GROUND BRANCH

1.0??? i put this game down for years to let developers cook and still feels like it was when i left it. still no functioning bipods? Just gonna stick to Arma then

I have to agree with the criticism of the 1.0 release. The game is good for what it is if you've already owned Ground Branch and know what to expect. There is a massive lacking of new content in the 1.0 release, which makes the transition out of early access extremely weak. It's a shame because this is one of my favorite military shooter sims.

I’ve racked my brains to come up with a fair assessment, but it’s unnecessary now—this game can be simply summed up in a single word: FAKE. No matter how it tries to present itself as some sort of realistic, hardcore game, ironically it’s neither realistic nor hardcore; it doesn’t even qualify as a game. I believe the community modders deserve to put their talents to better use, rather than wasting them here on a bunch of Devs who lack any passion for gaming. The failure of *Ground Branch* isn’t down to the studio being understaffed or the programmers lacking ability; rather, the team simply treated working on this game and interact with *Spiritual Shareholders* as a form of pastime. They’ve remained stuck in the very EA stage for all time, constantly wallowing in self-satisfaction and substituting fancy rhetoric for genuine effort. Yes, if you’re willing to support them and choose to believe in some sort of *Online Tactics Religion*, no problem waiting for the day these slackers actually deliver something. But honestly, mate, your time could been doing something more meaningful.

I supported this game for 7 years and this is not ready for a 1.0 release. I am disappointed.

Pre 1.0 I would have 1000% recommended this game. After the update, not so much. The AI are broken beyond belief for a "1.0 ready game" and will one shot you from distance even on the lowest difficulty. We've also noticed that the AI will trace players through the wall and will prefire as you round the corner. It's really sad to see a game I've put a lot of time into shoot itself in the foot with an incomplete and partially broken release. I hope the devs take the feedback many players have given and don't just hit us with the "check your corners and git gud."

Crazy that this is marked as 1.0

I really want to like this game and recommend it, but I can't. Every step forward with this game is dozens of steps backwards. Ground Branch has been an "early access" passion project for nearly 2 decades, despite having such an extended development phase and its official 1.0 release, this game still plays like a beta. IMO the game just isn't "1.0". Please take your money elsewhere. I can't support these developers anymore, and for once, its not because they're slimy or shady. In general the game is good, but its just not there yet for a "full" release and I question their decision to label the game as such. All the fun I've had playing this game [b]with friends[/b] is overshadowed by the excessively drawn out development, lack of progress in said development, poor optimization in every aspect, poor feature implementation for core gameplay mechanics, and the inability for BlackFoot to complete content one would expect ready on 1.0 release, such as the "special slot" in the armory and an actual campaign that has progression/unlocks and doesn't gain its "replay-ability" from countless retries due to poor level/game design and [i]infuriatingly unrealistically perceptive[/i] AI. AI, mind you, that still gets stuck walking into a wall and yelling "I HEAR SOMETHING!". [b]The "special slot" in the armory is STILL unimplemented, despite the official 1.0 release.[/b] What do you mean "This slot is not available at this time. It may still be in development or temporarily disabled.", for a 1.0 release, where's the tac shield, battering ram, breaching shotgun, or lockpick? We just get grenades and/or a breaching charge on your plate carrier. Nevermind the numerous bugs which STILL persist in 1.0, relating to movement, inputs, and AI logic/pathing. Make your game "feature complete" for the full release. Seriously, did BlackFoot even playtest the first mission of the "campaign"? There's an exceedingly high % chance for an exterior door to be locked, meaning, you cant open it. This results in a lot of running around trying to find an unlocked door if you're trying to remain stealthy. The only way to open the door is to either blow it up or shoot the handle, both of which, even with a suppressed weapon, alert the enemy. I argue you NEED the element of surprise to have a chance against the AI. The concept of stealth is there, but practically impossible. You get 20 minutes to eliminate the target and (optionally) collect intel in this first mission. As a completionist, its not optional, I'm completing it. I spent 10 of those minutes just running around making sure the compound is clear, then another 7 mins collecting intel, leaving 3 minutes to get to exfil, except the exfil you see [b]isn't the real one[/b]. It changes at the last second when you get there; TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MAP. After doing all that, I get 3 minutes to eliminate patrolling hostiles and work my way west through a field to the new exfil. Hostiles, which can see better in the dark than you can with night vision, and have better accuracy than you do regardless of what gun you or the enemy may be using, meaning you can't just sprint full speed across the field to the new exfil. Made it nearly all of the way to the REAL exfil, only for the mission to end because I took too long. Either remove the arbitrary timer, or rework your missions to be reasonably completable without bullsh*t eating up the time causing you to inevitably fail. Yes, [i]some[/i] of this is "skill issue", but this supposed "skill issue" is being exasperated by poor game design choices. It shouldn't take 15 minutes to clear a compound that small and collect the intel, but that's how BAD the enemy AI is. Sometimes you're shot with ZERO time to react, shoot back, or run for cover. Sometimes, you're shot dead before you even fully peek an enemy you know is there, like they can see you through the wall and shoot WAY too soon, before you're even visible to them and you can see them. You have to play like they have XRAY vision and that means going SLOW, SLOWER than the amount of time you're given permits for.

Fake v1.0