Ready or Not - The 2nd video game to let you flash bang a small child

I'm in the same boat. Haven't touched the game since August since I got tired of needing mods to fix the AI. It's especially galling that RoN has such an issue with AI when Ground Branch, a game on the same engine and in pre-alpha, has a much more fleshed out AI configuration tool built into the games UI.
GB has been in development since 2008 and the AI has been revamped several times.
 
GB has been in development since 2008 and the AI has been revamped several times.
My point is that GB has the means for the player to design custom AI parameters from within the game, something that RoN sorely needs considering how broken the AI is.
 
My point is that GB has the means for the player to design custom AI parameters from within the game, something that RoN sorely needs considering how broken the AI is.
I think Void sorely underestimated how popular their game would be and now doesn't know how to handle the demands and expectations.

That being said I don't disagree with you.
 
None of my friends have talked about this game since the beginning of August. Considering the above average number of SWAT 4 and OG Ghost Recon enjoyers in the group, I'm gonna say that's a problem for Void.
 
None of my friends have talked about this game since the beginning of August. Considering the above average number of SWAT 4 and OG Ghost Recon enjoyers in the group, I'm gonna say that's a problem for Void.
I imagine no small part of that is the fact RON has been content starved since June 28th, with only hotfixes and the shit tier mod.io integration since, the devs refuse to give any sort of release window for the next update, which sure was because the june update was delayed 3 or 4 times publicly, but doesn't help them much given the current state of the game. RoN is a good game but void has NOT changed since all the issues pre launch, from missed release dates to failure to communicate with the fans unless they pay them 120 bucks for supporter, from the horrible multiplayer debacle, its amazing people just forget that every time a update comes out.
I use the subreddit as a test to see how the wider fanbase is feeling, steam is usually too combative and im not looking at discord i refuse, and it hasn't been positive for quite a while.
 
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I imagine no small part of that is the fact RON has been content starved since June 28th, with only hotfixes and the shit tier mod.io integration since, the devs refuse to give any sort of release window for the next update, which sure was because the june update was delayed 3 or 4 times publicly, but doesn't help them much given the current state of the game. RoN is a good game but void has NOT changed since all the issues pre launch, from missed release dates to failure to communicate with the fans unless they pay them 120 bucks for supporter, from the horrible multiplayer debacle, its amazing people just forget that every time a update comes out.
I use the subreddit as a test to see how the wider fanbase is feeling, steam is usually too combative and im not looking at discord i refuse, and it hasn't been positive for quite a while.
The communication and release date pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. They went from publishing over optimistic release dates to publishing no release dates at all and their only communications are not related to the issues the playerbase is concerned about like the AI or the optimization.
This is compounded by the fact that the devs are notoriously stubborn, almost to the level of Nikita over at Battlestate, on certain extremely weird topics that are just dumb like their adamant refusal to reintroduce a sprint. No one getting shot at will mosey nonchalantly into cover with no hurry in their gait. They'll shift it, regardless of encumbrance, because they don't want to die. Any SWAT officer that came under fire and just kept walking probably died moments later.
 
The communication and release date pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. They went from publishing over optimistic release dates to publishing no release dates at all and their only communications are not related to the issues the playerbase is concerned about like the AI or the optimization.
This is compounded by the fact that the devs are notoriously stubborn, almost to the level of Nikita over at Battlestate, on certain extremely weird topics that are just dumb like their adamant refusal to reintroduce a sprint. No one getting shot at will mosey nonchalantly into cover with no hurry in their gait. They'll shift it, regardless of encumbrance, because they don't want to die. Any SWAT officer that came under fire and just kept walking probably died moments later.
Part of me wonders if the stubbornness relates to their publisher dropping them? Whatever the case im not expecting much before the end of this year, unless they drop a update in dec to the celebrate early access launch.

They dropped a devblog today which is about, take a guess, another massive map that no one wanted! The Devs have to have a fetish for big maps that take 50 minutes to clear because it isn't like the community was desperate for another map the size of a small town, no it totally isn't like one of the biggest requests for the game besides proper AI is small more compact maps, nope not at all!
 
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Part of me wonders if the stubbornness relates to their publisher dropping them? Whatever the case im not expecting much before the end of this year, unless they drop a update in dec to the celebrate early access launch.

They dropped a devblog today which is about, take a guess, another massive map that no one wanted! The Devs have to have a fetish for big maps that take 50 minutes to clear because it isn't like the community was desperate for another map the size of a small town, no it totally isn't like one of the biggest requests for the game besides proper AI is small more compact maps, nope not at all!
I think they have a vision for RoN that they want to adhere to, but don't have the first hand experience needed to go about it properly. Maps like Hotel Raid aren't something a 5 man SWAT team would clear on their own, that's a job for a platoon. I run an Arma unit with just about 20 guys and Hotel Raid is the kind of thing I'd put them through, with the full expectation of casualties in the process. To expect a 5 man team to clear that space is a very telling example that VOID doesn't have the knowledge they need in order to make a game like this. I think this ties into their stubbornness because they recognize on some level that the criticism they get is valid, but don't want to admit fault or compromise on their vision, so they double down.
 
I do not get their obsession with huge maps, with fuckton of enemies. I think their map designers just can't help getting carried away. These big sprawling maps are not fun, because it is difficult to methodically clear them. It would be fine, if there was another SWAT team, controlled by AI, whose route could be pre-planned, like in old R6 games. Of course, the AI in its current state, is incapable of carrying out their objectives reliably. I would be much happier, if they focused on improving the game's core.
 
I do not get their obsession with huge maps, with fuckton of enemies. I think their map designers just can't help getting carried away. These big sprawling maps are not fun, because it is difficult to methodically clear them. It would be fine, if there was another SWAT team, controlled by AI, whose route could be pre-planned, like in old R6 games. Of course, the AI in its current state, is incapable of carrying out their objectives reliably. I would be much happier, if they focused on improving the game's core.
I do think part of it might be trying to get more value in the game, "well the maps are HUGE so that must mean its good!" kinda stuff, where its clear that the fanbase want's smaller maps but void has to either be the more disorganized team ever or willfully ignoring the community on the map front.
 
I do think part of it might be trying to get more value in the game, "well the maps are HUGE so that must mean its good!" kinda stuff, where its clear that the fanbase want's smaller maps but void has to either be the more disorganized team ever or willfully ignoring the community on the map front.
I think they just wanna show off their mapping skills in a sort off "Hey, check this shit we can do! We're a small team and look how huge a map we can do!"
 
Yeah, the huge maps really killed it for me. RON's maps make no sense and are fucking massive and unwieldy. For a game that's supposed to be about immersion and "realism," having 4 guys clear half a block with no backup is not only horribly unrealistic, it's not fun either. SWAT 4's maps were tight, fun, and actually felt like a real situation.
 
Long time no see, eh? A new update is out for supporters, the ADAM update, changelog here, update includes 4 new weapons, 5 new levels (probably all taking over a hour to complete), a AI rework including many new behaviors like hostage taking and the ability for ai to use vents and gaps to move around a map and get around the player, a gore system, and mod.io fixes. Supporter only for now, likely horrifically broken on launch, the fanbase revolt timer has been set back another 6 months.
 
This might get me to reinstall the game if my friends in the supporter branch don't report it's a steaming dumpster fire.
 
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This might get me to reinstall the game if my friends in the supporter branch don't report it's a steaming dumpster fire.
So far all ive heard is that the new suspect on ridgeline , Gerard Scott, is pretty invincible, to be honest though i think he might be wearing a vest and people are too dumb to realize, and the new death animations can look wacky at times.
 
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Completely rebuilt Civilian and Suspect AI. They now use a mathematical system to weigh and make continuous decisions they deem are best for their current situation and objective, instead of randomly choosing actions to take
Sounds promising, but I do not get my hopes up, plus I'm a filthy peasant, who did not buy the supporter edition, so I have to wait several months for the update to drop.
 
The update hit the plebs yesterday and the usual spate of bugs are present. There are two things that bother me. The first is that the officers in the main menu are wearing G3 uniforms, Crye CPCs not loaded with clutter, and quad nods; the latter of which can be used by players and cost more than some cars. Underfunded LSPD, really? The second is that the drip feed of story elements feel disjointed.

There's three coherent plot lines I can discern: the child porn stuff (Voll, data center, talen minet), the gun smuggling and gangs (hotel, postal center, port hokan), and the Islamic extremists (neon, hospital).

The missions are not structured on the map, so any aspect of story building is lost in the map screen. To use the child porn plotline as an example, the mission blurb for Voll starts with "having taken down a distribution center..." despite no mission or story element indicating what this distribution center was. It then goes forward to data center with "...scrubbed IPs from content found in the residence of a now convicted pedophile..." I presume this refers to Amos Voll, but there's no indication of continuity. This proceeds further to talent mine which opens with "seized data center assets point to..."

It makes the story feel disjointed because there's no funneling through it. When you tell a story in a video game you can either tell it through the environment or actively by taking the player through narrative centered missions. It feels like VOID is trying to hit both marks, and they're doing alright on the first aspect but failing miserably on the second because of the bare presentation of the missions. If the mission select lobby was four whiteboards, one with each plotline and the last with loose single missions it would make more thematic sense than a desk but also structure the mission selection in a way that tells the players, "hey these missions on this board are linked together."

The music they added to missions feels like VOID was inspired by the Underground in The Division, but RoN doesn't have the atmosphere for that kind of music to work properly. The slightly ethereal music in the Underground worked because the whole environment had that aesthetic. In RoN it feels out of place. Personally I just mute the in game music and play the level tracks off the Darktide OST instead.

Getting their assets from asset shops and volunteers is starting to show more than it used to as well. There are desks in the hospital up to the chest of the SWAT officers that were clearly made for the Ogryn straight out of Darktide.

EDIT: the MK18 equip animation has them slam the forward assist for no discernable reason. It's dumb but I don't like it.
 
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I get the feeling they have the plot lines figured out but are just letting the mappers work on what ever, there are clear self contained stories (ridgeline and Gas Station) but the over arching plots have alot of missing pieces, i think the often requested smaller maps will fill these missing pieces but void seem to still be interested in making the biggest maps possible right now, maybe waiting for the campaign mode to introduce the smaller maps.
 
I doubt this is how they wish to tell the story, they just didn't implement the campaign yet and simply allow the player to select whatever maps they have on offer.
They really need to do something with asset harmonization. This was an issue from the start, but it is persistent in new maps and redesigned old ones. Scaling is all over the place and clutter needs to be toned down. I appreciate the enthusiasm of the map designers, but they really should be reeled in a bit and told to design maps that feel realistic, instead of these labyrinthine messes.
I have mixed feelings about the new AI. Fortunately, suspects seem less likely to head shot you through the wall. They actually give you a fighting chance and combat against them feels much better as a result. Their reluctance to surrender still bothers me to no end, they are way too aggressive and seem to have a death wish. Don't get me, wrong I do not want the game to be easy, but I believe it would make sense for them to retreat to a room where they take up cover, or attempt to hide. Rushing heavily armed SWAT officers just makes little sense. Even when I go out of my way to arrest them, they always give me a hard time, cause they crave the sweet release of death. I boxed the head of the pedo talent agency into his office, using wedges. I threw tear gas in there and a flashbang, he surrendered. I was about to arrest him, but one of his bodyguards strafed into the room from behind. When he was dealt with the head pedo was dead. I have no idea if he pulled a pen knife and got shot by one of my mates, or simply got caught in the crossfire. Comically frustrating.
SWAT AI is abysmal now. I do not know if they were always like this, just worked better in a cleaner environment and against shittier suspect AI, or they fucked them up somehow. They have very hard time following me, they often cannot breach doors, because they are unable to get to them. Even if they do manage, they often get stuck and fail to enter the room. They bunch up, fail to cover their sectors and often corner me in smaller areas, so I have to wiggle myself out. The devs said they are working on SWAT next, so maybe by next summer we can expect some improvements. :optimistic:
 
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