Progress update

Characters, Gameplay, Programming, Weapons

Its time for an update on our progress!

Things are going very well with many new features added and stability getting better with each new build. We just introduced the first pass at 3d positional/proximity VOIP that allows players to talk globally so everyone can hear if within appropriate distance as well as a radio channel that allows teams to communicate when out of hearing range. There have been lots of UI additions and fixes including the ability to change a full array of graphics settings to help fine tune performance. Networking and multiplayer has been getting a lot of work and is pretty stable at this point. Multiplayer matches now feature a full game loop (minus an after action review screen… that is coming) so players are enjoying playing Ground Branch with others and are starting to really see the potential of the game!

So when is the Early Access? Well we still have not set a firm date because we must get it right. There is only one chance for a first impression! We don’t feel it is to far off though, so we have decided to distribute Steam keys to those that have and will purchase the Pre-Order of Ground Branch. This will happen within the next 2-3 weeks and you will get an email with instructions. As mentioned, the game is not ready for Early Access and therefore still missing some key components, but we feel there is enough there to include more people in the process. Once we send these keys out then any Pre-Order purchases from that point on will automatically get a key upon purchase… no more waiting.

Those that purchased the Operator Edition have been enjoying playing Ground Branch for months now and have provided valuable feedback and bug reports. Here are a couple videos and some screenshots from a recent playtest…. thanks to Pepperbelly, WaderTheGamer, Jeza, jankovic and those playing.

Still VERY much pre-alpha but enjoy!

New Year and New Things

Characters, Gameplay, Level Design, Sound, Uncategorized, Weapons

Hey everyone, welcome to a new year! Lots going on with us here, especially with Ground Branch. We’ll get to that but first I would like to draw your attention to something we have partnered on with FragOut Studios named Sniper Tactical.

As some of you may know we partnered with FragOut Studios to help with the Weapons and Animation work for Ground Branch. Through that relationship we decided to lend them a hand in bringing some smaller less hard-core titles to market. The first of those titles is Sniper Tactical, a lemmings type puzzle game with sniper shooting mechanics mixed in. The gameplay revolves around bringing hostages to safe-zones which in turn is done by shooting enemies in correct order. Your job is to clear the path for your allies on the ground by taking out targets, bearing your own safety in mind. As enemies display various behavior types, it is up to you to learn how they will react and find a solution to each level. Hostages will move after you fire a shot so delivering accurate hits on the bad guys is not optional. Act quickly or slowly – depending on the situation.

Sniper Tactical is available as a Steam Early Access title on January 8th, 2016. While the experience isn’t the same as Ground Branch, the price is right for an enjoyable experience that is easy to pick up and play, but still takes skill and patience to master. Give it a try and let the developers know what you think.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/374170/

http://fragoutstudio.com/

http://www.indiedb.com/games/sniper-tactical

Now for some Ground Branch news…… Things have been moving along quite well recently. We have closed out sales of the Operator Edition and are getting some great testing, feedback and collaboration from those who decided to make the purchase. Multiplayer connectivity is finally getting to the point where matches can be played and even in its very rough state people are enjoying the experience. Tremendous work has gone into the UI and the work needed to make our unique customization systems work as needed in both a single player and multiplayer environment.

Gameplay is still very rough and there are lots of bugs and graphics glitches, but here are a couple videos of some Operator Edition owners giving the latest build a go. Please remember you are watching a VERY early development build with LOTS of known issues and unfinished stuff. 😉

This one is played on a small developer test map that is used for various systems development/testing so the graphics are pretty basic. Its not a pretty map, but the video actually does a good job of showing off some of the fun gunplay you can have in small spaces. The players in the video seemed to have fun at least!

And last but certainly not least we have had some nice work going on AI recently. Zoombapup made a news post in the forums this week that I think warrants a news post. http://www.blackfootstudios.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8310

The latest video shows the current progress on the Ground Branch AI, specifically the basics for movement, cover and engagement. Lots to do still, but its good to finally get things to a point where they are actually working in the Ground Branch main branch. Hopefully we will be able to get a first pass of our Terrorist Hunt style mode out to the Operator Edition users soon.

So hopefully everyone has a great 2016 and we hope to see you playing Ground Branch soon!

Tech Preview available and Store is open!

Characters, Customization, Gameplay, Kickstarter, Level Design, Programming, Sound, Weapons

We are happy to announce that our official Tech Preview is available for free download right now. Yes, an actual playable version of Ground Branch! We also have our store open where you can financially support development of Ground Branch moving forward. In addition to the free Tech Preview we also have an Early Access pre-order, a T-Shirt and the Operator Edition….Which includes immediate access via Steam to our development builds leading up to the official Steam Early Access release. For more information check out the store:

Major credit cards and PayPal accepted

By purchasing the Operator Edition you not only help us financially, but you also have the opportunity to continuously provide feedback from playing development builds. We will use this feedback to help shape not only the Early Access release, but Ground Branch itself. We are committed to releasing development builds bi-weekly and will provide hot fixes as needed. We may also do more frequent updates if the need arises.

This is our current crowd funding to get to a successful Early Access, so if you are able please give a little extra at the store. When making a purchase, or even just getting the free Tech Preview, just enter an amount above what the set price is… easy as that. 🙂 So please support development of Ground Branch by making a purchase, giving a little extra or just by spreading the word!

The Plan

The plan for the funding we raise from the store is to put together a solid and engaging Early Access build for Steam. This will include everything currently in the Operator Edition with the addition of more content along with examples of PvP and Coop gameplay all wrapped up in a polished presentation.

The Tech Preview will be updated as needed to continue its use as a great testing platform for compatibility and performance issues. However, we will not be keeping feature parity with Operator Edition builds for much longer as it is not a game demo. Once the Early Access is available on Steam we will release a proper Ground Branch demo.

So please, spread the word and join in the Ground Branch fun!

What others are saying

Here are just a few excellent video first looks of the Tech Preview and Operator Edition by those that have already joined in:

Screenshot extravaganza!

Characters, Level Design, Weapons

There is a small group that has had access to development builds of Ground Branch for a while now. About a month ago we gave them permission to post screenshots and videos from the build(s) in the forum. Unfortunately, if you don’t frequent the forums then you may have missed them. So we thought we would gather some of the best ones and make them official. Special thanks go out to those that are posting media, but specifically to forum members Psychomorph and DetCord for the images shown here.

Some of this will be available in the Tech Preview, but all of it, and more, is in the Operator Edition dev builds. Everything is still on track and we are working hard to get the last few bits fixed up in the build as well as some logistical items for launching this thing sorted out. Enjoy!

A few shots of a player in various postures and environments.

Weapon and environment effects that actually affect gameplay. Flashbangs will leave a lingering smoke in the room that may make visibility difficult. Environment fog and smoke effects conceal players.

Some environment shots

Rain and lightning. Its subtle, but notice how the rain drops are dark and pick up glints of light reflecting form them…..

Various night time shots. Lighting and environment will play a big role in Ground Branch.

Things are moving along

Characters, Customization, Weapons

Things are moving along pretty nicely lately, though everything is still taking longer than we would like. Kris is working really hard on making sure one of the cornerstones of Ground Branch, the character and weapon customization, has a rock solid foundation to build on. This has proven more challenging than originally anticipated, but we think its finally working to our standards. It isn’t currently pretty…. but she’s got it where it counts! 😉

As I mentioned before, we will be releasing what we are calling the Ground Branch Tech Preview soon. This will be a small slice of Ground Branch to give people a general idea of where we are going with the project, though there is no gameplay specifically. The purpose is to give people a small taste of what to expect from the project as well as give us a platform to gather valuable feedback on crashes, system specs, performance and general stability of the project. The Tech Preview will not cost anything and we encourage people to pass it around, share, do videos, post screenshot and whatever else they want to to help promote the project.

The next step after that is to move to Early Access on Steam. We want to make sure that the game is as rock solid and polished as can be at that time. To do so, we have decided to make some things available for purchase to help fund our drive to Early Access and beyond.

Ground Branch Operator Edition

The Ground Branch OPERATOR EDITION is a way for people to help financially support our efforts very early on as well as provide valuable feedback through testing and using weekly development builds.

What you get:

» Immediate access to Pre Early Access development builds to help us design the game around your valuable early feedback

» A private forum area to discuss the game and ideas with other OPERATOR EDITION users and the game’s developers

» An Early Access Steam key when available

» Forum badge showing that you are a Ground Branch OPERATOR EDITION supporter

» The initial full release of Ground Branch on steam when available

» A Ground Branch T-Shirt

» Plus a special in game aesthetic upgrade item!

Ground Branch T-Shirt

For those that just want to look good, we will be selling the official Ground Branch T-Shirt:

We really do hope to have all this available very soon and will most certainly make announcements when it is. We are working very hard to make this happen. Not much longer now……

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Progress update

New Year and New Things

Tech Preview available and Store is open!

Major credit cards and PayPal accepted

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What others are saying

Screenshot extravaganza!

Things are moving along

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What you get:

Ground Branch T-Shirt

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