Scopey

Hey there!

As the release draws nearer, we’re bringing you our final Intel Report for V1036. Historically, we’ve always released one build version at a time with a public test prior to pushing it to the main branch. However, this time we’d like to do things a bit differently: first off, we are internally past the V1036 build, completing our roadmap back in the beginning of this month. While we continue to polish the build internally, we began work on V1037 on the road to GROUND BRANCH V1.0.

Today we’ll be taking a closer look at more recent developments on the door lock and armor systems, the new Extraction mode, a couple of environmental overhauls, and miscellaneous visual upgrades for our characters. We’ll also be checking out the new MK3 pistol — a specialized handgun for stealth operations.

It’s been longer than usual since our last post, so we’ve made sure this one was a little meatier. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Armor system now functional

We gave you a quick peek at the early days of development for the armor system in Intel Report #029, explaining how we’re planning on having both “soft armor” (used in helmets and conventional body armor like our Bulletproof Vest) and “hard armor” (ballistic plates that go inside plate carriers such as the JPC or MPC) represented in the game.

We’ve also explained how armor will be able to take a certain amount of damage — depending on caliber, angle, location and number of shots etc. — before it is rendered useless.

With all of that in mind, we had to put it all together as a functional system in-game, and also come up with some type of user interface (UI) to display this information to players. Though the UI for displaying and adding armor in the customization screen is still being worked on, the in-game HUD is already in and working, as is the armor functionality itself for the most part.

The armor HUD is located right next to the Stance Indicator, in the bottom-right corner of the screen, and is comprised of a helmet icon (if a helmet is equipped), a body armor icon (if a bulletproof vest is equipped), and a group of plate icons (if a plate carrier with armor inserts is equipped):

💡 Minimal HUD enthusiasts will be able to hide the armor HUD in Settings › HUD › Show Armor.

Each icon has 3 possible statuses: intact (white), damaged (yellow and cracked), and broken (red and slashed across). Here they are in action:

And that’s what we have for you so far on the armor system! We hope to get the customization interface and other details rounded out in the upcoming weeks.

Also operational: door lock system

New to our upcoming release is the door lock system.

In our last post we told you about how regular doors will be breachable by destroying the door handle, while reinforced doors will require a breaching charge of some kind.

The logic for randomizing locked doors was done, but the door interactions were still in development. In this little demo below, we’re showcasing the actual interactions — shooting out the handle of a regular door vs. planting a breaching charge on a reinforced door — including the first version of the door interaction animation (currently using a generic “pick-up” animation), and even a sneak peek of the new locomotion and sway:

It’s a work in progress and we’re still figuring some things out but it’s all coming together, folks.

Extraction mode: creating AI captor and hostage logic

A new game mode coming to our next version, Extraction is what we’re dubbing the PvE version of Hostage Rescue.

Developing this mode has been a challenge due to the fact that an AI-controlled hostage requires a considerate amount of new logic and content to be created, from the hostage himself to the AI captor behavior. Chris has been tasked with these systems, with Mike providing new animations for the scenario.

Here’s one example of the current version in action:

So what is going on here? A hidden threat level for the captors raises in a similar way to alertness/detection: making noise, showing oneself and killing enemies in sight of the captors will increase the threat level.

As you probably guessed, once the threat level reaches the maximum threshold, captors will attempt to execute the hostage. Currently, there’s a 1-second grace period. Here’s how it goes down if you’re not fast enough:

Once freed, hostages can be controlled in the same fashion as the friendly AI in V1034, following orders such as “Fall In”, “Move To”, “Hold” and so on.

💡 The work done for Extraction amounts to more than just a standalone game mode — it will also be used for any campaign missions featuring hostages or prisoners that players can rescue or take into custody.

A peek into the new Ready Room

As part of a broader upgrade to training map The Farm, we have remade the Ready Room from the ground up. This facelift is part of our attempt to bring the overall visual identity and quality together.

The Ready Room is now cannonically located inside one of Camp Peary’s warehouses, and though the general layout remains similar, pretty much everything is brand-new. Here are the locker areas for the new Blue and Red sides:

💡 We wanted to make sure the new Blue and Red rooms feel unique and make it easier for players to tell which room they are in, hence the different styles.

Shooting ranges have now been set up with proper firing lanes, which also allow players to change the target’s distance:

The room flow has also been simplified to allow players to quickly see both room entrances from the spawn — we don’t wanna spoil that bit just yet, however.

Here’s a bonus shot of the Ops Room on Blue side:

Creek overhaul

As mentioned previously, wilderness map Creek has undergone a small overhaul.

In addition to generally polishing the map’s visuals (terrain, textures, assets etc.), Will established several goals for the rework: (1) raise the mine entrance area to a more level plateau in order to create a more defined area, (2) re-arrange buildings and landmark structures in a more inviting way while also better outlining their footprint, (3) make pathways a bit more obvious to improve navigation, and (4) replace the large ruins with European architecture with a more fitting structure, as well as making the surrounding area feel more like an abandoned settlement.

The map remains a fortified militia camp — just with nicer visuals and a more cohesive theme throughout.

💡 Set somewhere in the American south, Creek was originally devised as a PvP map by John but was later also set up for quick missions (PvE).

Now set west of a road with patrol cars blocking the north and south ends, players will be free to come up with their own lore for this map.

💡 Creek will not be part of the campaign, hence the less significant rework.

We hope you’ll enjoy this overhaul as much as we are!

MK3 integrally suppressed pistol

One interesting new piece of equipment coming to V1037 is the MK3 — an integrally suppressed pistol.

Chambered in .22 LR, the MK3 is considerably underpowered compared to 9 mm or .45 handguns. And with its single-file magazine, the capacity isn’t great either: only 10+1 rounds. So what’s the point of this gun? Well, its integrated suppressor is built to fire those underpowered rounds extremely quietly, making it an excellent tool for taking out sentries and doing other clandestine stuff without alerting every enemy in the area.

Pretty cool, huh?

💡 With its top-mounted rail, the MK3 is also one of the few pistols in the game that can attach a red dot sight. Neat!

Character visual upgrades and more

As part of a general cleanup of various materials for V1036, Will has taken a little time to enable and tweak subsurface scattering for our characters’ skins, as well as adding specular highlights to the eyeballs. Take a look at these comparisons:

He has also dialed in other values to make skin less reflective overall, while vastly improving how hair (and facial hair) is rendered:

Notice how the facial hair actually reflects the light now, appearing to have color and depth:

Another small tweak — this one courtesy of Pau — involved giving the player characters a slightly more determined/focused eye expression, toning down the wide-eyed effect. Some characters required a more noticeable adjustment than others, as this GIF shows:

Pau has also set new hair colors for each specific character, giving them some more personality and variety. Take a look at the new shades — and peep some of the new styles while you’re at it:

This has been Intel Report #031!

As always, thank you for keeping up with GROUND BRANCH’s development! We hope the scale of news and previews in this one makes up for the longer wait time.

See you on the next one!

Hello!

We’re back with another Intel Report filled with dev news and sneak peeks for our upcoming release GROUND BRANCH V1036.

Today we’ll go over some details on new game systems and mechanics — including AI — as well as another map reveal, some brand-new character art for a new enemy faction, and finally some more player customization options. Let’s get to it.

Upcoming systems and mechanics

Though we aren’t able to do a proper visual showcase of these updates just yet, we thought it would be nice to take the time to talk about some of the changes and additions currently being worked on by our programmers for game systems and mechanics.

Here are some recent developments on the coding front:

AI

In V1036, we’ll be bringing significant improvements to enemy AI beyond new art assets.

💡 New dev team member Zachary Ledbetter is working on our enemy AI while Chris pivots over to focus on the friendly AI and Extraction (aka PvE Hostage Rescue — more on that soon!).

A key consideration in the design of our locked doors was to avoid players getting completely stuck on a map. Even if a player runs out of breaching tools, they can still shoot at the handle of regular doors with a regular firearm to break through, and buildings with reinforced doors will always allow at least one unlocked door to enter/exit from if no breaching charges or other explosives are available.

Our door system will allow mission designers to either set locked doors manually, or use a system to randomly lock a specified number of doors. Here’s a quick visualization in which the system is being told to lock 5 doors of a total of 10:

💡 We will continue to test and prototype the door system with our AI and tester feedback to the find the optimal amount of doors locked for our missions.

Remaking Rundown

Those of you following GROUND BRANCH for a while know that we’ve been overhauling John’s original maps over the years to update visuals, improve or expand layouts, and thematically integrate them with the campaign stories that are being worked on behind the scenes.

In our last Intel Report we showcased Airbase, a full remake of the 747 map, now set in Libya. This week we’re revealing Hospital, a complete rework of CQB favorite Rundown that is being helmed by level artist Elliot.

📋 A derelict Soviet-era hospital just over the Russian border now serves as a command center for PMCs.

The design philosophy behind the Rundown update was all about improving the close-quarters battle experience, while giving players a more organic and intuitive structure to fight through. To achieve that, we’ve opened up the exterior a bit to create more space and angles from which players can approach the central building — which has itself been transformed from an abandoned school into a deactivated hospital.

The first step in that transformation was moving away from the overused asset pack that so many games rely on for Soviet-style structures, so we built our own from the ground up. The surroundings now better reflect the campaign’s location and tie into the story far more cohesively than before.

The basement has been expanded into a fully fleshed-out play space, complete with multiple entry and exit points. Up top, the roof has been reworked into a viable defensive position, giving teams a solid foothold to hold and fight from. To help players keep their bearings, each floor now features a consistent wall paint scheme that makes it easier to tell what level you’re on. Elliot also introduced a clear visual distinction between the front and back of the building, making callouts and communication much more effective.

We’ve also given the garage some love — it now includes a playable second and third level, complete with windows that offer firing angles to defend the structure or provide overwatch for teammates pushing toward the hospital.

💡 Creek is also receiving an overhaul that we'll showcase in a future Intel Report (there's a small sneak peek further below!).

New enemy character assets

Another set of character assets that Pau has been working on more recently is a Western PMC faction, which will be known in the story as Citadel Research Group.

📋 Citadel Research Group is a risk management company that specializes in maritime security in and around the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. We will learn more about them in Operations mode.

As explained in Intel Report #029, Pau has been creating character assets for the enemy mobs over the last year (see the full post here for more details and previews). Much like the MENA faction from our last report, these assets can be mixed-and-matched to create more variety.

For these assets, we have also created a number of accessories that can be used to add visual interest to loadouts, like the carabiner, radio PTT and knife seen above.

💡 One idea we have for the future (post-V1036) is allowing players to add these types of small accessories as cosmetics to customize their platforms (helmets and vests).

Since a handful of these assets are unspecific (as in unmarked with the “Citadel” logo), they are also being used to compose a more generic militia faction that will be replacing the old “Riot” assets in non-campaign maps like City, Creek and Small Town. Here’s an example on the overhauled Creek map:

More customization

Though our next release is far from focused on cosmetics, character customization is always welcome in GROUND BRANCH and V1036 will be sure to deliver quite a few new items to the menu, ranging from character appearance to outfit variants.

Without getting into specifics too much (we like to keep a healthy level of suspense), we’ll be adding new hair and facial hair styles, kneepad variants for most pants, a new shirt type, a drop-leg holster, running shoes, fingerless gloves, and the neck gaiter, among other things. These conceptual shots by Rangda showcase some of the new cosmetics (and a few additions that aren’t purely cosmetic) in a sensual — but still classy — fashion:

💡 GROUND BRANCH V1036 will feature more than enough new weapons and attachments to keep the armory interesting as well. Stay tuned!

This has been Intel Report #030!

As always, thanks for making it to the end of the post and keeping up with GROUND BRANCH. We hope you enjoyed this dev blog, and we’ll have another one for you soon enough.

We’ll go back to getting this thing done now. Until next time!

Hello, everyone!

We’re back with our Intel Reports, this time as we make our way to GROUND BRANCH V1036.

On the road to our next major release we’ll be trying to do these dev blogs more often, as our schedules permit. We don’t want to take too much time away from development, and these posts can be a lot of work. So, in order for them to happen more frequently, we’ll have to keep them a little shorter (which we assume is okay with most of you anyway).

With that out of the way, let’s get right into it.

Pau Peñalver officially joins the team

We’re happy to finally announce that artist Pau Peñalver, who has been blessing our Intel Reports for years with his amazing character art, has been officially integrated into the GB dev team!

What started as a freelance contract to build our clothing, equipment, and model skins has evolved into a full-time role. He is now focused on updating our campaign and enemy assets and polishing new player content.

Pau has spent the best part of last year creating dozens of character assets for an in-game faction we’re dubbing MENA (Middle East and North Africa) for now. Though these assets were primarily created with our future Libya hotspot in mind, they will likely be used for multiple different factions in GROUND BRANCH’s campaigns as they’re versatile militia-themed assets.

🛑 WARNING: Pau renders
Keep in mind these renders by Pau use some very nice processing and far better lighting than our engine and systems can handle in real-time.

💡 Some of the MENA character assets have also been adapted for player use in V1036. These include the Fingerless Gloves (a couple images below) and Running Shoes (second image, bottom-right).

Though not as modular as player characters — both to simplify our workflow and maintain performance (more parts = more textures to load) — these new enemy assets are still very modular, allowing us to easily set different colors to different areas, as well as mix-and-match parts (heads, upper bodies and lower bodies, plus optional accessories like headgear and vests) to create a good degree of mob variety.

💡 Pau has since moved on to the US PMC faction, which we'll showcase in a future report.

New maps incoming

As the first developers on the team to start working exclusively on V1036, our trusty environment artists Will Bullen and Elliot Burgess have been very busy with a handful of maps: some new, some remakes. We’ll be showcasing one of each kind today.

Airbase: a 747 remake

The 747 map, originally created by John (who created the classic 747 map in Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear for those of you ancient enough to remember it), has received a remake by Will and is now known as Airbase.

💡 With the exception of the airliner, this is a complete remake of the map.

Like Power Station, much of the general layout has been preserved, with landmarks being roughly in the areas you would expect. Though not technically much larger, the new map feels like a bigger environment — likely due to the more numerous and fleshed out buildings, as well as other environmental details.

Now officially set in Libya — sharing a mission hotspot with Power Station — Airbase still portrays a small airport in the desert, but has had its boundaries slightly expanded and a considerable amount of infrastructure added to fit with our campaign mission’s story. These include a control tower, hangars, hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) and several other points of interest.

📋 Originally serving as an airbase for a former regime in a resource-rich part of southwestern Libya, this facility was subsequently converted into a small civilian airport by the UN. Following a recent breakdown of martial order, locals have since retaken control of the airfield with support from a network of insurgents.

The terminal has of course also been remade and expanded. Here’s a quick look at the ground floor:

And here are some of the new MENA characters on Airbase:

New map reveal: Border

The bulk of Elliot’s time over the last year has been dedicated to a new map called Border (formerly “Checkpoint”), teased briefly in Intel Report #028.

Set at (and around) a bridge checkpoint on the US–Mexico border, this new map is a pure urban hellscape filled with alleys, derelict homes and commerce, a dirty canal, a small junkyard, a partially demolished road bridge, a deactivated multi-story public telecom building — which now serves as an outpost for the cartel that controls the severely impoverished Mexican town — and a lot of abandoned vehicles.

The bridge crossing, along with a small section of the checkpoint on the US side, is part of the playable area. Most of the action will take place on the Mexican side, however, where the majority of the play area resides.

💡 As you may have guessed, the Border campaign mission will share a hotspot with Ranch.

💡 We're not ready to showcase it just yet, but V1036 will also include an update for The Farm training map, a Creek overhaul, and a remake of Rundown. Soon enough we'll have all old maps remade or updated.

Armor system

GROUND BRANCH V1036 will be introducing the much-anticipated armor system.

We’ll start with 2 tiers of armor: soft armor (such as Kevlar, the most common material in “bulletproof” vests) and ballistic plates (typically thick ceramic plates that are inserted into plate carriers, such as the JPC and MPC in-game).

🛡️ Soft armor is lighter and provides more coverage as it is the predominant material of ballistic vests, but is mostly effective against pistol calibers only.

🛡️ Ballistic plates are heavier and generally only cover vital organs, but they offer good protection against rifle rounds.

Here is a quick visualization of the ballistic plates on the MPC Plate Carrier (straight from Kris’ editor), which holds a front and a back plate, as well as side plates:

The armor system is fairly straightforward:

• The damage and relative location of each shot is tracked, and radiates out like a dartboard
• The point of impact is where most of the damage will be assigned; the further away from the point of impact, the less damage is assigned
• Each subsequent shot is compared against the previous ones to determine the remaining effectiveness of the armor
• Once a certain damage threshold is reached, the armor will fail and the bullet will pass through, wounding the target character

To sum it up: more shots that are closer together are more likely to defeat armor.

💡 Needless to say, caliber and ballistics will all play a role in how easily the armor is defeated as well.

🪖 Helmets will work similarly to body armor, with some added tracing to check for bullet trajectory. Helmets don't hold very well against much, however.

And if you’re a fan of chest rigs but don’t want to miss out on having some armor protection, we have good news — in V1036 you will be able to equip them on top of the Ballistic Vest, as seen here:

And that’s what we have for you today, folks.

This has been Intel Report #029!

Thanks for keeping up with GROUND BRANCH! We appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to read through our comms here.

As mentioned, we’ll try to get these rolling more often, so stay tuned — we’ll have more sneak peeks and news for you soon. See you then!