Squad - Chuc
Hi Squaddies,

Vroom vroom! We hope you all have been enjoying V7 and the introduction of Vehicles thus far. Like with any new feature we will be going through heaps of iteration, so expect more expanded functionality and features to the system in order to bring vehicles even closer to our vision for them in Squad.Aside from the release and the subsequent support patches, August has been a month more dedicated to the well-being of the team than development. We had a huge week where more than 20 members of the Offworld family met up in Cologne, Germany, to enjoy some R&R, attend GDC Europe and Gamescom 2016. Now that were rested from our trip, were raring to get back into our development chairs!

GDC & Gamescom 2016 After Action Report

The Offworld Industries team travelled to Cologne, Germany, for GDC and Gamescom 2016. The team was met with beautifully warm summer weather, and what it seemed like the entire European gaming community, as the largest gaming event in Europe unfolded.



Offworld Industries is a team that is completely decentralised with employees spread across over 10 countries, and so weve taken the opportunity to gather (almost!) everybody in one place for a good old friendly face-to-face and unwind over drinks, video games, minigolf and zombie lasertag. It was also the perfect time to have a number of critical team-wide meetings where we can work out issues internally, with the game and our plan going forward not only with Squad but also future projects.



Our team also attended GDC Europe where we got to sit in on a number of eye-opening talks, in particular by a number of studios that went through the crowdfunding to Early Access route, and in general to get a feel for the state of the industry. Gamescom soon followed where the team got to experience in full force the marketing juggernaut a trade show can be. A number of fans also got to meet some of us in person! (not that hard to spot since we were the only ones with Squad T-Shirts!)



Community Manager Litoralis and Programmer Trancer also got some time to sit in an interview with the German community website BF-Games, of which you can read below.







New Apartment Blocks and Urban Environment Development

At the risk of sounding like a property developer.. Youre looking at the beginnings of a new set of urban apartment blocks as well as more set dressing material for our mappers to really start carving out a proper Eastern European urban map. Coming soon to a map near you!





Kord Heavy Machine Gun

The Russian counterpart to the M2A1 Browning is ready for implementation into the game in the form of the Kord Heavy Machine Gun. Firing the massive 12.7x108mm round it is capable of destroying unarmored and lightly armored vehicles with ease. Below is the weapon in its tripod configuration.





M252 81mm Mortar

A few months ago we showed off the M1937 82mm Mortar, and now we are presenting the US Army answer to that in the form of the M252 81mm Mortar. Hot off the modelling pipeline it is ready for implementation along with the M1937 in a future system featuring Mortars. That should keep Terrys head down!





US Army Soldier Expansion

Our art team is preparing a few more variants to the US Army soldier models in the form of unique load bearing equipment for the Automatic Rifleman, Marksman (helmet) and Medic, adding more variation to an already detailed faction lineup.





Modding Update

Our talented modders have been real busy behind the scenes working away at their own total conversions and projects. They have their own version of Monthly Recaps in the form of The Wrench, so please check out the write up and support the work of the next generation!


KLMK Uniforms by Marv
Al Basrah Remake by ChanceBrahh
Al Basrah Remake by ChanceBrahh
3-Kings by EliteLurker
Kunar by Axton
Kunar by Axton




Before we close out, the development team would like to thank all the contributors for their continued work on the Squad Wiki.

If you are new to Squad, 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. The wiki itself will also be undergoing some design upgrades too, so look forward to that!As our team members bounce back after a well deserved rest, expect many exciting developments in coming months as we double down on game optimisations and other quality of life improvements for next patch!

Offworld Out.

Squad - Chuc
Hi Squaddies,

Vroom vroom! We hope you all have been enjoying V7 and the introduction of Vehicles thus far. Like with any new feature we will be going through heaps of iteration, so expect more expanded functionality and features to the system in order to bring vehicles even closer to our vision for them in Squad.Aside from the release and the subsequent support patches, August has been a month more dedicated to the well-being of the team than development. We had a huge week where more than 20 members of the Offworld family met up in Cologne, Germany, to enjoy some R&R, attend GDC Europe and Gamescom 2016. Now that were rested from our trip, were raring to get back into our development chairs!

GDC & Gamescom 2016 After Action Report

The Offworld Industries team travelled to Cologne, Germany, for GDC and Gamescom 2016. The team was met with beautifully warm summer weather, and what it seemed like the entire European gaming community, as the largest gaming event in Europe unfolded.



Offworld Industries is a team that is completely decentralised with employees spread across over 10 countries, and so weve taken the opportunity to gather (almost!) everybody in one place for a good old friendly face-to-face and unwind over drinks, video games, minigolf and zombie lasertag. It was also the perfect time to have a number of critical team-wide meetings where we can work out issues internally, with the game and our plan going forward not only with Squad but also future projects.



Our team also attended GDC Europe where we got to sit in on a number of eye-opening talks, in particular by a number of studios that went through the crowdfunding to Early Access route, and in general to get a feel for the state of the industry. Gamescom soon followed where the team got to experience in full force the marketing juggernaut a trade show can be. A number of fans also got to meet some of us in person! (not that hard to spot since we were the only ones with Squad T-Shirts!)



Community Manager Litoralis and Programmer Trancer also got some time to sit in an interview with the German community website BF-Games, of which you can read below.







New Apartment Blocks and Urban Environment Development

At the risk of sounding like a property developer.. Youre looking at the beginnings of a new set of urban apartment blocks as well as more set dressing material for our mappers to really start carving out a proper Eastern European urban map. Coming soon to a map near you!





Kord Heavy Machine Gun

The Russian counterpart to the M2A1 Browning is ready for implementation into the game in the form of the Kord Heavy Machine Gun. Firing the massive 12.7x108mm round it is capable of destroying unarmored and lightly armored vehicles with ease. Below is the weapon in its tripod configuration.





M252 81mm Mortar

A few months ago we showed off the M1937 82mm Mortar, and now we are presenting the US Army answer to that in the form of the M252 81mm Mortar. Hot off the modelling pipeline it is ready for implementation along with the M1937 in a future system featuring Mortars. That should keep Terrys head down!





US Army Soldier Expansion

Our art team is preparing a few more variants to the US Army soldier models in the form of unique load bearing equipment for the Automatic Rifleman, Marksman (helmet) and Medic, adding more variation to an already detailed faction lineup.





Modding Update

Our talented modders have been real busy behind the scenes working away at their own total conversions and projects. They have their own version of Monthly Recaps in the form of The Wrench, so please check out the write up and support the work of the next generation!


KLMK Uniforms by Marv
Al Basrah Remake by ChanceBrahh
Al Basrah Remake by ChanceBrahh
3-Kings by EliteLurker
Kunar by Axton
Kunar by Axton




Before we close out, the development team would like to thank all the contributors for their continued work on the Squad Wiki.

If you are new to Squad, 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. The wiki itself will also be undergoing some design upgrades too, so look forward to that!As our team members bounce back after a well deserved rest, expect many exciting developments in coming months as we double down on game optimisations and other quality of life improvements for next patch!

Offworld Out.

Squad - Merlin
We are now pushing a version 7.2 hotfix release, which contains:

  • Fix for physx crashing [The most common crash currently]. Added a workaround in vehicle physics assets for a deeper bug in physx.
  • Fixed a common crash caused by a landscape material issue.
  • Fixed a crash related to vehicle seat code.
  • Allowed sounds shorter than 10 seconds to be loaded async on map load as a fix for some of the stuttering issues players have been seeing.
  • Fixed a number of issues with collision meshes on environment objects.
  • Removed unneeded landscape hole material from Operation First Light.
  • Disabled ribbons in effects for time being to negate a memory leak.
  • Optimized tick rate on effects. (ie not realtime).
  • Removed a few trace messages in the source to reduce some log spam.
  • Made an adjustment to the trace channels and presets used in vehicle collisions to accomodate another vehicle fix.
  • Pushed a simple collision setup for the radiotower, moving it from complex to simple collision, which should stop it from crashing people.
  • Foliage Cvar exploit fixes.
  • Added some ambeint sounds to Yehorivka and Sumari.
  • Updated default unbound binding text to "None" from "QWE".
  • Checked all collision assets for physmat assignment.
  • Added wheel effects on ural.
  • Reduced wheel effects to 4 on all vehicle types.
  • Assigned wreck meshes to "block all".
  • Increase m2 yaw to 30 degrees from 25.
Squad - Merlin
We are now pushing a version 7.2 hotfix release, which contains:

  • Fix for physx crashing [The most common crash currently]. Added a workaround in vehicle physics assets for a deeper bug in physx.
  • Fixed a common crash caused by a landscape material issue.
  • Fixed a crash related to vehicle seat code.
  • Allowed sounds shorter than 10 seconds to be loaded async on map load as a fix for some of the stuttering issues players have been seeing.
  • Fixed a number of issues with collision meshes on environment objects.
  • Removed unneeded landscape hole material from Operation First Light.
  • Disabled ribbons in effects for time being to negate a memory leak.
  • Optimized tick rate on effects. (ie not realtime).
  • Removed a few trace messages in the source to reduce some log spam.
  • Made an adjustment to the trace channels and presets used in vehicle collisions to accomodate another vehicle fix.
  • Pushed a simple collision setup for the radiotower, moving it from complex to simple collision, which should stop it from crashing people.
  • Foliage Cvar exploit fixes.
  • Added some ambeint sounds to Yehorivka and Sumari.
  • Updated default unbound binding text to "None" from "QWE".
  • Checked all collision assets for physmat assignment.
  • Added wheel effects on ural.
  • Reduced wheel effects to 4 on all vehicle types.
  • Assigned wreck meshes to "block all".
  • Increase m2 yaw to 30 degrees from 25.
Squad - Merlin
We are now pushing a version 7.1 hotfix release, which contains:
  • Fix for a crash that can occur when a player is removed from a vehicle.
  • Fixed invalid physical materials in the landscape, causing physics crashes.
  • Resaved a number of maps to mitigate landscape related physics crashes.
  • Fixed a crash related to remote vehicle claiming.
  • Added a new collision trace channel to fix issues relating to complex vehicle collisions.
  • Updated & improved physics collision trace channel settings.
  • Fix related to vehicle penetration caused by some incorrect physical material settings.
  • Update to the loading screen guide.
  • Fix for ambient sounds not playing.
  • Fix for razor wires only doing damage when half built.
  • Various effects optimization.
  • Fix to an incorrect configuration in the Chora AASv1 lattice.
  • Set unique soldier mesh for the Militia Scout.
  • Renamed Insurgent RPG Gunner to "Light Anti-Tank" for consistency purposes.
  • Fixed line width on the Kit Role tooltips being too short.
  • Fix for FOB radios cutting out.
  • Added a missing vehicle physics collision asset to the m2_vehicle_base_woodland.
  • NOTE: One of the crash fixes has broken wheel effects (it is a known issue), but we have decided to ship with the issue to get crash fixes out sooner. We are planning to add them back in via another minor hotfix.
Squad - Merlin
We are now pushing a version 7.1 hotfix release, which contains:
  • Fix for a crash that can occur when a player is removed from a vehicle.
  • Fixed invalid physical materials in the landscape, causing physics crashes.
  • Resaved a number of maps to mitigate landscape related physics crashes.
  • Fixed a crash related to remote vehicle claiming.
  • Added a new collision trace channel to fix issues relating to complex vehicle collisions.
  • Updated & improved physics collision trace channel settings.
  • Fix related to vehicle penetration caused by some incorrect physical material settings.
  • Update to the loading screen guide.
  • Fix for ambient sounds not playing.
  • Fix for razor wires only doing damage when half built.
  • Various effects optimization.
  • Fix to an incorrect configuration in the Chora AASv1 lattice.
  • Set unique soldier mesh for the Militia Scout.
  • Renamed Insurgent RPG Gunner to "Light Anti-Tank" for consistency purposes.
  • Fixed line width on the Kit Role tooltips being too short.
  • Fix for FOB radios cutting out.
  • Added a missing vehicle physics collision asset to the m2_vehicle_base_woodland.
  • NOTE: One of the crash fixes has broken wheel effects (it is a known issue), but we have decided to ship with the issue to get crash fixes out sooner. We are planning to add them back in via another minor hotfix.
Squad - Merlin
We are pushing a hotfix (the version will stay as 7.0) which fixes a number of server side crashes that have been occurring with the launch version.

Enjoy!
Squad - Merlin
We are pushing a hotfix (the version will stay as 7.0) which fixes a number of server side crashes that have been occurring with the launch version.

Enjoy!
Aug 6, 2016
Squad - Chuc
#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author
There is a known camera bug when exiting vehicles including stationary .50 cals in the Firing Range. Simply enter the admin cam (Shift + P) and exit the admin cam (Shift + P) to reset the First Person camera.

The bug does NOT happen in multiplayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n861O8U38Bk



Hi Squaddies,

The day is finally here. Vehicles have arrived. It has been a long road for everyone on the development team, and especially you, the player. But finally one of our long awaited features is ready to roll out. Besides this, our programmers, production artists, mappers, testers and support staff have all been hard at work producing other content that will certainly make Version 7 one of our biggest and most ambitious patches yet.

Version 7 is now available via Steam and below is a full changelog.

For a quick summary of the major changes, please read our previous news post HERE.

Changelog

Gameplay


Vehicles have been added to the game. Please familiarize yourself with what you will encounter on the battlefield.



Starting map tickets have been increased across the board by about 150-200 tickets. This gives more room for a comeback and to accommodate vehicle losses.

Vehicles have a respawn timer from 3-6 minutes from the time that the vehicle is lost. Vehicles with weapons on them have a respawn timer of 6 minutes. Note that some vehicles on some maps have no respawns and are a one time use only.

Losing a vehicle will result in a potentially heavy ticket loss (4-30 tickets!!). Protect and repair your vehicles!

If a vehicle flips over, it will catch on fire to get it off the map. This will take a while, and your team will be without an asset for a while. Pay attention to where you drive.



New System: Vehicle Claiming



Overview: The squad vehicle claiming system in its first iteration will function primarily as a way to strengthen the role of the Squad Leader and eliminate the ability of players to go rambo and take a vehicle without any responsibility for its usage. The system is entirely passive but also considered an advanced system.

Only SL will interact and be notified as to the claim states.Only a Squad leader may claim a vehicle. The SL claims the vehicle by attempting to enter the vehicle or by approving a vehicle claim on his minimap made by members of his Squad.

He will get one of several messages depending on the vehicles current claim condition.

  • "Only Squad Leaders may enter unclaimed vehicles." - You are not an SL.. Nice try!
  • "You must have the Squad Leader role to claim a vehicle." - Go get an SL kit
  • "Must have at least 3 members in your Squad to claim vehicles." 3 members - 1 vehicle can be claimed 6 members - 2 vehicles can be claimed 8 members - 3 vehicles can be claimed
  • "Must have at least 2 squad members nearby to claim a vehicle." Much like our FOB and Rally Point systems you need to have your Squad with you to claim a vehicle. (2 additional members) Vehicles can also be approved for claim by approval on the minimap by a Squad Leader
  • "Unable to enter due to another Squad's claim on this vehicle." This vehicle is already claimed. Please try a different vehicle or radio for a ride.
  • "Vehicle Claimed." - Great Job! Your Squad can now enter the vehicle and have a happy battle!

In addition, a squad leader can claim a vehicle by approving a claim made by his Squad members.

If 3 squad members are near an unclaimed vehicle and the Squad has claimed slots available they can request a claim by attempting the enter the vehicle.They will be notified to Radio their Squad Leader for approval. Squad leaders can open their minimaps and approve the claim. (provided they have a claim slot available)

Active VS Passive claims and how it affects your Squad.

The system maintains a chain of possession of claimed vehicles through Active Claims (You have a squad member actually in the vehicle) and Passive Claims (Your squad claimed and used the vehicle but currently have no members of your squad occupying a vehicle seat)Active Claims always give you complete control over the vehicle seats and the driver position. Players not in your squad cannot enter the driver seat of your actively claimed vehicle (but they can enter the other seats). In order to maintain an active claim you must have a squad member somewhere in the vehicle.Any Squad member may also bump a friendly from an occupied seat by switching to that seat. (via the F keys)

Passive Claims are maintained even when the vehicle is not manned. Your Squad members can enter and exit the vehicle freely and the driver seat will still remain locked to the owning Squad. However.. A passive vehicle can be claimed by another Squad Leader provided he has the ability to do so. (This can be done in person via attempting to enter the vehicle or remotely via a group of 3 squad members)

We all know there are good reasons and bad reasons for losing and/or choosing to lose a vehicle. We want to reward the good reasons and punish the bad ones. Here are some messages relating to dropping off your vehicle you will encounter.Additional Mechanics: There may be a good reason to want to unclaim a vehicle and we are providing a number of methods to do that.

  • Drop off the vehicle at a FOB.
  • Drop off the vehicle at a Main Base.
  • Coordinate another Squad Leader to take over your claim.

As with any experimental system.. A lot will be changing as we get testing feedback and we will continue to refine and improve it.




Spawning, Supplies and Logistics



  • Rally Point cooldown timer is now 2.5 minutes. 2 minutes if placed too close to enemies. Rally Point needs a fellow squad member within 8m to place (was 5m).
  • Forward Operating Bases no longer have an active spawn point when initially deployed.
  • Forward Operating Bases gain an active spawn point after having been placed for 5 minutes. (Unless visited by a friendly supply truck
  • Losing a Forward Operating Bases Radio now results in a 20 ticket penalty (was 10).
  • Passive supply rate has been lowered to 1 per second.
  • A FOB can now hold a total of 2000 Supplies and 1000 Ammo.
  • Forward Operating Bases get an active spawn point if a friendly (loaded) logistics vehicle comes close to the radio. Bypassing the 5 minutes of waiting time.
  • Bringing a loaded logistics truck to a Forward Operating Base and unloading supplies near the FOB radio will deposit 1000 supply points and 1000 ammo points to the base. Logistics technical will supply a base with 500 of each rather than 1000.
  • You will need to press the "Unload Supplies" button (Default "Q") to unload supplies. Once a logistics vehicle has unloaded its supplies at a FOB the space in the graphical representation of the supplies goes away. You will need to restock the vehicle again to perform another resupply action. Drive to your main base supply depot to pick up new supplies.





Kit Changes

  • Binoculars removed from all medic kits.
  • Change to the rate that Fire Support kits unlock at. They now unlock one slot for each 3 squad members you have. Was 2 slots at 4 and an additional at 8. Riflemen classes should be a bit more frequently seen now.
  • US medic kit now has an M4 with a red dot sight.
  • US LAT kit now has an M4 with a red dot sight.
  • US ironsights rifleman now has a foregrip on his M4A1.
  • Marksman kits with SVD now has 6 magazines instead of 4.
  • Russian kits that previously had the AKS-74M now has the AK-74M.
  • Insurgent RPG Gunner kit now has the AKMS instead of the AKS-74U.
  • Russia and Militia gets access to an additional scoped rifleman at 8 squad members.
  • Adjusted the limits of the AK74 Fighter kit for insurgents. Now limited to 2 rather than 3.
  • Reduced the number of colored smoke grenades carried by the Squad Leader kits. Now has 1 of each color rather than 2. Still carries 2 white smoke grenades.
  • Added HEAT rounds to all RPG-7 kits and adjusted the number of Fragmentation rounds as well. Militia and Insurgents carry 2 Fragmentation rounds and 2 HEAT rounds. Russia carries 1 Fragmentation and 2 HEAT rounds.
  • Added Designated Marksman kit for the US Army. The kit has the M110 DMR and an M9 with an additional pistol magazine like the other DMR kits. Kit unlocks at: 5 squad members and 10 team members, limited to 1 per squad.
  • Added Scout kit for Insurgents and Militia. The kit contains SKS as the primary weapon and also has a set of binoculars. This kit is perfect for scouting and directing fire. Kit will get more toys in the future ;) Kit unlocks at: 3 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.
  • Added a limited alternative Fighter kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a AKS74 with 1p78 optic. Kit unlocks at: 8 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.
  • Added limited alternative Fighter kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a G3A3 as the primary weapon. This rifle has better range and more stopping power than your standard AK rifles. Kit unlocks at: 4 squad members, and another one at 8.
  • Added alternative Squad Leader kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a G3A4 as the primary weapon. This rifle has better range and more stopping power than your standard AK rifles. Kit unlocks at: 6 squad members.
  • Added Raider class for Insurgents. The kit contains the PPSH-41 as the primary weapon and RKG-3 anti tank grenades. This kit is perfect for causing mayhem up close. Kit unlocks at: 6 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.



Weapon Handling

  • Weapons now move more dynamically when you perform rapid twists and turns. This makes sight alignment take ever so slightly longer.
  • Weapons with a foregrip have less vertical recoil than weapons without (M4 variants, PM md. 63 and AMD-65). Additionally it also has a faster sway pattern to simulate the pressure applied.Lastly they have an ever so slightly quicker ADS time than a weapon without.
  • Weapons with underslung grenade launchers similarly have less vertical recoil due to the added weight out front. Furthermore these front heavy weapons have slightly more sway.
  • Minor tweaks to M4 recoil to compensate for the very high rate of fire.
  • RPG-7 and M72 has lowered deviation to make hit percentages similar to real world expectations.
  • HMGs such as the M2 and Dshk are now able to sustain fire for a longer time without overheating, but cools off at a slower rate.



Deployables

  • Added vehicle repair depot deployable. Costs 400 supply points and slowly and passively repairs vehicles in a radius around it.
  • Hesco/sandbag bunkers are now reduced to 300 supply points.
  • Hesco walls are now reduced to 200 supply points.
  • Single hescos are now 50 points.
  • Sandbag walls now cost 50 supply points rather than 100.
  • Added C sandbags to Insurgents and Militia. 50 points.
  • Added a new Pillbox-style Sandbag Wall that has firing ports.
  • Sandbag Walls are now stackable again.
  • Razor wire now cost 25 supply points.
  • M2A1 on tripod is now 350 supply points.
  • Dshk heavy machine gun on tripod is 350 supply points.
  • Concrete barriers are now 50 supply points.





Vehicles

Not all weapons will be able to damage all vehicle types.

Most vehicles in the game will be able to take about 2 hits from an RPG-7 HEAT round, M72 LAW or RKG-3 grenade. The exceptions are the technicals who can take about 1 and a few bursts of rifle fire to top it off. The other exception is the BTR that will be able to take roughly 3 rocket hits.

The BTRs main 14.5mm cannon will be able to easily chew through all vehicles before it. The gun has Magnification that can be switched with the 1 and 2 Number keys.

Heavy machine guns such as the M2 and the Dshk will be able to damage all current vehicles fairly easily. Some vehicles are more resistant than others, expect anywhere from a 1/3rd to almost a full belt of .50 cal ammo to be needed, depending on the vehicle you are firing at.

Rifles and infantry weapons are split into three categories.

7.62 Caliber weapons will be able to damage bring down soft skinned vehicles such as the technicals and trucks. Expect to spend up to several hundred rounds to reduce a healthy vehicle to a useless hunk of metal. Weapons in this category include everything from 7.62x39, such as the AKM, up to the 7.62x54R of the SVD.

5.56/5.45 Caliber weapons will be able to do light, and significantly less damage to technicals and trucks. You will need the determination of your entire squad to take down a fresh vehicle with just your hand weapons. Examples of these calibers are the M4 and the AK74 series of rifles.

Pistol calibers have no effect on a vehicle's health whatsoever. Conserve this ammo for self defense.

Fragmentation grenades. Hand grenades, the RPG-7s fragmentation grenade and the GP-25s fragmentation grenades do little to no damage on vehicles. They are only able to slightly damage unarmored technicals and trucks. Use the proper explosives for the job!

There is one exception to the fragmentation grenades. The US 40mm grenade launcher utilizes the HEDP rounds which are somewhat effective vs soft skinned vehicles. They will be able to damage all vehicles in the game, but at a significantly reduced rate as the armor of the vehicle increases.

There are currently no indicators of your vehicle's current health in the field. So keep track of what you have been fighting and return to base or a FOB to get fixed up and rearmed at a repair depot.Keeping your vehicle operational will give you a great advantage.



Damage Effects



Unlike most games, vehicle damage effects are not tied to a specific % of health. In Squad, effects such as a vehicle being on fire, doesn't necessarily mean that the vehicle is about to die.

Several weapons have a chance to light vehicles on fire. As a vehicle is closer to getting on fire, the vehicle will start smoking in an increasingly more dramatic way. Once a vehicle is on fire (visible flames) the vehicle as well as all of the occupants will take a light amount of damage every second until the flames die out by themselves or the vehicle is destroyed.

The TL:DR version of the weapons that adds chance for a vehicle to catch on fire is as follows (in descending order):

  • (Most Powerful) RPG-7 HEAT rounds / M72 LAW / RKG-3
  • 14.5mm Armor Piercing Incendiary rounds from the KPVT on the BTR-80
  • US 40mm HEDP rounds from the M203
  • M2 and Dshk HMGs



Penetration

First step on a long road ahead for projectile penetration! Depending on what weapon you are using and what vehicle you are shooting at, there is a possibility that your rounds can penetrate the hide of the vehicle and damage the passengers inside, at a greatly reduced level.

The higher the caliber of your weapon, the more damage you will do to the occupants of the vehicle. If you can penetrate it in the first place.

Vehicles such as the HMMWV and the BTR-80 are immune to all infantry firearms and can only be penetrated by .50 cal or larger. The remaining vehicles can be penetrated by infantry rifle calibers.



Systems

  • Players now move slower when moving along inclines and up stairs. The speed reduction is governed by the type of material you are traversing.
  • Acceleration into a full sprint has been decreased by half.
  • Addition of a Walking Animation while ADSing.
  • Addition of a prone movement animation while moving around in Prone.



UI

  • Order and Enemy markers will appear in 3D space for a brief amount of time when initially placed to the Squad of the Squad Leader who placed it.
  • Order markers (Construct, Move, Defend, Scout, Attack, etc) can now only be seen by the squad.
  • Enemy Spotted markers (vehicles, infantry, etc) can be seen by the team.
  • Each squad is allowed 1 action marker and 3 spot markers at a time. As you place new markers the older ones will be removed.
  • Crowdfunding backers have now been added to the credits list.
  • When creating a squad, the SL will be given a squad leader kit. They will then be taken to the Roles screen so they can exchange it for another version of the SL kit.
  • When joining a squad, the player will be taken to the Roles screen so they may choose their kit.
  • Updated the map flags to be higher quality and new designs for the Militia and Insurgents.
  • Kits are now grouped in appropriate sub groups at the ammo crate.
  • Redesigned the FOB Status Widget and fixed a few cases where it wouldnt show up when it should.
  • The ammo counter widget now displays a rough estimate of the rounds you have in your magazines, including the one in the gun.



Art

  • Added PPSH-41 submachine gun.
  • Added G3A3 battle rifle.
  • Added G3A4 battle rifle.
  • Added SKS semi-automatic carbine.
  • Added RKG-3 anti-tank grenade.
  • Added M110 SASS designated marksman rifle (rifle has placeholder optics).
  • Added PG-7V HEAT anti-tank rounds to the RPG-7 launcher.
  • Added Dshk heavy machine gun emplacement for Insurgents and Militia.
  • Added the AKMS back to the game.
  • Removed the AKS-74M.
  • Updated textures on base AK-74 models.
  • Added M1151 HMMWV
  • Added Technical
  • Added M939 transport and logistics truck
  • Added Ural 375D transport and logistics truck
  • Added BTR-80 APC



Maps

  • Added new map Yehorivka to the map rotation.
  • Added Night version of Chora
  • Added Infantry layers for most maps
  • Added Dusk version of Gorodok
  • Added more details to Sumari Bala
  • Added one of each vehicle type and variation to Jensens Range. All of them are enterable with no requirements. 30 second respawn timers on them.
  • Added a racetrack to Jensens Range



Modding

  • Added a function to the Radial Menu, IsMarkerVisible, that can be overriden and used to hide markers
  • Moved Ragdoll behavior to a component on Soldier and added a number of methods to control the ragdoll state. This should allow modders to put the soldier into a ragdoll state at any time, rather than only when incapacitated.
  • SQPawn now switches the team of MapIconWidgets, so the team state should always be correct.
  • Added new Ruleset function VehicleDestroyed.



Before we sign off, there's one last thing we want to share.

We are extremely excited to be able to share the first trailer for Post Scriptum: The Bloody Seventh. The first full scale conversion for Squad under development currently.

Congrats to Periscope Games for taking this huge step into the public. We are very proud of your work so far and look forward to lending our support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W24njMwPkCM

Offworld Out.
Aug 6, 2016
Squad - Chuc
#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author
There is a known camera bug when exiting vehicles including stationary .50 cals in the Firing Range. Simply enter the admin cam (Shift + P) and exit the admin cam (Shift + P) to reset the First Person camera.

The bug does NOT happen in multiplayer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n861O8U38Bk



Hi Squaddies,

The day is finally here. Vehicles have arrived. It has been a long road for everyone on the development team, and especially you, the player. But finally one of our long awaited features is ready to roll out. Besides this, our programmers, production artists, mappers, testers and support staff have all been hard at work producing other content that will certainly make Version 7 one of our biggest and most ambitious patches yet.

Version 7 is now available via Steam and below is a full changelog.

For a quick summary of the major changes, please read our previous news post HERE.

Changelog

Gameplay


Vehicles have been added to the game. Please familiarize yourself with what you will encounter on the battlefield.



Starting map tickets have been increased across the board by about 150-200 tickets. This gives more room for a comeback and to accommodate vehicle losses.

Vehicles have a respawn timer from 3-6 minutes from the time that the vehicle is lost. Vehicles with weapons on them have a respawn timer of 6 minutes. Note that some vehicles on some maps have no respawns and are a one time use only.

Losing a vehicle will result in a potentially heavy ticket loss (4-30 tickets!!). Protect and repair your vehicles!

If a vehicle flips over, it will catch on fire to get it off the map. This will take a while, and your team will be without an asset for a while. Pay attention to where you drive.



New System: Vehicle Claiming



Overview: The squad vehicle claiming system in its first iteration will function primarily as a way to strengthen the role of the Squad Leader and eliminate the ability of players to go rambo and take a vehicle without any responsibility for its usage. The system is entirely passive but also considered an advanced system.

Only SL will interact and be notified as to the claim states.Only a Squad leader may claim a vehicle. The SL claims the vehicle by attempting to enter the vehicle or by approving a vehicle claim on his minimap made by members of his Squad.

He will get one of several messages depending on the vehicles current claim condition.

  • "Only Squad Leaders may enter unclaimed vehicles." - You are not an SL.. Nice try!
  • "You must have the Squad Leader role to claim a vehicle." - Go get an SL kit
  • "Must have at least 3 members in your Squad to claim vehicles." 3 members - 1 vehicle can be claimed 6 members - 2 vehicles can be claimed 8 members - 3 vehicles can be claimed
  • "Must have at least 2 squad members nearby to claim a vehicle." Much like our FOB and Rally Point systems you need to have your Squad with you to claim a vehicle. (2 additional members) Vehicles can also be approved for claim by approval on the minimap by a Squad Leader
  • "Unable to enter due to another Squad's claim on this vehicle." This vehicle is already claimed. Please try a different vehicle or radio for a ride.
  • "Vehicle Claimed." - Great Job! Your Squad can now enter the vehicle and have a happy battle!

In addition, a squad leader can claim a vehicle by approving a claim made by his Squad members.

If 3 squad members are near an unclaimed vehicle and the Squad has claimed slots available they can request a claim by attempting the enter the vehicle.They will be notified to Radio their Squad Leader for approval. Squad leaders can open their minimaps and approve the claim. (provided they have a claim slot available)

Active VS Passive claims and how it affects your Squad.

The system maintains a chain of possession of claimed vehicles through Active Claims (You have a squad member actually in the vehicle) and Passive Claims (Your squad claimed and used the vehicle but currently have no members of your squad occupying a vehicle seat)Active Claims always give you complete control over the vehicle seats and the driver position. Players not in your squad cannot enter the driver seat of your actively claimed vehicle (but they can enter the other seats). In order to maintain an active claim you must have a squad member somewhere in the vehicle.Any Squad member may also bump a friendly from an occupied seat by switching to that seat. (via the F keys)

Passive Claims are maintained even when the vehicle is not manned. Your Squad members can enter and exit the vehicle freely and the driver seat will still remain locked to the owning Squad. However.. A passive vehicle can be claimed by another Squad Leader provided he has the ability to do so. (This can be done in person via attempting to enter the vehicle or remotely via a group of 3 squad members)

We all know there are good reasons and bad reasons for losing and/or choosing to lose a vehicle. We want to reward the good reasons and punish the bad ones. Here are some messages relating to dropping off your vehicle you will encounter.Additional Mechanics: There may be a good reason to want to unclaim a vehicle and we are providing a number of methods to do that.

  • Drop off the vehicle at a FOB.
  • Drop off the vehicle at a Main Base.
  • Coordinate another Squad Leader to take over your claim.

As with any experimental system.. A lot will be changing as we get testing feedback and we will continue to refine and improve it.




Spawning, Supplies and Logistics



  • Rally Point cooldown timer is now 2.5 minutes. 2 minutes if placed too close to enemies. Rally Point needs a fellow squad member within 8m to place (was 5m).
  • Forward Operating Bases no longer have an active spawn point when initially deployed.
  • Forward Operating Bases gain an active spawn point after having been placed for 5 minutes. (Unless visited by a friendly supply truck
  • Losing a Forward Operating Bases Radio now results in a 20 ticket penalty (was 10).
  • Passive supply rate has been lowered to 1 per second.
  • A FOB can now hold a total of 2000 Supplies and 1000 Ammo.
  • Forward Operating Bases get an active spawn point if a friendly (loaded) logistics vehicle comes close to the radio. Bypassing the 5 minutes of waiting time.
  • Bringing a loaded logistics truck to a Forward Operating Base and unloading supplies near the FOB radio will deposit 1000 supply points and 1000 ammo points to the base. Logistics technical will supply a base with 500 of each rather than 1000.
  • You will need to press the "Unload Supplies" button (Default "Q") to unload supplies. Once a logistics vehicle has unloaded its supplies at a FOB the space in the graphical representation of the supplies goes away. You will need to restock the vehicle again to perform another resupply action. Drive to your main base supply depot to pick up new supplies.





Kit Changes

  • Binoculars removed from all medic kits.
  • Change to the rate that Fire Support kits unlock at. They now unlock one slot for each 3 squad members you have. Was 2 slots at 4 and an additional at 8. Riflemen classes should be a bit more frequently seen now.
  • US medic kit now has an M4 with a red dot sight.
  • US LAT kit now has an M4 with a red dot sight.
  • US ironsights rifleman now has a foregrip on his M4A1.
  • Marksman kits with SVD now has 6 magazines instead of 4.
  • Russian kits that previously had the AKS-74M now has the AK-74M.
  • Insurgent RPG Gunner kit now has the AKMS instead of the AKS-74U.
  • Russia and Militia gets access to an additional scoped rifleman at 8 squad members.
  • Adjusted the limits of the AK74 Fighter kit for insurgents. Now limited to 2 rather than 3.
  • Reduced the number of colored smoke grenades carried by the Squad Leader kits. Now has 1 of each color rather than 2. Still carries 2 white smoke grenades.
  • Added HEAT rounds to all RPG-7 kits and adjusted the number of Fragmentation rounds as well. Militia and Insurgents carry 2 Fragmentation rounds and 2 HEAT rounds. Russia carries 1 Fragmentation and 2 HEAT rounds.
  • Added Designated Marksman kit for the US Army. The kit has the M110 DMR and an M9 with an additional pistol magazine like the other DMR kits. Kit unlocks at: 5 squad members and 10 team members, limited to 1 per squad.
  • Added Scout kit for Insurgents and Militia. The kit contains SKS as the primary weapon and also has a set of binoculars. This kit is perfect for scouting and directing fire. Kit will get more toys in the future ;) Kit unlocks at: 3 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.
  • Added a limited alternative Fighter kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a AKS74 with 1p78 optic. Kit unlocks at: 8 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.
  • Added limited alternative Fighter kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a G3A3 as the primary weapon. This rifle has better range and more stopping power than your standard AK rifles. Kit unlocks at: 4 squad members, and another one at 8.
  • Added alternative Squad Leader kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a G3A4 as the primary weapon. This rifle has better range and more stopping power than your standard AK rifles. Kit unlocks at: 6 squad members.
  • Added Raider class for Insurgents. The kit contains the PPSH-41 as the primary weapon and RKG-3 anti tank grenades. This kit is perfect for causing mayhem up close. Kit unlocks at: 6 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.



Weapon Handling

  • Weapons now move more dynamically when you perform rapid twists and turns. This makes sight alignment take ever so slightly longer.
  • Weapons with a foregrip have less vertical recoil than weapons without (M4 variants, PM md. 63 and AMD-65). Additionally it also has a faster sway pattern to simulate the pressure applied.Lastly they have an ever so slightly quicker ADS time than a weapon without.
  • Weapons with underslung grenade launchers similarly have less vertical recoil due to the added weight out front. Furthermore these front heavy weapons have slightly more sway.
  • Minor tweaks to M4 recoil to compensate for the very high rate of fire.
  • RPG-7 and M72 has lowered deviation to make hit percentages similar to real world expectations.
  • HMGs such as the M2 and Dshk are now able to sustain fire for a longer time without overheating, but cools off at a slower rate.



Deployables

  • Added vehicle repair depot deployable. Costs 400 supply points and slowly and passively repairs vehicles in a radius around it.
  • Hesco/sandbag bunkers are now reduced to 300 supply points.
  • Hesco walls are now reduced to 200 supply points.
  • Single hescos are now 50 points.
  • Sandbag walls now cost 50 supply points rather than 100.
  • Added C sandbags to Insurgents and Militia. 50 points.
  • Added a new Pillbox-style Sandbag Wall that has firing ports.
  • Sandbag Walls are now stackable again.
  • Razor wire now cost 25 supply points.
  • M2A1 on tripod is now 350 supply points.
  • Dshk heavy machine gun on tripod is 350 supply points.
  • Concrete barriers are now 50 supply points.





Vehicles

Not all weapons will be able to damage all vehicle types.

Most vehicles in the game will be able to take about 2 hits from an RPG-7 HEAT round, M72 LAW or RKG-3 grenade. The exceptions are the technicals who can take about 1 and a few bursts of rifle fire to top it off. The other exception is the BTR that will be able to take roughly 3 rocket hits.

The BTRs main 14.5mm cannon will be able to easily chew through all vehicles before it. The gun has Magnification that can be switched with the 1 and 2 Number keys.

Heavy machine guns such as the M2 and the Dshk will be able to damage all current vehicles fairly easily. Some vehicles are more resistant than others, expect anywhere from a 1/3rd to almost a full belt of .50 cal ammo to be needed, depending on the vehicle you are firing at.

Rifles and infantry weapons are split into three categories.

7.62 Caliber weapons will be able to damage bring down soft skinned vehicles such as the technicals and trucks. Expect to spend up to several hundred rounds to reduce a healthy vehicle to a useless hunk of metal. Weapons in this category include everything from 7.62x39, such as the AKM, up to the 7.62x54R of the SVD.

5.56/5.45 Caliber weapons will be able to do light, and significantly less damage to technicals and trucks. You will need the determination of your entire squad to take down a fresh vehicle with just your hand weapons. Examples of these calibers are the M4 and the AK74 series of rifles.

Pistol calibers have no effect on a vehicle's health whatsoever. Conserve this ammo for self defense.

Fragmentation grenades. Hand grenades, the RPG-7s fragmentation grenade and the GP-25s fragmentation grenades do little to no damage on vehicles. They are only able to slightly damage unarmored technicals and trucks. Use the proper explosives for the job!

There is one exception to the fragmentation grenades. The US 40mm grenade launcher utilizes the HEDP rounds which are somewhat effective vs soft skinned vehicles. They will be able to damage all vehicles in the game, but at a significantly reduced rate as the armor of the vehicle increases.

There are currently no indicators of your vehicle's current health in the field. So keep track of what you have been fighting and return to base or a FOB to get fixed up and rearmed at a repair depot.Keeping your vehicle operational will give you a great advantage.



Damage Effects



Unlike most games, vehicle damage effects are not tied to a specific % of health. In Squad, effects such as a vehicle being on fire, doesn't necessarily mean that the vehicle is about to die.

Several weapons have a chance to light vehicles on fire. As a vehicle is closer to getting on fire, the vehicle will start smoking in an increasingly more dramatic way. Once a vehicle is on fire (visible flames) the vehicle as well as all of the occupants will take a light amount of damage every second until the flames die out by themselves or the vehicle is destroyed.

The TL:DR version of the weapons that adds chance for a vehicle to catch on fire is as follows (in descending order):

  • (Most Powerful) RPG-7 HEAT rounds / M72 LAW / RKG-3
  • 14.5mm Armor Piercing Incendiary rounds from the KPVT on the BTR-80
  • US 40mm HEDP rounds from the M203
  • M2 and Dshk HMGs



Penetration

First step on a long road ahead for projectile penetration! Depending on what weapon you are using and what vehicle you are shooting at, there is a possibility that your rounds can penetrate the hide of the vehicle and damage the passengers inside, at a greatly reduced level.

The higher the caliber of your weapon, the more damage you will do to the occupants of the vehicle. If you can penetrate it in the first place.

Vehicles such as the HMMWV and the BTR-80 are immune to all infantry firearms and can only be penetrated by .50 cal or larger. The remaining vehicles can be penetrated by infantry rifle calibers.



Systems

  • Players now move slower when moving along inclines and up stairs. The speed reduction is governed by the type of material you are traversing.
  • Acceleration into a full sprint has been decreased by half.
  • Addition of a Walking Animation while ADSing.
  • Addition of a prone movement animation while moving around in Prone.



UI

  • Order and Enemy markers will appear in 3D space for a brief amount of time when initially placed to the Squad of the Squad Leader who placed it.
  • Order markers (Construct, Move, Defend, Scout, Attack, etc) can now only be seen by the squad.
  • Enemy Spotted markers (vehicles, infantry, etc) can be seen by the team.
  • Each squad is allowed 1 action marker and 3 spot markers at a time. As you place new markers the older ones will be removed.
  • Crowdfunding backers have now been added to the credits list.
  • When creating a squad, the SL will be given a squad leader kit. They will then be taken to the Roles screen so they can exchange it for another version of the SL kit.
  • When joining a squad, the player will be taken to the Roles screen so they may choose their kit.
  • Updated the map flags to be higher quality and new designs for the Militia and Insurgents.
  • Kits are now grouped in appropriate sub groups at the ammo crate.
  • Redesigned the FOB Status Widget and fixed a few cases where it wouldnt show up when it should.
  • The ammo counter widget now displays a rough estimate of the rounds you have in your magazines, including the one in the gun.



Art

  • Added PPSH-41 submachine gun.
  • Added G3A3 battle rifle.
  • Added G3A4 battle rifle.
  • Added SKS semi-automatic carbine.
  • Added RKG-3 anti-tank grenade.
  • Added M110 SASS designated marksman rifle (rifle has placeholder optics).
  • Added PG-7V HEAT anti-tank rounds to the RPG-7 launcher.
  • Added Dshk heavy machine gun emplacement for Insurgents and Militia.
  • Added the AKMS back to the game.
  • Removed the AKS-74M.
  • Updated textures on base AK-74 models.
  • Added M1151 HMMWV
  • Added Technical
  • Added M939 transport and logistics truck
  • Added Ural 375D transport and logistics truck
  • Added BTR-80 APC



Maps

  • Added new map Yehorivka to the map rotation.
  • Added Night version of Chora
  • Added Infantry layers for most maps
  • Added Dusk version of Gorodok
  • Added more details to Sumari Bala
  • Added one of each vehicle type and variation to Jensens Range. All of them are enterable with no requirements. 30 second respawn timers on them.
  • Added a racetrack to Jensens Range



Modding

  • Added a function to the Radial Menu, IsMarkerVisible, that can be overriden and used to hide markers
  • Moved Ragdoll behavior to a component on Soldier and added a number of methods to control the ragdoll state. This should allow modders to put the soldier into a ragdoll state at any time, rather than only when incapacitated.
  • SQPawn now switches the team of MapIconWidgets, so the team state should always be correct.
  • Added new Ruleset function VehicleDestroyed.



Before we sign off, there's one last thing we want to share.

We are extremely excited to be able to share the first trailer for Post Scriptum: The Bloody Seventh. The first full scale conversion for Squad under development currently.

Congrats to Periscope Games for taking this huge step into the public. We are very proud of your work so far and look forward to lending our support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W24njMwPkCM

Offworld Out.
...