GROUND BRANCH News

CTE Update #13

We wanted to get a few more important fixes in before the 1032 release tomorrow.

Changelist:

* fixed issue in Tanker level 5 hallway where light would turn off when it shouldn't
* set footwear, grenades and base weapon to no longer recieve decals
    * Takes care of so called "optical camo" effect where ground decals would be applied to 
       weapons/characters
    * will still effect weapon attachments for now
* cleaned up metal hit effect so has less smoke
* added rail adapter to G3A3
* overall iteration on weapon recoil
* updated GBCharacter
    * added current/target aimcenteroff/recoil info to debug area
    * added logic to PickupItem() to clear NextInvItem for pickup target and all children to prevent infinite 
       loop in inventory list on clients.
    * added runaway loop check to GetInventoryList() with logging.
* added logic to AGBDroppedItem::OnRep_AssociatedItem() to clear NextInvItem for pickup target and all 
       children to prevent infinite loop in inventory list on clients.
* added missing ammo check montages for M1014, M110, M110K1, M14EBR, SDASS & SVD.
    * animations existing, but montages were missing, so they were still pointing at AR15 version.

Game:
Build ID : 8089799
61MB

DS:
Build ID : 8089823
31MB

CTE Update #12

Well we thought the last build would be our last, but a few issues are still happening that must be fixed.
The good news is we definitely will be releasing 1032 to the main branch sometime within the next 4 or 5 days and it will be included in a popular Steam sales event. ;)

We really want to make sure this is a very solid release.

Changelist:
* tweaked fuse boxes (BP_LightZone) so that handle reset happened on clients not server only. Everything should reset properly
* fixed handgun reload charge not respecting SlideLockedOpen
* tweaked tablet UI to try fix player list not scaling
    * this will likely be broken in rare cases where there are more than two squads or lots of players - needs iterating in 1032.1
* fixed flip up irons sights & front sight pots not visually matching final state in character & item editors.
* Added Ambient Cubmap to Daytime in The Farm map to help lighten up te dark areas
* made breaching charge pickupable
* Added missing mag insert sounds for AR-15 _End reloads
- Removed AmbientCubeMap from Ready Room PPVolume - Was causing issues with beig to light on some maps
* fixed mag check for pistols in ready position
* Fixed AK74 single shot rate of fire
    * Was a lot slower than it should be
* clicking while gun is high or low ready will fully consume the input and bring to forward(?) ready
   * previously it fired if you held LMB but it was inconsistent between crouched and standing, and was a bit of a short delay
* updated map tablet so that time of day and time remaining was displayed correctly whether or not tablet was initially opened in ready room
   * also added a scale box on mission objectives so that custom game modes can break it only so much
* removed recol offset being added to camera
* fixed new MK46 mag ceasing to animate when attached to MK46.
* cleaned up how recoil is applied to weapons
* updated AGBPlayerCameraManager::UpdateFirstPersonView() to add just the recoil offset pitch to the camera rotation, if NoRecoil cheat is fale.
* Tweaked Mk46 recoil settings 
    * Added a small bit of side to side as well so it doesn't just climb to the right

Game:
Build ID : 8066024
56MB

DS:
Build ID : 8066031
27MB

CTE Update #11

This is what we hope to be the last CTE update before moving 1032 to the main branch. Just about there!

Game:
Build ID : 8053926
136MB

DS:
Build ID : 8053938
80MB

- squads in tablet layout now placed in two columns and should scale down with large player counts
- ready room floating name sizes tweaked
- minor changes to UI effects and layout
- freelooking with tablet fixed
- new animation selector implemented (using new GOAP plugin) with new equipping and unequipping animations implemented
- fix for red dots disappearing on firearms
- detonator is now droppable
- drop and pickup actions made less janky
- kill house target app now disallows starting with 0 enemy and disallows changing enemy/friendly count during a round
- general stability and crash fixes
- art pass on AOR-1 and AOR-2 camos
- added equip/unequip sounds for tablet, grenade, binos, breaching charge
- various sound fixes including on training level
- log warnings generally cleaned up - should make things a bit less laggy
- added missing rifle to shoulder/shoulder to rifle anim actions
- fixed weapon collision trace start ended up behind capsule in high/low ready rifle (i.e. the rogue collision when backing into wall)
- added ambient cubemap to Ready Room to help with overly dark metallic surfaces like weapons and shell casings
- tweaked sway intensity to make aiming down iron sights easier
- fixed AI barks not working at all
- fixed rangefinder not being usable
- new sounds for handgun end reload animations
- mag check icon cleaned up
- tweak to M14 recoil when not aiming down sights
- replaced MP5 straight mag in pouches with the in-game curved mag
- fixed M14 not showing ammo out message
- fixed various bugs in spline mesh tool
- added breach charge attachment sockets to a few more doors that had been missed, affecting Compound, Tanker, City and maybe other levels
- spline meshes in Compound converted to static meshes due to out of sync collision - should reduce log spam and hopefully also reduce rubber-banding
- default setup of various platforms swaps out long grenade types for frags
- added City (Streets) and City (Subway) terrorist hunt missions, and replaced existing full map mission with a combination of these two
- fixed floating laptop in Compound intel retrieval missions

CTE # 10

Only a couple big items left to fix. Should be counting days until final 1032 release and not weeks now.

Big thing for this build is we updated Wwise (Sound engine) to take care of some bugs. Hopefully most, if not all the big sound problems we have had in the CTE builds are now gone or severely minimized.

Known Issue:
- kit restrictions are a work in progress and likely to be bugged, especially if you change them mid-game

Game:
Build ID : 8029971
119MB

DS:
Build ID : 8029976
41MB

Changelist:

- clean-up audio work on Storage Facility and Run Down
- breach charge attachment points added to Rig bulkhead doors
- small adjustments to G3 sights that help with initial aiming when first ADS
- wwise updated to latest version
- lots of small things under the hood to improve stability and reduce log spam
- new character head icons
- tablet screen brightness tweaked
- updated extraction point icon
- visual overhaul of team elements (~squads) icons and colours
- new mission variants: Compound (Close Spawns) for Intel Retrieval; Compound (Compound Only) and 747 (Plane Only) for Terrorist Hunt
- fixes to items culling out too fast in City
- fixed issue with G33 Magnifier flipping back to 'in use' position based on LOD
- changed opening direction of 2 doors in Compound that were opening into other larger ones
- optimization to player and firearm attachments by setting bUseAttachParentBound to true where appropriate
- Mk46 reload animations fixed up
- item equip/unequip animations patched up (is a WIP)
- fix for floating item setup view
- player blips and clickable target positions removed from training map ops board
- time of day input widget now much more flexible with regard to input times, e.g. 17 is taken to be 1700
- admin button should only appear for admins on DS and for listen server hosts
- re-generated soundbanks with new version of Wwise
- increased occlusion effect on VoIP, voice lines and footsteps
- OnDuty field on server roster now works, will cull text if too many admins for space
- tweaked name plates (RR and Spectator) to work better with new team element icons
- changed materials on RR roster boards to bring colours under control
- fixed light intersecting trigger guard on M17 pistol
- various fixes in general to lighten player and firearm materials
- also turned off extra PPVolume in Compound and reduced contrast
- added in an AmbientCubeMap to Compound PP to help with dark metallic surfaces (weapons) in areas without direct light (WIP, day only)
- added GroundBranch/Props/GameMode to cook list (extraction points were being missed out of builds and not loading in IR missions)
- added camo directional masks for ACU and ACU rolled shirts
- adjusted brightness of various pants and shirts greyscale base map
- fixed white area on M4 upper reciever/dust cover
- created base material instance for each shirt type

CTE Update #9

The changelists are getting smaller as the outstanding issues get resolved. We have a few known issues to be aware of though.

Known Issues:

- People's kits will break if they were using custom platforms
- Some network latency (Rubberbanding) may show up with high network traffic (high ping and/or lots of players/AI firing at once)
- Still a few sound issues during gameplay to iron out
- kit restrictions have had a pass but may not work 100% at this time

Main Items:

- Breaching Charge placement on doors fixed
- Should no longer be able to hear other players in opposing Ready Room
- Stance indicator in HUD is now on by default (Can turn off in Settings)
- Voting/Map Change kicking players fixed
- Work on Kit Restriction functionality for online play

Game:
Build ID : 8008453
117MB

DS:
Build ID : 8008467
59MB

Detailed Changes:
* Removed some badging on a couple vehicles
* revised the new map voting restrictions to avoid using admin commands (causing disconnection of non admins starting votes)
* took out a load of logging from various game mode scripts
* Changed default behavior for bShowStanceCrouched and bShowStanceStanding to True
* Easy way to help new players have an idea how the weapon posture/stance stuff works.
* Fixed small collision issue with tarp on Power Station roof
* Changed spatial volumes priority in Ready Room to 20 to make sure it's always highest - should help with hearing the other team from customization room.
* Fix for black ceilings in and wall LOD incompound
* adjusted BP_Door_Swinging so that breach charges should work better - now uses sockets in door meshes with a backup
system if no sockets found
* updated and improved breach charge placement - now uses socket rotation to determine correct side of door for charge
(is much more robust)
* added additional phys geo to G33 magnifier to make sure it blocks offset rails that would otherwise clip with it in the
down position.
* updated WBP_StanceIndicator to update logic related to high/low ready when also engaged.
* Cleaned up balaclava head mask as some areas of the face were masked out that shouldn't have been
* Added icon for map tablet
* updated BP_Firearm_Master
* removed param from ChangeReloadHint() and renamed it to just ShowReloadHint().
* updated ShowReloadHint() show alternate reload hints based on ammo compoent, chambered round type etc.
e.g. if mag with ammo is in firearm, but there is no chambered round, it will prompt user to tap reload to wrack the bolt.
* updated shotguns to not have separate UseMainHand anymore.
* slightly tweaked GBCharAnimAction to try to fix issues with getting locked into manually pumping the SDASS
* moved some logic from GBKitFunctionLibrary to GBAssetManager.
* updated GBAssetManager
* updated GetValidSkinNames() and RestrictedAsset() to add AssetTypeName param.
* renamed GetValidSkins( ) to GetValidSkinDataAssets() and added AssetTypeName param.
Skins are stored based on the asset type they are associated with as they do not have a primary asset id.
* created RestrictedPrimaryAsset() for use with assets that do have a primary asset id, to save using RestrictedAsset() with AssetTypeName set to None.
* updated GBGameState to support changing UseTeamRestrictions game rule mid-game.
* no longer have to restart the map etc.
* updated BP_Platform_XXX
* fixed socket names on meshes.
* updated default setup to make sure correct names were being used.
* should fix misc floating pouches, overlapping pouches etc.
* updated default team kits & restrictions
* Blue team can use Black, Blue & Navy.
* Red team can use Tan, Khaki & CoyoteBrown.
* updated WBP_ServerBrowser to make the password text box use the "password" setting to hide the password being typed in.
* removed unused WBP_Friend