Jul 11, 2019

Squad - Black Lives Matter | ACAB

Hey squaddies!

We’re taking Alpha 15 into testing and that means we need you! The update will be rolling out to the Squad – Public Testing Client shortly. You won’t need a password, simply install the testing app. (Note: It is a full, second Squad install — be sure you have enough space!)

The test does not have a set duration at this time — we’ll be running it as long as we need to collect as much data as possible.

Below is an abridged list of changes to get you up and running. A complete Alpha 15 changelog will accompany the full release.

Alpha 15 Pre-Release Changelog

Servers

As this is a pre-release test, we’ll be hosting a couple of servers ourselves. For the time being, servers will be limited to Offworld Industries hosted machines:

2 in Montreal, Canada
2 in Örebro, Sweden

Server #1 on each location is running newly optimized maps. (Yehorivka, Gorodok, Tallil, Kohat)

Server #2 on each location is running TC layers of all current existing maps.

If at any point the servers should crash, please contact [M] Nordic Socialist#5510 on our Community Discord server.

Systems

Added an Infantry Tutorial orientated putting players through basic.
Added an Interface Tutorial that teaches the Deployment interface.
Added the ability to load and unload supplies via the Vehicle Interaction Radial Menu. This allows players to load and unload supplies from a stationary vehicle via one common menu now, from inside or outside of the vehicle. This allows multiplayer players to coordinate resupplying.
Removed Left Click/Right Click system for loading and unloading supplies.
Removed Voice Command system temporarily pending further internal development.

Vehicle Gameplay

Added the BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
Tweaked vehicle claiming system numbers
- 2 vehicles require 2 squad members
- 3 vehicles require 4 squad members,
- 4 vehicles require 6 squad members.

Deployables Gameplay

FOB Radios will disable spawning on HAB’s if the Radio’s been damaged and its health has fallen below 75%.
All HESCO related deployables have had their visuals updated.

Maps

Substantially improved performance on Kohat Toi River Valley, Tallil Outskirts, and Gorodok maps.
Visually updated Gorodok.
Improved collisions on Tallil’s residential buildings and improved performance.
Updated foliage and landscape on Gorodok for improved, blended appearance.
Fools Road lighting & foliage updated.

User Interface

Re-Added Spawn Confirmation.
Fixed some kits appearing unavailable.
Modding UI updates.
Added 10-second delay before an incapacitated player can use Medic Callout button, and increased the Medic Callout interval from every 5 seconds to every 30 seconds.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

Fixed rocket engine motor effects still playing after the rocket has exploded.
Fixed missing hat on one of the Insurgent soldiers as it LOD transitioned.
Fixed first person mesh oddities when exiting Admin Cam.
Fixed issue where vehicle ATGMs weren’t dealing damage after 500m+
Attempted fix for ragdoll issues caused by origin rebasing
Fixed a bug where you bandage gets consumed after you patch already patched soldier
Fixed couple of server and client crashes

Known Issues

ATGMs projectile desync for proxies (other clients that are not gunner)
Unable to switch seats inside a vehicle after opening and closing the ‘F’ menu
Vehicle icons disappear from the mini-map after some distance
Missing bullet impact effects on Yehorivka’s landscape
Enemy’s Faction theme may play and display their flag in Deployment Menu after team change

Sign-off

Have fun out there, squaddies! Be sure to let us know if you encounter bugs, oddities, or just have some feedback for us.

Offworld out.

Jun 18, 2019

The Wrench, June 2019

Squad - Black Lives Matter | ACAB

Hey soldiers!

Whether summer is nearly here or just a sweet memory (Sorry, Aussie Mod Team), there’s no better reason than The Wrench to close the blinds, fire up the gaming rig, and get into some sweet, sweet modding. Let’s roll!

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.

A Quick SDK Update by Phil

Everyone’s favorite UAV-developer hybrid has a quick update for us on the status of the SDK. “We’re testing the runtime components to get as good a picture as we can of the stability and edge cases. Renn [Blueprint Designer] is making a video to help our awesome modders update their creations for the new version of the SDK.” Stay tuned for more as we smash the last of the bugs.

Green Zone by Hawken

Hawken describes Green Zone as his “first proper map!” If that’s true, there’s a whole heck of a bright future to come! Designed to allow the Militia to engage in guerilla warfare against the U.S. Forces, they’ll still have to be cautious in the wide open areas where armor is sure to chew things up. Belts of thick vegetation and compounds should help them achieve just that.

Stressing gameplay and verticality, the smaller map (about 1 km^2) should be perfect for more intimate scrimmages or seeding. We’re looking forward to seeing this one in action!

Iron Dawn by SPECTR_Eternal

Clocking in on the opposite end of the size scale, SPECTR_Eternal brings us the latest shots from his masterpiece-in-progress.

Iron Dawn continues to grow more (sometimes) hidden military installations and civilian structures, creating a sharp contrast to the natural beauty of the map.

Frozen lakes, rivers, and deep forests may limit mobility, but you’re going to need to come heavy if you expect to clear out all those facilities. Better double-check that repair kit.

VDV Airborne Armour by moments_project

https://www.youtube.com/embed/p6_uI4hSDXQ

moments_project has set out to recreate as many vehicles from the BMD family as they can, starting with the classic BMD-2 IFV, the BTR-D APC, and the BMD-4 family later on. The first two will also have variants developed to give as much realistic functionality to players as possible.

Version 0, featured here, is already being built and should surface as soon as the SDK is ready. In the meantime, moments_project would love your feedback on their first Wrench submission!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3vU7nj0LK9A

Australian Faction by Aussie Mod Team

From the depths of Australian winter, the Aussie Mod Team has been keeping themselves warm with CPU heat. This time, they’ve sent along a first-look at some character models.

Just above, the Australian squad leader model is fully geared up and ready to show off his T-pose. Below, you’ll find the steadfast Rifleman as backup.

Lastly, they’ve animated their EF88 and included some footage of it kicking ass left and right.

If you’d like more updates or want to get involved, be sure to visit the Aussie Mod Team Discord and say hello! (Not everyone says g’day, ya know.)

Finnish Defense Forces by FDFMod Team

Always a welcome addition to The Wrench, the FDFMod Team has sent some care packages from Beyond the Wall. The team is currently getting heavy weapon models and textures ready, but they’ve got a little somethin’ else to blow you away too:

Inspired by previous photogrammetry experiments going well, they’re proceeding to use those techniques on some parts of the soldier model.

French Foreign Legion by French Foreign Legion Mod Team

https://www.youtube.com/embed/cf-T_mYR7iM

It’s been a few months since we’ve heard from the French Foreign Legion Mod Team, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been quietly busy!

Here they’re showing off some steady progress on the Eotech 553 (with help from Fishman), vehicle improvements, and the FRF2. Can’t wait to see more, as always!

Pishchiv by Hangrath

Fans of his previous map, Elvedalen, will be super excited to see Hangrath sharing a new bit of work. Pishchiv is a fictional Ukrainian farmland setting that’s about to be ripped apart as British and Russian forces face off.

Numerous small villages and wide open opens provide the perfect arena to turn what was once a peaceful pastoral province into a terrifying modern battlefield.

Sign-off

What a great mix of old favorites and new faces! We don’t know about you folks, but we can’t wait to see these rolling out to live servers. Until the next time, may all your airs be conditioned.

Want to be featured here? Submit your mod!

Squad Modding Hub Management Team Out.

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

Jun 6, 2019

Alpha 14 Released

Squad - Black Lives Matter | ACAB

Hey squaddies,

Bet you didn’t expect to see Alpha 14 so soon! We’ve been working hard to get patches out more quickly and the results are paying off. If you're in a hurry, check out the Video Patch Notes, or read on for the complete list of changes. There's even a handy comic by TheFalcon, one of our community partners!

Alpha 14 Changelog

Systems

Overhauled the Player Ragdoll System

The ragdoll system has been updated to improve the overall look when a soldier goes into the ragdoll state, such as when incapacitated or run over by a vehicle. Soldiers getting hit by vehicles should look more realistic, and there should be less twitching of corpses in most cases. However, as this is still a work in progress, there may still be an occasional visual glitch.

Upgraded Unreal Engine version to 4.21.2

This upgrade introduces a variety of hotfixes implemented to the version implemented in Alpha 13. A full list of engine fixes can be found here.

Game Modes

Added Territory Control Game Mode

This new game mode has two teams facing off to capture contiguous hex tiles across a map and will continue to evolve through the next few versions of Squad. Territory Control consists of a grid of hexagonal regions, which function like capture zones, anchored by a “key territory” hex for each team as the base of their grid. If a group of hexes is disconnected from this key territory, or the territory itself is contested, a team will need to recapture it before claiming any new territories. The status of a hex is hidden by the fog of war until a team controls an adjacent hex, cloaking enemy movements until conflict erupts.

This new game mode is in the early stages of development and will be evolving through the next few versions.

A few key rules for gameplay:

A neutral hex requires one player to capture. A contested hex must be neutralized and captured by at least three players.
An enemy hex takes 40 seconds to neutralized and a neutral hex takes 40 seconds to capture.
Capturing a hex unlocks all adjacent (bordering) hex zones for capture.
Bleed: For every two hex zones captured beyond owning 60% of all hexes, the enemy will start bleeding 1 ticket per minute with a maximum of 5 tickets per minute for 10+ hexes captured beyond 60%.
When a team captures 95% of all hexes, that team instantly wins.
Losing all tickets will cause a team to lose the round.

Invasion Mode Changes

Defenders will win with a time-out even if they have fewer tickets than the Attackers. For the Attackers to win, they will need to either completely drain the Defenders tickets or fully capture all flags in the map.
Tweaked starting tickets: 150 for attackers and 600/700/800 for defenders on corresponding 4/5/6 flag layouts

New Infantry Weapons

Added M3 MAAWS Carl Gustaf

The M3 MAAWS (or Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System) is the American adoption of the 84mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle developed in Sweden shortly after World War 2. The M3 can fire a variety of different ammunition, making it a very diverse weapon system. The optic mounted on the weapon system can either be used to calculate drop in 100m increments or be directly zeroed to the desired range. The M3 can fire High Explosive Anti Tank, Heavy Tandem HEAT, and Smoke rounds. This has replaced the AT4 as the US Army Heavy Anti Tank weapon.

Added AK74 Bayonet

Russian Ground Forces will now receive the AK74 Bayonet, which replaces the older AKM bayonet model.

Infantry Gameplay

Major overhaul of the M4 weapon series, updating it visually to modern art standards and details.
Improving ladder sight mount on the M4 M203, making it easier to aim with the ladder sight and giving it more ranging options.
Added a non-functioning cosmetic PEQ-15 laser module to all US Army primary weapons.
Added deployable bipods to the US Army M110 marksman rifle and the British L129A1 sharpshooter rifle.
Buffed British AT4 variant’s penetration capability to 600mm RHA, British are now using the ILAW High Penetration variant.
Debuffed the US AT4’s penetration capability to 420mm RHA, assigned it as a secondary US Army LAT.
Fixed zeroing text appearing incorrectly as 300m on the SA80 SUSATs (should be 100m)
Tweaked the sight picture for the RPG29, making it easier to aim with.
Fixed M72A7 LAW using incorrect ADS fire animation.
Fixed some US Army Squad Leader roles not having tracers on their M4s.

New Vehicles

FV4034 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank.

The FV4034 Challenger 2 is the main battle tank of the British Army and holds a crew of 4 (Driver, Gunner, Commander, and Loader). This tank sports a stabilized 120mm rifled main gun capable of firing armor-piercing SABOT rounds, High Explosive, and Smoke rounds. In addition to its main cannon, the tank also has a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and smoke launchers for self-defense. The commander has access to a high-powered optical periscope featuring hunter-killer functionality with the gunner. The loader’s position has a Remote Weapon Station with a 7.62mm GPMG slewed to it, allowing for additional anti-personnel firepower should the need arise.

For a list of layers featuring the FV4034, see below.

BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

This Soviet-made IFV was developed in the 1960s and is now featured in Militia and Insurgent arsenals. This vehicle seats 3 crew (Driver, Gunner, and Commander) and can hold up to 8 passengers, plus 4 riding on top. Putting public transit to shame, this vehicle has a 73mm smoothbore cannon capable of firing projectiles similar to that of the SPG9 recoilless rifle. As such it has access to High Explosive Anti-Tank and Fragmentation rounds for its main gun, as well as a PKT coaxial machine gun. An additional Malyutka-P missile adds a slow, but devastating wire-guided option for enemy armor.

For a list of layers featuring the BMP-1, see below.

Vehicle Gameplay

Added Loaders Cupola station to the T62 tank. This is a manually operated DsHK mounted onto an anti-aircraft style mount which allows for 360 traverse and high angle engagements and gives the T62 tank additional firepower by adding another station for the crew to go into.
Updated T72B3’s commander cupola station artwork.
Adjusted M2 Bradley, FV432, FV510, MTLB, T62, T72B3, and M1A2 Abrams front and rear wheel suspension to make it less likely to get stuck.
Fixed physics collision shapes on some vehicles that caused them to get easily stuck on terrain or objects.
Tweaked default physmat friction values which were way too high and therefore causing vehicles to get stuck more easily.
Fixed T62 tank’s engine throttle being a bit inconsistent.
Fixed MTLB Insurgent variant track collision location being in the wrong place.
Added a range card to the Rocket Artillery Technical gunner HUD.
Added bullet drop compensator to the reticle for the BTR80/BRDM2’s KPVT machine gun and MTLB 6MB/BTR82A’s 30mm 2A72 cannon.
Fixed players that got shot off from gunner seat of the ZU23 AA Truck not being able to be revived.

Deployables Gameplay

All emplacement weapons now retain their rotations when the player has exited them. This includes mortars as well.

User Interface

Added a short introduction animation with voice-over upon joining a team.
Added an end of round card showing team ticket scores that includes music and voice-over to smooth the transition going from the end of the game to the scoreboard.
Added the first iteration of a voice command radial menu that allows players to give simple voice-over call-outs. At the moment, only American English is available but more voices will be added in later.
Added a “Medic” voice command call button for when you’re incapacitated on the ground.
Added a progress bar for when you are building deployables and repairing vehicles.
Added a key help list for players in a vehicle to show the available keys and features that are in that particular vehicle seat.
Added Game Mode help cards upon joining a server

New Map

Skorpo

Nestled in between the massive fjords of Western Norway, the tranquil village of Uskedalen and the island of Skorpo are seen as a key strategic battleground to gain control of the North Sea passages. Narrow, windy roads and dark tunnels follow the coastline and are treacherous bottlenecks for any mechanized force. Keeping your supply lines open is also difficult given there not being much room to maneuver. Utilizing the varying elevation of the landscape and hidden forest roads will yield many advantages, but be aware that the enemy might also have the same idea.

Skorpo will feature AAS, RAAS, Invasion, Skirmish, and the brand new Territory Control game modes.

Map Updates

Chora: gameplay improvements for vehicles, including widening the driving lanes and bridges, widening holes in walls, removing some frustrating obstacles, adding rock cover in open areas, and smoothing some of the roughest bumps in the terrain.
Kokan: Updated foliage.
Fixed collisions on several map objects and rocks to prevent exploits.
Re-attached power lines on numerous maps.
Fixed some buildings on Narva that changed color at distance; a few more still to fix.
Fixed interiors on Sumari so objects have correct materials displayed]
Fixed Logar Insurgency v1 wrong location of INS main base flag.
Fixed Logar Insurgency v1 Night having the wrong team for INS protection zone.
Fixed Belaya AAS and Invasion layers RU vehicles at RU main to spawn flipped or upside down.
Fixed Tallil Invasion v2 having East/West Khidir named incorrectly.
Fixed Gorodok having a couple of floating metal beams on the train.]
Fixed some shipping containers on Logar switching colors as you moved nearer or further away from them.
Adjusted Belaya AASv1 tickets to 300/300 (from 250/250).
Kamdesh Invasion v3 set defenders to 700 tickets.
Kokan AAS_v1, AAS_v2 and RAAS_v1 updated tickets to 250/250.
Logar AAS_v1 and RAAS_v1 updated tickets to 250/250.
Mestia AAS_v1, AAS_v2 and RAAS_v1 set tickets to 250/250.
Sumari AAS_v2, AAS_v3 and RAAS_v1 increased tickets 250/250.
Tallil Outskirts RAAS_v3 set to 250/250 tickets.
Added BMP1 to the following layers:

AlBasrah_Invasion_v1
AlBasrah_Invasion_v2
AlBasrah_RAAS_v1
Belaya_AAS_v3
FoolsRoad_AAS_v4
FoolsRoad_AAS_v5
FoolsRoad_RAAS_v1
Gorodok_Invasion_v2
Jensens_Range_v1
Jensens_Range_v2
Jensens_Range_v3
Mestia_RAAS_v1
Kamdesh_Insurgency_v2
Kamdesh_Invasion_v2
Kohat_Insurgency_v1
Kohat_Invasion_v1
Kohat_Invasion_v2
Skorpo_Invasion_v1
Sumari_Insurgency_v1
Tallil_Outskirts_AAS_v3
Tallil_Outskirts_Invasion_v2
Yehorivka_Invasion_v1

Added FV4032 (Challenger) to the following layers:

AlBasrah_Invasion_v2
Belaya_AAS_v3
Belaya_Invasion_v3
FoolsRoad_AAS_v5
Gorodok_AAS_v3
Gorodok_RAAS_v2
Jensens_Range_v1
Kamdesh_Invasion_v2
Kamdesh_RAAS_v2
Narva_Invasion_v2
Tallil_Outskirts_RAAS_v4
Yehorivka_AAS_v3
Yehorivka_Invasion_v3
Yehorivka_RAAS_v3

Bug Fixes and Miscellaneous

Fixed mortar, UGL grenades and rocket projectiles not dealing damage if the shooter was killed after launching the projectile.
Optimized certain aspects of the vehicle code dealing with closed turrets.
Optimized the way HUD UI is drawn and updated.
Fixed Insurgent/Militia Vehicle Repair station mesh having an overlapped US/GB repair station mesh on it
Fixed ambient smoke columns stopping emission of smoke randomly.
Fixed C4 explosions not displaying when detonated on asphalt and gravel.
Fixed a client crash when launching the Shooting Range.

Known Issues

Tracks, Wheels, and other components are not destructible while on a local server running Jensen’s Range.

Offworld out.

Jun 5, 2019

Alpha 13 Survey Review

Squad - Black Lives Matter | ACAB

Hey squaddies,

Starting with the test of Alpha 13, we put out a survey, and then followed it up as Alpha 13 went into broader distribution. We’ve been reviewing the data and wanted to share some of the things we’ve learned. A note before we begin: due to our development schedule, there’s likely to be about (roughly) a patch delay between surveys and any changes implemented based on their results. We want to make sure we’re doing due diligence on analysis and planning. Without further ado, let’s look at some numbers!

Who’s participating?

It should come as no surprise that veteran squaddies put on a strong showing — nearly 90% of about 1200 respondents in the first survey had played over 100 hours, with about 33% having played more than 1000 hours. The second survey had over 4000 responses with about 75% of them having played more than 100 hours. With that in mind, it’s safe to say there’s a lot of experience going into the feedback and we appreciate the experts and newcomers alike!

Is this a good patch?

While we’d love to think so, it’s probably better to go directly to the data before we start patting ourselves on the back. Fortunately, it looks like most of you are enjoying Alpha 13. While it’s not without its flaws, both surveys show about the same, generally positive ratings. A response of 8 out of 10 is the most common for both surveys, 36.9% and 35.6% respectively. If we look at only scores of 7 or better, 91.6% of the people responding to the first survey are represented; 89.3% of respondents rated Alpha 13 the same way in the second survey.

We’ve also seen this reflected in player counts, especially in successive weekend highs. It may be a matter of having fresh content, so we’re going to continue to monitor those trends as well. And keep releasing new content, of course.

Just in case you were curious, a total of 34 people across both surveys felt this was the WORST PATCH EVER. We’re sorry you’re not having a good time right now, but we are extremely grateful to you for providing your candid response. We’ll continue to work hard to bring the best possible experience for Squaddies.

Buddy Rally

A focus for vocal debate across all points of the community, we were extremely interested to see how people were feeling about the implementation of the buddy rally system. As an experimental feature, we really appreciate all of your thoughts and feedback. Even those of you that dislike it were by and large willing to suggest alternatives or tweaks in a constructive way. Let’s dig into the numbers again.

The first survey asked players to rate their satisfaction with the system and ended up with a pretty balanced split: 27.2% rated it a one, while 23.5% of responses gave it a five. Put another 19.4% smack dab in the middle. If you consider a 3 or better a “passing grade,” about 60% of players were okay with the system, especially with some tweaks.

Fast forward to the wider release, we rephrased the question a bit to ask, “Do you want this feature to stay in Squad?” The results came in with 45.8% voting Yes, I want it to stay, 20.7% Yes, but with modifications, and another 12.6% that voted from the Neutral Planet. While it’s not necessarily a direct comparison, these results put the buddy rally at about 79% at the “passing grade” level.

Here’s some sample feedback:

“No, I think it should be removed. With Helicopters coming, I prefer to make them the most efficient way of means of transportation rather relying on another squads rally. The rally should be a backup spawn. HABs are the main spawn points. If you lose the HAB and rally you should be punished by spawning on main.”

“I think the concept is great and has improved PUB games and even COMP games. The times you can place it is too much. I think the changes should be that it has a cooldown timer on the buddy rally system and a squad leader cannot pop it every time he dies. (E.g., a 5-minute timer before you can buddy rally.)”

“Buddy rally should be a comeback mechanic tied into commander.”

What about the 60-second instadeath penalty?

Alpha 13 introduced the removal of the penalty for being revived, meaning that players are no longer instantly dead when harmed after being revived. We wanted to know if players preferred being able to revive their squadmates from incapacitation, or if they preferred the previous “dead dead” scenario. (“Dead dead” is a technical term. Trust us.)

For the first survey, it seems folks weren’t especially enamored of it, but it was more of a mixed bag than anything. 45.4% didn’t like this change, 36.4% do, and those pesky neutrals clocked in at 13.3% again. Sounds like more than a few of you really want to see your squadmates down for good. What did they ever do to you?!

We did a little rewording again for the second survey because we hadn’t yet pioneered the neologism of dead dead. It may have made some difference: 57.8% decided that it was something to keep, though that includes the 21.6% that would like to see some changes. Some of the fence-sitters fell off, dropping indifferent responses to 11.5%.

Moving Right Along

Another hotly debated aspect of Alpha 13 is the increase to movement speed. Initially, it caused a lot of hubbub, but after some animation tweaks, we felt like most people were getting comfortable with the changes. Does the data agree?

The initial survey asked players to rate the changes to speed on a 1-10 scale, with 5 being “just right,” 1 hoping for a slower speed, and 10 looking for faster movement speed. The results turned out not too dissimilar from your standard bell curve with 36.4% of folks thinking it was just right. About 34% would like to see soldiers moving faster while, you guessed it, about 30% wanted it slower. Maybe it wasn’t the best wording, so let’s see how it went in the second survey.

The question was rephrased as, “Soldier moment speed has been increased in A13, what is your preference? 66.6% of you little devils prefer the speed as Alpha 13 introduced it, though only 4% wanted to see it faster. 20% of people responding wanted to see movement seen decreased to something in between Alpha 12 and Alpha 13. Less than 150 of you were indifferent, so we seem to have shaken off some of the neutral invaders from previous questions.

Momentum

Speed wasn’t the only change; momentum was tweaked as well. These two systems together play a fairly important role in how soldier movement feels, so asking one without the other wouldn’t provide an accurate picture. Let’s see if the numbers clear anything up a bit.

In the first survey, the results were some of the most evenly divided so far: About 37% of people responding liked the change, another 31% were indifferent, with the last 28%ish being against the changes. Players were often voicing concerns about “zig-zag” spam and a cartoony feel. On the positive side, some players felt it was performing better on their machines.

Skipping ahead a few weeks to the results of the second survey, some better wording in the question may have helped elucidate the answers. About 49% of responses preferred less momentum as offered by Alpha 13, with an additional (mere) 3.6% wanting even less. Players that prefer less momentum and players that are indifferent square off at 23.3% and 24.4% respectively, oddly enough!

Stamina

One more component to movement is, of course, player stamina. Managing your stamina pool is pretty key to getting around the battlefield, especially if you want to do so alive. In Alpha 13, stamina regenerates faster but is also consumed more quickly. We were extremely curious about how this change faired. Both surveys turned up the same results, with the only distinct difference being a drop in people who outright did not like it. About 57% of people were content with stamina in Alpha 13, and only 12-15% disliked it outright.

As you might guess, the folks that want changes want both regeneration and consumption to be faster… and slower. Interestingly, most people only suggested one or the other, not both!

Speaking of Stamina…

If we’re being honest, the results on this one were a bit of a surprise — we expected a lot more controversy. Adjusting the user interface is not taken lightly, as people come to rely on it. Still, we’re constantly looking for ways to make it more useful, make the game a little less stressful, and get the right information front and center. In this case, Alpha 13 moved the stamina bar to the center of the screen. Moving into the second survey, “Yes” votes gained an additional 20%, putting the total at 51.8%. Another 22.3% of people remained neutral — down from 23.9% in the first survey.

Signoff

A huge thank you to all of you who took the time to fill out either survey! We’re going to continue to try to improve our polling techniques, analysis, and reporting on them. We hope you’ll continue to participate as we really appreciate your help in shaping the future of Squad.

We know you’re going to have some feedback, so be sure to hit up the comments!

Offworld out.