Jan 31, 2018

Squad - Gatzby

Hey Squaddies,

Got a minute?

We're back with a brand new year and we're already in the final stages of bug fixing and testing for Alpha 10. Your feedback during the Alpha 10 public test before Christmas was invaluable in making the test period for us that much less crazy. For the media rich version of this post, visit http://www.joinsquad.com

There's absolutely no replacement for those dedicated boots on the ground! The insane amount of enthusiasm and positiveness around the playtest fueled our drive to make Alpha 10 one of our most polished releases yet. Gib A10!

Alpha 10 Status

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/jira_a10_bugfixing.jpg

Since entering testing, we've squashed more than 323 separate bugs and issues with no small thanks to your bug reports! We only have a few more left before we're happy going to a full release, but rest assured the day where we can finally move on is coming soon. In fact, some of the artists are already working ahead!

In the meantime, we'd like to show off development in other areas of the game that are coming after the Alpha 10 release. Unlike previous recaps, this will focus more on content that is extremely close to completion and will most likely be added in the near future. One caveat is mapping, where it is usually an area that is developed on an independent schedule, so the content shown there will vary in levels of completion and release schedules. Let's see what the future holds!

Art and Modeling

British Army Update

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/brit3.jpg

A faction teased since the beginning of the Kickstarter, the Brits have been stewing away for quite some time now and they're almost ready to make war. With their own array of weapons, uniform and armament, they will prove to be another flavour on an already rich battlefield. #Melbolyfe

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/brit1.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/brit2.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/brit4.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/brit5.jpg

https://gfycat.com/ifr/KindSnarlingEland

https://gfycat.com/ifr/DeadAcclaimedCrane

New Insurgent Soldiers

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/ins5.jpg

The Insurgent models currently in use are the last marketplace assets still widely used in our art library. We've been hard at work modelling a completely new set of our own. With them comes a large variety of civilian and paramilitary styles to make the faction look a little more versatile visually. Rigged up and just about good to go, they're undergoing a bit more texture polish before deployment.

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/ins2.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/ins3.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/ins4.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/ins1.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/ins6.jpg

Technical's Improvised Armor Package

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/armouredtechnical1.jpgOne other improvement we're adding to the unconventional factions is an improvised armour set for their light vehicles. Sometimes-reluctant workhorses of modern combat, these vehicles generally sacrifice speed and handling for much greater resistance to shrapnel and small arms fire.

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/armouredtechnical2.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/armouredtechnical3.jpg

BGM-71 TOW Missile Emplacement

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/tow6.jpg

Also in the pipe is our first foray into guided missile systems with the BGM-71 TOW. Equipped with a high magnification day-sight, this weapon fires wire-guided anti-tank missiles over extreme distances. This should give a bit more teeth to American FOB defences.

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/tow2.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/tow5.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/tow7.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/tow3.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/tow4.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/tow1.jpg

PKP

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/pkp1.jpg

Alpha 10 will see the introduction of the PKM, but soon afterwards will come its modernised cousin, the PKP. Complete with a mount for optics, this Russian weapon will make their machine gunners even more fearsome.

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/pkp2.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/pkp3.jpg

Heavy Machine Gun Optics

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/mgoptic1.jpg

Conventional factions will also be getting an upgrade to their heavy machine gun emplacements in the form of mounted optics. This will allow for greater target acquisition capabilities for HMG gunners, and also make HMGs a more formidable weapon to go up against especially on maps with little cover.

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/mgoptic2.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/mgoptic3.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/mgoptic4.jpg

Mapping

With a new year comes a new year of mapping! This year we will try to keep the community abreast of the current state of maps as they develop so things may be a little more work in progress than perhaps in the past.Let's check in with the mapping team!

Kohat Expansion

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/kohatexpansion.jpg

An expansion to Kohat Toi River Valley will bring improvements to the eastern and southern portions of the map, providing more variety and capturable areas. In addition, the eastern edge of the map will house a brand new United States Army FOB, complete with helicopter landing pads.

Logar Valley Expansion

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/logar1.jpg

As part of a step to revamp some of the older maps we have retrofitted the main town in Logar and replaced about 40% of the buildings with more two story and larger internal space structures. In addition, many more damaged and ruined buildings were added throughout the map as well as a few new bisecting roads to keep those vehicles nimble.

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/logar2.jpg

Kamdesh Highlands

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/kamdesh3.jpg

Building on our experience with Operation First Light, we've begun work on a new map visually based on a more rugged portion of Afghanistan than previous projects. Covered in a thick pine forest, the hilly terrain will increase the risk of ambushes leaving even seasoned veterans on the edge of their seats!

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/kamdesh1.jpg

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/kamdesh2.jpg

Checking in with Fallujah

https://media.joinsquad.com/2018/Feb/Jan%20Recap/fallujah.jpg

Continuing progress on the layout of our long-term project Fallujah. We have moved into the second phase of the city creation and the environment team is working through the creation of larger urban structures to populate the core of the city. Expect monthly updates on this one as it moves towards release in the later part of the year.

Annnnnd that brings us to the close of the first regularly scheduled Recap of the year. We hope you're as excited as we are to see what's coming to Squad in the near and distant futures.

Offworld Out.

Jan 31, 2018

January 2018 Recap

Squad - Black Lives Matter | ACAB

Alpha 10 Status

Art and Modeling

British Army Update

New Insurgent Soldiers

Technical's Improvised Armor Package

BGM-71 TOW Missile Emplacement

PKP

Heavy Machine Gun Optics

Mapping

Kohat Expansion

Logar Valley Expansion

Kamdesh Highlands

Checking in with Fallujah

Offworld Out.

Jan 17, 2018

The Wrench -- December

Squad - Gatzby

Hi Squaddies,

We hope you all had great and amazing holidays and spent some time with friends, family, scotch, or your pets. (Whichever you may enjoy most. No judgment.) The Modding community was also hard at work on some new content which we're happy to present to you. We love what everyone has been doing so far and with Alpha 10 around the corner we are sure that a great 2018 is waiting for us! We are glad that you are with us on this journey.

Join us on the Community Modding Discord where you can join discussions and meet the modding community. It's a great place to share your ideas and passions with like-minded people that will happily help you create something awesome.

Finnish Defence Forces by FDFMod

This team is working on a custom faction everyone has really wanted to see since the Project Reality days: the Finnish Defence Forces. It plans to combine elements from both conventional and unconventional forces in a way that reflects the traits of the FDF such as infantry focus and defensive maneuvers. They are also planning on including new maps as well as a defensive game mode. Currently we can see great progress on their character models as well as various gear. Mahtava!

Finkarus by LoRDHitMan

It always fills us with a sense of pride when we see things that grow in our community get bigger and end up in the Steam Workshop to be downloaded by everyone. Finkarus is a great example of that. It is a 4x4km map with all sorts of different terrain that can already be played. Creative work is never finished though, so LoRDHitMan is currently working on a Mesh Kit to make the Soviet apartments look more authentic. You can check out the current version of the map on the Steam Workshop.

Destruction Gamemode by The ISKT Community

A new game mode is currently in development with a focus on competitive play. Let's hear all about it directly from the guys who are working on it:
"Due to changes coming to AAS, the ISKT community took it upon themselves to create a new game mode for competitive Squad that would fit well and make for more diverse strategies. Destruction is a product of several people from the competitive Squad community, ISKT, and is being built and made possible by Virus.exe who is a great contributor within the Squad modding community.

Destruction is based on the Battlefield 4 Rush game mode with a pair of caches that will spawn in the general same area (around the size of your average capture zone in AAS) that need to be destroyed. The caches are always spawned in the same general areas for each phase which allows teams to prepare different strategies for different layers and maps.

Attackers need to destroy both caches in a phase to advance to the next phase, with 3 phases being the total. Once a cache is destroyed the attacking force will gain tickets.

Since both caches in a phase are in play at the same time, the attackers know their location and the defenders must maintain a significant amount of map control to ensure where the attackers focus the majority of their forces. Defenders must bleed attackers out of tickets or hold out for 60 minutes to win. Attackers must destroy all caches to win.

Frontlines Custom Winter Map by Marv

Community Contributor Marv has been with us for quite some time and is working on a beautiful looking winter map. The map will feature capture zones centered around fortified trenches where the US Army and the Russian Armed Forces will fight over control in an open-world scenario.

Docfapark by Orsouw.G

Based on a forest located around his hometown of Oss, Orsouw.G is working on capturing the Dutch countryside. He is planning to do US Army vs. Russian Forces where the Russians will be attacking from the north of the map. The flat Dutch terrain will be key on this map, where concealment is hard to find. Orsouw.G is currently working on some custom props to liven up the new Western Europe setting.

The Squad Modding Roundup

Some may already know about it, some have been seeing the announcements in the Modding Discord or the official Squad Discord. Together with our community member rocode and a lot of support by server admins we've been doing a weekly Modding Roundup where everyone gets the chance to play some of the great Mods that have been in development.

Want to take part?

Make sure to stick around on Saturdays then! Modding Roundup happens every Saturday, 19.30 UTC, the maps of the week and server will always be posted in the Official Squad Discord as well as the Modding Discord.

Modder Spotlight: =RED_BEARS=SilentBlooD

Who are the people that make up this beautiful and dedicated community? Let's try to dig a bit in and get to know our Modders. This month we have an interview with =RED_BEARS=SilentBlooD, a mapper who has already been featured in the Modding Roundup with some great things.

Q: Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

A: Hi there, I am 34 years old and I live in Israel. I am a construction superintendent and a contractor.

Q: How did you start Squad Modding?

A: One day I saw a video by BlueDrake talking on the subject of modding for Squad. By that time I have been playing Squad for some time and was looking for a cool project to work on.

Q: Have you been modding any other games before starting with Squad?

A: This is the first time I did anything this large in terms of a modding project.

Q: What was the biggest challenge you encountered?

A: A game dev should be organized and careful with development backups. I had to redo the map three times. I still cannot believe I made the map in three months time.

Q: What would be your best advice for newcomers to Squad modding?

A: Watch a tutorial on a subject you need and then practice it until you are doing it fast and with a good result. Do not fast forward in your work thinking that you know stuff. You have to practice every day for at least two hours.

Q: If you could change or add anything you want to Squad or the SDK, what would it be?

A: Squad is all fine. I would whine on the subject after they release the final build. SDK needs a lot more environment assets. As a mapper the thirst for assets to play with is endless. I would be fine with a 300% increase in world assets for mapping!

Q: How long did it take you to create Forest Air, from start to the current stage and did you learn anything new while creating it?

A: It took me three months to get where I am at this stage of my map dev. Before this map, I was working for six months on an 8x8km island map. Now when I look at it I can see that my style got more interesting: the light setup is much better, I know how to set up spawn points and the rest of game logic. I had a lot of help from other community modders like CreativeRealms, Virus.exe, rocode, XanderDal, wasti and the moderators of the Squad Modding Community Discord server.

Q: How many assets have you made yourself and would you recommend modders expand their skill set so that they can create their own assets for maps?

A: In my opinion it is vital to know modeling and texturing software. At least on a basic level. This will help you to produce your imagination the way you see it on the map. There are 10 original meshes and a huge amount of merged assets that were created from by kitbashing inside the Squad SDK.

Q: Do you have any upcoming projects after you complete your map, Forest Air?

A: I have a couple in mind. I will start them only after the community has the chance to play for some time on my map and see if it wants it or not. But you never know. I might just wake up one day and start working on the next one.

Thank you very much for answering our questions. We're looking forward to your future endeavours!

Squad Modding Hub Management Team Out.

Join the Discussion >>

Jan 17, 2018

The Wrench -- December

Squad - Black Lives Matter | ACAB

Finnish Defence Forces by FDFMod

Finkarus by LoRDHitMan

Destruction Gamemode by The ISKT Community

Frontlines Custom Winter Map by Marv

Docfapark by Orsouw.G

The Squad Modding Roundup

Want to take part?

Modder Spotlight: =RED_BEARS=SilentBlooD

Squad Modding Hub Management Team Out.

Join the Discussion >>

Dec 20, 2017

Alpha 10 Public Test

Squad - Gatzby

Hey Squaddies,

We've made the feature list, we're checking it twice, and we're definitely going to find out who's been naughty or nice, the Alpha 10 test run is coming to town! For about 24 hours starting on December 21, 6 PM UTC/10:00 AM PST, we'll be releasing a public test version of Squad Alpha 10 for everyone -- yes, you in the back, you can download and play, all you need is Squad.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a work in progress! Alpha 10 is still undergoing active development and does not have a scheduled release date. It will be more than three weeks; consider yourself warned! The contents of this public test are subject to change and may not be representative of the final release.

In other words, it's not done yet, but we want your feedback! And your bug reports. Expect bugs, quirks, server performance, and extra steps to be required. (See below!)

Get the Public Test

If you have Steam installed, you're already most of the way there.

Right-click on Squad in your Library.
Click "Properties".
Navigate to the BETAS tab.
In the box that says, "Enter beta access code to unlock private beta:" enter the following code: squadparkourdlc
Click "Check Code".
In the drop-down box above the code, select the "public-testing" branch.
Click close, and your download should begin.

PLEASE NOTE: The public test version will only become available at 1500 UTC / 0700 PST. Prior to that, the current version of Alpha 9 will be available using that password. You will need to clear your cache or your key bindings will not work.

Public Test Patch Notes

Before you go playing with all your shiny new toys, let's check the card and see what's in the box:

Transition time from sprinting to aiming down sights has been increased.
Transition from standing to prone is no longer instant. (So long, prone diving!)
Crouch sprinting added.
Additional MOCAP data for climbing and vaulting has been integrated.
Vaulting now allows movement over small walls. (Parkour!)
Climbing now allows movement over some walls. (Parkour?)
Freelook has been added.
Weapon sway effects have been adjusted.
Weapon collision has been added. Be careful in tight spaces!
Scoped weapons have reduced peripheral vision. Reticles have been updated.
Ironsight zoom increased when aiming down sights.
Infantry weapons now have adjustable sights. This obviously does not apply to weapons with fixed sights.
New role: Machine gunner has been added to Squad with new primary weapons. (PKM and m240b)
Deployable bipods available for MGs.
Adjustments to address flag capture blocking.
Switching vehicles seats now has a delay that varies by vehicle.
Several vehicles now have secondary ammunition types, such as the 30mm HE rounds for the Russian BTR-82A.
Several vehicles now have coaxial machine guns.
Logistics trucks will now be able to load and unload 2000 total points worth of space which can be allocated for construction or ammunition. By default, Left Mouse Button will unload and Right Mouse Button will load. See the November Recap for more information.
3-minute pre-match staging period has been added to help teams coordinate.
Maps: Belaya has been added with a work-in-progress weather effect.
Main menu UI has received first pass with new assets.

These are just some of the changes coming in Alpha 10 and a complete changelog will accompany final release. Keep an eye on these new additions and let us know how they feel. As the changes are not final providing us with your feedback will help shape the future of Squad. Join us in the #feedback-a10 channel on Discord or share your thoughts in the forums.

Known Issues

Cached game data must be cleared so key bindings will work.
Not losing stamina while crouch sprinting.
Bipod deployed UI.
Extra weapon model after revive. Swap weapons and swap back to fix.
Unable to vault or climb, especially after deploying bipod. Go prone and stand to fix.
Stuck hand model. Go prone and move to fix.
Uncontrolled sway, regardless of sprinting or stamina. Switch kits to fix.

Experiencing issues with something related to the patch that's not above? Congratulations, you may have found a bug! If you'd be so kind, you can report it in the #bug-reports channel on the Squad Discord

Watching the Public Test

Away from your PC this time of year? You're not alone, but fortunately for you (and the rest of us), some of our partner streamers will be broadcasting the action. Be sure to check in on their streams throughout the day to get your fix:

HAYNICK31 plans to see how the hottest competition in Squad is adjusting to the changes.
JohnnyOmaha has threatened to go a whole 24 hours if we let him have ALL the energy drinks.
Karmakut will stream from release until 6:00 PM PST.
running_Duck will be live as soon as the download finishes.
Squad Opstakes the field at 6 PM PST to show us how Squad is done.

Offworld Out.

Dec 20, 2017

Alpha 10 Public Test

Squad - Black Lives Matter | ACAB

Get the Public Test

If you have Steam installed, you're already most of the way there.

Right-click on Squad in your Library.
Click "Properties".
Navigate to the BETAS tab.
In the box that says, "Enter beta access code to unlock private beta:" enter the following code: squadparkourdlc
Click "Check Code".
In the drop-down box above the code, select the "public-testing" branch.
Click close, and your download should begin.

Public Test Patch Notes

Before you go playing with all your shiny new toys, let's check the card and see what's in the box:

Transition time from sprinting to aiming down sights has been increased.
Transition from standing to prone is no longer instant. (So long, prone diving!)
Crouch sprinting added.
Additional MOCAP data for climbing and vaulting has been integrated.
Vaulting now allows movement over small walls. (Parkour!)
Climbing now allows movement over some walls. (Parkour?)
Freelook has been added.
Weapon sway effects have been adjusted.
Weapon collision has been added. Be careful in tight spaces!
Scoped weapons have reduced peripheral vision. Reticles have been updated.
Ironsight zoom increased when aiming down sights.
Infantry weapons now have adjustable sights. This obviously does not apply to weapons with fixed sights.
New role: Machine gunner has been added to Squad with new primary weapons. (PKM and m240b)
Deployable bipods available for MGs.
Adjustments to address flag capture blocking.
Switching vehicles seats now has a delay that varies by vehicle.
Several vehicles now have secondary ammunition types, such as the 30mm HE rounds for the Russian BTR-82A.
Several vehicles now have coaxial machine guns.
Logistics trucks will now be able to load and unload 2000 total points worth of space which can be allocated for construction or ammunition. By default, Left Mouse Button will unload and Right Mouse Button will load. See the November Recap for more information.
3-minute pre-match staging period has been added to help teams coordinate.
Maps: Belaya has been added with a work-in-progress weather effect.
Main menu UI has received first pass with new assets.

Known Issues

Cached game data must be cleared so key bindings will work.
Not losing stamina while crouch sprinting.
Bipod deployed UI.
Extra weapon model after revive. Swap weapons and swap back to fix.
Unable to vault or climb, especially after deploying bipod. Go prone and stand to fix.
Stuck hand model. Go prone and move to fix.
Uncontrolled sway, regardless of sprinting or stamina. Switch kits to fix.

Watching the Public Test

HAYNICK31 plans to see how the hottest competition in Squad is adjusting to the changes.
JohnnyOmaha has threatened to go a whole 24 hours if we let him have ALL the energy drinks.
Karmakut will stream from release until 6:00 PM PST.
running_Duck will be live as soon as the download finishes.
Squad Opstakes the field at 6 PM PST to show us how Squad is done.

Offworld Out.

Dec 5, 2017

Monthly Recap - November 2017

Squad - Chuc

Hi Squaddies,

As we move into December, the team is now in a full bug-fixing and polish mode, where all the new major features have been locked down. The team is now dedicated to fixing as many outstanding bugs as possible before entering large scale community play-testing. Please give us your strength during this time!

In return, we'd like to give you a preview of what the following major patch will contain. As always, these features are still in development and may vary in their final form. Stick with us for more development updates!

Upcoming Version Feature Preview

Coming in the next major version (Alpha v10), Squad gameplay as you know it will change dramatically. The Animation System overhaul may not sound like it changes much aside from aesthetics, but it is going to revolutionize how the game will be played. On top of that, several other changes to gameplay will mix things up quite a bit.

Infantry Movement Changes

Click to View

https://gfycat.com/ifr/LightheartedMeatyLamb

Transitioning time from sprinting to getting your weapon up and aiming down the sights has been slightly increased from the previous value. The effect of this is that sprinting, as in real life, actually puts you in a vulnerable position. Constant running and gunning will put you at a disadvantage compared to a soldier who is crouching and already steadily aiming down sights. We're seeing that more careful movement is needed on the personal level, and more tactical movement is required as a team: bounding overwatch will become a much more important thing. (Bounding Overwatch: Covering teammates while they move up, then having them cover you while you move up.)

Click to View

https://gfycat.com/ifr/HighLinearFennecfox

Transitioning from standing to prone will no longer be instant, and you don't keep your sights on the target during it. This means that prone diving, previously a fairly common occurrence to instantly get dead-accurate hits, will be GONE. Bwahaha!

Crouch Sprinting is also added to the game, meaning that you will be able to traverse distances with a lower profile, albeit at a slower pace than you would if you were standing up fully exposed.

Vaulting and Climbing

Vaulting will allow you to more quickly jump over small walls.Climbing will allow you to get over higher walls than was previously possible as infantry. This changes the playing field, as a simple rifleman's sandbag may be enough to scale a wall previously only accessible with a ladder. Another trick would be to use a vehicle as a booster which would allow you to climb over higher obstacles.

Freelook

Freelook will allow you to look around while doing any action while in infantry. This should slightly increase situational awareness while moving and reloading. Remember to watch your back!

Weapons Handling Changes

Weapon handling will change to feel more fluent and realistic, with a lot more polish in the way it moves and should feel much more immersive. Note that this will be the first iteration of this system and the precise sway/recoil/transition numbers will still be tweaked, and that the exact values we release with may not be the same as those shown here. However, the changes seen will still be in this direction.

Click to View

https://gfycat.com/ifr/ForkedLimpingIndochinesetiger
https://gfycat.com/ifr/ThriftyPlushGlobefish
https://gfycat.com/ifr/IdealOpulentChihuahua
https://gfycat.com/ifr/MetallicFlatGosling

We will be slightly increasing sway effects when standing or after sprinting. This will put more emphasis on your posture and stamina, as well as taking your time to take your shots. This will benefit players who move carefully and deliberately. Good position and stance will give a more tangible advantage.

Weapon Collision

The length of your weapon also now plays a factor in how you maneuver through tight spaces and fire from cover. When you are too close to an obstacle or a surface, your weapon will be forcibly lowered and you will be prevented from firing and aiming down your sights. This naturally depends on the weapon in question, so bringing a long marksman rifle into small CQB spaces will be ill advised, whereas pistols will have a natural advantage in tight situations.

Sights and Optics

Scoped weapons will have reduced peripheral vision. This will reduce their spotting advantage at distance. The reticles also have been designed to allow for them to be used to gauge the fall of your shot.

Click to View

https://gfycat.com/ifr/ShadowyAmusedFulmar

Ironsight weapons will have a very slight permanent zoom increase when aiming down the sights to increase the ability to effectively return fire against scoped opponents.

Adjustable Sights

All infantry weapons (barring those with fixed sights) will have the ability for you to adjust their sights depending on the range of your target. This is especially useful for grenade launchers and dumb-fire rocket launchers as they rely heavily on the shooter accounting for the ballistic trajectory to score a first shot hit. Being able to adjust your sights to compensate for the distance to target will greatly improve the chances of a first shot hit. This feature is also included in all small arms as well, ranging from rifles to machine guns, even on the PPSh-41 submachine gun. Don't forget to hit the range to brush up on your skills, squaddies.

New Role: Machine Gunner

A new role we have added is the Machine Gunner. A team-wide limited role, the Machine Gunner is packing a larger General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). Compared to the Automatic Rifleman's LMG, the Machine Gunner's GPMG is typically a larger caliber weapon capable of putting down suppressive fire out to much longer distances and can penetrate more surfaces with greater reliability. Due to the size and weight of the GPMG, it is generally unsuitable for firing either on the move or in CQB situations. We will be introducing the M240B and the PKM with this new role.

Bipods

Bipods will allow Light Machine Guns (LMGs) and General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) to set up on positions and put down a large volume of fire with terrifying accuracy. The Automatic Rifleman and Machine Gunner roles intention were to provide suppression. In reality, they were often quickly picked off by Marksmen or Riflemen with optics, as they were limited in their ability to effectively return fire at range. With the introduction of bipods, from what we've seen so far, the machine gun is a force to be reckoned with. It is VERY deadly, even at range, when set up with a bipod. The changes to sway and prone diving (see above) give the automatic rifleman a much larger window to fire when after an enemy has been spotted, before taking return fire. The best way to deal with an Automatic Rifleman is to flank them, because they will have the power to simply make swiss cheese out of you if you try to attack from the front.

Click to View

https://gfycat.com/ifr/GiganticInconsequentialGraysquirrel

Furthermore, each squad will have access to an extra Automatic Rifleman outside of the special kit restrictions, allowing a squad more freedom to pick other specialty kits as well.

Changes to the Rush Meta

After reviewing community and internal feedback, we have decided that we are unhappy with the "Rush the first enemy flags" AAS meta, as it is an unforgiving type of gameplay that fails to put emphasis on the gradual capping of flags and territory that AAS was designed around. To address this, non-capturable flags will no longer be blockable by the enemy. For example: if one soldier is in the capture zone of their team's first flag and nine enemies are in that cap zone as well trying to block it, the flag will still be captured. Once they find him and kill him, the flag will (obviously) stop capping.This should severely reduce the "Rush Flags" meta, and shift the focus more towards the linear progression of moving from flag area to flag area, as well as having a proper supply train with FOBs and logistics. Blocking a flag is technically still possible if you eliminate the entire attacking force, but it will require more resources to do and is more likely to fail.

Vehicle Changes

Entering or exiting vehicles and switching seats inside vehicles is no longer instant. The duration depends on the vehicle and the type of seat. This greatly reduces the effectiveness of soloing vehicles when a vehicle is flanked or ambushed. Either it will not be able to drive away or it won't be able to return fire instantly. Bring a friend!

Several vehicles will have access to secondary weapons and different ammunition types. For example, the Russian BTR-82A will have access to 30mm High Explosive (HE) ammunition which deal explosive damage suitable for dealing with infantry, in addition to its normal 30mm Armor Piercing (AP) rounds. BTR and BRDM variants also have access to a secondary coaxial machinegun. Some vehicles also have access to smoke launchers, providing a way to either conceal their movements or aid infantry by providing a large smokescreen. Mortars as well will have smoke-screen rounds added to their standard compliment of high explosive ordnance.

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Logistics Changes

One change that we're implementing to Logistics is for the Logistics carrier to load on varying amounts of either construction or ammunition points. For example, an Ural supply truck has 2000 points worth of space to load either construction or ammunition. If a FOB in the front is running mortars or simply just needs more ammo, the truck can run a full load of ammo rather than wasting half of that space to haul unneeded construction materials. Unsecured oversized loads will be issued a moving citation.

The process of loading and unloading is now treated like a weapon on a vehicle, in that Construction and Ammo occupy different inventory slots, and one button (Default: Left Mouse Button) will unload, and another (Default: Right Mouse Button) will load supplies onto the vehicle.

Round Start Staging Timer

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Instead of a 3-minute pre-match spawn timer, there will be a 3-minute staging period before matches. During this time, you can spawn in at your team's Main Base, organize your squads, roles, get to your vehicles, and prepare to move out. However, you are unable to leave the Main Base area until the timer has fully elapsed. To prevent griefing issues, you cannot fire your weapons during the staging period.

We're supremely grateful for the community we have and we will absolutely do not want to disappoint, despite taking us this long to get our next major release together. Please stay tuned for further updates as our team is on overdrive in hammering out the bugs.

Offworld Out.

Dec 5, 2017

Monthly Recap - November 2017

Squad - Chuc

Upcoming Version Feature Preview

Infantry Movement Changes

Vaulting and Climbing

Freelook

Freelook will allow you to look around while doing any action while in infantry. This should slightly increase situational awareness while moving and reloading. Remember to watch your back!

Weapons Handling Changes

Weapon Collision

Sights and Optics

Adjustable Sights

New Role: Machine Gunner

Bipods

Changes to the Rush Meta

Vehicle Changes

Logistics Changes

Round Start Staging Timer

Offworld Out.