[KFORF Blue UK]

Having just been on the Main Website http://groundbranch.com/features/ a TOTAL pure sight for sore eyes Greeted me ! NO UNLOCKS OR KILL STREAKS !! Thats it im buying this game for that reason alone !!!

Then the more i read the more i seen that is going to make this game stand above the rest ...

[WhiteKnight77]

I have always felt achievements in an Tac-Sim was totally against what the genre was about. Maybe that is just me, but I am not interested in having them included. They might be fine for games like UT or Halo, or even CoD, but then, those are run and gun games.

[Comunitext]

I never understood what all the arcade e-points were all about. I don't want to feel special for playing your game!
i want the game to feel special for me :]

[bangurdead]

exactly, its hard to have a tactical game when all the attachments and gadgets are locked away...

[Kirq]

Comunitext, on 22 April 2012 - 10:20 PM, said:

I don't want to feel special for playing your game! i want the game to feel special for me :]

That's a quote worth remembering, and maybe even worth to be used in KS campaign.

[SiC-Disaster]

Haha yeah, even though I didnt expect them to be in it's awesome to see it confirmed regardless.
Unlocks etc. give a shallow game something to shoot for, a truely deep gaming experience doesn't need a stick on a carrot for players to chase after. The gameplay experience and improving one's tactical skill is a reward all in itself.

Achievements can be fun though, but only if done right. Which for me would mean something that enhances peoples playstyle, like 'have a room secure in under x seconds', 'stick around with your teammembers for the entire game', 'cover your buddies back' etc. and not the generic 'make 10 headshots, u r uber!' kind.
You know, stuff that hints towards some of the teamplay aspects one could involve oneself in. But having said that, achievements are completely unnecessary because as I said before, a true tactical shooter doesn't need a carrot on a stick to chase after.
But achievements are not inherently bad. Starcraft 2 for instance also has achievements while still being a pretty hardcore experience online. And these achievements allow you to unlock additional portraits, and not units or better weapons etc (Looking at you, Wargame!)

[Witzbold]

Yeah usually things like unlocks or hell even achievements is what cause players to sometimes not act as a team and just go off doing their own thing just to gain said unlock or achievement. The most current example would be with battlefield 3. Having to get kills with said weapon to unlock accessories for the firearms causes folks to focus more on kills rather than objectives. It just should have been an "exp" or "point" meter instead with each weapon, that way doing things that awards points in general is what adds to the unlocks instead of just targeting other players for those kills.

Other games seem to do it well, so when an achievement pops up you get the feeling of "Oh hey cool" then go about on your merry way with the game.

[Jsonedecker]

Achievements can be done in a way that fits the genre. We have discussed it more than a few times and have some novel ideas to make them focused on things that matter to the type of player that likes Ground Branch. However, there are not currently plans to have them because in all honesty people would get up in arms over it because they think it would be like game X or Y. Guilt by association and we have better things to spend out time on.

[galzohar]

Achievements won't hurt as long as they don't encourage abusive play in MP, which when thinking about it will be hard to avoid. For example, someone trying to reach that "100 headshots" achievement might make your team lose too much. Maybe only count stuff towards achievements if they were done during a round your team actually won. Or just stick to SP/COOP-only achievements, like finishing a mission fast enough, with no injures, or whatever, and then maybe an achievement for finishing the mission with everything (faster enough AND without injuries AND whatever).

Of course if it takes away from more important stuff, that alone hurts the game badly enough to just avoid achievements altogether. Replayability can always be achieved by simply having higher difficulty settings or different versions with small changes of the same mission.

Edited by galzohar, 23 April 2012 - 05:01 PM.

[Flogger23m]

Jsonedecker, on 23 April 2012 - 08:14 AM, said:

Achievements can be done in a way that fits the genre. We have discussed it more than a few times and have some novel ideas to make them focused on things that matter to the type of player that likes Ground Branch. However, there are not currently plans to have them because in all honesty people would get up in arms over it because they think it would be like game X or Y. Guilt by association and we have better things to spend out time on.

That sounds great. The only problem is if you release it on Steam - don't all Steam games require achievements?

[Fumarole]

Please, by all means leave them out.

[Jsonedecker]

Flogger23m, on 23 April 2012 - 07:33 PM, said:

That sounds great. The only problem is if you release it on Steam - don't all Steam games require achievements?

No. It has a mechanism to add them but they are not required.

[UKJack]

I'm really looking forward to an intelligent FPS with modern day graphics! Nice to see the satisfaction of completing the mission as the impetus once again! Missed playing this type of game since the buggy but fun Hidden and Dangerous and the early Rainbows. Glad the game is back on my radar!

Edited by UKJack, 25 April 2012 - 06:22 AM.

[USAgent]

We really love the teaser Vid you posted, I will make sure all the squad buys it upon release. Keep up the good work and good luck. It looks like you have formed and are forming a fantastic community Here. I hope to be part of it, if I can help let me know.

[Kirq]

USAgent, on 25 April 2012 - 02:07 PM, said:

We really love the teaser Vid you posted, I will make sure all the squad buys it upon release.

Why not "pre-ordering" it during kickstarter campaign?

[KFORF Blue UK]

Please please no NO UNLOCKS OR KILL STREAKS !!

[Jsonedecker]

From the Kickstarter page:

No Killstreaks or Unlocks: Yes, to us, this is a feature!

[USAgent]

Kirq, on 25 April 2012 - 02:23 PM, said:

Why not "pre-ordering" it during kickstarter campaign?

I didnt know you could do that, is that an option really? I understood it to be further out as it wasnt in alpha? When the kickstarter campaign comes out if that is an option sure why not.

[zoog]

USAgent, on 26 April 2012 - 07:42 AM, said:

I didnt know you could do that, is that an option really? I understood it to be further out as it wasnt in alpha? When the kickstarter campaign comes out if that is an option sure why not.

You can pledge for a project on kickstarter. If the goal amount they need is met within a certain time frame everyone who pledged will pay what they said they would. If the goal amount is not met nobody has to pay. Certain amounts have certain rewards tied to them. Usually it starts at about $15,- pledge which will get you just the game, the more you pledge the more rewards you will get (like collectors edition, extra copies of the game, game art, sound track etc. etc.). I don't know what the starting amount for GB will be in order to get the game when finished. It's all up to BFS.

So basically your pledge makes it all happen and your reward will be the finished game with or without extra stuff. If you're planning on buying GB, it's better to buy it during the KS campaign. Because a. you will support the development and make it possible to finish the game and b. usually it's cheaper than the retail version. So it's kind of a pre-order, but you'll have to wait a bit longer.

[=WO=TekHousE]

Great that we are not having unlocks.

As most games are really not so far behind this right now: