I agree with you both… my biggest complaint about the game so far is the AI and the level design. Both in Ready or Not AND in Zero Hour, both are great tactical shooter games with terrible level designs. Too big and too many doors and hideaways. Both games need to address this.
2 Likes
Agreed, things like the freeway shooter in SWAT3 or the kidnap house in SWAT4. The mission went quickly, but that’s kind the point of hitting a structure dynamically.
I think the dev’s have fallen into the classic tactical first-person shooter dev trap, they are trying to make “interesting” levels versus realistic levels. While a whole lot of SWAT 3 and 4’s levels were massive, they were to scale and believable. The TV studio or Orthodox church in SWAT3, the bank and the software office in SWAT 4, all huge but decently realistic. It’s okay to have 1 or 2 oddities in a layout, that’s what makes real life interesting, but they go over the top in RoN. For example in RoN, the tunnels at the residence, great oddity, well put together, reasonably believable in layout, size, and scope. The rest of the level is just “blah” to me. A non-sensical mismash of doors and walls.
The whole point of a tactical shooter is “realism” usually, so it’ makes sense to have realistic level design versus “interesting to be interesting” level design.
1 Like
One thing I haven’t seen in ages (and I honestly don’t recall what title it was in), after you cleared through certain sections “backup” would “secure the area” so you didn’t have to worry about it anymore. There are more than enough chokepoints in the levels to allow this to work reasonably well and help with the impression that it’s 5 guys against the whole world.
The maps are too big, interesting and tedious?! LOL!!! C’mon guys … it’s a game, not a training aid. VOID Interactive achieved this goal in 4 years (?) when BlackFoot Studios took 14 years to produce a viable product called Ground Branch!!!
I totally respect all of your opinions but if you’re a tactical shooter fan, you have to support VOID Interactive and post your feedback on their support forums. These games don’t get developed very often. 
Brilliant review! NSFW Language
2 Likes
Brilliant indeed! That reviewer really did his “research”, you know, for science! 
I learned a few things too!
1 Like
One other issue, the inability to see your iron sights using the shield. I get they are trying to nerf it a little bit, but you absolutely shoot with your sights just like usual when running a shield. Up the recoil, add more movement with the sights while moving with the shield, but let me use my irons.
Also a light pack on the shield would be a nice addition. These days even if it’s an adhoc solution I don’t know of a tac team that doesn’t run a light on their shields.
3+ gig update available. LOTSA stuff!
Click Me
New
-
Added 3 Test Maps: Valley, Fast Food and Penthouse (Heavily WIP!)
-
Working Mirrors
-
Vivox Integration
Updated
-
New Weapon Descriptions
-
Interaction ranges and icon sizes in Lobby
Fixed
-
Fixed a rare bug causing you to get stuck on the loading screen
-
Fixed rare bug where trap wires would look incorrect (when doors were fully opened)
-
Fixed broken lightmap UVs
-
Fixed team view cam sometimes going to pre-mission planning level (viewing SWAT truck)
-
Fixed Optiwand mesh not appearing in Team View Cam
-
Various bugs and crash fixes
-
Depreciated SWAT command decal markers and outlines
Gameplay
New
-
Sight swapping/toggling for new optics
-
Free Look (with option to activate through a hold or toggle). Also has a wider horizontal range of movement
-
Alarm traps
Improved
-
Better weapon offset for super wide monitors
-
Grenades now have a more centered throw trajectory
-
Improved melee system for players and AI
-
Improved melee hit detection
Updated
-
Reduced max Flashbangs and Stingers per player to 4
-
Start match time reduced to 10 seconds (previously 20 seconds)
Fixed
-
Fixed loadouts occasionally resetting
-
Fixed bug that could cause the arrest target to teleport
Graphics
New
-
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution graphics option
-
Options to disable world decals or modify their density and fade distance (significant performance improvement for some hardware)
Improved
-
More items now visible in mirror/team view
-
NVG visual overhaul
-
Several tweaks to reduce blinding the player
-
Re-enabled NVG spotlight with extremely low intensity to take care of fringe cases where there’s not enough light data
-
New LUTs for green and white phosphor options (coming soon)
-
Updated overlay material to show inner screen reflections/lighting
-
Tweaked exposure curve for better “auto-gating” in extreme light conditions
Fixed
-
Fixed some clipping issues at high FOV and low aspect ratio
-
Fixed clipping when player was in Low Ready but playing a blocking animation
-
Fixed crash on some GPUs running low settings on DX12
AI
General
Improved
-
Allow arrested AI to move
-
Increased AI step angle so they don’t get caught on small props, causing them to be stuck in place
-
Significantly improve AI enemy detection reaction time (SWAT especially)
-
Fleeing Improvements
-
No fleeing to outdoor areas
-
Reduced occurrences of AI running into you
Updated
-
Any AI can set off traps
-
Increased default number of Roamers to 3
-
Increased morale loss from SWAT bash/melee attacks
-
Tweaked Rules of Engagement
Fixed
-
Fixed roamers so they don’t try roam where they can’t go (e.g. through locked doors)
-
Fixed surrender exit bugs
-
Fixed bug with instant snap aiming
-
Fixed bug causing AI that are getting up to ‘pop’
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Fixed AI being able to see through pixel perfect gaps in geometry
-
Fixed bug causing AI to be less aggressive than intended
SWAT
Improved
-
SWAT will fire back when sensing damage (fixes SWAT getting shot and not returning fire, also allows Suspects to fire back if they they take damage through walls/doors)
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SWAT will abort arrest if target is not surrendered, or is already arrested
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SWAT now use door interactions from the center (reduces issues in tight geometry spaces where the point on the navmesh will end up on the wrong side)
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SWAT now checks if enemy is fake surrender/drawing/picking up a weapon for engagement checks (with a small buffer of time to simulate delay)
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Improved SWAT navigation for all maps
Updated
-
Reduced time spent with weapon up on suspects so they can shoot quicker
-
Stack 1/1 on door if giving a single team command (red/blue)
Fixed
-
Fixed crash if you collect evidence while giving ‘Collect Evidence’ command to SWAT
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Fixed several issues causing stalls when breaching and clearing
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Fixed giving two commands in quick succession leading to SWAT not executing the first commands
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Fixed issue where giving quick commands to different SWAT teams could have them execute on the wrong contextual data (e.g. previous door/location)
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Fixed bug that could cause the navmesh to break after using ‘Shotgun and Clear’ on a door
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Fixed SWAT executing ‘Breach and Clear’ command early.
Suspects
New
-
Hesitation Mechanic
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Reaction animation to heard gunshots
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Suspects investigate trap stimulus when trap goes off
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Suspects lower weapons against walls and doors
Improved
-
Tweaked suspect accuracy for better engagements
-
Suspects are more likely to surrender if you yell at them before they’ve targeted anybody
Updated
-
First 3 bullets that a suspect fires have an accuracy penalty
-
Suspects in Hostage Rescue now execute hostages after spotting an enemy instead of when hearing aggressive noises.
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Reduced shotgun fire rate to 1/sec (We will miss you, shotgun John Wick)
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Beanbag shotgun removed from suspects on Hotel
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Patrols can only end up inside (but can traverse outside)
Fixed
-
Fixed Suspects using trapped doors when they had been peeked open
-
Fixed Suspects spam firing
-
Fixed patrols sometimes not working
Civilians
Updated
- Halved civilian morale
Settings
New
-
Use (Only) key bind
-
Added Toggle Secondary Sight key bind. Default is bound to P
-
Added Free Look Toggle and Hold key binds
-
Advanced mirror options (anti alias, decals and dynamic shadows. disabled by default)
-
Mouse inverted options for Optiwand
Fixed
- Fixed Reload, Tactical Reload and Mag Check binds
HUD
New
- Implemented crouch animation for ‘Paper Doll’ health indicator.
Updated
- Changed heal prompt to ‘Press F to Stop Bleeding’
Fixed
- Fixed NVG Paper Doll icon not being displayed sometimes
Performance
New
- Added Performance Profiler (to capture and send performance issues to VOID)
Improved
-
Reduced VRAM usage by ~2GB
-
Loading screen improvements
-
Significantly improved Beanbag and Pepperball particle performance (especially when spammed in a small area)
-
Flashbang post process effect
-
Beanbag impact particle
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Team View & Optiwand render performance
-
Significantly improved team view/optiwand memory usage (was using 16x more memory than needed)
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Main Menu performance
-
Mirror performance
-
Rain particle FX performance
-
Potential stutter improvements
-
Performance on levels with many AI
Fixed
-
Fixed frosted glass (causing major performance hits)
-
Fixed stinger post process effects severely affecting game performance by ~50%
-
Fixed stuffer when team view/optiwand are active
Networking
New
-
Host Migration
-
Only attempt migration on Connection Lost or Connection Timeout
-
World state is saved from client perspective at the time of disconnect (getting you back into the game seamlessly)
-
Host admin game controls
Improved
-
Join random session within desired ping instead of always joining lowest ping (allows people with slightly higher ping to receive players / spreads players over more sessions)
-
Greatly optimized network performance
Updated
-
Allow joining of servers using Find Sessions running different mods if checksum is turned off(and server has checksum turned off), option available in settings.
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Modded games can now always join any server that has checksum disabled regardless of their own checksum state (vanilla games will only join modded games if this is turned off)
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Change session state in pre-login if server is full (may help with finding full servers)
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Sync movement for physics props placed in the world
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Stagger the initialization of the world over the full time to help reduce bandwidth load when starting a level
Fixed
-
Fixed ‘Time Until Bomb Explodes’ on Bomb Threat only showing for the host
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Fixed occasionally not being able to join sessions
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Fixed quit to main menu not going back to main menu if not a listen server
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Fixed being kicked when restarting the mission
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Potentially fixed some issues causing disconnections (and added further logging to determine any other causes)
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Fixed other SWAT appearing in truck for clients
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Fixed issue where light/laser could fall out of sync if used outside of network relevancy range
Weapons
New
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R7 Launcher, a magazine-fed customizable pepperball gun.
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MK.16, reliably accurate 5.56 assault rifle.
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BCM MK1, weapon skeleton with new audio/model/mesh exclusive to Supporter edition owners. No statistical advantage over other 5.56 ARs currently in game.
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SLR 47, modernized Eastern carbine boasting compactness and power.
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Added ATACR and SDR optics to M4, SBR-300, SA58, BCM MK1, Mk. 16, SR16, and HK416
Updated
-
G19 Gen5, updated model/audio for the G19.
-
P92X, updated model/audio for the M9A1.
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Reduced camera shake when shooting SA58
-
Significantly lowered UMP45 Recoil
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Shortened the SBR-300’s barrel significantly
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‘Thumb over bore’ combat grip now used for HK416, SBR-300, and SR16
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New Stinger Grenade model.
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New Flash Grenade model.
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New CS Gas Grenade model.
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Increased fire rate of AR-pattern weapons to be more realistic
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SRS optic now uses risers for HK416, SBR-300, and SR16 (if you had the SRS equipped before this change, you may have to re-equip on the workbench)
-
Corrected laser rotation when right up against an object
Fixed
-
Fixed M4A1 socket for M600V
-
Fixed double sound playing for MPX, UMP45 and SBR-300
-
Fixed brake scaling for SR16
-
Fixed shotgun accuracy
-
Fixed P92X(M9) pistol using wrong inertia values
-
Fixed G19 backplate not moving with slide
-
Fixed G19 slide plate not actually disappearing when an optic is attached
Animation
-
Fixed lowered shield reloads with Python revolver
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Fixed A-Pose when killing arrested AI
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Fixed wrongly assigned animations for m45A1 speed reload
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Fixed arrested death poses
Physics
-
Re-enabled physics prop interactions (Increased push force so you cannot get stuck on/behind them)
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Fixed collision with thrown items (Chemlights and Grenades)
Scoring
-
Scores will no longer save if game is modded
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Traps no longer impact scoring
UI
-
Removed loading screen percentage when going back to main menu (as it’s a blocking load)
-
Fixed mission select not working if two inputs were sent at the exact same time
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Fixed ‘Finding Session’ text not showing on the menu
VO
New
-
TOC Voice
-
New set of generic female voice lines
Removed
-
Removed unused voice files
-
Removed legacy/placeholder voice lines
Updated
-
Only agender Judge lines play when ordering arrests
-
Updated female civilian voice lines
SFX
-
Footstep tweaks for 3P Civilians / Suspects
-
Bump sound size for pistol melee so it doesn’t pan as player moves
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3P weapons slightly sidechain bullet impacts now
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Lowered volume for certain sidearm melee foleys
-
Tweaks to certain 3P weapons for better parity
-
Slightly lower bullet crack chance, removed EQ
-
Added updated taser assets and updated taser shot / hum
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Lower trap cut volume
-
Many tweaks to existing events across the board to minimize sound drop out
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Updated Mk. 16 / SBR300 / SA58 / Stinger sound events
-
Disabled auto activation for many sound sources to prevent leaking
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SWAT voice lines can be heard in headset at range
Music
New
-
‘Fast Food’ restaurant song(It’s a bop)
-
‘Penthouse’ music
Localization
-
Added Korean, French, German and Czech translations
-
Korean text now uses Numan font
Miscellaneous
-
Fixed spelling/grammar misteaks
-
Added Discord Supporter Code in settings (for Supporter server verification purposes)
-
Crash reporter now displays a simple error message (ie. Crash, GPUCrash, Assert) and the reason, if possible
Lobby
-
Shoothouse target mini-game (Shoothouse timer is now operational)
-
Coffee machine in Lobby (with speed buffs for certain drinks)
-
Updated Shoothouse trigger box range to get out of forced Low Ready at the first door
Wenderly Hills Hotel – ‘Checkin’ In’
New
-
Active Shooter Mode
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Hostage Rescue Mode
-
Raid Mode
-
Hotel’s lobby and first floor areas now available for new modes
-
Added Chef models
213 Park Homes – ‘Twisted Nerve’
New
-
Raid Mode
-
Second house has been opened up.
-
Added destructible lights
-
TV now plays static sound(spooky)
-
Sewer area now plays dripping sounds(yucky)
Updated
-
Environmental Updates
-
Incapacitated Minor score penalty increased to -350 (previous penalty was erroneously -15)
-
Adjustments to Meth tunnel ambience
-
Tweaks to Meth audio
-
Additional sounds added to sewer
-
TV on floor in main house now plays sound
-
Chime sound added to main house side
-
Additional sounds added to spawn garage
-
Additional sounds added to street light near spawn
-
Rat / debris sounds now play around main house
-
Added volume to Meth front door so outdoor ambience plays in near it
-
Child’s radio on Meth now has event cone parameter so player can’t hear it behind wall
-
Female suspects on Meth now use female suspect lines
Fixed
-
Fixed popping of certain Meth sounds
-
Fixed some navs in meth
-
Fixed out of bounds areas
-
Collision fixes
-
Lighting fixes
-
Fixed some Meth spawns where AI wouldn’t be able to move
-
Fixed AI not being able to navigate the hole in the fence on Meth
Caesar’s Cars Dealership – ‘Buy Cheap, Buy Twice’
New
-
Bomb Threat Mode
-
Added rockin’ radio track courtesy of a legend
Updated
-
Max attenuation for barrel fire reduced
-
Increased distance of Dealer car passerby SFX
-
Slight volume tweaks to outside Dealer outside quake SFX
-
Minor Dealer artwork changes
4U Gas Station – ‘Thank You, Come Again’
Updated
-
Adjustments to certain Gas ambiences
-
Huge overhaul of ambience volumes to prevent leaking
-
Certain room tones changed for better parity
-
Certain spatial sounds moved
-
Flies now fly around poor Mudasir
Port Hoken – ‘Hide and Seek’
New
-
Bomb Threat Mode
-
Added creepy auction music to auction room
-
Added blocking volume to certain area so players can’t go for a swim
Updated
- Tweaked Raid AI count
Fixed
- Fixed drip sound from stopping and starting, remove second sound for better consistency with location
2 Likes
If anyone is interested, I’d be down for some RoN co-op with the MS crowd tomorrow (Feb 1st) in the evening (say 1900 CST, 1300 zulu). We can be as tactical as anyone would like, or keep it simple. If anyone is new to tac shooters or would like some insight into how domestic LE tac teams do things I’ll be happy to spend the time doing walkthroughs in the shoot house too.
Would love to, but can’t make tonight.
Isn’t 1900 CST… 0100 Zulu/UTC?
Doh you would be correct, 1900cst 0100 Zulu
Big February Update 1.3ish GB. New Map, weapons, AI improvements. 
General
New
-
New Map: Club (Early Blockout Phase)
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Support for displaying modded maps on the World Map (in Lobby)
-
World generation on modded maps will now have AI and Stack Up points generated automatically
Updated
- RoE updates/improvements
Fixed
-
Fixed loading screen crash
-
Multiple crash fixes
Gameplay
Fixed
-
Fixed an issue where placed C2 explosives would spawn inside of some doors instead of on it
-
Fixed an issue where CS Gas would sometimes trigger off traps
-
Fixed crash when opening loadout
-
Fixed double evidence bagging with AI teammates
-
Fixed shotgun reloading one too many rounds when reloading from empty
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Fixed an issue where reporting a suspect may sometimes cause a crash
-
Fixed crash when firing a projectile based weapon (pepperball gun, R7, etc)
AI
General
Fixed
- Fixed an issue where hesitating AI would sometimes move (floating around)
SWAT
Fixed
-
Fixed possible crash when giving a stack up order when no SWAT are available
-
Fixed SWAT sometimes getting stuck on the ‘Restrain’ command
Suspects
New
-
Knife wielding suspects(Careful, these guys are sharp)
-
Added ability for AI to place traps
Fixed
-
Fixed suspects instantly reacting to the player deciding to kick a door
-
Fixed bug preventing AI from holstering weapons
-
Fixed an issue where suspects could sometimes exit arrests while being arrested by SWAT
Networking
Improved
- Grenade de-sync fixes and improvements
Updated
- Continue to search for game automatically when server is full
Fixed
-
Fixed Online Login crash
-
Fixed Tasers not properly replicating magazines from server to client post-reload
Weapons
New
-
G36C – A German 5.56 assault rifle that looks way cooler without a carry handle.
-
BRN-180 – A modern take on the classic AR-18 with its sleek charging handle.
Updated
-
Changed the Speed Grip’s name to Angled Grip
-
Changed the Control Grip’s name to Vertical Grip
-
Adjusted the BCM MK1 recoil and damage to be the same values as the SR16
UI
- UI and HUD font overhaul
Localization
- Added Chinese localization
VO
New
- Meth Suspect and Civilian voices
Improved
- Dialogue doesn’t duck FP gun fire as much(prevents dialogue from artificially quieting gunfire)
SFX
New
-
Farm boiler room ambiance(I am scared)
-
New NVG toggle sound(Tacticool)
Updated
-
Volume tweaks for various ambiances for better balance
-
Use proper physics materials to various surfaces / objects
Improved
-
Backend ambiance system overhaul for Dealer, Farm, Fast Food, Gas, Meth, Penthouse, Port, and Valley
-
Additional sounds / footstep Foley areas added to Port
-
Many Farm ambiances tweaked for better atmosphere
-
Additional sound detailing to Meth raid house
-
Additional sound detailing to Valley
-
Optimized Hotel for smaller audio CPU footprint
-
Optimized Lobby for smaller audio CPU footprint
-
Adjusted certain footstep sounds
Fixed
-
Metal doors now play a sound when the player attempts to open a locked metal door
-
Certain props no longer cause incorrect SFX to play for level duration
-
Certain sounds on Dealer now properly spatialized
-
Port auction music now only plays in the correct game mode
-
Certain incorrect sounds removed from incorrect modes on Hotel
-
Certain sounds no longer pop when looped on Meth
-
Fixed many instances of incorrect bullet impacts for certain surfaces
Music
New
-
Port track added(not final)
-
Club diagetic track(a bop)
Lobby
-
Fixed a rare crash when opening the World Map
-
High quality lobby lighting bake and lightmap adjustments on broken objects
Wenderly Hills Hotel – ‘Checkin’ In’
Updated
- Lobby clock now simulates occlusion when player is behind it
Removed
- Remove instances of sounds that shouldn’t be playing in certain modes
213 Park Homes – ‘Twisted Nerve’
Updated
-
Increased physics barrel mass(even though they were hilarious before)
-
Increase velocity threshold before any barrel sounds to play (should not play sounds as often)
-
Moved physics barrels out of corridor and into another room nearby
Port
Fixed
- Fixed navmesh in shipping services area
2 Likes
I was watching some videos of the progress, starting to look pretty good.
I’ve been playing it for awhile now and the map progress has been steady. There are two things that still bug me that need addressing.
One–tango reaction time/animation speed. It seems like some of these guys are literally able to overcome their animations and start shooting at you while it shows their gun is pointed at the ground. As in they’re surrendering, or reversing that, but while the gun is still not in a position to fire at you they start firing and bullets leave the barrel at up to 90 degrees off axis. Just…no.
Two–relative speeds. We are elite operatives, whatever actual agency we represent. Yet we are unable to move faster than a shuffle. Meanwhile, the tangos can turn, sprint, dart, and pivot like they’re 109s harassing our B-17s. Out of cover when someone starts shooting at you? You can only shuffle out of the way. Grenade land at your feet? Shuffle of shame away. Dude with a knife charging you like a bull with enough side-to-side motion that most of your shots miss? Backpedal at “retiree with a walker” speed.
In short, the AI and the players should be allowed to move at equivalent speeds. Let me RUN or slow them down!
3 Likes
Great points. You should definitely share those observations with the dev team if you haven’t done so already. My son has the game and loves playing it with his crew. I haven’t dived in yet, but keep hearing good things about it. Thanks for sharing…
this exactly was happening also in Zero Hour. I wrote ‘was’ in a hope that recently released update will fix it. but didnt have chance to try it since.
wondering if these games use the same game engine…
Biggest content update yet (11.3 GB) … this thing is turning into a masterpiece! …
Playing the latest update quiet a bit. I really like the updates to the existing maps, and the new levels are solid as well. Still have my grip about 5 guys against an infantry company complaint, but it sure looks amazing while doing it.
2 Likes
New update that lets you download mods through Mods.io. I’m not a fan of Mods.io after some past experiences, not sure why they couldn’t use Steam Workshop but anyway…
My first mod downloaded is the classic Fairfax Residence mission from SWAT 4, and it’s good…
2 Likes
Yeah they gave some reason but it didn’t seem to be a big difference to me.
Whatever, anything was better than the manual way. Was having too many difficulties getting everyone on board with the same mods in MP.
1 Like