future with animations.
• Doors will no longer desync: an open door will stay open and a closed door will stay closed. No more guesswork when approaching a door online.
• In addition, doors now have a weight we can assign per door type. While we haven’t gone through and updated every door, you will notice the gate on Compound “feels” heavier than before. This will also be updated throughout the next few patches to better represent our doors materials.
• Lastly, AI have had a pass on how they navigate doors. Initial tests with squads of 4 AI going through a door are good, and we will use this same logic to improve navigation through double doors, as well as for friendly AI in the future.

🐞 If you "lose" the door prompt while gradually opening/closing a door, you have to release and hold your Interact key again before resuming the action.

Return of the AI grenades (with an upgrade)

The enemy AI can throw frag grenades again, so be on the lookout!

AI grenades now have a more calculated frag grenade logic in place: they will check if the player is in cover before throwing a grenade to flush them out. They also make checks to verify that the arc of the grenade won’t hit any ceilings or blockers in its trajectory.

💡 We'll of course continue to improve the grenade ability as we go, but in the meantime this added logic makes it a more interesting mechanic to deal with in firefights.

Hostage Rescue (PvP) is back!

After being temporarily pulled due to logic issues we did not have the resources to fix at the time, the Hostage Rescue PvP game mode returns to GROUND BRANCH!

💡 We had to rebuild Hostage Rescue from the ground up for V1035.2. This means some of the systems may be a bit different than before. Please have a try and give us your feedback.

Here are the rules:

• To start the mode, there must be at minimum 5 players on a server and at least 1 more player on the RED than the BLUE side. (Currently, BLUE team are always the defenders and RED team are always the attackers. This will be updated and improved in V1036.)
• A random player of the attacking RED team has been taken hostage in one of the map’s buildings. The hostage player is hooded and cuffed, limiting their vision and movement — they are unable to interact with map objects such as doors or items, and are restricted to walking (no running/sprinting).
• The target building is selected by the defenders BLUE team by choosing where to spawn, and defenders are restricted to within that building unless the hostage escapes it.
• Defenders can lead the hostage around the building or simply hold them in place by holding the Interact key (default F). While being led, the hostage will be intimidated and unable to speak. (This represents a simplification of the previous iteration, where intimidation was a separate action done by pointing a weapon at the hostage.) Note that it takes about 1 second for the leading/freeing to begin. This is a change from the immediate grab mechanics from before.
• Attackers can select any insertion point (including multiple if they decide to split the team) and will have to find the building where the hostage is being held — possibly with the assistance of the hostage making some noise with the Talk (VOIP) key (default V). Attackers must then successfully breach the building and rescue the hostage. If the hostage has their cuffs released by the attackers, they will regain a full range of movement and team communication (i.e. radio and text chat).
• If a hostage picks up a weapon once released, they become a valid target for defenders, who can then win the round by killing the armed hostage.

Win conditions

• ATTACKERS — To win the round, at least one attacker must escort the hostage to any of the available extraction points. Alternatively, attackers will win if the defending team is eliminated.
• DEFENDERS — To win the round, the defending team must eliminate all attackers, survive the assault until the time runs out, or kill a hostage that has picked up a weapon.

 With the rare exception of a released and armed hostage (mentioned above), any team that kills the hostage will instantly lose the match. Careful with those frags!

Fox Hunt is now a standalone mode

Fox Hunt was a sub-game mode for DTAS (Dynamic Take and Secure) that was previously playable when not enough players were present for a DTAS round to begin (although it could also be forced on). With the refactoring, it made sense to make it its own separate mode.

💡 Building Assault (a sub-game mode of Hostage Rescue) is gone temporarily — it will return in the future as a whole new standalone mode with unique mechanics.

Kit Restrictions are available again

Although the refactoring didn’t allow us to rebuild kit restrictions the way we wanted them just yet, you can once again apply skin restrictions per team (Red and Blue) by going into Admin Panel › Kit Restrictions.

The system is pretty straightforward:

• Drag a skin from the Available Skins list onto either team to allow that skin to be used.
• To remove it, simply drag it off the team.
• Click Apply in the bottom-right to accept the changes.
• Click Clear to revert to default restrictions.

💡 Please note that the map needs to be reloaded or changed for the new restrictions to take effect.

🐞 When first enabling or disabling skin restrictions, lighting will change to a bright, blue-ish hue. Simply changing the map in the Admin Panel fixes the issue. This will be addressed shortly in a hotfix.

💡 Kit restrictions will be far more versatile in the future, allowing categories and specific items to be restricted rather than only skins.

Miscellaneous UI changes

Due to much of the UI being rebuilt thanks to the big refactoring, we’ve taken the opportunity to give a few areas a small update.

Updated Ops Board visuals

The Ops Board in the Ready Room remains largely the same, but you may notice changes to the color scheme, iconography and container layout, among other things.

Here are the changes, as seen in the video:

• The new colors should help visually group up related elements: red is used for objective-related elements, green for insertion/extraction points, and yellow is reserved for mission parameters.
• Mission parameters are more tidily laid out in boxes, and we’ve added a big clock icon to the insertion time (TOD) to make that military time format a little clearer without losing the flavor.
• Search locations (Intel Retrieval) will now display the name of the location when hovered. The list of locations on the left-hand side is now also a separate color from objectives, uses a separate font (the same used for the hover text on the map), and adds a little looking glass icon to each item.
• The extraction point icon uses a slightly different animation and color, and now also displays text (“EXTRACTION”) when hovered.
• The button to refresh locations now has a dynamic description label next to it, which updates when clicked.

Time-of-day (TOD) selection

When setting up a game you will notice a change in time-of-day (time of insertion) parameter.

Whereas previously you would pick a time from a drop-down menu with preset times (e.g. Pre-Dawn, Midday etc.), you can now alternate between that method or manually setting the time (e.g. 0000, 0600, 1200 etc.) by clicking the button next to it, as shown in the GIF above. The button’s icon alternates between showing a watch face (for manual time) or a day/night cycle (for preset times).

💡 The preset times are useful because our sky system accounts for latitude and time of the year. Since the sun angle at a given time vares considerably depending on a map's location and time of the year, the preset labels help players spawn in with the desired lighting conditions (rather than, for example, assuming 1830 is already dark in a given map).

🐞 Speaking of which, advanced time settings were also temporarily disabled due to the refactoring. This means the moon phase will be temporarily random.

Updated kill notifications (Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch)

Deathmatch-style game modes have a new kill notification that now includes an icon of the weapon and a headshot indicator.

Kill notifications have also been moved to the top-right corner of the screen.

💡 The logic to account for grenade kills has not yet been implemented. Grenade kills are currently displayed as self-kills or forfeits (withdrawal from play area), e.g.: [💀] fatmarrow

Easier-to-click checkboxes

This one is pretty minor, but we’ve updated all checkboxes to have a much more generous clickable area (which includes the text next to it, so you no longer have to click the box itself).

Other UI/UX changes

• The map selection screen (Lone Wolf and Host Game) has been updated slightly: the map entries have received some font formatting changes, as well as a nicer and clearer hover effect.
• Ranch and Power Station have also received new map descriptions in the aforementioned screen.
• Some of the copy/wording — particularly in Mission Settings/Parameters — has been updated for better clarity or to fit the layout.
• You may find other minor differences in various parts of the user interface; not all of it is intentional, so let us know if you catch anything odd!

Inventory

New weapons

The following primary weapons have been added under the Assault Rifle category:

G36K

The original (“stock”) G36K joins its aftermarket version in the armory. Instead of the top accessory rail, this carbine comes with the original 3x scope built into the carry handle.

💡 The G36K's handle includes working backup iron sights for very close range engagements, which can be switched to by scrolling your Mouse Wheel while aiming down the sights.

AUG A1

The OG AUG A1 also joins its modernized variant (AUG A3) with its original 20-inch barrel and built-in 1.5x scope.

💡 The AUG A1 also includes working backup iron sights atop its scope. Scroll your Mouse Wheel while aiming down the sights to switch to them.

F88 SA2

Another AUG variant being added to the armory is the Australian F88 SA2. This is a more modernized version, with a top accessory rail and an interesting dual-tone (tan and green) color scheme.

Galil AR

The Galil AR is essentially a stripped-down Galil ARM, thus making it a little lighter.

Galil SAR

The Galil SAR is a shorter and lighter Galil AR, replacing the wooden handguard with polymer.

New weapon attachments

A few new attachments are now available for weapon customization:

HWS 551

One of the first holo sights adopted by SOCOM in the early GWOT years, the HWS 551 holographic sight is similar in size to the more modern EXPS3.

HWS 552

Though longer, this model superseded many 551s in service due to its use of the more readily available AA batteries.

AS/VSS 30rd [9×39MM]

A 30-round magazine for the AS/VSS family of suppressed rifles, this new capacity was introduced alongside the ASM Val.

Updated models

These models have been revised, replaced or otherwise updated:

HWS 553

The HWS 553 has received a new and far more authentic model. It is still available in both black and FDE skins, with the FDE version now keeping the rear panel and inner optic housing in black — just like the real deal.

CTRW (formerly ASR)

The previously labeled ASR reflex sight has received a much needed model replacement and is now listed as CTRW under your Red Dot sight category.

AN/PVS-22 UNS

Another full model update, the new AN/PVS-22 UNS should better match the highly detailed assets it might be sitting next to during night operations.

IR Strobe (MS2000)

Our old MS2000 strobe was a holdover from the distant past and has now been replaced with a more accurate and detailed model.

The partial pouch is gone, but we’ve found that it was usually velcro’d or taped to helmets.

M110 and M110K1 revised

Both M110 series models have been revised to fix issues with receiver and magazine width (we realized they were slimmer than those of AR-15s), as well as inaccuracies in the handguards (such as making sure the rails’ recoil grooves were all aligned and accounted for).

💡 In particular, the M110K1's handguard has received some further design tweaks to better match our reference for adopted SOCOM specimens. As a result, there have been changes to attachment points in-game.

Cleaned up tan skins (and a handful of other skin tweaks)

All vest platforms, belts and pouches in tan skin have been updated to better match their real-life counterparts.

Because most of the real-life items are in fact coyote brown rather than tan, the overwhelming majority of the old tan skins are now listed as Coyote Brown.

💡 The previous skins were for the most part using a generic tan look that was neither Tan 499 (one of the more common US military tan colors) nor Coyote Brown (another very common but more red-heavy tan shade).

Other skin changes

• An actual Tan skin has been added for the Plate Carrier (MPC).
• Tweaked the colors of buckles, MOLLE, straps, loops, buttons, stitching and other details for various platform skins to better match the reference items.
• Updated various skins to correct the direction of the camo pattern and/or to break up the camo pattern where it shouldn’t be continuous (e.g. between the main body of an item and a MOLLE strap).
• A few other miscellaneous tweaks (e.g. reduced saturation on Coyote Brown Tactical Pants).

Audio changes

Finally, let’s go over the sound updates:

• Updated all 3 audio mixes (Settings › Audio › Audio Mix).

💡 The current "main mix" is now "Experimental". Please give it a try and share your feedback!

• We have added the American PMC enemy voice lines for our PMCs on maps Docks, Rig and Tanker.
• Fixed hearing sounds from the play area while in the Customize Operator screen.
• Updated attenuation on all weapons for better spatialization.
• Created audio system for optimization to allow more audio on levels.
• Fixed various bugs across all levels (e.g. missing audio portals).
• Replaced the old concrete footsteps sound effects with a better, more natural-sounding iteration.
• Changed diffraction and occlusion curves to better represent positional audio and geo impact with sounds (e.g. standing behind a tree while being shot at).
• Added audio to new animations, such as the chemlight deployment.
• Fix missing audio from various animations (e.g. the SpecterDR 1x/4x‘s lever throw when changing magnification).
• Removed middleware components from lights for optimization — this was part of the issue with a common audio crash that was resolved.
• Updated Power Station‘s audio with new room tones and sounds for the underground areas.

And that’s it for Build Update #061!

Thanks for reading these patch notes and keeping up with GROUND BRANCH’s development.

This update took real work to get across the line, and releasing it with a few temporary downgrades wasn’t a call we made lightly. Even so, we’re confident it’s a meaningful step forward: the refactor strengthens the foundation, and that stability is what lets us move faster and build bigger from here. Our team is still lean, but it’s grown considerably (see our latest dev blog for details), and that added bandwidth is already paying off.

Most importantly, this is the kind of progress that moves us closer to V1.0; not just by adding features, but by solidifying the core systems we need to take the game across the finish line. There’s still work ahead, but the direction is clear, and the runway is getting shorter.

Thank you once again, and we’ll see you next time!

We’re back with another Build Update — this time for our first point release: patch V1035.1!

This patch introduces a few new features (such as a Check Watch function, hand signals and modded skins), as well as various bug fixes and even some small visual upgrades. Keep reading for the full scoop, and don’t forget to let us know what you think!

💡 Patch V1035.2 is also planned for the near future.

Patch notes

Performance and stability

We have identified and fixed a number of memory leak issues which would create an increasing impact on performance (and possibly online replication) over time:

• Fixed memory leaks related to inventory items that were not being unloaded on level change
• Fixed some vehicle blueprints that were leaking memory after level change (they were set to replicate unnecessarily)
• Fixed leak caused by regenerating navmeshes with our door-swinging logic in Kythera AI

🚧 These should hopefully improve performance degradation over time — including some of the server rubberbanding issues — but the problem is still being monitored, and we'll continue to work towards a definitive fix. Be sure to let us know how your server is handling these changes!

Gameplay

Check Watch

Gone are the days of free-looking down to your left wrist or picking a foregrip that makes it easy to see it at a glance.

You can still do those things, but now you can also simply use the new Check Watch ability to have your character raise their wristwatch in clear view of the camera while keeping your firearm (if you have one equipped) at ready.

💡 To check your watch, double-tap Freelook (default Tab).

The new Check Watch ability can be triggered in any stance, and it stays on while walking and running (but not while sprinting or crawling). Most other actions will cancel it out automatically.

🐞 When prone, the watch face may not be within the frame depending on what item you have equipped, even with a vertical FOV of 58 (default) or wider. We're looking into it.

🐞 You may have issues checking your watch after using it several times while moving around, changing stances or in combination with Freelook. To restore the ability to check your watch, simply use Freelook momentarily.

First pass on hand signals

Players can now use hand signals to silently communicate with teammates.

To bring up the Hand Signals menu, use default H.

💡 If a default key is not set in your game, manually bind it under Settings › Controls › Keybinds (look under the "Communication" header).

Available signals are:

• Cover Me — Issued to request covering fire or overwatch from a teammate
• Rally Up — Issued to tell teammates to regroup on your position
• Go There — Issued to order teammates to move up to a location in front of you
• Need Breacher — Issued to request a teammate to breach a door (currently limited to the water Breaching Charge)
• Halt — Issued to tell teammates to stop and hold a position until told otherwise
• Look There — Issued to tell teammates to visually check a position in front of you

🚧 As ever, please keep in mind this is an initial implementation — the UI and animations will be iterated on, and more hand signals will be added.

💡 Hand signals are issued via the same radial menu style as squad orders — press the key to bring up the Hand Signals menu, move your mouse to the desired option, and left-click to issue.

🐞 KNOWN ISSUE: Once used, the Hand Signals menu may require a second press of your assigned key to come up again.

Other gameplay updates

• Collecting the laptop in Intel Retrieval no longer triggers enemies to rush towards the player (“extraction mayhem”), allowing players to e.g. sneak in and out with the intel
• Increased the area of extraction zones to better support larger teams
• Light and laser attachments now behave more naturally:
  • No longer automatically turned on when re-equipped
  • Still turn off when the item is dropped, but with a slight delay — allowing you to potentially mislead enemies with dropped weapons
• Updated reload-related gameplay ability to correctly detect when a round is chambered during a mag check
  • This ensures the appropriate animation plays depending on bolt status (e.g. AR-15 with no bolt lock)
• Updated the grenade throw ability to no longer allow sprinting or item switching to interrupt it, as well as correctly re-equip the previous item (if the option is checked in Settings › Gameplay) after the throw

AI/animation

Dead body inspection

Enemies now perform a proper body check animation upon finding a fallen comrade, kneeling at the location of the dead character’s head, reaching out and scanning around before standing back up.

Other AI changes

Updated “bum rush” AI behavior (Terrorist Hunt):

• AI now runs toward distant targets and walks when nearby
• AI will now draw their weapon upon entering “bum rush” mode, rather than leaving it slung until enemy contact

Modding

New Mod Kit version available

The GROUND BRANCH Mod Kit has been updated! If you’re a modder (or aspiring modder), make sure to grab it from the Epic Games Store: https://store.epicgames.com/p/ground-branch-mod-kit

Read on to learn what’s new in this version.

Item skin modding

New in V1035.1 is the ability to create proper skin mods for items, with new colors and patterns no longer required to be “baked” directly into the meshes. Here’s the first contribution by modder ModernLancer:

💡 If you are interested in creating skin mods, see this page from our Modding Wiki for more information (though please bear in mind that it still needs to be updated).

Bolt-action and belt-fed weapon modding

The Mod Kit now provides example mods for bolt-action and belt-fed weapons.

💡 For instructions on how to create new asset mods (such as weapon mods), see this page.

Other modding changes

• Improved mod filtering behavior in the Server Browser to more reliably display modded servers
• Optimized mod mounting performance and reliability by skipping redundant blueprint-generated classes and using safer methods to identify primary assets

Visual updates

Upgraded first-person character textures

With the new Check Watch action, we wanted to make sure the most visible character textures in first-person (arms, gloves, sleeves) looked as good as they can, so we bumped up the resolution for their albedo (base color) and normal maps.

The difference can be subtle — especially with the gloves — but here’s a before/after with the Tactical Gloves and Softshell Jacket:

Notice the sharper textures — especially around the jacket’s shoulder pockets and seams.

Other visual fixes

• Fixed lighting channel and cull distance issues in Ready Room
• Potential fix for blurry textures when switching appearances with a balaclava

Kit restrictions

The Kit Restrictions system and menus are being overhauled to use the new tag system and offer more options. As a result, it will be unavailable from this version until we have the new iteration done in patch V1035.2.

💡 The new kit restrictions system is expected to return alongside the Hostage Rescue PvP mode.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience, everyone.

Miscellaneous changes

• Updated VOIP settings in Wwise to improve Radio and Proximity Voice audio dropouts (unfortunately, crashes still occur — we are looking into redoing the VOIP system)
• Fixed issue where the wrong sound was playing for the LVAW assault rifle
• Fixed Ready Room no longer playing ambient music after closing menus
• Updated Power Station audio mix and adjusted audio for powered equipment (e.g. radios) (WIP)
• Updated and cleaned up various gameplay abilities (GAS) for more reliability
• Removed excessive networking logs to improve performance and clarity

This has been Build Update #060!

Thank you for reading these release notes and keeping up with the development of GROUND BRANCH.

Stay tuned for patch V1035.2, and don’t forget to let us know how this version is running and playing for you — whether via our Discord, Steam forums or social media.

See you on the next one!