From one of the lead artists behind the original
Rainbow Six and
Ghost Recon games,
GROUND BRANCH puts the "tactical" back in "tactical shooter"—no compromises.
Play as Ground Branch, the elite paramilitary arm of the CIA's Special Activities Division/Special Operations Group (SAD/SOG) and lead other special operations forces through challenging deniable ops all over the globe. With deliberate, calculated and unforgiving gameplay, GROUND BRANCH is the true rebirth of the tactical realism genre of the late '90s and early 2000s, powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 4.
KEY FEATURES
- Use small unit tactics to get the job done in single player, 10-player co-op and 5v5 adversarial game modes (final player capacities TBD).
- Unprecedented customization: Select your character's complete kit, from individual outfit items to detailed vest and weapon customization.
- True First-Person System: See your operator as it is seen by other players in the game world, look around independently from where you weapon and body are facing (free-look), and mind your muzzle as it collides with the environment.
The following is a comprehensive list of both working and planned features:
General
- Squad-based, team-oriented gameplay.
- Minimal HUD with multiple optional elements.
- No pre-defined squad roles—equip yourself as you want.
- AI development by industry veteran and AI researcher Phil Carlisle: Use squad commands to take on challenging enemies alongside competent AI teammates.
- No gear unlocks, hit markers, kill confirmations or score pop-ups.
Weapons and gear
- Fully customizable weapons: Setup your weapons how you choose, with numerous attachments (sights, lasers, lights, grips, muzzle devices, offset rails and even risers) that operate as they do in the real world. Where and how you place certain sights and accessories along the rails realistically affect how they function.
- Authentic reloads: Choose between tactical and speed reloads (retaining or dropping the current magazine, respectively), each with their own pros and cons as well as realistic, individual animations that can be interrupted. Each magazine tracks how many rounds it contains at any given time.
- Collision: Your weapon is truly inside the game world and will collide with objects in it, making length a real factor.
- Weapon positions: In addition to the traditional point-shooting and aiming down the sights (ADS) postures of most FPS games, GROUND BRANCH allows you to use low- and high-ready weapon positions for various situations where greater muzzle control, increased field of view or rest may be necessary.
- Accurate (but not overly complicated) ballistics model: Rounds originate from the muzzle of the weapon (no "cone-fire"), while bullet drop, stopping power and penetration are all simulated based on caliber/cartridge type.
- Supported shooting: Use folding bipods or brace your weapon on the environment to stabilize your aim.
- Varied arsenal: Multiple handguns, submachine guns, carbines, assault and battle rifles, machine guns, DMRs, sniper rifles and explosives to choose from, with selectable ammunition type (e.g. full metal jacket, hollow point or subsonic rounds, smoke grenade color etc.).
Character and inventory
- Customize your character's basic appearance as well as headgear, eyewear, shirt, pants, footwear, gloves and vest, along with colors/camos for each item.
- Appropriate and realistic playable female characters.
- Setup your vest platform with individual item pouches and place them where you want them. What you visibly attach to your character is what you'll carry onto the mission.
- Unlimited saved load-outs, which can be created, named and edited both offline and inside server lobbies.
- Realistic representation of equipment use: NVGs need to be flipped down before use, grenades need to be equipped, aimed and thrown, primary weapons will hang in front of a characters' chest as they draw another item, and so on. Equipping items takes time, and changes are visible on characters.
- Weapons and other items can be picked up or dropped on the battlefield, and magazines and gear can be shared with teammates.
Movement and damage
- Standing, crouched and prone stances, with multiple movement speeds per posture.
- Accurately and realistically jump, vault and clamber onto and over obstacles.
- Lean, peek or step out of cover to engage the enemy. "Slice the pie" while leaning to maintain a reduced profile.
- What (and how much) you take into combat matters: The encumbrance system takes the weight and bulk of items into account, affecting your movement and actions noticeably—but not drastically.
- No regenerating health or health packs. Administer first aid to non-lethal injuries for reduced combat effectiveness.
- Location damage model: Expect visible injuries and consequences, such as limping, reduced arm functions, and/or hits to stamina and accuracy. Players immobilized from a non-lethal injury can stay in the fight.
- Carry teammates to safety to administer first aid—or to safely recover their ammo, gear, cargo or body if they are no longer alive.
Game world and mission design
- Based on unique environments all over the world, the non-linear mission and map designs offer multiple entry points and open-ended results.
- Know concealment from hard cover: Like bullets, different materials and surfaces have specific penetration values.
- Fully functioning doors that can be opened/closed partially and at variable speeds, as well as breached with weapons and explosives.
- Full-featured training areas for both individual and multiplayer practice, including killhouses with randomly generated target placement and configurable number of "enemy" and "friendly" targets.
- Enemies are spawned at mission start, with a degree of randomization to quantity and location. No "monster closets" or magic enemy spawns based on player location or mission progress.
- GROUND BRANCH's unique "campaign" format will deliver smaller, more localized sets of missions based around global hotspots, with a centralized intelligence interface to monitor them and receive new mission orders over time. The choices you make along the way may affect future engagements.
- Complete missions individually or with friends, and keep track of previous mission results.
- Map variation: In addition to day and night versions as well as weather variation, maps have small details that can change between rounds, such as doors and windows that may be open, closed or blocked.
Multiplayer and servers
- Multiple co-op and adversarial (PvP) game modes.
- Ready Room: A physical multiplayer lobby where you can plan your approach, see your teammates' loadouts, test weapon configurations on a firing range and jointly select insertion points.
- Full—and free—dedicated server support. Host a server wherever you want!
- In-game VOIP: Use directional/proximity (3D) voice chat, set comms channels within teams and mute users (or yourself) at any time. Team/global text chat also available.
- Create your own arm/headgear unit patches.
- Full support for MP ladders.
- After-action review (AAR) following each mission/round.
- Server-side options.
Others
- Full mod support.
- Controller support.
