Published anything? I occasionally tinker with maps and mods for private use. 9 times out of 10, what interests me isn't supported in the code. If you're looking to expand, I'd suggest grabbing the UE4 editor and/or Blender if you haven't already.
>implying Ubi would let ANYONE else use their engine.
But seriously, your question can be answered here.
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Answered below, the engine they're using is Unreal Engine 4, which sure enough, is the same engine as Sandstorm. But that doesn't mean the game play will feel the same, here at the UE4 website you can see a plethora of VERY good games which use the Unreal Engine. The engine is incredibly powerful, and can create games wildly different from one another. thinking that the game will feel bad because a game you don't like has the same engine is moronic.
If you want to get a better idea of where RON is going, buy SWAT 4 and download the Elite Force mod for it.
https://www.moddb.com/mods/swat-elite-force
RON is incorporating a lot of features from Elite Force and one of the devs of RON is actually the creator is Elite Force.
People have made mods for SWAT 4 that remove the unauthorized force penalty. Modding keeps a game alive, no matter how "serious" it is.