GROUND BRANCH

Save 20% on GROUND BRANCH until November 26! 2

• – To celebrate this release, we've set up a 20% discount on Steam. It will be live for 2 weeks (until November 26) so make sure you spread the word and don't miss out!
• – https://store.steampowered.com/app/16900/GROUND_BRANCH/

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General 1

Operations — Chapter 1 4

• – A new hotspot is available in Operations mode: the Persian Gulf. It features 3 new missions set in maps Docks, Rig and Tanker.
• –

  💡 The Persian Gulf hotspot becomes available upon completing Northwest Pakistan.

  🎦 You may need to watch out for security cameras in some of these new missions (more on those in the "Enemy AI" section).

• – Both the Prologue's Northwest Pakistan and the new Persian Gulf hotspots now have unique Ready Rooms. The former is a hideout in a local house, while the latter is set aboard an aircraft carrier.
• – Unavailable hotspots and missions are now displayed as "Classified" on the Operations Map and mission list respectively.

Intelligence Archive 2

• – A new menu is now available in Operations mode: the Intelligence Archive . To open it, simply click the INTELLIGENCE button in the bottom-right of the Operations Map.
• – As you complete missions, intel dossiers and images for factions, individuals and locations will be added to the archive.

Operations — new AI character archetypes 5

Gameplay 5

Combat and aim 4

• – Fixed enemy AI shooting before they'd actually aimed (e.g. while turning). Every burst now waits until they're on target
• – Enemies now take their reaction time every time they reacquire you, not just on first contact.
• – How well AI lead moving targets now depends on difficulty level (it was previously perfect at every level).
• – Trained/Experienced/Veteran enemies now have a little aim spread (they previously had none).

Detection and night visibility 3

• – Reworked AI light levels, or how easily AI can spot you: ensured it respects time of day and moon phases, counts nearby lights by real brightness, and updates 10 times per second (was previously updated every 0.4–1.3 second).
• – AI investigating a noise will walk to a random spot near the source instead of the exact position.
• – Campaign missions can set their own AI hearing/sight levels (e.g. Tanker hearing = 0.7 due to noisy environment).

Grenades 1

Security (Chapter 1) 3

• – For now, these changes apply to the Persian Gulf hotspot mission(s):
• – A guard opening fire raises the security level to "Heightened".
• – A camera that spots you sends the nearest guard to check. Shot-out cameras get checked too.

Doors and movement 4

• – AI no longer stay stuck at doors (the door frees itself, and they give up after 30 seconds and find another way).
• – Fixed AI with a target waiting at a door forever.
• – Fixed AI walking through each other.
• – Fixed various navmesh issues on Tanker, Docks and Rig.

Miscellaneous 3

• – Added various other checks and restrictions to AI reactions to make combat feel more more realistic and fair.
• – Fixed an AI server crash and the stutter after killing an enemy.
• – One broken AI loadout no longer stops the rest from spawning.

Character animation and rigging 6

• – The character rig was updated with more bones, and various animations were cleaned up to reduce "snapping" and overall jankiness. This is an ongoing effort.
• – We've cleaned up instances where your point of aim (or the camera, more broadly) would "snap" to a different height when starting to move. Such transitions between stationary and moving animations are now smoothly interpolated.
• – Your weapon will no longer bounce right into the center of your view when walking while leaning.
• – Characters have received dedicated animations (and audio) for strafing left/right, with different animations for walking vs. running. This replaces the old logic that essentially rotated the lower body and played the same animations as forwards/backwards.
• – Guards and patrolling AI will now idle in place with various animations in between patrol routes.
• –

  💡 Vaulting and mantling animations had to be rolled back at the last moment due to technical issues. Those will be patched in as soon as possible.

Audio 6

• – Added audio portals to breakable windows in all mission maps. This ensures sound will travel through them once destroyed as if they were open.
• – The varying music tracks' volumes were adjusted to a more uniform level in the mix: Ready Room music is timid and quiet, while main menu music stays louder than the rest.
• – Complete reconstruction of the soundscapes, as well as spatial volumes (for better diffraction and optimization), for maps Rig and Tanker.
• – Reduced the volume of first-person player movement SFX (i.e. players should hear their own movement a little quieter).
• – Under the hood: created dynamic music system for missions, Ready Rooms and cutscenes.
• – Fixed Galil rifles using incorrect reload audio.

VFX 3

• – Blood pools will now form underneath dead characters.
• – Prolonged fire will now create a lingering vapor/heat effect that emerges from the weapon's barrel.
• – Created new water splash VFX (currently used in Persian Gulf hotspot).

Gamepad support 3

New character customization 1

New weapons 4

• – [Precision Rifle] SV-98 — The SV-98 is a Russian bolt-action, magazine-fed sniper rifle chambered in 7.62×54 mm. It is fitted with a top accessory rail for optics, plus a rail on the right side of the forearm for lasers and lights. The SV-98 has an optional suppressor and is fitted with the 1P69 3–10x scope (more on it below) by default.
• – [Machine Gun] U100 MK3 — The U100 MK3 is a Singapore-made automatic rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO and firing in full-auto only. It uses a 100-round drum magazine, making it suitable for the squad automatic weapon (SAW) role. The U100 MK3 features a long top rail that can fit optics and LAMs, plus a bottom rail for grips and other attachments. Though it has built-in iron sights, they are nearly entirely obstructed by the top rail modification, so optics are strongly recommended.
• – SV-98 sniper rifle, seen here with 1P69 3–10x scope and suppressor.
• – U100 MK3 equipped with G33 Magnifier, HWS 551, AN/PEQ-15 and Bipod Grip.

New attachments 8

This has been Build Update #069! 2

• – Thank you for keeping up with GROUND BRANCH! As usual, we'll be on stand-by to start putting together a hotfix patch if enough issues have slipped past testing.
• – We hope you enjoy this update. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Изменения 4

• – BlackFoot Studios выпустила обновление с первой главой для тактического шутера Ground Branch. Оно демонстрирует миссии в Персидском заливе, новые цели, расширенный арсенал и возможности настройки бойцов.
• – Глава добавляет задания в новом регионе, где игрокам предстоит планировать операции, продумывать действия и выполнять поставленные цели.
• – Авторы также расширили выбор оружия и персонализацию персонажей — ключевые элементы шутера, созданного разработчиком оригинальных Rainbow Six и Ghost Recon.
• – Обновление уже доступно в Steam.

Version 1.1.0 (including Chapter 1) releases November 12 3

• – That's two weeks from today!
• – We're all working hard to wrap up the new V1.1.0 update nicely, but the bulk is in there: a new Operations hotspot (Persian Gulf) with 3 new missions, our first campaign-specific Ready Rooms, several updates for the AI (including idle animations, hostage and HVT behaviors etc.), shoulder-tapping, miscellaneous animation improvements, audio tweaks, new weapons and attachments, face paint and more.

  🔗 See Intel Report #033 for details and previews if you haven't already.

  So there you have it — November 12 is when you'll be getting your hands on all of that.
• – Now, for possibly even bigger news…

GROUND BRANCH is making the move to UE5 3

⚠️ Larger previews on our website! 1