A necessary shift: from Lua to C++ and UE4 Blueprint
As we continue development, we’ve made another difficult but crucial decision to refactor the game’s core logic—including all game modes/missions as well as much of the UI, the Mod Kit and more—away from [b]Lua[/b] and into native [b]C++[/b] and [b]UE4 Blueprint[/b]. This foundational change is the main source behind this delay, but we are confident it’s the right long-term path for GROUND BRANCH. Our initial Lua-based systems ultimately proved unfit for purpose: over time, more and more critical logic was pushed into C++ and Blueprint to meet performance and complexity demands, which ironically negated Lua’s main benefit: rapid iteration. The system became redundant, and we simply lack the resources to properly develop and maintain two separate scripting environments. [quote]???? Though mods will also be affected and that is of course unfortunate, we have assessed that the vast majority of Lua-tagged mods are actually maps created in the [b]Mission Editor[/b], with only a tiny fraction being true Lua-based projects.[/quote] A proper [b]map editor[/b] will ultimately provide more power and flexibility than the current Mission Editor + Lua combo could offer. The possibilities exposed by robust Blueprint support far outweigh what our current Lua systems can achieve, and it aligns with modern development practices. Also, new programmers joining the project are already familiar with UE4’s native C++ and Blueprint workflow, allowing them to become productive much faster. While this transition means a much longer wait than we’d like, it paves the way for a more stable, performant, and moddable GROUND BRANCH for years to come. We appreciate your patience as we work to get this right! Other updates and changes One of the more popular PvP game modes in the game, [b]Hostage Rescue[/b], will finally return in Patch V1035.2 as all game modes are rebuilt with C++/Blueprint logic. The update will also introduce a new [b]Kit Restrictions[/b] system for server-side customization, a complete [b]door rework[/b] to (among other things) hopefully resolve long-standing replication issues alongside new [b]VFX[/b] and the return of [b]frag and smoke grenade[/b] abilities for enemy AI. On the gear front, you can expect new weapons like a stock (factory) [b]G36K[/b] carbine, the [b]AUG A1[/b] and [b]F88SA2[/b] assault rifles, new [b]Galil[/b] variants, as well as updated models for the [b]HWS 553[/b] (and a couple of new holo sights!), a remade [b]ASR[/b], revised [b]M110[/b] and [b]M110K1 [/b]models to fix proportions, a new [b]MS2000 IR strobe[/b], and a cleanup of the [b]Tan/Coyote Brown[/b] platforms and pouches, among other updates.
[i][b]HWS 551[/b] holo sight[/i]
[i]Updated platforms and pouches in [b]Coyote Brown[/b] (formerly Tan), as well as the new [b]MS2000[/b] strobe model and the [b]HWS 552[/b] holo sight on the M16A4 rifle[/i]
[i][b]Galil SAR[/b][/i]
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We hope to have [b]Patch V1035.2[/b] ready in a few weeks.
Stay tuned and thank you for sticking with us!