Hey soldiers!

We’re back with another Weekend Roundup! The big news is, of course, PAX EAST! The Offworld Industries team is showing off Squad and Post Scriptum in Booth 10126 all weekend! Be sure to drop by and say, “Howdy!” if you’re in Boston this weekend. Make sure you send us your pictures!

For those of us not lucky enough to be PAXing all weekend, there’s plenty of Squad to go around, including a new Troopers Mod server.

Let’s roll!


11:30 AM PT (1830 UTC)
Squad Ops: Operation Lawless Range

2:30 PM PT (2130 UTC)
Squad Ops: SOTT Basic

5:30 PM PT (0030 UTC, 31/3)
Squad Ops: Operation Nitro (Night Op)


11:30 AM PT (1830 UTC)
Squad Ops: SOTT Basic


All Day
Suffer no fools gladly!


All Day
Squad Charity League Signups Close
(Benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital)


The Swiss Stage of the Squad World Championship has come to a close! Congratulations to ProG for coming 1st and to SQD and uC. for coming 2nd and 3rd respectively. Only FAOB and GRSW will have a match next week, giving the other teams time to prepare for what will surely be an epic battle!

Be sure to join the SWC Discord to keep track of the action.


New server alert! You can now play Troopers Mod on the Avalon Troopers server. Enlist now and do your part!

Hey soldiers!

Looking forward to the weekend? There’s good reason to: plenty of Squad! Let’s check out what’s going on this weekend:


11:00 AM PT (1800 UTC)
SWC: Productive Game vs. Source of Quality Directives

11:30 AM PT (1830 UTC)
Squad Ops: Operation Knockdown

2:00 PM PT (2100 UTC)
SWC: Firestorm vs. TLRGaming

5:30 PM PT (0030 UTC. 24/3)
Squad Ops: Operation Trident’s Tip

6:00 PM PT (0100 UTC, 24/3)
SWC: Unity+OC vs. Speaking in Tongues

7:00 PM PT (0200 UTC, 24/3)
SWC: Bella’s Babes vs North American Comp


2:00 AM PT (0900 UTC)
SWC: salt. vs. Project Phoenix+Indies

12:00 PM PT (1900 UTC)
SWC: GRSW vs FAOB

6:30 AM PT (1330 UTC)
Squad Ops: SOTT Basic


6:00 PM PT (0100 UTC, 19/3)
Conscripted Combat: West (56th) vs. Sevtar (2FJG)




PAX East 2019 is just a week away and Offworld Industries will be showing off Squad and Post Scriptum in Booth 10126! If you’re going to be at the show, be sure to drop by and check out what we’ve prepared for the show. We hope to see you there!

Hey squaddies,

While the time changes are afoot, there’s only one thing we can be certain of: it’s time for The Wrench! We’re back for March and all of your great submissions.

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.




Reiterating upon a classic Project Reality map of the same name, Spriggan is hard at work to bring this great experience to Squad, as well incorporating design elements of his very own PR map Route E-106. Designed with infantry combat at its core, this map will put you in a 4×4 km terrain with a focus on a tactical, fun experience.








West’s love for Sumari made him think about how great it would work for a hillside eastern European map. In this well-made Sumari conversion, he’s putting Russians or Brits against Militia. West also plans include to add a little bit more detail to the northern side, spreading capture points a bit out more.






An instant community favourite is Troopers. And Loki isn’t one to rest on his success, the team and he are hard at work adding more features and enemies to their mod. There are also some great vehicles that are currently a work-in-progress, so we’re looking forward to future updates. Be sure to check out the current great version on the Steam Workshop and play it! Also join up on their Discord server] and do your part!




Zombies seem to catch the attention of modders again and again. Now we have a new Zombie mod that is being worked on with xDJRy’s Squad Infection. This mod is bringing back the old-school game mode “Zombie Infection."



Built from the ground up, the infection game mode contains polished gameplay mechanics and satisfying user features which are sure to keep the community returning for more. Custom Maps, Zombie Models, Player Abilities, Loadouts, and Soundtracks are just some of the many elements they have included in this mod to give it the ambiance it needs to make a lasting impression. Everything is heavily work in progress right now, but we can’t wait to see where this leads to.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/0kuvJDzk55o




https://www.youtube.com/embed/miAgj5JheLk

The Helicopter mod, another community favorite, keeps getting updated with new features! This time they added the MH-6 Little Bird in multiple variants: Regular transport, and “night ops” recon equipped with search light and thermal imaging. Squad Ops also has been picking up on it and featured the mod in one of their One Life events.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Mj0OnN_9J8




The Aussie Mod Team is back creating some thunder from down under, showing early work in progress images of their Australian Bushmaster PMV and one of their standalone maps, Operation: Anaconda. If you want to help out, or simply keep updated, check out their Discord.








https://www.youtube.com/embed/ub1Wbr14Iqo

With so many great ideas popping up, SquadZ has already established itself already in the community, boasting multiple servers. So, congratulations to smed and the team!

The zombies have superhuman abilities including jumping to building height or seeing their next victim through walls. If you have wondered how a military force could be bested by zombies, this is the mod for you. You can check out the mod on the Steam Workshop, and start playing right away, or join up their Discord.




For his South African Border War Mod, Springbok_ZA is currently working on two very important vehicles of the South African Defense Force: the Casspir and the Buffel. Due to their ease of maintenance in the field and their mobility over the African bushveld, they were used to great effect during the Border War alongside the Ratel as the SADF preferred wheeled vehicles over tracked.


Factions, maps, zombies and sci-fi pest control. What more can you want for a nice Wrench? If you already know you’ll be in for the April edition, simply start your submission here. Until next month!

Visit this post on JoinSquad.com for more media.


Please note: Offworld Industries is not responsible for mod content. Please contact the creator for assistance.

Hey soldiers!

The weekend is nearly upon us once more and with it comes a solid batch of Squad events! Squad World Cup is still in full swing, so there’s sure to be some fantastic face-offs there. And is that a night operation going on over at Squad Ops? You bet it is.


11:30 AM PT (1930 UTC)
Squad Ops: Operation Arrowhead

5:30 PM PT (0030 UTC, 17/3)
Squad Ops: Operation Black Ice (Night Operation)

7:00 PM PT (2000 UTC, 17/3)
SWC: Source of Quality Directives vs. Speaking in Tongues


2:00 AM PT (0900 UTC)
SWC: Unity+OC vs. TLRGaming

2:00 AM PT (0900 UTC)
SWC: salt. vs FAOB

7:00 AM PT (1400 UTC)
Squad Ops: SOTT Basic

9:00 AM PT (1600 UTC)
SWC: Productive Game vs GRSW

There are still a few unscheduled SWC matches at the time of posting, so be sure to check their page for last minute updates.

6:00 PM PT (0100 UTC, 19/3)
Conscripted Combat: Voo vs. King Snipz

Okay, maybe Monday isn't *technically* the weekend, but that's no reason to miss out on some Conscripted Combat!




Those brain-lovin’ squaddies over at Squad Z Mod have released the Lurker update! Hit the link below to see what’s new and download the mod.

Download
Discord

Fresh from the hands of the video team, we’ve got a brand new cut of the What is Squad? video just in time for PAX East! We’ve come a long way since 2015 and it was high time to show off some of the advancements that have come to the battlefield in that time.

Click here to see the trailer on Youtube!

So, what do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Hey soldiers!

Looking for a little bit of Squad action this weekend? You’re in luck: there’s plenty going on! Squad World Championship is back in full swing with a full complement of matches, which are sure to make for some exciting streams! Speaking of, be sure to join us on Twitch for tomorrow’s SquadChat with Fuzzhead at 10 AM Pacific Time (1800 UTC).

Not only that, we’ve seen a few more mod servers pop up this week, just in case you’re looking to slay some bugs or zombies. Here’s the scoop:

10:00 AM PT (1800 UTC)
SquadChat with Fuzzhead (Game Designer)

12:00 PM PT (2000 UTC)
SWC: 1ST and I|I versus Bella’s Babes

10:00 AM PT (1800 UTC)
SWC: Productive Game versus FAOB

11:30 AM PT (1930 UTC)
Squad Ops: Operation Vulture (Basic Required)

1:00 AM PT (2100 UTC)
SWC: Speaking in Tongues versus Project Phoenix and Indies

1:00 AM PT (UTC 0900)
SWC: Unity and OC versus GRSW

11:00 AM PT (UTC 1930)
Squad Ops: SOTT Basic

6:00 PM PT (UTC 0200)
SWC: Firestorm versus North American Comp

6:30 PM PT (UTC 0230)
SWC: Source of Quality Directives versus salt.




DOWNLOAD

Fiore Gaming Troopers Mod
The Playground Modded server

Enjoy your weekend, squaddies!

OFFWORLD OUT.

Be sure to drop by and check out what's going on in the world of Squad and Post Scriptum; we think you'll like what you see. There might even be some other fun stuff in the booth with us, not counting our developers and community volunteers, of course!

You'll find us in the bottom left corner of the Expo Hall Map, Booth 10126:




We've selected and notified our chosen volunteers. Which means that if you haven't received an email from us, you weren't selected... this time. The response to our call was overwhelming and the amount of love each application showed for Squad and Post Scriptum was amazing! Alas, we could only choose a few of you, but we know where to look for the next show. Thank you all for the outpouring of support and being part of our community! =)

We're looking forward to seeing everyone at PAX East 2019!


PAX is an exciting event and you'll want to do as much as possible! You'll enjoy it more if you prepare a little. Consider a water bottle, personal hygiene kit, and small quality of life items like moleskin bandages for hot spots and blisters. Remember that you can't see and do everything, so be sure to pick your priorities.

In other words, always secure your logistics, squaddie.

(Want more GIFs in your news post? Visit https://joinsquad.com/2019/03/04/february-2019-recap/ for the media-rich version!)



Hey soldiers!

Just 'cause February is the shortest month doesn't make it any less busy! We've been hard at work bringing the Unreal Engine 4.21 update to Squad, smashing all the bugs, and polishing up some brand new goodies for you. But wait, there's more! Dig into the preview of Alpha 13 for some explosive action!


Just in case you missed it, back on February 5th, we had Merlin join us on the r/JoinSquad subreddit to answer, well, anything! You can access the thread directly here, or search for your favorite topics by joining our community Discord server and looking into the #ama-answers channel. With some help from the rest of the team, we covered topics ranging from 2019 plans, granular rearm, right on down to shovel animations. Extracurricular reading? Check!



Destructible Tracks

Tracks and Wheels are now fully destroyable in the upcoming alpha version, enabling players to inflict more granular damage to vehicles. For wheels, depending on the vehicle, they can be taken down by small arms fire, while tracks require something with a bigger punch, typically .50 cal or greater. With each wheel that gets destroyed, more friction gets applied, reducing the vehicle’s maximum top speed. The destroyed wheel’s rim still functions but at reduced drive effectiveness. In addition, the vehicle will lean over as the supporting wheel is now gone. With tracks as each gets destroyed the drive input from that track no longer functions. That means that if both tracks get destroyed, the vehicle is completely immobile.


Animated Animations!

General visual and immersion improvements have been done to our animation system, including:

• An including an overhaul to our ragdoll system
  
• Visual hand signals for Squad Leader and Fireteam orders
  
• Hand actions when SLs are talking over command VOIP
  
• Head-turning for vehicle passengers; moving mouths while talking over VOIP
  
• More immersive animations when operating open turret and emplaced weapons
  
• Idle animations for handheld weapons
  
• Secondary animation on vehicles such as antenna and mud-flaps
  
• A number of optimizations

Overall the net result is that much more polish on our characters and vehicles.


Engineer on the Move

A new role that we’re introducing for Alpha 13 is the Combat Engineer. We’re moving the infantry deployables that were associated with some Riflemen roles earlier to this new role, as well as outfitting him with anti-tank mines and small demolition charges. The intent for this role is to perform quick demolitions on deployables and light vehicles, as well as to ambush enemy vehicles and set no-go zones with their anti-tank mines.

For the Militia and Insurgents, the role that the Scout previously played will now be given to the "Sapper." So, in addition to the normal Combat Engineer loadout, Sappers will be able to lay IEDs.



Destruction is a spin-off from the Insurgency game mode, involving the conventional factions. The attacking side has a certain amount of time and resources to attack two separate weapon cache objectives. As each pair of objectives gets destroyed, a new phase of the operation will begin, spawning two more objectives and additional time and tickets are given. These objective locations are localized to a fixed area, but its precise location is randomized with rough clues given to the attacking side. In order to destroy these objectives, the engineer’s demolition charges are required.




Interactive Demo

With 4.21, a new LOD generation method is available, and we plan to make full use of it for most of our larger, more costly assets. Using this method, texture draw-calls per mesh can be decreased significantly, in some cases reaching a 40:1 ratio between the old mesh and the new proxy LOD mesh. This system has been put into place on Narva as a testbed, so be on the lookout for performance improvements there, and be sure to report any pesky LOD bugs you notice!


Granular Rearm UI

As described in an earlier recap and coming to Alpha 13, we’re dramatically improving the function of rearming your kit in the field by giving you the ability to pick which item in your inventory you wish to rearm. If your ammunition requirements exceed that of the supply source, you will be unable to rearm, in addition to using ammo points greater than necessary. This should help free up “extra” ammo points for other players when needed.


Request a Role Interface

Another quality of life improvement for ground infantry will be the ability for APCs & IFVs to allow all roles to be requested just like FOB Ammo Crates. The ammo contained within the vehicle will be consumed when that new role is requested. For Light Vehicles & Tanks, they will allow crewman roles to be obtained. This will now enable all vehicles to have access to field repairs via the Crewman kit’s repair tools.




As previously mentioned in our Monthly Recap for January, the Unreal 4 Engine upgrade has been completed and we’ve been getting used to the development related upgrades it brought to Squad. Having run a number of internal play-tests as well have proved very promising and we’re hoping to see the benefits (and also potential bugs that need to be addressed!) in full come wider scale community playtests as we did back in January. Note that we have not fully taken advantage of the optimization capabilities of this upgrade yet, so please adjust your expectations accordingly.



T-62 Advancing

One of the new vehicles that will be appearing on the scene is the T-62 Main Battle Tank, intended for the Militia and Insurgent forces. A Soviet vehicle dating back to the heat of the Cold War, a few surplus models have fallen into unconventional hands and can deal a devastating punch against heavily armored targets.

The T-62 comes equipped with a turret-stabilized 115mm smoothbore cannon, firing the usual complement of armor penetrating sabot, high explosive anti-tank and fragmentation rounds. While this armament might not perform as well as its more modern counterparts, still do not underestimate its ability to deal death at range. The commander seat has access to a simple cupola mounted periscope with high magnification optics.


Spandrel Taking Aim

Another new vehicle variant is the BRDM-2 Spandrel, basically an anti-tank guided missile variant of the BRDM-2 scout car. It comes with five wire-guided ‘Konkurs’ missiles and can fire them in relatively quick succession, dealing a devastating amount of damage against heavy armor at range. Its mobility combined with its anti-tank firepower makes it a potent battlefield tool, though with its light armor it won’t fare well in head-on engagements against enemy tanks. This vehicle will be available to Russian and unconventional factions.


MATV TOW Firing

One more vehicle that we have coming is the American counterpart to Spandrel in the form of the MATV TOW. Basically a TOW with wheels, it has 5 spare TOW missiles and the same level of mobility and armor of a conventional MATV. Definitely packs a punch, but light on protection.





The Vz.61 "Škorpion" is a Czech manufactured .32 ACP machine pistol developed in 1959, produced and exported throughout the 60s and 70s. The Škorpion is a select-fire, straight blowback weapon that operates from a closed bolt for additional accuracy while still maintaining a very high rate of fire. Its extremely compact nature even with the extended wire stock makes this machine pistol a favorite as a personal defense weapon for vehicle crews. This weapon will be issued to Militia and Insurgent crewmen.




The M-15 Anti-Tank blast mine is an American design originating in World War 2 and is activated via a mechanical pressure switch. When sufficient downward pressure is applied it will activate the fuze and trigger detonation. Containing about 10.3 kilograms of Composition B explosive, it is capable inflicting mobility kills on heavy armor or dealing critical damage to lighter vehicles. This will be available to the US Army and British combat engineers.


Arming the Charge
An array of different timed explosive charges have been added to the game. These come in various different forms but their explosive yields are the same for gameplay purposes. These charges are used for demolition purposes ranging from destroying wrecks to clearing deployables. While they are on a 30-second timer, they can be defused with your entrenching tool before they explode.




Being introduced to all British Army kits, the standard issue bayonet has been designed for use with the L85A2 family of rifles. Its special mounting system over the barrel means the blade is offset from the center of the handle, making it an effective tool favored for deployment.


Whether you're more the stabby type or the blasty type, that was definitely some good news! We're hard at work getting Alpha 13 ready for public testing, so keep your eyes peeled for updates and testing opportunities -- gotta smash all those engine update bugs. Thank you for being part of the Squad community!

- Offworld Out

With the ink still drying on all the plans, we wanted to get a headstart on some exciting news: we’ll have a booth at PAX East this year. Even better, we’d like to bring a few of you along with us!

We’re seeking a few Offworld Industries fans that will be in the Boston-area to be our community ambassadors on the show floor. Yep, you get to come to PAX East with the developers and talk about games all day! Oh, you’ll also be attending one of the largest public gaming events featuring panels, concerts, and hundreds of new games across every platform — including actual platforms. Not bad, eh?

Before you get too excited, there are a few requirements:

• You must be a legal adult (18+).
• You must be available from March 28, 2019 through March 31, 2019. (The duration of PAX East 2019.)
• You must provide your own transportation.
• You must have a strong knowledge of Squad! Post Scriptum would be a big bonus too.

If you’re still in the running, go ahead and


If you’re selected, we’ll get back to you as soon as possible — the PAX schedule isn’t even available yet.

Thank you so much for your interest! We’re looking to forward to seeing your smiling faces in person at PAX East!

(P.S. We’re hiring.)

Hi Squaddies,

Modding is back! With the SDK freshly back in action, we’re doubling down in February to make up for lost time! We hope you had a great start to the new year and we’re already convinced 2019 will be a very exciting year for all us, modders and players alike. So, without further adieu, let’s dive right into what you’ve been working on.


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.




Have you ever looked at the T-72 and thought: “This thing needs more guns”? Well, the Russians have and SPECTR_Eternal as well. He has started working on a mod that converts it to a BMPT-72 Tank Support Combat Vehicle: Armed with twin 30mm 2A42 autocannons and four individual 9M120-1 “Ataka-T” guided missiles this will make everyone on the business end of this beast very unhappy.









Elvedalen’s design is mainly focused on bringing intense combat to the river valley at the center of the map. It features the US and Russian forces squaring off over strategic objectives in the aforementioned valley, sure to cause skirmishing. Heavy vehicle combat and open areas mean that those who do not maneuver properly will be floating downstream later on. You can find it in the Steam Workshop here.








A very ambitious project that wargr and Rincewind have decided to take up here: They are working on creating the most authentic and detailed model of the Russian Mi-24V. Utilizing photoscans of the real helicopter, you can see the attention of detail these modders are capable of. Certainly looking forward to progress updates as this famous vehicle comes to life in their hands.




With the skies over the battlefield quickly becoming a little crowded, Mike is working on a helicopter friendly training map with a lot of ranges for his future one-life event organization.



Focusing in on each area should let players new and old brush up on the skills necessary for survival in Squad.







WW1 Yeho Flyby

When a clanmate suggested a World War 1-style trench affair, Papasmurf7676 found the perfect spot in Yehorivka to, er, dig in. He decided to fill it with some balanced trenches for both teams to kit out with FOBs and defend themselves. There are no vehicles; it’s pure infantry combat. You can find the early version of the map on the Steam Workshop here. Over the top, lads!




Popping up from Downunder, this newly formed mod team wishes all us, “G’day!” Since their hospitality knows no bounds, they’re also giving us a first gander at their newborn faction. Work has already begun on 2 new vehicles, 8 new weapons, new character models, and 2 new maps! They’re even making some adjustments to vanilla assets for a better fit. If you want to help out, or simply keep updated, check out their Discord.








We wish we all had the raw energy of SPECTR_Eternal, who has submitted not one, but TWO impressive projects for this edition of the Wrench! Who are we to not applaud such dedication? This time, he’s updated Operation Homestead with a new area dubbed “The Burnt Forest” and a little hint to a far-away Red Forest, where one may be able to find some Ukrainian-game-inspired easter egg.




Arcade (Tank) Fire Test

Always want to man vehicles in Squad, but your friends are sick of you flipping the logi? Steffenbk1 to the rescue! He is working on making vehicles in Squad more arcadey by being able to one-man them, including driving and shooting at the same time!




Our fine, friendly foreign French friends forge forward (Sorry, we got carried away.) on their mod to deliver a working and playable build soon! In the meantime, the production of assets also continues unabated. They’ve sent along a glimpse of that by showing off their progress on the FRF2 by Biohog that will be given to the Marksman class.






Back by popular demand, the NG Custom Modded server returns and is currently running a special with reimagined Battlefield 2 maps that are working together with the helicopter mod. NG is keeping the server up 24/7, so be sure to check it out, no matter your timezone. Sounds like great fun for some nostalgic moments!

Questions? Join their Discord server while you download the mod(s) from Steam Workshop! You can, of course, find modded servers under your Custom Servers tab for the time being.

Damn, it’s great to be back guys and girls, and we’re already looking forward to your submissions for the March edition of the Wrench. Early birds can already submit here.