We're thrilled to announce that GROUND BRANCH has finally arrived on Steam Early Access and is now available for everyone to play, get in on development, and help us make it the game we all want it to be.
We would like to say a huge thanks to all our existing community for all the support and feedback over the years, and to those who are about to join in: Welcome to GROUND BRANCH. We hope you enjoy your stay!
We have gone ahead and updated the Main branch to be in line with all testing branches in anticipation fro the hopefully soon to be released EARLY ACCESS.
Those running servers, please update so we can minimize any possible confusion.
We all know at this point that no plan survives first contact, which is why we're unveiling our brand new website right now instead of holding it back until Early Access finally hits:
Lots of info and pretty things to look at in there, so go check it out while we all wait on that sweet Valve approval, and let us know what you think in the comments!
We finally received word from Valve and they requested a few changes be made to both the game and the store page to better reflect the current feature set. Nothing major – items have already been taken care of and resubmitted for approval. While not starting the review process over from the beginning, we do not have a time frame for completion of the follow-up review. It could be another 24 hours or 2–5 business days, so back into a holding pattern we go.
One of the great aspect of Early Access development to us is the ability for the consumer to get a better idea of how games are made: From the cool whiz bang gameplay items, down to all the little things that go into getting a product "out the door" to the consumer. Well, welcome to a front-row seat of some of those little things that happen along the way you normally don't see. :)
Hold tight, it's all worth it. Hopefully our next update will be the announcement that Early Access is finally available!
A small change specifically aimed at supporting professional game server environments.
Game
Build Id: 3002593
Approx. Size: 65mb
Dedicated Server
Build Id: 3002596
Approx. Size: 16mb
CHANGELIST:
* added logging options to GBVOIPManager
* updated IUworks to add support for MultiHome, Port & QueryPort command line overrides.
* updated UWorks target for shipping server build to work
Mainly bug fixes and ease of use changes with VOIP. Big thing is really good framerates on Depot Day and Night!
Game
Build Id: 3001812
Approx. Size: 401mb
Dedicated Server
Build Id: 3001816
Approx. Size: 25mb
CHANGELIST:
FIXES
* fixed animation not updating if in first person mode and not casting shadows
* FIXED bad skin weighting on Mk48_MOD1 LODs
* fixed spectator voice chat not working
* fixed PlayerLocation only being replicated to PlayerState's owner instead of everyone BUT its owner (oops!)
* fixed chat WBP_ChatMessage_Manager showing swapped TeamChat/GlobalChat .
CONTENT
* Depot
* Fixed collision stopping player from one set of warehouse windows once glass is broken out
* Adjusted broken glass fade out time to 10-30 seconds
* Reworked lighting in both Day and Night to have much better performance
CODE
* updated GBVOIPManager
* switched from simply bIsRadio bool to a enumerator for GlobalVoice, LocalVoice & Radio
* renamed voice references to local voice
* added sound cue wrappers for global voip & pre recorded radio messages
* updated TickReceives() to check for and read multiple incoming P2P packets instead of one at a time.
* updated rules on who can hear who
* Spectators can be heard by other spectators or other players in RR as a global voice.
* Players in RR can be heard by...
* ...other spectators as a global voice
* ...other players in RR as a local voice or using radio.
* Players in the play area can be heard by...
* ... specators as a local voice
* ... other players in the play area as a local voice or using radio.
* Players in the RR can never hear other players in the play area.
* Players in the play area can never hear other players in the RR.
* created PlayerLocation variable on GBPlayerState for use with VOIP etc
* updated GBVOIPManager
* uses new PlayerLocation variable to determine player to player distance
* made sure spectators don't ever try to send VOIP buffer to people in play area
* replaced blocking volumes in DM-Depot_Compound near train gate to ensure you can't jump over said gate.
* updated BP_DestructibleWindowPane_Master to try and improve server/client sync of glass
* updated GBCharacter to make sure it clears its player states character reference on the client when ragdolling
* updated GBVOIPManager to default to using PlayerState->GetPlayerLocation() and only try using the character if that player isn't a spectator.
Lots of fixes as we try to polish this thing up for Early Access! Some notable items are lots of new randomization with doors and ladders into the rail cars. More breakable glass to and continued optimizations. :)
We also added system where smoke grenades block LOS to AI. It works fairly well but still has some issues. We are also on the trail of the non-sync'd doors.
Game
Build Id: 2997597
Approx. Size: 1.2gb
Dedicated Server
Build Id: 2997602
Approx. Size: 44mb
CHANGELIST:
FIXES
* fixed clientside items attached to character not being destroyed when dead bodie is removed in non-round based games
* fixed potential nullptr crashing client in UGBVOIPManager::OnVOIPAudioFinished()
* fixed erroneous collision in doorways blocking entry to certain rooms in SmallTown
* FIXED Mis-aligned 1911 magazine
* fixed triggers on door having bullet collision blocked
* fixed collision on Warhouse_Window_Large_A_Glass stopping BP_DestructibleWindow_Depot from working properly
* fixed bad ladder pos in Depot_Geo stopping you getting in box car.
* FIXED NVG headgear intersecting the back of one of the male heads
* FIXED white squares in glass hit effect
* FIXED Large relfex sight not fitting on risers (works on 100mm risers only)
* fixed 90 turn in place angle being set when ever player stopped moving
* fixed right hand IK joint target
* fixed toggle run not being toggleable unless you're running
* fixed ladder movement using MaxWalkSpeed (6m/s) as apposed to MaxWalkSpeedForward(1.4m/s)
* fixed climbing up ladder beyond ladder exents when its incorrectly placed.
* fixed crash caused by TWeakPtr being null in RBEventManager
* fixed roller doors being out of sync between server/client
* fixed sight offset/rotation remanining even when firearm changes
* fixed collision profiles to incorrectly blocking projectiles
* fixed grenade arc staying on character death
* fixed live grenade not exploding on character death
* fixed freelook resetting to aim adding roll to view rotation
* fixed flash bang sound not being attenuated
* fixed terrorist hidey holes near bridge in TankerShip
* fixed incorrect auto-generated collisoin for S_TankerShip_DoorFrame
* fixed incorrect auto-generated collisoin for S_Window_Outside
* fixed over simplified collision for S_Structure_Story_B_Right
* FIXED collision on Tanker Ship windows preventing weapons from going through
* fixed default firing mode not being set
* fixed not having a firearm selected on spawn
* will now force one up after about 2 seconds if one is not chosen first.
* fixed grenade safety lever / spoon not detaching on clients
CONTENT
* Added random door setting to Euro boxcar BP
* Added random start position to Rollup Door BP
* Depot
* Added in breakable glass to warehouses
* Fixed up some missing collision on warehouse outside stairs
* Setup rollup doors and boxcar doors to have random open/close states upon map start (all gametypes)
* FIXED tree instersecting gaurdrail
* FIXED tree that grows and shrinks based on distance
* Storage Facility
* Broke geometry up into sections for possible streaming optimization later
* Lots of LOD work settign cull distances and more agressive reductions
* setup missing physical materials on a few ojects
* PRODUCTION light build
* Depot
* Added ladders to boxcars for entry when doors are open
* Cleaned up a few mesh cull distances
* PRODUCTION light build
* Cleaned up some bad collision on Euro_Boxcar
* Added LODs to a few meshes
* Replaced old AmericanElm mesh in Depot with newer version that has proper LODs
* TankerShip
* Added breakable windows to outside walls (Will add rest after some testing)
* Cleaned up some collision on superstructer parts
* Refined some LOD settings for various objects
* Cleaned up collision on BoxCar model
* Added LODs to various meshes (required lightbuild on some maps
CODE
* adjusted volumes/attentuations of VOIP wrap cues
* radio squelches and transmit should be much quieter
* voice is twice as loud
* radio is three times as loud.
* attenuation distance went from 25m to 50m
* updated GBVOIPManager
* changed voice audio attachment to setworld location so that changes in character etc are handled correctly.
* changed MaxVoiceDistanceSquared from 25m squared to 50m squared.
* updated BP_DestructibleWindowPane_Master to add support for multiple panes
* decals don't always seem to want to stay around on client for some reason, despite being CLIENT SIDE in the first place :|
* updated BP_DestructibleWindow_Depot to be based off updated BP_DestructibleWindowPane_Master .
* updated laser/flash attachments to turn off on characters death or shortly after being dropped.
* Incremented Project Verion to 1022
* combined obstructed & offtarget curves into one another
* removed deprecated obstructed curves
* updated affected Blueprints
* added support for Curve_Offtarget_AnchorRot in animation blueprints
* updated base rifle & handgun offtarget curves to add low/high ready & low/high obstructed
* updated GBCharacterMovement
* removed deprecated functions/code
* updated affected C++/Blueprints
* updated ladder movement to make forward always = up, backwards always = down, regardless of view angle
* updated GBCharacter
* removed deprecated functions/code
* updated affected C++/Blueprints
* added temp fix for running while engaged arm jitter - a "FastWalkSpeed" to use against IsRunning() etc.
* updated BP_BoxCar
* rolled back mesh to one that included ladders.
* renamed BoxCar_EastEuro to S_BoxCar_EastEuro
* updated collision to take ladders into account
* added ladder support to all ladders
* ensured doors were in sync between server client
* ensured side ladders are enabled/disabled based on related doors being open/closed
* created BP_TankerCar
* updated S_Train_TankerCar_A simple collision to better match actual mesh
* added support for its one ladder based on BP_BoxCar
* removed need for animation blueprint in BP_Door_Rollup
* removed deprecated ABP_Warehouse_Door_Rollup_A
* updated BP_Explosion_M67 to change how it determines what to damage
FIXME - still possibly to avoid damage by becoming intimate with poles :(
* created BP_Explosion_Smoke_Master
* spawns a visibility blocking collision sphere expands/contracts to prevent AI seeing through
* updated all smoke grenades to use this as their base explosions
* removed erroneous spawn point for AI in DM-TankerShip
* added additional nav mesh modifiers to Tankship_Geo to prevent possible AI navigation issues.
* added missing low obstructed to rifle curves
* created bDefaultOffTargetToHighReady player setting
* allows the player to default to high ready instead of low.
* created GrenadeSwitch player setting
* optiosn include prev items (default), similar grenades or nothing (old).
* removed way out of date ABP_Character_OLD
v1021 is now out of the testing branch and the default branch for Ground Branch. Please see the changelists from the past 1021 Testing builds to see what is new if you haven't been on the Testing branch.
We have also started putting together users guides in the Guides section. First up is how to setup a Dedicated Server.