Squad poll

Discussion in 'Squad' started by Aspius, Aug 6, 2015.

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What is your level of interest for this game? (vote can be changed)

  1. I'm definitely wanting to play this.

    4 vote(s)
    100.0%
  2. I want to play, but can't justify spending the money/time right now.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  3. I'm on the fence about playing this because...

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  4. This game does not interest me.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Yehorivka
    Continuing to push the envelope of map sizes we're beginning work on a new map called Yehorivka, featuring large open expanses and a total 8km x 8km terrain size letting us open up the full expanses of the 4km x 4km base terrain and provide a real sandbox for vehicle based combat coming over the horizon. In its infancy but we will keep you guys posted!
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    Gorodok
    More work has been done on Gorodok since our last feature, here is featured a unique elevated rail system used to break up the landscape and present an interesting tactical obstacle for squads moving on foot. Bear in mind in these early stages that the lighting and detailing has not been done yet and will look dramatically different the closer we get to release.
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    Operation First Light
    Operation First Light has been polished up to a near finished stage. (after popular request it not be scrapped!). Removal of the train wreck allows for the addition of an additional small village and fields. Over all the map has also gotten a good treatment of micro details of debris and trash to make it feel a little more lived in.
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    Sumari Bala
    The expansion of the play area continues, and with the addition of numerous crop fields around the city edges, provides ample concealment for squads seeking to flank hardened positions.
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    Chora
    Chora continues to snake its way across the valley floor expanding both ways down the river and opening up some new combat areas. We expect another month to finish up the base compound layouts and then 2-3 months of detail polish and tweaking before this map finally gets close to a finished stage. We are also planning to integrate Truesky and some new terrain materials in this time frame as well.
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  2. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Hi Squaddies,
    Head up, a new version is inbound! Version 5.0 comes packed with a number of UI and quality of life improvements to help smooth out your experience in-game, as well as a number of balance and performance tweaks, not to mention a whole slew of additional expanded areas for maps that are currently in rotation. Read the full changelog below!

    Major Changes

    Map Updates


    As outlined in the last monthly recap, we have a number of map updates and new areas for players to duke it out.

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    Updated UI Map Look and Feel


    The map and respawn screen has received a huge code and art pass. Porting over parts of the heavy Blueprint code over to C++, weve achieved a major performance increase over the previous versions, as well as fixed a large number of annoying issues like not being able to switch between the spawn screen and the map. Additionally, we are doing an art pass to improve the readability and look and feel of the map.

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    Updated Optics


    We added a blur filter and improved the sight picture on some of the optics.

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    Balance Pass on Stamina


    Standing around waiting for your stamina to regenerate before you jumped over a knee high wall is not fun, so weve fixed that. Weve reduced the stamina cost for the first jump, but added an increasing stamina penalty the more you jump in succession. Preserve your stamina, spread out your jumps!

    Server Licensing


    We now have official server licensing system in place for communities and server providers wishing to officially host a server and be officially sanctioned by us to provide the ideal Squad experience to players. We are adding this system in order to quickly direct players to servers that have -
    • Quality, dedicated administration
    • Have reliable and powerful server hardware
    • Promote teamwork and communication in their community and/or clan.
    • Provide a positive environment for new players to learn the game and play with more experienced players.
    • Use the vanilla Squad gamemode rules so regular players know what to expect (will be important once modding is possible)
     
  3. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Hi Squaddies,

    We hope that you all are enjoying the latest V5 release, keeping in mind that we always have a zillion things going on in the background. And it's the purpose of this monthly recap to go over whats been happening behind the scenes and in the world of Squad development in the past month of March!

    Systems

    NetMove


    NetMove, our generic networked movement system that we've built to support vehicle movement, is now functional. NetMove removes the heavy calculations from the clients and only requires the clients to calculate their own movement, not everyone elses as well.
    So for the server and the clients you will see movement taking up less CPU. What about network? We have also optimized the network side. We group movements together, added interpolation and only send data when we need to on a client by client basis. Instead of the old system that sent data to all the clients all the time.



    We will be slowly rolling out NetMove across the game objects, making Emplaced weapons, Vehicles and more optimised Soldiers possible.
    In case you missed it, read up on our article on Vehicles that was posted earlier in the month.

    Dynamic Reflection with Audio


    Anders is currently working on a new feature called (in squad terms) Dynamic Reflection. This means that in the environment we can designate spaces to play different sets of sounds to fit the specific surroundings you are in. This feature will apply mainly to weapon fire and explosion sounds. The fire sounds will not use engine reverb effects anymore (as in buildings), but specially recorded sounds from the real world locations to reach even more levels of audio realism. Previously we have only used one sound per weapon on all locations in the environment.
    Epic also have put some energy into the Sound Engine in for Unreal 4.11 which we will take advantage of. Two cool features that are included in 4.11 are sound occlusion and stereo spatialization.
    Anders has put together an example, using a typical forest location (meaning a lot of trees surrounding the sound source).



    Sound occlusion mean that if an object is blocking a soundsource from the listener it can become more silent and muffled. Great for many sounds ingame. Like a vehicle driving past a building or if someone is running around inside a building, the listener outside wont hear him that clearly.
    Stereo spatialization is an awesome feature. You can make a stereo sound act like 2 channels or 1 channel (mono) depending on how far you are from the sound source. Example. Step into a waterfall and youll hear the sound all around you. Go further away and you can locate the source easily as it will function as a positional mono sound.

    Art

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    Environment-Sensitive Explosion Effects Update

    Lead visual effects artist Bruno along with lead programmer Kory have taken our explosion shockwave system to the next level. They introduced intelligent traces that detect different materials while an explosion happens. This gives us a much more organic blasts with lots of diversity. Take a look at this footage, and pay attention to the environments reaction to the explosions.



    Foliage Interactivity

    As a continuation to our update with moveable foliage we have started the process of adding sounds based interactions as well. Our end goal is that soldiers will be able to both hear and see an enemy creeping up on them through all forms of foliage.
    In case you missed it, check out our demonstration video on physical interaction with foliage we posted last month.

    Tunnel Updates


    Our environment artist Drav has been working hard on our modular tunnel systems, adding more components and details to the overall package. Case in point Mapper Tonto has been constructing a much more elaborate system running under Fools Road that should really add some heart pumping CQB action to the map.
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    BTR-80


    Work has started on a new Russian vehicle, this time is the BTR-80 8x8 wheeled amphibious APC! This current iteration will tout a 14.5mm KPVT heavy machine gun along with a 7.62mm PKT Co-axial machine gun for some light fire support, in addition to being able to ferry men and ammo to the front, much like what we have planned for other armoured personnel carriers.
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    US Soldier Progress


    More progress has been done on the US Army soldier model since last time we reported on it. We're edging very close to the stage where we can start creating variants on the different body parts like the sleeves, pouches, helmet and backpacks, in order to create that distinction between different kit roles.
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    Photogrammetry & Terrain Improvements


    Our lead environment artist has been getting into photogrammetry and scanning in order to get greater fidelity with our environment and terrain texture assets. Simply put, the process involves taking multiple hi-res images of the object/surface from multiple angles and stitching all that data together in order to get a three dimensional object.

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    Mapping

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    Sumari Bala

    Slated for next release, Sumari Bala is in the final stages of its expansion. Feast your eyes on how much it has grown!
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    Yehorivka


    Further work has been done on the enormous task of set-dressing a map which is a total of 8km^2 in size. While there is still lots of ground to be covered, progress has been steady since its inception. With this map we are trying to strike a good balance between cover for infantry and open space for vehicles. Yehorivka will offer lots of opportunities for true combined arms warfare.
    Based on a real-world location, south east of Krasnyy Luch, Ukraine, we're using satellite data along with photographic reference to represent this area as true-to-life as possible.
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    Chora Valley


    Chora continues to grow in complexity and as the ends of the valley get filled up we have begun to rough in some surrounding hills and also started detail passes in the compounds and surrounding grounds. Chora is planned to be retrofitted with the interactive foliage within this development cycle as well. Lots to come yet for Chora!
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    We hope ya'll enjoyed this months recap, and please stay tuned to the website and forums for more in Squad development!

    Offworld Out.
     
  4. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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  5. MagnusEffect

    MagnusEffect Administrator Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    POLL ADDED

    this reminds me a bit of Planetside, but with real weapons. i'm interested, but i feel we will encounter the same problems if we dont meet a certain threshold of active players.

    also, its not F2P... which could be a real roadblock compared to planetside 2
     
  6. MostlyHarmless

    MostlyHarmless Master of Recruits Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    I have heard good things about this game and its development from a number of sources I trust, I'm on a flight sim kick at the moment so I'm not quite ready to pick it up just yet. Also I'm a cheapskate and waiting for a sale on it.

    Because its NOT f2p, I'm actually more interested in it. My general experience with F2P is to avoid them, if someone isn't willing to sink money into a game to get to play it then they aren't willing to sink the time to learn to play it well or stick with the game. It may sound elitist but I'd rather play with someone who is actually serious about playing than someone who is interested in the flavor of the week. With more serious games like this, casual is a liability to your team.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2016
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  7. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    I can only say good things about this game.

    Sure, there are some issues with the game. Most of them are just annoying and its rare for it to be something game breaking. The game is in alpha afterall but it still runs very well and even better then other games at release.
     
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  8. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    This game is very different from Planetside. It's alot more like battlefield but with increased realism. This game is the spiritual succesor to the game Project Reality 2 which was a Battlefield 2 mod.

    Sorry for double post, i accidentally skipped magnus post as all i saw intially was that he added the poll ;)
     
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  9. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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  10. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Hi Squaddies,

    It's Update time! We would like to thank our community for being so patient with us as we continue to grind away at the beast known as Squad development. Alpha 6 is now upon us and we would like to take the time to share with you the changes you will experience since the last Alpha version.
    Note: Due to a major change in the way we do Graphics Settings, all of your custom settings will reset upon first launch of Alpha 6.

    Major Changes

    Unreal Engine 4.11 Update


    We've updated to Unreal Engine 4.11, pulling in a good number of engine features and performance updates. Take a look at the massive changelog for the engine to get an idea of the scope of all things that changed: HERE.

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    New Deployable: Emplaced Heavy Machine Gun


    The first iteration of Vehicles are here! The Emplaced Browning M2 .50 caliber rifle is a beast of a heavy machine gun, capable of tearing apart even the most determined of infantry attackers. Placeable as a FOB deployable by Squad Leaders, the Browning M2 is your new best friend when locking down an open field on Chora, or creating a kill-zone on a Sumari road. Its effective range for target suppression is well over a kilometer and can easily stop a soldier with just one shot. But due to its limited traverse and elevation angles, operators be careful of your flanks and be sure to have backup!

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    The Browning M2 consumes FOB Ammo Points (which will regenerate over time) when you reload, and you can only have 3 deployed per FOB (2 in Bunker Configuration and 1 Self-Standing). Sustained fire will overheat the weapon, denoted by how much smoke is pouring out of the front of the weapon. The emplacement itself can be damaged and destroyed with rockets, UGLs, incendiary grenades and hand grenades. Employ it wisely in defence or as a means of fire support, and it will prove invaluable in the firefights to come.

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    New Map: Gorodok


    We are proud to include in this release a new map that we've been teasing in previous news posts. Gorodok is an eastern european inspired map, with large expansive terrain. While Squad is still primarily infantry focused, we will launch with one AAS gameplay layer focusing on a segment of the larger map, pitting Russian and Militia forces against one another in open forest style engagements.

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    Map Update: Sumari


    A much expanded Sumari is finally ready to be released after many months in the oven, and it's looking absolutely gorgeous. More than twice in size with hundreds of enter-able buildings, this map will continue to provide endless tactical challenges to any Squad trying to navigate its narrow corridors and many firing lanes. Below is a quick look at the various layouts.

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    Map Update: Fools Road Tunnels


    Fools Road has undergone a drastic change, underground that is. A completely new Militia fortress has been carved out of the mountain, with crisscrossing tunnels serving to act as a means for defenders to further entrench themselves. Designed not only as a showcase of our new capabilities to show enclosed underground areas, but to also provide an intense close quarter battle experience for Squads willing to venture into the depths of the fortress.

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    Effects Update: Foliage and Water interaction


    We have now added foliage and water particle and sound effects, be mindful when moving through both of these terrain obstacles as those around you can now see and/or hear you.

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    General Performance Improvements


    We've fixed a number of performance issues in the game on top the engine performance changes that came with UE4.11.

    On the server, we've done a full pass of over all of our networked objects, reducing their networking footprint and replication cost, making things overall more efficient. We've also fixed inventories so that weapons that are not equipped no longer tick and are only updated to client once every second. We've fixed an issue where spawning a soldier hitched the server, and removed a large number of networked properties that were not needed.

    On the client, we've been making passes on every map, merging many small meshes into one big detailed meshes to reduce shadow casting overhead. We've also implemented Distance Field Shadows (More Info here) while reducing the distance of the highly detailed Cascade Shadow Maps, which has given us a major performance boost on maps with a lot of trees like Fools Road and Operation First Light.

    In addition, we have reduced bones on the player skeleton so that players farther away will consume fewer resources for animations. We have also eliminated a lot of excess animation nodes and cleaned up our animation code to be more efficient across the board.

    AMD CPU Specific Performance Improvements


    We've implemented a Low Quality sounds toggle in the Game Settings on top of general cleaning up of the soundscape, which should help many users with poor audio performance on AMD CPU hardware, as well as in general. If you are having very low FPS with AMD CPU systems, turn on Low Quality Sounds and you should see a nice performance bump. We actively encourage those that do have AMD CPU hardware to try this new update out, and to provide with us feedback on your play experience.

    Server Update: RCON support for Servers


    We have now added in a standard implementation of the valve R-CON or remote console protocol. This protocol will allow server admins to issue console commands for things like broadcasting messages and kicking players remotely via an R-CON application of their choice. In addition to this. Our initial rollout for Alpha v6 includes the standard aspects of R-CON like specifying the port / password, connecting, and authenticating, and will be expanded in a minor upgrade with the ability to issue specific commands. Additionally, with the help of Disposable Hero from the Tactical Gamer community, an open source Squad Remote Admin tool is being developed which will feature basic R-CON functionality specialized for use with the Squad server.

    Founders Perks: Skin Additions


    Founders Skins have been added back to the game! If you backed us on Kickstarter or pre-ordered at the Founders level, you now have access to your ingame item rewards. They are disabled by default, so you need to go into your Game Settings and enable the skins you want to use. Note: The Founders Patches for the character models are still being worked on, so while the options are there in the menu, they are nonfunctional.
     
  11. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    The Wheels of Squad are turning!

    Hi Squaddies,

    Hot on the heels of V6, its time for the Monthly Recap! While most of the month was dedicated to working on the Alpha V6 release, there was still work going on that is in preparation for much further down the track. Its in these recaps where we gather and explain all that has happened behind the scenes during the month that has passed.

    Systems

    Vehicles

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    Now that the Emplacements milestone has been hit, we are concentrating all our efforts to bring Vehicles into the following version (V7) of the Alpha. Just to recap the vehicles that are production ready are as pictured below, the US Army Humvee; US Army M939 Truck, Insurgent Technical; Russian BTR-80 configured with a 14.5mm KPVT turret and finally the Ural 375D truck used by Russian and Militia forces. Our current plan involves preparing the above vehicles for upcoming major Alpha updates.

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    Our artists are hard at work crafting the animations, effects, sounds and gameplay systems needed to finally bring Vehicles to the fray.

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    Art


    Apartment Blocks

    Our talented artists have been hard at work creating a new multi-storey apartment block that will be used in most Eastern European maps. Taking inspiration and references from real life, we're expecting this set to really add to not only the immersion factor of our maps but also present a real awesome tactical challenge to Squads entering urban combat operations. As you can see its still a heavy work in progress with many assets still in progress, but its development over such a short amount of time has been very encouraging.

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    SKS Rifle


    Switching gears to weapons, a new weapon previously unseen but has been in the works is the SKS, a Soviet semi-automatic carbine chambered for the 7.62x39mm round (same round as the AKM). Loaded by 10-round stripper clips, while it lacks the automatic firepower of its more modern assault rifle counterparts, it makes up for with a slightly higher muzzle velocity and better weapon stability.

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    PPSH41 Submachine Gun


    While we're still on weapons, the PPSH41 showed up in a previous recap months ago, we apologise for the amount of time its taken to show this iconic Soviet era weapon again but as we're pushing more weapons through the pipeline, the more we can show off! Animation is one of the last stages before final implementation into the game from the art department, so expect this weapon to be in a future Alpha version.

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    TT33 Pistol


    Another weapon aimed at militia and insurgent forces is the TT33 pistol. Designed to supplement the already implemented Makarov, it fires the larger 7.62x25mm Tokarev pistol round and has more theoretical stopping power than the Makarov.

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    Mapping

    Yehorivka

    More progress has been made on Yehorivka, and it is looking fabulous with its big wide open expanses and lakes.

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    Modding Community


    Before we sign off wed like to do a little showcase of the work thats going on in the Squad Modding scene! With the soft launch of the SDK last month, many budding artists and modders have banded together and started creating some very interesting projects within the engine. Presenting this little corner is Squads Modding Community leader, Zeno.

    Squad Modding Hub

    The Squad Community Modding Hub was created by Zeno(me) and Mitsu back in late december last year. This was a push from us, to create a common ground for all modders in the Squad family, regardless of project size and previous experience. This resulted in a Discord server, that serves as a gathering point for everyone that seek to make squad greater (again)! Originally we consisted of a handful of dedicated modders with widely ranging skillsets, from industry professionals to people who had never touched a game editor before. But as Squad is growing, so are we as a modding community, and the Squad Modding Hub now consist of 1000+ members, all eager to see what the future will bring for Squad Modding.

    The main goal for us is to provide the best possible assistance and experience for people who wish to explore and expand Squad as a game. We will work to promote modding and mods, create tutorials and guidelines, assist with troubleshooting and testing, and in general be a great place to hang around.

    So if you are a person who really wish to have an impact on the future of Squad, by creating the changes and content that will take this game to a whole new level, Join us today!

    Zeno
    Co-creator of Squad Modding Hub

    Squad Modding Hub on Discord: www.discord.me/SquadModdingHub


    Heres a small snippet of what the community has been working on!

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    For more information, the modding community also releases a monthly newsletter called The Wrench, which you can find in the modding section of the forums HERE.

    We hope you all enjoyed this months recap, its going to even MORE busy here at Offworld Industries as we grind away at getting Vehicles finally into the game!

    Offworld Out.


     
  12. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Squad is proud to be part of the Steam 2016 Summer Sale, and will be available at a 25% discount from regular retail price, which is US$30 or regional equivalent.

    Vehicles will be inbound in late July

    Q. What do you call a Lada at the top of a hill?
    A. A miracle

    Substitute Lada for Squad in-game vehicles. Substitute climbing hill for 9 months of developer coding. Remember to maintain discipline and not skyline your vehicle in game or the ATGMs and RPGs will get you. The good news, you will be able to drive a vehicle to the top of a ridgeline in Squad by the end of July.

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  13. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Hi Squaddies,

    June has been an extremely busy time for us, with work on Version 7 well underway and a majority of the team focusing on getting vehicles into your hands! Without any further adieu.. Here is what we worked on in June!

    Systems

    Vehicles Update


    A lot of work has continued behind closed doors with respect to vehicles, namely sorting out the physics, handling, player interaction and gameplay systems involved. Below is a heavily Work in Progress video.



    Vehicle handling is something we are paying careful attention to, and with that a sense of reality in responsiveness and drive capabilities of our vehicles. Not only physical behavior but also input responses are tweaked for each vehicle. Different tires and suspension designs have strength and weaknesses. For example, the technical is much more nimble compared to the armoured Humvee. This is going to provide some very interesting bits of asymmetry with the way these vehicles will be used, with Insurgents and Militia factions opting for hit-and-run tactics while the Americans and Russians prefer more stout but slower convoys to move around the battlefield.

    Production has made significant progress since the beginning of the month, with Effects dealing mostly with what happens when a vehicle is damaged or destroyed as well as handling different damage types, Audio with general engine and drive sounds (the video above is not the final product), Animation with passenger behaviour and vehicle weapons.

    Logistics has also been heavily worked on in the next version, where vehicles now play a huge role in keeping FOBs supplied and armed. In the next version, Construction and Ammo points will be regenerating at a significantly reduced rate, encouraging the use of vehicles to run logistics from main base to FOBs in the field. Central FOB Radios will also require a corresponding supply vehicle to deploy. In the first release of Logistics, the supply will be channeled from vehicle to FOB, rather than dumping all of the supplies into crates. What you will see is a rough first implementation of the system, and we will be developing it further in future iterations.

    Upgraded Radial Menu

    As part of our expanded redesign of our User Interface, we are upgrading the look and functionality of the Radial Menu used by Squad Leaders and ordinary Squad members to access kit roles and deployables for construction in the field.

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    One exciting development to accompany this upgrade is tying the marker system with the Radial Menu, meaning that Squad Leaders can place map markers via pointing and marking with the Radial Menu, in addition to placing it directly onto the map.

    Art


    New US Army Soldiers

    Our art team is proud to show off to you our new set of United States Army soldier models, finally in the game! Crafted from scratch with help from our Military Advisors whom have served in the US Armed Forces, the level of authenticity is hard to beat. We will continue to iterate and add more variations to the soldier models well into the future.

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    M1937 82mm Mortar


    "Mortars INCOMING!"

    This old Soviet mortar pre-dates World War 2. Don't let its age fool you, when those 82mm shells start flying, youll be running for cover regardless of its age! Planned for much later down the track as a FOB deployable, the M1937 Mortar will see service with our irregular factions, while our more conventional factions will have appropriate mortar models down the line, and when the mortar system is developed further.

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    DShK Heavy Machine Gun

    Featured in a previous recap, the DShK is now fully animated and textured, and will soon be featured in the battlefield both in static tripod mode (as a Deployable Machine Gun), and on the back of the Technical. In its tripod configuration, the weapon offers full 360 degree coverage with excellent pitch range, making it an excellent all-round-defense weapon. However, the gunner is extremely exposed as it requires him to stand up to operate the weapon, so be careful!

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    M110 SASS


    The M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System is now in-game and will be featured in the US Army Marksman kit in the next version. In its current state it will sport a TA31 4X ACOG optic, in lieu of technical blockers preventing us in using the standard 10x Leupold scope. Rest assured that we will be working at getting that particular optic working in due time.

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    PPSH-41 SMG & SKS Rifle

    Our artists have also been hard at work bringing two more irregular forces weapons to the fold, the SKS rifle and PPSH-41 submachine gun. Both fully animated and configured, expect these to come to a battlefield near you!



    Apartment Blocks Update

    An update from the environment team comes in the form of Apartment blocks, where we've been working on more variations and the exteriors to really get the ball rolling on a more urban-style environment.

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  14. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Mapping

    Yehorivka

    Our new Eastern European theatre map, Yehorivka, has been growing since the last recap. The map now has the first settlements in it. They're agricultural themed, surrounded by open fields, roads and highways. Inside the settlements you'll find sturdily built house yards covered with fences and gateways. These settlements are going to be very easy to dig in and will provide the much needed cover for your whole team.

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    Gorodok

    Work continued on Gorodok with the addition of new objective areas for upcoming layout variations as well as multiple visual improvements including sky and lighting adjustments.

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    Sumari Bala Detail Pass


    They say "It's all in the details" and that's exactly why we've spent the last month adding props and detail to the remaining areas of Sumari Bala. In addition to giving it a more lived-in feel, the details should provide added cover and concealment for its wide streets, narrow alleys, and even interiors. We've also made a few tweaks to the AAS layers and added even more caches for the Insurgency layer.

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    Before we close out, the development team would like to thank Tom Landry for the continued contributions to the Squad Wiki. If you are new to Squad and joined us during the summer sale, this is a fast evolving resource to get yourself up to speed on all of Squad's content and gameplay concepts. For those who have been with us through development, we ask that you join in contributing, knowledge is power, power is strength, stronger Squaddies make a stronger Squad.

    We hope ya'll enjoyed this months recap, and please stay tuned to the website and forums for more in Squad development!

    Offworld Out
     
  15. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Hi Squaddies,

    We're almost there! Alpha V7 is just on the horizon and it's time for us to do an overview of all the major changes and features coming in the next patch. As the majority of the team has been singularly tasked with V7 Development over the month of July, this post will replace this month's Recap for your monthly dose of Squad development updates.

    Major Changes


    New Feature: Vehicles - M1151 HMMWV, M939 Truck, Technical, Ural 375D and BTR-80 APC

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    Squad kicks it into gear with the introduction of vehicle warfare, Squad drives further towards the combined arms warfare meta the game has been built for from the ground up. Truck transported troops dismounting in throngs pushing a flank; APCs giving heavy fire support for mechanized infantry assaults; counter armor ambushes; teams running logistics and resupply lines to support FOBs at the front, as well as a revamped forward operating base system, will enter the game soon.

    Coming in the next version each faction will be receiving a compliment of vehicles divided into 3 categories: Transport, Logistics and Fire Support.

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    No matter how fast or accurate you draw and fire your weapon, Squad provides a multitude of gameplay roles, from medic to spawn point firebase defense, and now the introduction of logistics and resupply to Forward Bases adds another way for players to get in the action while not physically holding the point. On the flip side, crafty saboteurs can now infiltrate and ambush enemy supply lines.

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    To maintain a level of order and to prevent teams devolving into a massive free-for-all, we are implementing a reserve vehicle system to open full vehicle control to pro-active Squad Leaders with coherent squads.

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    New UI: Radial Menu

    As the first part of our new UI make-over, the Radial Menu has undergone a significant upgrade. The Orders and Enemy Spotting functions have been integrated into the radial menu, where markers can be placed in 3D World space simply by looking at and pressing the corresponding button on the radial menu.

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    New Weapons: PPSH-41, SKS, M110 SASS, G3 series, RPG HEAT Rocket, RKG-3 AT Grenade and DShK-M Heavy Machine Gun


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    The Insurgents will have their kit considerably expanded with the addition of the PPSH-41 Papasha Submachine gun, SKS rifle and G3 family of rifles. These weapons will be added to the existing lineup available to the Insurgents, giving players more varied means of dealing damage to the enemy. The SKS will also be featured for the Militia.

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    The RPG-7 will now also be deployed with the ubiquitous PG-7VL HEAT rocket, capable of dealing with most vehicle threats on the battlefield. The existing Fragmentation rocket will still be in use, but users will now have to choose between one or the other depending on the intended target as both excel at dealing with either armoured (HEAT) or infantry-based (Fragmentation) threats.

    Previously shown off many months ago, the RKG-3 Anti-Tank grenade will be making its debut on the battlefield. It is a thrown grenade capable dealing with armoured targets same as a HEAT rocket, but the only caveat is that you need to be extremely close to your target to make the throw. Happy hunting!

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    Finally a new deployable Heavy Machine Gun will be debuting in Alpha Version 7! The DShK-M is an old Soviet era machine gun that fires the massive 12.7x108mm round, capable of obliterating infantry and light vehicles. It will be mounted both on a tripod and also on the back of armed Technicals for both the Insurgents and Militia, giving gunners a full 360 degree arc of fire. Gunners need to be even more aware as they can also quite vulnerable to enemy fire.

    New US Army Soldier Models

    Our brand new US Army Soldier models are ready to rock and roll! These will completely replace the older generation soldier models we have been using since the beginning of the game. While they have served us well over the course of development, it is time to put out the old and bring in the new hotness!

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    New Map: Yehorovika

    Storming into Squad is our new map, Yehorovika. Designed from the ground-up to be a vehicle-orientated map, it is making its debut along with vehicles so prepare yourselves for some high-speed mechanised infantry combat on a level never-before-seen in Squad.

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    New Map Layers: Gorodok Dusk, Chora Night, and Infantry Only Versions

    You will now find even more variety among the maps in SQUAD. There have been new layers added including Gorodok Dusk and Chora Night. As well, with the addition of vehicles, each map will have an infantry only version available for those who enjoy the pacing and gameplay of infantry combat.

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    Unreal Engine 4.12 Upgrade

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    Squad has been made compatible with the newest version of the Unreal Engine, and along with this comes a whole host of optimisations and improvements including dynamic foliage density and adaptive property replication. Both of these alone allow us to make a lot of savings on the client and server end when it comes to performance. Combined with many engine-level bug-fixes, 4.12 allows us to take that one step closer to having a smoothly running game for all coming into the new patch.


    Modding Update

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    Making a quick trip to the Modding sphere, a couple of very awesome projects are taking shape including a full Al Basrah remake and a Pacific islands-inspired map. Keep an eye out for their next update via the Modding Subforums, as well as on Discord.

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    What you've seen here is just the tip of the iceberg. On release day we will be releasing much more detailed patch notes and a full changelog, so please look forward to that in the near future!

    Offworld Out.
     
  16. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    British Armed Forces
    We're excited to show off the beginnings of our British Armed Forces faction. A lot is planned in terms of art and assets for this faction, so please stay tuned to a later blog post about the Brits and how they will be integrated into the game.

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    SPG-9 Kopye Recoilless Gun

    The SPG-9 is a Russian recoilless gun firing a 73mm rocket assisted projectile, capable of defeating most light and medium armoured threats. It is extremely accurate and with a well trained crew, can present a serious threat to enemy armour. We are planning an emplaced and a vehicle version of this weapon.

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    FGM-148 Javelin

    While we're on the subject of rockets, we're planning our next level of heavy anti-tank weapons in the form of the FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile. Capable of direct fire and also a unique top-down attack mode, this is a serious piece of modern hardware used to take down the heaviest of armor. This particular weapon system is still a while away, but we just couldnt resist showing this awesome piece of kit off.

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    Improvised Mobile Rocket Artillery

    Even MORE rockets!

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    Basically a helicopter rocket pod mounted to the back of a technical, this system is capable of launching 32 S-5 dumb-fire rockets capable of dealing significant damage to infantry and light damage to vehicles. However its psychological impact cannot be denied. Due to the nature of its firing system, it is extremely inaccurate and most useful in suppressing a large area rather than killing specific targets.
     
  17. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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  18. Aspius

    Aspius Well Liked Hirdman

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    Current game version is Alpha 9.4

    They have added more vehicles, IED, mortars. A middle eastern city map, MRAP. They are working on a urban easter european map and of course the first helicopter


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  19. fluffypinkbunny

    fluffypinkbunny Fluffiest Bunny ever Viking

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    at this point what makes squad not arma?
     
  20. Hollister

    Hollister Fun-Taker Berserker

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    Seeing hesco barriers with razor wire gives me a odd unsettling feeling.


    They also had the vehicle check point setup incorrectly at 51 seconds. If that is what it is supposed to be.