I thought I'd read some time ago that they would be doing an early access type thing, is this still going ahead? Is the game still alive?

I was just thinking about that today too. First time I even remembered the game after Takedown turned out so bad. Now I'm really curious.

I entirely expect it to tank hardcore like Takedown. They've seriously been in development for what seems like about a decade, and after all that time there's just about the same amount of stuff to show off as Takedown.

I suspect you already know this, but just in case - the developer posted the following on August 15 (screenshot not included):

I know we seem to be going slow (We are ), but I thought I’d show something I’ve been working on lately….. Ground Branch will use the concept of a ‘Team Room’ as a place to start the game from. It is here where you will customize your gear, set up missions, receive and go over intel as well as hang out with teammates before, during and after MP and co-op missions. There will also be oppurtunities to customize your Team Room as well.

One part of your Team Room is the Operations Room that is shown here. This is where the Intel/Mission magic happens and every one of these monitors/screens will be interactive for various purposes. This is a clean unaltered screen grab from the editor and I’m sure you can get an idea of what some things do just by looking around.

We are using an HTML/JavaScript based UI system for the interactive screens so there are some really unique possibilities we are exploring.

We know the pace is slow… much slower than we would like, but we are still here and still committed to Ground Branch!

-John

My 2cents - I've been honored to be a part of many games in development, and games that keep the schedule that GroundBranch is keeping never finish well.....if they finish at all.

Yes, I've noticed that "when it's done" is only ok as a public release date. If you don't have an internal one that is relatively close (ie less than 12 months) you just have no urgency.

Remember id software, makers of Doom and Quake? Starting with I believe Doom 3 they switched to the "when it's done" model and their products have arguably declined steadily. Doom 4 has been redone at least once, possibly twice so far. RAGE was a disaster. Quake 5 is...who knows.

Ground Branch needs to be Rainbow Six: Raven Shield not Lockdown. Doom 2 not Doom 4.



Takedown? That's what happens when you run out of money. You get an Unreal mod.





The Jedi Master

I wouldn't say that. They have shown off some stuff which puts every other game in the genre to history, such as the loadout editing. It makes ArmA look extremely limiting.

I don't doubt they can deliver a quality product, though I do doubt they can actually deliver a product. There are currently only two people working on it (part time as I understand). They did mention that they brought on an animation studio some time back, but we have not heard much about them since. They need more workers and money otherwise I just don't see it ever coming out.

Early Access has been released to contributors and I believe there will be a free public build in the next few months. But it sounds to be very limited; as in just basic shooting/moving mechanics and not much else. Not sure if good mechanics, regardless of how good they are, is enough to gather much interest.

Progress is progress and a tech demo for moving/shooting mechanics is nice. But one would have hoped for a more substantive build by now.