Mar 25, 2021

Squad - Krispy

Hello squaddies,

Today brings the v2.4 update, aiming to provide a slew of bug fixes and some further systems changes since the v2.3 release.

While we are here, we believe it’s best to inform you that since the release of v2.0, the project leads of Squad have been formulating a new release process to help improve the cadence of releases and will hopefully allow the team to release more minor changes and bug fixes, while other team members can focus on large content drops or massive overhauls of mechanics/features that are further in the future. Ideally, this will also help us tackle our backlog of issues and provide a bit of spring cleaning for Squad in some of the most sought-after places.

With that said, You may have noticed that since V2.0 we have been able to deploy more updates on a regular basis which is the beginning of this new release process. There’s still some fine-tuning to be done to ensure it works for all disciplines, and realistically, likely some initial hurdles in incorporating this new structure into releases as we continue. OWI is committed to providing more frequent updates, which will steadily improve the game experience for all, and we hope you’ll see that very soon with these process changes.

Now, onto the notes!

Note: Reminder to go to Settings -> “CLEAR CACHE” after updating, to ensure there are no residual issues after the update.

Bug Fixes

Fixed two Server Crashes related to UI and map rotation.
Fixed an issue with the vehicle card info in the Command Menu Screen not providing the correct information about vehicle spawn times and tickets.
Fixed an issue where TAA could not be turned fully off. Now turning this setting Off will completely remove all anti-aliasing. Note, many rendering features rely on TAA to work properly. To avoid graphical artifacts, only turn TAA Off as a last resort. If you continue to experience blurriness after updating please try clearing your cache within the Options menu.
Fixed an issue with Servers always skipping the first Map Layer in rotation.
Fixed an issue that allowed teams to have one extra HAT per team, caused by an error in the logic regarding HAT01 and HAT02 being counted separately in the total pool of HAT kits.
Fixed an issue that allowed teams to have too many LAT kits, caused by an error in the logic regarding LAT01 and LAT02 not being counted together in the total pool of LATs per-team.
Fixed an issue with the LAT kit Squad limit notification warning, which was incorrectly using the TEAM limit warning text.
Fixed an issue with the SA330 Transport helicopter, where the Pilot had an exposed foot.
Fixed an issue with the A10 airstrike not spawning as many projectiles as intended.
Fixed an issue where the Stamina bar would be stuck on the UI when in the admin cam.
Fixed a UI issue where the next map was not showing in the Scoreboard after it was changed by the admin command.
Fixed a UI issue where the Scoreboard menu was not displaying the current map layer name.
Fixed an audio issue with the L85 and AK74 firing sounds being too low volume.
Fixed an issue where certain Admin Commands were accessible on licensed servers when they should not have been.
Fixed various potential Settings exploits.
Fixed an issue in the server browser, where the Game Mode column was not properly aligned.
Fixed an issue with the Streamer Support, Team Kill, and Vehicle Claim notifications which were unintentionally showing the full player name when this feature was enabled in Settings.
Fixed an issue with the configurable Automatic teamkill bans for servers not being included by default in the new Server.cfg.
Fixed an issue in the Audio Settings Menu where the Microphone input would show up as Empty after clearing the cache.
Fixed an issue where enemy soldiers were sometimes not visible for Vehicle Gunners.
Fixed an issue that prevented some Squad Leaders from being given Incendiary Grenades on Insurgency Map Layers.
Fixed an issue where the Scoreboard Menu would not display Kit Role icons under the role column.
Fixed a Server Crash related to the SqPlayerController.
Fixed an exploit where Deployable Emplacements could unintentionally have infinite ammo when placed in a specific way.
Fixed an issue with the GB NLAW HAT rocket going off to the left in Direct Fire mode by making sure the target lateral speed for the missile is always zeroed if the PLOS targeting system is disabled.
Fixed an issue with the server browser with blurry map thumbnails for Goose Bay Kamdesh, Kohat, Manic-5, Mutaha, Tallil, and Tutorial maps.
Fixed a minor typo in the name of the GB FV107 CVR(T) Recon Vehicle.
Fixed a minor issue with a broken material for the front grill of the US M939 Truck.

System & Gameplay Updates

Updated CAF LAV6 IFV to now be equipped with a C6A1 MG open-top turret for seat 4.
Updated CAF characters to use the new improved skin shaders.
Updated CAF Grenadier to now use the C7A2 + C79 Scope + proper M203A1 CAF UGL variant.
Updated Kit Limits for Heavy AT kit, now limited to 1 max per-squad and 2 max per team.
Updated GB Elcan LDS scope reticle for increased authenticity.
Updated the SL Vehicle Claim system to have an added 4-second cooldown to prevent claim fighting. This should prevent one SL from being able to immediately override another SL’s vehicle claim by being the last to interact with the vehicle.
Adjusted LAT 02 (with Scoped Rifles) kit roles to have 2x frag grenades for the following factions: CAF, GB, MEA, RUS, USA.
Adjusted the kick/ban messages so that successful kick/ban should appear in the game chat just as they used to. Additionally, if a kick/ban attempt fails, the command executor will be notified.
Adjusted the helicopter pilot’s seated pose to show their left hand on the collective and right hand on the cyclic.
Adjusted A10 impact and splash damage values to match SU25, and slightly increased deviation.
Adjusted Ammo Rack cook-off start threshold and burning rate on all MBTs. The burnout time should be between 8 and 22 seconds. Single-shot burnout can be caused only by a TOW or Konkurs. HATs and MBT main guns should require at least 2 hits. Note that after 2+ ammo rack hits in some cases there might not be a cook-off afterward (or a very short one) depending on how much HP the ammo rack has left.
Adjusted Mosin Nagant firing sounds to have an increased volume.
Adjusted names of some sub-factions, shortening them slightly, and standardizing the nomenclature.
Adjusted Sub Faction names to include the name of the faction in a truncated manner ("CAF") before the sub-faction name.
Adjusted CAF kit geometry to remove Boonie hats for all kit roles except Sniper.
Adjusted CAF Grenadier inventory to remove Binoculars.
Adjusted CAF LAV6 IFV’s Gunner FOV 1st zoom level from 3x to 1.5x magnification, to reduce tunnel vision effect with the 1st zoom level.

Experimental Joystick Support for Helicopters Update

Added the ability to use Joystick action mappings as inputs. This is for the native support of buttons and triggers on various Joystick setups.
Added options for keyboard-only flight bindings for helicopters.
Added experimental hybrid controls for switching between joystick, keyboard, mouse during flight.
Added Joystick HAT switch quick-look controls.
Added Helicopter keybinds for picking up and dropping supplies. This currently does not work for ground vehicles. Note: these can be bound to Joystick buttons.
Added recentering keybind for helicopter freelook.
Joystick axes are no longer bound by default, to reduce the chance of conflicts. Players will need to manually bind their joystick axes until the feature is out of an experimental state.
Updated the Joystick Menu UI with improved presentation, and renamed many options for clarity and consistency.
Added Free Look for helicopters while in third person (Jenson’s Range/Modded Gameplay only).
Fixed an issue on the Joysticks menu where the “lock-free look” feature would be displayed behind the joystick curves on certain resolutions.
Fixed Joystick settings not being able to be reset to defaults.

We appreciate any feedback pilots can provide on this experimental joystick support. We anticipate releasing a more polished version with bug fixes and more quality of life improvements in a near-future release.

If you are having issues with Helicopter flying, and you are not using a Joystick, go to Settings -> Controls -> Helicopter Axes to unbind any axes bound there.

Please Note: Multiple Joysticks/Rudder Pedals/HOTAS input is not currently supported. There is currently no differentiation between device IDs. You may be able to get around this if your joystick software can combine all HOTAS axes into a single virtual input device. Full Multiple Joystick Support is planned in the future, but it will require an extensive complete overhaul to the Control Settings.

Map Updates & Bug Fixes

Added new map layer: Mutaha AAS v2 - GB vs RUS
Added new map layer: Goose Bay AAS v2 - CAF vs RUS.
Added new map layer: Chora AAS v3 - USA vs RUS.
Updated Fool’s Road tunnels with a post-processing transition so player view darkens more gradually.
Updated Yehorivka Invasion v1 team vehicle balance.
Fixed an issue with vehicle spawns on Invasion v2 vehicle loadouts.
Updated the number of tickets for both teams across all Insurgency layers. Attackers now get 200 tickets and defenders get 1000.
Adjusted Fallujah to remove additional water planes and water sounds from the sewers.
Adjusted Fallujah minimap to reflect gameplay boundary more accurately in the South East quadrant.
Adjusted CAF Goose Bay Invasion v1 so the CAF defender’s no longer have forward spawns for infantry and LAV6’s, to allow Attacker’s a better success rate on the first objective.
Adjusted Mutaha Skirmish v1 lighting to sunset (was sandstorm).
Adjusted Gorodok RAAS v3 to lower the initial helicopter spawn delay to 6 minutes (was 20 minutes).
Adjusted CAF Goose Bay RAAS v1 to have reduced tank delay from 20 minutes to 10 minutes for both teams.
Adjusted CAF Goose Bay RAAS v1 RUS vehicle loadout swapping Tigr to BTR82A.
Fixed an issue on Tallil Tanks v1 and v2 with incorrect vehicle respawn times. Tanks and IFVs should now respawn on these 2 map layers in 5 minutes instead of the regular 10 minutes for IFV’s and 15 minutes for tanks.
Fixed an issue on Narva AAS v2 with blocked GB LPPV vehicle spawners.
Fixed an issue on Yehorivka AAS v1 with blocked GB LPPV vehicle spawners.
Fixed an issue with the building collisions on the Narva Hospital POI.
Fixed an issue on Fools Road with black wheat fields.
Fixed an issue with floating roads at Al Basrah Airfield POI.
Fixed an issue on Goose Bay with missing collisions on various fences.
Fixed an issue on Goose Bay with a wall that could be passed through on the second level of a garage.
Fixed an issue on Fallujah with some rocks that infantry could clip into to gain an advantage.
Fixed an issue on Skorpo AAS v1 where the USA protection zone was colliding with helicopter rotor blades. Also increased the protection zone height to match the RUS protection zone.
Fixed an issue on CAF Al Basrah Invasion v2 where CAF vehicle repair stations and ammo crates were floating and outside of the CAF Main base.
Fixed an issue with Kamdesh Invasion v1 where INS vehicles were not spawning correctly.
Fixed an issue on Manic-5 with a bad rock face.
Fixed an issue on Goose Bay with a bad rock face.
Fixed an issue on CAF Mutaha AAS v1 which was displaying the incorrect Map Loading Screen image (was incorrectly showing up as Mestia).

v2.4 Known Issues

FOB Bleedout Progress Bar currently has a regression and does not display properly in v2.4. The fix for this issue will be deployed in the next update.

v2.0 Known Issues

Occasional Player (Client) crashes in various circumstances. Detailed crash reports help us fix things faster, and we truly appreciate those that have filled out and sent in crash reports.
Various Kit icon issues - Occasionally the kit and weapon in the deploy screen squad list will show up as a white square instead of the kit.
The deploy screen squad list will sometimes display incorrect players that are not actually in the squad.
SL icons sometimes incorrectly show up for player kits in the spawn screen squad list (and outside of the squad list).
SL icons show up for every kit on ammo crates when rearming.
Player kit role icons are sometimes not being displayed on certain menu screens.
HAB will sometimes show up as "red/unspawnable", even when it is in fact spawnable. Fix has been applied but there still remain some alternative ways to reproduce this issue.
Some players may be experiencing very low-res textures after the v2.0 release. If you are experiencing this issue, you are likely under the minimum recommended specs for VRAM (4GB). This may be mitigated by ticking the “unlock pool size” box in the settings menu under the textures tab, but it may come with more performance stutter.

Legacy Known Issues

Player (Client) occasional crash at the end of a round, upon map switch, due to a UE4 Particle Crash bug upon seamless map travel. Actively pursuing a fix for this crash.
“Missing Turret in Vehicle Issue” - Occasionally vehicles have their turrets missing from the round start. This issue is a high priority for us to fix.
“Ghost Player in Vehicle issue” - Occasionally entering a vehicle makes a player permanently take up a seat in that vehicle. This issue is a high priority to fix.
"Mass EAC disconnect issue" - Occasionally upon the end of a round and when a map switch occurs, the majority of a server population will be disconnected with a “Server Closed Connection” message. Closely working with EAC to resolve this issue.
"FOB teleport bug" - Occasionally upon digging a FOB down, players within a certain radius of the FOB will be teleported outside of the FOB radius in a random direction.
Commander – When the commander changes to the UAV camera, he cannot hear local audio anymore, even though he still sees local audio transmissions in the bottom left corner. Others can still hear him when he talks. Additionally, when leaving the UAV camera, he hears all of the local audio broadcasts at the same time, originating from the point where they were initially transmitted from – even if the person doing the transmission has moved afterward. Will be addressed in a future update.
Vehicle Reset Feature does not currently work with Helicopters. This will be addressed in a future update.
Vehicle Reset Feature can freeze a vehicle in the air if used too close to a tree.
Occasionally a player does not spawn at a Rally Point. This often happens when numerous players are spawning in at the same time — This will be addressed in a future update.
Server performance may periodically dip when a server has a high population and high load. We are continuously working to improve server performance and optimization.
ATGM projectiles desync for other players that are not the gunner, however, what the gunner sees should be the actual synced projectile. This is an inherent problem, and the solution is currently in long-term development.
Vehicles parking brake gets stuck “On” if a player exits the vehicle while holding the parking brake (Default Spacebar). When encountering a vehicle that appears healthy but is not able to move, try hitting Spacebar to turn the parking brake “Off’ — This will be addressed in a future update.
“Alt-tabbing” out of Squad during a loading screen freezes the Player (client). The recommended solution, for now, is to run Squad in the “Borderless” mode. This can be changed in Settings -> Graphics.
The audio module for Squad is initialized at the game start. If a player does not have a microphone plugged in at launch, or accidentally unplug their microphone and then plug it back in, Squad needs to be restarted to get the microphone to work again — This issue will likely require an engine upgrade to UE4.25 to be fixed.
SFX bug while Firing in full auto. If the player presses the fire button for a short period, the sound effect gives the impression that you fired more rounds than you did — This will be addressed in a future update.
Localization for most language translations is currently out of date. We plan to push a full localization pass in a future release as we lock down the text that needs to be translated for the game.

Local/Offline Issues & Bugs (these currently have a lower priority):

Local/Offline Bug with Commander – Insurgent / Militia Handheld Drone does not move in local.
Local/Offline issues currently have a lower priority.
Local/Offline Bug with Commander – UAV hovers in one position instead of moving along the flight path in local.
Local/Offline Bug with Commander – CAS does not do damage in local.
Local/Offline Bug with Vehicles: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, Tracks, Wheels, and other components are not destructible while on the Jensen’s Range in Local play.
Local/Offline Bug with Weapon damages: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, Weapon damages with both Infantry and Vehicle weapons are not accurately replicated.
Local/Offline Bug with Scoped Emplacements: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, if a player exits an Emplacement while looking through the scope, the Scope remains on the Player’s HUD until they get back in the Emplacement and then Scope out.

Feb 24, 2021

Squad Update V2.0

Squad - Krispy

NOTE: Due to character limits on Steam these are not the full release notes, those can be found on our website here with more information and images

Hello squaddies,

It’s finally here. v2 of Squad is now available to download and we can’t wait for you to see all the new toys we have in store for you, from huge features in the Map Layer Overhaul to a slew of new content for your favorite factions and long-awaited improvements to the Helicopter flight model.

Thank you for your patience while we worked on getting v2 ready for release and a big thank you to those in the community who helped us test builds as part of our User Acceptance Tests (UATs) and reported issues that they discovered.

Note: These changes were all in the previous playtests on the Squad Testing app.

Remember to go to Settings -> “CLEAR CACHE” after updating, to ensure there are no residual issues after the update.

Without further ado, let’s get into the juicy stuff:

New Map: Goose Bay

Located on the Labrador coast between Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest population center in the region. Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay is the home of 5 Wing of the Royal Canadian Air Force; its aircraft provide airspace defense to a large portion of Canada's Northeastern territory.
This map replaces Nanisivik; providing an immersive, polar environment with vehicle warfare and an improved experience for infantry gameplay.

v2.0 System / Optimization

Map Layer Overhaul Phase 1

Greatly reduced loading times for all maps and layers.
This feature lays the groundwork for more asymmetric sub-factions, with great variety in vehicle/kit/deployable composition and count. It also makes possible many smaller features like the improved Command Map Vehicle List.

Graphics Settings Menu Rework and new Rendering Features

Overhauled the Graphics Settings menu and added new graphics rendering features. This was designed from the ground-up to minimize the gameplay advantages of using one quality setting over another. It includes more granular options, new rendering features, and higher overall fidelity, with a focus on optimization.

Network Optimization for Vehicles with Closed Turrets and Helicopters

Extensive network optimization pass on Vehicle Turrets. This provides a significant improvement to network bandwidth usage, which leaves more headroom to replicate things like character and vehicle movement.
Extensive network optimization pass on Helicopters. This has greatly improved the smoothness of helicopter movement replication for passengers and observers on the ground. It’s not perfect, of course, so we look forward to your feedback.

Performance Optimizations

Overhauled Texture Streaming behavior, greatly reducing graphics memory usage. This has allowed us to increase the quality of many character, weapon, and vehicle textures, while simultaneously improving performance.
Removed Mesh Distance Fields from all movable objects, such as vehicles and weapons. This allows better caching of Distance Fields, reducing GPU load.
Disabled Mesh Distance Field on a lot of small foliage (trees, scatter/debris meshes). This should improve performance for maps when Ambient Occlusion and/or Far Shadows are enabled.
Optimized Mesh Distance Field resolutions for large foliage.
Optimized Lashkar Valley, Kamdesh, Mestia, and Skorpo by setting more aggressive cull distances on pine trees.
Optimized rock walls, coal piles, and other assets by removing unnecessary tessellation.
Optimized grass post-process shader by reducing unnecessary complexity by up to 80%.
Optimized skybox lighting.
Optimized TOW discard effect.
Optimized and fixed some issues with Impostor post-process shader (distant trees).
Optimized vehicle smoke generator effects.

Gameplay Features & Changes

HAB Spawn Activation Delay

This new feature for the HAB includes an Activation Delay timer before a HAB is ready to be spawned.

There are 3 ways that a HAB Spawn point can be affected in Squad, all 3 will incur an activation delay timer. The current activation delay time is 10 seconds, this timing may be adjusted in future updates.
The HAB Activation “delay to spawn” is indicated on the HUD around the HAB icon, in the form of a circular progress bar (similar to a medic health bar). This will be displayed on the Command map screen as well in a future update. This HAB Activation delay indicator is only visible when a delay is counting down.
“Spawn is Activating” text will be displayed when the spawn delay is counting down and the delay indicator is visible on the HUD when within range of that FOB.
The intention behind this Spawn activation delay is designed to change the spawn dynamics surrounding HAB’s, to incentivize more planning, and reduce the amount of “Teleportation hopping” that occurs with newly built HAB’s. This delay is primarily intended to prevent instantaneous spawning off the HAB.
This also is intended to incentivize the defense of FOB/HAB to be less about spawn intensity, and more about positioning and overall area control.
This is intended to prevent teams from abusing the spawn system via instantly spawning on a newly created HAB, and to encourage players to defend the HAB for a short period upon completion to ensure the spawn point becomes active.
These changes will also give opponents a bit of breathing room and time to secure the area after overrunning a HAB or partially destroying it without fear of having enemies spawn back in the moment the HAB is rebuilt to the threshold or when enough players have either left or are killed within the HAB overrun proximity radius.
This change, in combination with the next update that will contain the HAB Proximity Disable Scaling feature, is an intentional Design decision to adjust the pacing and gameplay surrounding the usage of the HAB’s Spawns, and their impact on the flow of the gameplay.

Helicopter Flight Improvements

Rewrote large parts of the helicopter flight model, and tuned it to create a smoother and more realistic experience. More tweaks will be made in future patches.
Unified acceleration calculations for all phases of flight. Handling should be more natural and consistent throughout the entire flight envelope.
Mitigated the “see-saw” effect and reduced sudden acceleration at low speeds by adjusting the X-axis acceleration curve.
Improved energy retention through high-speed turns.
Made it easier to achieve the helicopter’s maximum speed.
Rotor efficiency now scales depending on flight conditions. Rotor power is multiplied up to 1.3x when meeting the air at a high angle of incidence (J-turns and steep flares) or when traveling at high speeds (Translational Lift).
Reworked “weathervane” effect to ensure the helicopter always settles nose-first.
Reduced residual thrust when the engine is disabled, forcing (survivable) crash landings.
Increased Pitch, Roll, and Yaw sensitivity.
Fixed weird weathervaning behavior caused by helicopter inertia calculation not accounting for the change in rotation between frames.

Deployables Refund Mechanic

Refunds 80% of the placed deployable cost, if it was dug down without being built fully after placement. This mechanic is intended to reduce the penalty for accidental bad placement of the deployable.

Infantry Kits Refund Mechanic

Refunds 80% of the ammo cost of the Players previous role when changing roles at an ammo crate. Should not refund ammo for weapons/magazines which have been expended.
Refunds ammo when a kit role is changed from FOB ammo crates or vehicles.
It will technically be possible for the total ammo in an ammo source to increase if the player goes from a high-cost role to a low-cost role.

Main Base Protection Zone QoL Update

Updated the Main Base Protection Zone to prevent friendly infantry and vehicles from being able to fire weapons. Infantry will still be able to use medkits, bandages and repair tools inside the Protection Zone.
The design intention with this change is to remove the amount of excessive distraction at the Main Base, especially during Staging Phase.

AAS & RAAS Ticket Changes

Adjusted RAAS & AAS Ticket Gain and Ticket Loss for Flag Capture to +60 and -10 (was +50 -20). This is intended to help losing teams make a comeback if they successfully counterattack a lost Capture Point, and also to encourage proper logistics planning to hold points that are captured.

Body Dragging Tweaks

Improved the responsiveness of body dragging by doubling the trace size and increasing the angle limit. This should allow players to more easily grab bodies and not have them auto-drop as easily. Note that you still have to look directly at a body for the “press F to drag” prompt to appear, but triggering the prompt is not necessary for the drag command to work.

New Infantry Weapons

Added new weapon: INS Mosin Nagant – 3 variants: Carbine with Irons, Full Length with Irons, and PU-1 Magnified Scope option. Can be reloaded via single cartridges or stripper clip.
Added new weapon: INS RPD Light Machine Gun – a classic 7.62x39mm machine gun with some serious firepower.
Added new weapon: RUS RPG28 Heavy Anti-Tank – a modern disposable anti-tank rocket launcher utilizing a massive 125mm Tandem HEAT warhead at a much flatter trajectory, capable of devastating enemy armor. Comes equipped with an optic and can be ranged out to 500 meters.
Added new weapon: GB NLAW Heavy Anti-Tank – a modern semi-smart, fire & forget Anti-Tank missile system, the warhead uses PLOS – Predicted Line of Sight. You can switch between “Direct Attack” and “PLOS” weapon modes by pressing the X (adjust sights) key. PLOS mode will track your mouse velocity for 2-3 seconds, which will program the missile. Once fired, the missile will continuously turn to follow the velocity you programmed.
Added new Canadian weapon variants: C7A2 and C8A3 Foregrip variants, C7A2+Iron-sights, C7A2+Eotech, C8A3+Iron-sights, C8A3+ M203+C79A2 Elcan.

New Vehicles

Added new Vehicles: INS Modern Technicals – 9 variants: DShK, M2, BMP1, Mortar, UB32, ZU23, SPG9, Logi, Transport.
Added a new ‘Alternate’ INS Technical (found on Fallujah Invasion v1, v2, v3).
Added a new Vehicle: GB FV107 Recon Vehicle – a new class of vehicle, this is a light & fast armored recon vehicle, similar to the Russian-made BRDM-2 Scout car, but with more armor and firepower.
Added a new Vehicle: GB LPPV Armored Jeep – 2 variants – GB gets a highly mobile light attack vehicle, serving as counterpart to M-ATV and Tigr. It comes in 2 versions, with a remotely operated turret and a dual LMG open turret!
Added a new Vehicle: GB FV520UA CTAS IFV – GB gets an upgrade package for the aged FV510 IFV with modern features like stabilization and increased firepower with a new high rate of fire 40mm autocannon! This is the latest cutting-edge modern IFV that GB is deploying, which is supplementing the older FV510 variants, but not completely replacing them.
Added a new Vehicle: GB SA330 Transport Helicopter – GB now gets their own unique helicopter. This is a powerful and agile helicopter with similar lift capabilities as the UH60M, but with slightly more construction & ammo capacity.
Added C6A1 RWS Variant for the TAPV.
Added a new unique Remote Weapon Station for several GB vehicles that apply.

User Interface Updates & Bug Fixes

Added new and improved Streamer Support Option to the Settings Menu (these can be turned on and off individually):

Hide Server name from Score Screen (Tab)
Hide all but current Squad names from Command Menu / Spawn Menu.
Hide Server name from End of Game Screen
Hide Server Information from Faction Select Screen ( Server Title, Rules
Hide Automated Server Broadcast messages
Override Squad custom names with Squad 1, 2, etc…
Hide Player names in Command Menu / Spawn Select Menu.
Hide all names on Score Screen.

Added new loading screen images for all maps. Note: currently loading screens will only be displayed when first loading into a server. Upon map change, the loading screen will not be displayed. This will hopefully be rectified in a future update.
Updated the Command Menu Vehicle List to now include active spawn timers for all vehicles on your team. When a vehicle is destroyed, the vehicle list will now show the spawn time actively count down until the vehicle spawns. “Single-Use” vehicles (seen on Invasion Game Mode) will be displayed in gray to indicate they do not respawn.
Updated Server Browser to show currently loaded Factions, Unit Types (mostly Combined Arms until we add new types and Generic Layers), and time since match start.
Fixed an issue with the Server Browser Favorites not saving properly. This will only work currently on licensed server. The in-game tooltip is outdated and does not reflect that.
Fixed a minor issue with the MEA radial menu Deployables button having the wrong tooltip text.
Audio Settings now has a droplist for selecting input/output devices
Removed a redundant slider in Game Settings that caps the maximum FPS
Added a separate slider in Graphics Settings to cap the maximum FPS while in the menu

Environment Updates & Bug Fixes

Updated Middle Eastern Rock collisions.
Updated the chain-link fence kit by optimizing material use, updating collisions, and standardizing LODs.
Updated fences and other flat surface objects to use a planar thickness shader to give a better appearance of having thickness.
Fixed the green large trash bin material appearing excessively polished, now looks less reflective and more matte.
Fixed an exploitable collision on the stairs of an industrial office building.
Fixed the collision of the rooftop on the small wooden office building.

Modding Updates

Layer Overhaul has added new flexibility to the modding system, and a bunch of new requirements. Mod teams will need to update to have compatibility with v2.0/Layer Overhaul. See the full documentation here for more info.
Added a holo dot sight into the main Attachments folder.
Updated the currently unused L128A1 GB shotgun with a holo-dot sight mounted.
Fixed up animation settings on the unused Shotguns.

Misc Improvements & Fixes

Added New Admin Tools for managing teamkills and observing problem players.
Fixed a potential exploit where players could potentially disable atmospheric fog on certain map layers.
Fixed a potential exploit that could detect concealed assets such as Radios/Habs or Rally points.

Known Issues

Occasional Player (Client) crashes in various circumstances. Detailed crash reports help us fix things faster, and we truly appreciate those that have filled out and sent in crash reports.
Player (Client) occasional crash at the end of a round, upon map switch, due to a UE4 Particle Crash bug upon seamless map travel. Actively pursuing a fix for this crash.
Commander – When the commander changes to the UAV camera, he cannot hear local audio anymore, even though he still sees local audio transmissions in the bottom left corner. Others can still hear him when he talks. Additionally, when leaving the UAV camera, he hears all of the local audio broadcasts at the same time, originating from the point where they were initially transmitted from – even if the person doing the transmission has moved afterward. Will be addressed in a future update.
Vehicle Reset Feature does not currently work with Helicopters.
Vehicle Reset Feature can freeze a vehicle in the air if used too close to a tree.
Occasionally a player does not spawn at a Rally Point. This often happens when numerous players are spawning in at the same time — This will be addressed in a future update.
Server performance may periodically dip when a server has a high population and high load. We are continuously working to improve server performance and optimization.
ATGM projectiles desync for other players that are not the gunner, however, what the gunner sees should be the actual synced projectile. This is an inherent problem, and the solution is currently in long-term development.
Vehicles parking brake gets stuck “On” if a player exits the vehicle while holding the parking brake (Default Spacebar). When encountering a vehicle that appears healthy but is not able to move, try hitting Spacebar to turn the parking brake “Off’ — This will be addressed in a future update.
“Alt-tabbing” out of Squad during a loading screen freezes the client. The recommended solution, for now, is to run Squad in the “Borderless” mode. This can be changed in Settings -> Graphics.
The audio module for Squad is initialized at the game start. If a player does not have a microphone plugged in at launch, or accidentally unplug their microphone and then plug it back in, Squad needs to be restarted to get the microphone to work again — This issue will likely require an engine upgrade to UE4.25 to be fixed.
SFX bug while Firing in full auto. If the player presses the fire button for a short period, the sound effect gives the impression that you fired more rounds than you did — This will be addressed in a future update.
Localization for most language translations is currently out of date. We plan to push a full localization pass in a future release as we lock down the text that needs to be translated for the game.
Track Attack Game Mode has been temporarily removed, as it had compatibility issues with Layer Overhaul. This events-based game mode will be fixed in an upcoming minor patch.

Local/Offline Issues & Bugs (these currently have a lower priority)

Local/Offline Bug with Commander – Insurgent / Militia Handheld Drone does not move in local.
Local/Offline issues currently have a lower priority.
Local/Offline Bug with Commander – UAV hovers in one position instead of moving along the flight path in local.
Local/Offline Bug with Commander – CAS does not do damage in local.
Local/Offline Bug with Vehicles: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, Tracks, Wheels, and other components are not destructible while on the Jensen’s Range in Local play.
Local/Offline Bug with Weapon damages: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, Weapon damages with both Infantry and Vehicle weapons are not accurately replicated.
Local/Offline Bug with Scoped Emplacements: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, if a player exits an Emplacement while looking through the scope, the Scope remains on the Player’s HUD until they get back in the Emplacement and then Scope out.

REMINDER: Due to character limits on Steam these are not the full release notes, those can be found on our website here with more information and images

Feb 24, 2021

Squad Update V2.0

Squad - Krispy

New Map: Goose Bay

Located on the Labrador coast between Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest population center in the region. Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay is the home of 5 Wing of the Royal Canadian Air Force; its aircraft provide airspace defense to a large portion of Canada's Northeastern territory.
This map replaces Nanisivik; providing an immersive, polar environment with vehicle warfare and an improved experience for infantry gameplay.

v2.0 System / Optimization

Map Layer Overhaul Phase 1

Greatly reduced loading times for all maps and layers.
This feature lays the groundwork for more asymmetric sub-factions, with great variety in vehicle/kit/deployable composition and count. It also makes possible many smaller features like the improved Command Map Vehicle List.

Extensive network optimization pass on Vehicle Turrets. This provides a significant improvement to network bandwidth usage, which leaves more headroom to replicate things like character and vehicle movement.
Extensive network optimization pass on Helicopters. This has greatly improved the smoothness of helicopter movement replication for passengers and observers on the ground. It’s not perfect, of course, so we look forward to your feedback.

Performance Optimizations

Overhauled Texture Streaming behavior, greatly reducing graphics memory usage. This has allowed us to increase the quality of many character, weapon, and vehicle textures, while simultaneously improving performance.
Removed Mesh Distance Fields from all movable objects, such as vehicles and weapons. This allows better caching of Distance Fields, reducing GPU load.
Disabled Mesh Distance Field on a lot of small foliage (trees, scatter/debris meshes). This should improve performance for maps when Ambient Occlusion and/or Far Shadows are enabled.
Optimized Mesh Distance Field resolutions for large foliage.
Optimized Lashkar Valley, Kamdesh, Mestia, and Skorpo by setting more aggressive cull distances on pine trees.
Optimized rock walls, coal piles, and other assets by removing unnecessary tessellation.
Optimized grass post-process shader by reducing unnecessary complexity by up to 80%.
Optimized skybox lighting.
Optimized TOW discard effect.
Optimized and fixed some issues with Impostor post-process shader (distant trees).
Optimized vehicle smoke generator effects.

Gameplay Features & Changes

HAB Spawn Activation Delay

This new feature for the HAB includes an Activation Delay timer before a HAB is ready to be spawned.

There are 3 ways that a HAB Spawn point can be affected in Squad, all 3 will incur an activation delay timer. The current activation delay time is 10 seconds, this timing may be adjusted in future updates.
The HAB Activation “delay to spawn” is indicated on the HUD around the HAB icon, in the form of a circular progress bar (similar to a medic health bar). This will be displayed on the Command map screen as well in a future update. This HAB Activation delay indicator is only visible when a delay is counting down.
“Spawn is Activating” text will be displayed when the spawn delay is counting down and the delay indicator is visible on the HUD when within range of that FOB.
The intention behind this Spawn activation delay is designed to change the spawn dynamics surrounding HAB’s, to incentivize more planning, and reduce the amount of “Teleportation hopping” that occurs with newly built HAB’s. This delay is primarily intended to prevent instantaneous spawning off the HAB.
This also is intended to incentivize the defense of FOB/HAB to be less about spawn intensity, and more about positioning and overall area control.
This is intended to prevent teams from abusing the spawn system via instantly spawning on a newly created HAB, and to encourage players to defend the HAB for a short period upon completion to ensure the spawn point becomes active.
These changes will also give opponents a bit of breathing room and time to secure the area after overrunning a HAB or partially destroying it without fear of having enemies spawn back in the moment the HAB is rebuilt to the threshold or when enough players have either left or are killed within the HAB overrun proximity radius.
This change, in combination with the next update that will contain the HAB Proximity Disable Scaling feature, is an intentional Design decision to adjust the pacing and gameplay surrounding the usage of the HAB’s Spawns, and their impact on the flow of the gameplay.

Helicopter Flight Improvements

Rewrote large parts of the helicopter flight model, and tuned it to create a smoother and more realistic experience. More tweaks will be made in future patches.
Unified acceleration calculations for all phases of flight. Handling should be more natural and consistent throughout the entire flight envelope.
Mitigated the “see-saw” effect and reduced sudden acceleration at low speeds by adjusting the X-axis acceleration curve.
Improved energy retention through high-speed turns.
Made it easier to achieve the helicopter’s maximum speed.
Rotor efficiency now scales depending on flight conditions. Rotor power is multiplied up to 1.3x when meeting the air at a high angle of incidence (J-turns and steep flares) or when traveling at high speeds (Translational Lift).
Reworked “weathervane” effect to ensure the helicopter always settles nose-first.
Reduced residual thrust when the engine is disabled, forcing (survivable) crash landings.
Increased Pitch, Roll, and Yaw sensitivity.
Fixed weird weathervaning behavior caused by helicopter inertia calculation not accounting for the change in rotation between frames.

Deployables Refund Mechanic

Refunds 80% of the placed deployable cost, if it was dug down without being built fully after placement. This mechanic is intended to reduce the penalty for accidental bad placement of the deployable.

Infantry Kits Refund Mechanic

Refunds 80% of the ammo cost of the Players previous role when changing roles at an ammo crate. Should not refund ammo for weapons/magazines which have been expended.
Refunds ammo when a kit role is changed from FOB ammo crates or vehicles.
It will technically be possible for the total ammo in an ammo source to increase if the player goes from a high-cost role to a low-cost role.

Main Base Protection Zone QoL Update

Updated the Main Base Protection Zone to prevent friendly infantry and vehicles from being able to fire weapons. Infantry will still be able to use medkits, bandages and repair tools inside the Protection Zone.
The design intention with this change is to remove the amount of excessive distraction at the Main Base, especially during Staging Phase.

AAS & RAAS Ticket Changes

Adjusted RAAS & AAS Ticket Gain and Ticket Loss for Flag Capture to +60 and -10 (was +50 -20). This is intended to help losing teams make a comeback if they successfully counterattack a lost Capture Point, and also to encourage proper logistics planning to hold points that are captured.

Body Dragging Tweaks

Improved the responsiveness of body dragging by doubling the trace size and increasing the angle limit. This should allow players to more easily grab bodies and not have them auto-drop as easily. Note that you still have to look directly at a body for the “press F to drag” prompt to appear, but triggering the prompt is not necessary for the drag command to work.

New Infantry Weapons

Added new weapon: INS Mosin Nagant – 3 variants: Carbine with Irons, Full Length with Irons, and PU-1 Magnified Scope option. Can be reloaded via single cartridges or stripper clip.
Added new weapon: INS RPD Light Machine Gun – a classic 7.62x39mm machine gun with some serious firepower.
Added new weapon: RUS RPG28 Heavy Anti-Tank – a modern disposable anti-tank rocket launcher utilizing a massive 125mm Tandem HEAT warhead at a much flatter trajectory, capable of devastating enemy armor. Comes equipped with an optic and can be ranged out to 500 meters.
Added new weapon: GB NLAW Heavy Anti-Tank – a modern semi-smart, fire & forget Anti-Tank missile system, the warhead uses PLOS – Predicted Line of Sight. You can switch between “Direct Attack” and “PLOS” weapon modes by pressing the X (adjust sights) key. PLOS mode will track your mouse velocity for 2-3 seconds, which will program the missile. Once fired, the missile will continuously turn to follow the velocity you programmed.
Added new Canadian weapon variants: C7A2 and C8A3 Foregrip variants, C7A2+Iron-sights, C7A2+Eotech, C8A3+Iron-sights, C8A3+ M203+C79A2 Elcan.

New Vehicles

Added new Vehicles: INS Modern Technicals – 9 variants: DShK, M2, BMP1, Mortar, UB32, ZU23, SPG9, Logi, Transport.
Added a new ‘Alternate’ INS Technical (found on Fallujah Invasion v1, v2, v3).
Added a new Vehicle: GB FV107 Recon Vehicle – a new class of vehicle, this is a light & fast armored recon vehicle, similar to the Russian-made BRDM-2 Scout car, but with more armor and firepower.
Added a new Vehicle: GB LPPV Armored Jeep – 2 variants – GB gets a highly mobile light attack vehicle, serving as counterpart to M-ATV and Tigr. It comes in 2 versions, with a remotely operated turret and a dual LMG open turret!
Added a new Vehicle: GB FV520UA CTAS IFV – GB gets an upgrade package for the aged FV510 IFV with modern features like stabilization and increased firepower with a new high rate of fire 40mm autocannon! This is the latest cutting-edge modern IFV that GB is deploying, which is supplementing the older FV510 variants, but not completely replacing them.
Added a new Vehicle: GB SA330 Transport Helicopter – GB now gets their own unique helicopter. This is a powerful and agile helicopter with similar lift capabilities as the UH60M, but with slightly more construction & ammo capacity.
Added C6A1 RWS Variant for the TAPV.
Added a new unique Remote Weapon Station for several GB vehicles that apply.

User Interface Updates & Bug Fixes

Added new and improved Streamer Support Option to the Settings Menu (these can be turned on and off individually):

Hide Server name from Score Screen (Tab)
Hide all but current Squad names from Command Menu / Spawn Menu.
Hide Server name from End of Game Screen
Hide Server Information from Faction Select Screen ( Server Title, Rules
Hide Automated Server Broadcast messages
Override Squad custom names with Squad 1, 2, etc…
Hide Player names in Command Menu / Spawn Select Menu.
Hide all names on Score Screen.

Added new loading screen images for all maps. Note: currently loading screens will only be displayed when first loading into a server. Upon map change, the loading screen will not be displayed. This will hopefully be rectified in a future update.
Updated the Command Menu Vehicle List to now include active spawn timers for all vehicles on your team. When a vehicle is destroyed, the vehicle list will now show the spawn time actively count down until the vehicle spawns. “Single-Use” vehicles (seen on Invasion Game Mode) will be displayed in gray to indicate they do not respawn.
Updated Server Browser to show currently loaded Factions, Unit Types (mostly Combined Arms until we add new types and Generic Layers), and time since match start.
Fixed an issue with the Server Browser Favorites not saving properly. This will only work currently on licensed server. The in-game tooltip is outdated and does not reflect that.
Fixed a minor issue with the MEA radial menu Deployables button having the wrong tooltip text.
Audio Settings now has a droplist for selecting input/output devices
Removed a redundant slider in Game Settings that caps the maximum FPS
Added a separate slider in Graphics Settings to cap the maximum FPS while in the menu

Environment Updates & Bug Fixes

Updated Middle Eastern Rock collisions.
Updated the chain-link fence kit by optimizing material use, updating collisions, and standardizing LODs.
Updated fences and other flat surface objects to use a planar thickness shader to give a better appearance of having thickness.
Fixed the green large trash bin material appearing excessively polished, now looks less reflective and more matte.
Fixed an exploitable collision on the stairs of an industrial office building.
Fixed the collision of the rooftop on the small wooden office building.

Modding Updates

Layer Overhaul has added new flexibility to the modding system, and a bunch of new requirements. Mod teams will need to update to have compatibility with v2.0/Layer Overhaul. See the full documentation here for more info.
Added a holo dot sight into the main Attachments folder.
Updated the currently unused L128A1 GB shotgun with a holo-dot sight mounted.
Fixed up animation settings on the unused Shotguns.

Misc Improvements & Fixes

Added New Admin Tools for managing teamkills and observing problem players.
Fixed a potential exploit where players could potentially disable atmospheric fog on certain map layers.
Fixed a potential exploit that could detect concealed assets such as Radios/Habs or Rally points.

Known Issues

Occasional Player (Client) crashes in various circumstances. Detailed crash reports help us fix things faster, and we truly appreciate those that have filled out and sent in crash reports.
Player (Client) occasional crash at the end of a round, upon map switch, due to a UE4 Particle Crash bug upon seamless map travel. Actively pursuing a fix for this crash.
Commander – When the commander changes to the UAV camera, he cannot hear local audio anymore, even though he still sees local audio transmissions in the bottom left corner. Others can still hear him when he talks. Additionally, when leaving the UAV camera, he hears all of the local audio broadcasts at the same time, originating from the point where they were initially transmitted from – even if the person doing the transmission has moved afterward. Will be addressed in a future update.
Vehicle Reset Feature does not currently work with Helicopters.
Vehicle Reset Feature can freeze a vehicle in the air if used too close to a tree.
Occasionally a player does not spawn at a Rally Point. This often happens when numerous players are spawning in at the same time — This will be addressed in a future update.
Server performance may periodically dip when a server has a high population and high load. We are continuously working to improve server performance and optimization.
ATGM projectiles desync for other players that are not the gunner, however, what the gunner sees should be the actual synced projectile. This is an inherent problem, and the solution is currently in long-term development.
Vehicles parking brake gets stuck “On” if a player exits the vehicle while holding the parking brake (Default Spacebar). When encountering a vehicle that appears healthy but is not able to move, try hitting Spacebar to turn the parking brake “Off’ — This will be addressed in a future update.
“Alt-tabbing” out of Squad during a loading screen freezes the client. The recommended solution, for now, is to run Squad in the “Borderless” mode. This can be changed in Settings -> Graphics.
The audio module for Squad is initialized at the game start. If a player does not have a microphone plugged in at launch, or accidentally unplug their microphone and then plug it back in, Squad needs to be restarted to get the microphone to work again — This issue will likely require an engine upgrade to UE4.25 to be fixed.
SFX bug while Firing in full auto. If the player presses the fire button for a short period, the sound effect gives the impression that you fired more rounds than you did — This will be addressed in a future update.
Localization for most language translations is currently out of date. We plan to push a full localization pass in a future release as we lock down the text that needs to be translated for the game.
Track Attack Game Mode has been temporarily removed, as it had compatibility issues with Layer Overhaul. This events-based game mode will be fixed in an upcoming minor patch.

Local/Offline Issues & Bugs (these currently have a lower priority)

Local/Offline Bug with Commander – Insurgent / Militia Handheld Drone does not move in local.
Local/Offline issues currently have a lower priority.
Local/Offline Bug with Commander – UAV hovers in one position instead of moving along the flight path in local.
Local/Offline Bug with Commander – CAS does not do damage in local.
Local/Offline Bug with Vehicles: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, Tracks, Wheels, and other components are not destructible while on the Jensen’s Range in Local play.
Local/Offline Bug with Weapon damages: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, Weapon damages with both Infantry and Vehicle weapons are not accurately replicated.
Local/Offline Bug with Scoped Emplacements: When playing offline on Jensen’s Range, if a player exits an Emplacement while looking through the scope, the Scope remains on the Player’s HUD until they get back in the Emplacement and then Scope out.

REMINDER: Due to character limits on Steam these are not the full release notes, those can be found on our website here with more information and images

Feb 19, 2021

Squad - Public Testing has been updated to V2.0 UAT #5

Squad - Krispy

NOTE: This is a crosspost from the Squad - Public Testing announcement.

Hello squaddies,

Welcome to the latest iteration of our UAT builds. The team has been busy working on the issues that you wonderful folks have been finding throughout our previous UAT builds.

Our current intention is to hold a playtest event this Sunday, 21st Feb 2021 (full details to be finalized in another post, keep an eye on our socials for info). We want to put this build through its paces and see if any critical issues would be detrimental to the release of v2.0.

If things are looking good, this will likely be the final UAT that we release, and V2 will release shortly after. Fingers crossed. We’d love you to join us on Sunday for the playtest to ensure we understand how this build runs on full servers, and we hope you are looking forward to a full release soon.

Read on to find out more on how to report any issues that you find and a complete list of changes and known issues so far with UAT #5

Reporting Issues

Help us playtest this release! If you encounter an issue, we truly appreciate players that write up bug reports and give feedback in our reporting channels on our Discord server. Channels are: #v2-beta-feedback and #v2-beta-bug-reports.

v2.0 UAT Update #5 Known Bugs and Issues

Some players may notice a slight increase in edge blurriness with higher AA Samples, or flickering with lower AA Samples. Forcing image sharpening through the gpu driver could reduce this blurriness, as well as the sharpening value ingame may help mitigate the effect. If you notice any of this, please list your hardware, graphics settings and the issue you encountered specifically.
The new Vehicle Turret system currently has an issue with drifting when low sensitivity is used, this affects Stabilizer both On and Off.
The new Vehicle Turret system has an issue where the turret stays moving and desyncs when using the hunter-killer designation right before exiting.

This build includes a networking improvement to turrets and helicopters.. If you encounter any desynchronizations (such as a helicopter not replicating properly, or strange vehicle turret behavior), please video it and send it our way through the channels listed above. This would help us immensely!

v2.0 UAT Update #5 Release Notes

Performance Optimizations

Overhauled Texture Streaming behavior, to improve performance for low and high settings. This has allowed us to increase the quality of many character, weapon, and vehicle textures while also decreasing memory usage.
Optimized / Disabled Mesh Distance Fields on a lot of small foliage (trees, scatter/debris meshes)
Optimized Mesh Distance Field resolutions for large foliage.
Optimized Lashkar Valley, Kamdesh, Mestia, Skorpo by setting more aggressive cull distances on pine trees.
Optimized rockwall coal material and other assets by removing unnecessary tessellation.
Optimized grass post process shader by reducing unnecessary complexity by up to 80%.
Optimized ADS blur with small reductions of constant overhead cost.
Optimized skybox lighting.
Optimized TOW discard effect.
Optimized and fixed some issues with Impostor post process shader (distant trees).
Optimized vehicle smoke generator effects.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where the deployment menu would show players as recruits when they actually were not.
Fixed kits in Role Select Menu missing title text.
Fixed names kit names not appearing when mousing over roles in the Quick Role Select panel.
Fixed an issue with all Recruit kits missing ammo and bandages.
Fixed an issue with the Vehicle List in the Command Menu not sorting vehicles correctly by vehicle type/alphabetically.
Fixed an exploit where the MATV engine could be destroyed by small arms when shooting it through the wheel well.
Fixed an issue with the INS BRDM2 having double vehicle wrecks.
Fixed an issue with the INS Spandrel using the RUS Spandrel vehicle wreck.
Fixed a minor issue with incorrect name and description text of Mosin Nagant variants.
Fixed a minor issue with the INS Rifleman 06 Mosin Rifle clipping in Role Select menu.
Fixed an issue with the Modern Technical BMP1 using the wrong map and vehicle list icons (both now use Jeep Anti Tank icon).
Team Select Images now change to reflect the biome of the map in play.
Fixed Equippable Rally Point texture not respecting map biome.
Fixed CAF Handheld Rally Point using the wrong texture.
Fixed an issue with FOB Radios appearing in radial build menus.
Fixed an issue with CAF deployable menus where Ammo Crates and Mortars would show up in all menus.
Fixed an issue with CAF Ammo Crates showing duplicate Rearm buttons instead of the Change Kit buttons.
Fixed an issue with mine explosion VFX not correctly displaying at distant LODs.
Fixed an issue with the T62 MBT where hits were not playing impact VFX.
Fixed an issue with GB Rifleman 02 using the wrong material.
Fixed an issue with CAF goggles showing through smoke.
Fixed an issue with the CAF Eotech reticle size being dependent on resolution & mesh UVs causing artifacting.
Fixed more vehicle turrets to no longer make annoying rotation turning audio effects.
Fixed vehicle-launched ATGMs not causing splash damage to infantry.
Fixed vehicle reset menu back button wrong size and position.
Fixed an issue with the Infantry Tutorial where two voiceovers would get triggered at the same time inside the Motherbase.

Map & Environment Updates & Fixes

Updated Al Basrah Airfield POI to have more detailing and better game flow for Invasion layers. Also expanded the helipad area and moved the radio antenna for improved Helicopter landings.
Updated & Improved the TAA support of dithering post processing shaders used on things like road sides.
Updated the chain-link fence kit - Optimized material use, updated collisions, standardized LODs.
Updated fences and other flat surface objects to use a planar thickness shader to give a better appearance of having thickness.
Fixed a concrete wall used on Narva and other maps which was missing bullet collision.
Al Basrah: Fixed floating roads and fence materials.
Al Basrah: Improved alignment of minimap.
Al Basrah: Fixed log spam caused by texture issue.
Al Basrah Skirmish Layers: Fixed Commander enabled.
Al Basrah, Fallujah, and Kamdesh layers: Fixed blocked vehicle spawners.
Belaya: Fixed invisible player collision at the bunker entrance to the Train Tunnel.
Belaya: Optimized landscape under tunnel.
CAF Belaya AAS v1: Rebalanced vehicles.
CAF Chora RAAS v1: Fixed flipped logi.
CAF Jensens v4: Fixed CAF available on both teams.
CAF Goose Bay AAS v1: Fixed bad spawners.
CAF Goose Bay Skirmish v1: Fixed showing up as RAAS game mode.
CAF GooseBay AAS v1: Switched teams to CAF vs RUS .
CAF Gorodok RAAS v1: Fixed wrong Faction Setups.
Fallujah: Fixed exploitable rock.
Fallujah: Fixed a glass refraction artifact on environment static bus.
Fallujah: Lightened minimap and fixed wrong minimap being used in leveltable.
Fallujah Invasion v2: Fixed flipped INS vehicles
Fallujah Invasion v1,v2,v3: Fixed INS not being able to lean inside their Main protection zone.
Jensen's Range: Fixed z-fighting walls and sidewalks.
Jensen’s Range: Removed blockouts that were causing invisible collisions.
Kokan: Fixed floating and mis-aligned meshes.
Logar AAS v1: Updated the teams to now be RUS vs MEA.
Mestia: Fixed an issue with wall graffiti causing z-fighting.
Skorpo: Fixed mud having a backwards normal map.
Yehorivka: Fixed wrong materials on merged houses and fixed floating bush.
Skorpo Skirmish v1 and AAS v1: Fixed US main base protection zone collision overlapping the water.
Tallil RAAS v1: Set factions to USA vs MEA using Air Assault sub factions (6 heli per team).
Tallil Invasion v3: Moved INS secondary Main Base to be located on the north east edge of the map, in order for it to be out of the combat area.

Gameplay Tweaks

Improved the responsiveness of body dragging by doubling the trace size and increasing angle limit. This should allow players to more easily grab bodies and not have them auto-drop as easily.
Updated SU25 Air Strikes to now deal splash damage to light skinned vehicles.
Updated A10 Air Strikes to decrease the impact and explosive base damage and also decreased the explosive radius: base damage within 3 meters, falls off to zero in 10 meters radius. Expected results: 16 direct hits to destroy HAB, 39 splash damage hits to destroy HAB, 8 direct hits to destroy a tank.
Adjusted the ADS camera position of the CAF C7A2 Rifle iron sights.
Adjusted the RUS Kamaz Truck engine hitpoints to be Increased from 600 to 1500.

Other

Added new Grenade, Frag and UGL explosion effects with better performance and improved visual fidelity.
Updated the Kit Role select mouse-over tooltips to be more descriptive. Tooltips should now always explain why a kit is unavailable, starting with the most restrictive ruleset.
Updated all rifle aimpoint optic shaders: Adjusted reticle size, brightness, and colour, Added improved lens effects, Implemented physically accurate parallax effect. Affects the following aimpoint sights: CAF Eotech, USA/MIL M68, MEA Z-Point, RUS 1p63.
Updated IED phone detonator to improve the look of the phone screen.
SDK: Moved deployable spawners on all layers to a separate sub-folder.

Feb 16, 2021

Server Spotlight: Issue #3

Squad - Krispy

Hello Squaddies,

My name is Jenny, and I am the Server Licensing Manager at OWI. Welcome to our third edition of the server spotlight. This feature will highlight some of the community servers that we think you may want to check out, share information about them, and show what they are up to or where they excel.
Whether they are old or new, it's always good to highlight the fantastic stuff our established server owners are doing every day.

[OS] OneShot Gaming

OneShot Gaming was started around the idea of creating a unique gaming experience for new and competitive players alike while keeping a fair and balanced game-play initiative with rules that provide an equal playing field for all players.

The community was built on the backs of dedicated individuals who wanted to make a fun and safe environment for all players to enjoy! All members are open-minded individuals who welcome any new player(s) with open arms, teach as one was taught, and have an equal opportunity to advance in the community itself. The OneShot Gaming community has members from all walks of life spanning the globe, from a growing military following to the everyday working man/woman. OneShot Gaming is genuinely a place where all squad fanatics can call home.

The OneShot Gaming community loves Squad for the replayability factor. The game-play continuously changes every step of the way; every move a player makes can change the tides of war. No matter what, there is always something new to experience when playing Squad; whether it's a well-placed airstrike or a unit’s flank on an enemy's FOB, the game-play is still immersive and entertaining.

https://discord.com/invite/oneshotgaming

Jenny’s Notes: I recently visited their server and found it to be warm and welcoming. The admins are supportive, passionate, and friendly to their community and engage players to enjoy playing the game alongside them. I would highly recommend checking out their server.

Next up, we have:

[TT] Tactical Triggernometry

Tactical Triggernometry was founded upon Tactical Gamer’s closure, a well-known online gaming community that goes back over 20 years into the 90s! When TG decided to close its doors, we could not let over 20 years of experiences, memories, and brotherhood instantly vanish! After several debates on what to do and where to go, a member of our group randomly bought a server without asking any of us and asked: "now, what do we do?". Just like that, TacTrig was founded, and we began trailblazing on our new adventure immediately while honoring the legacy of TG! Here is to another 20 years and then some!

Squad presents players’ opportunity to be engaged, challenged, and brought together by unique experiences within the game. Every game offers a unique experience shared amongst a community that has begun to forge lifelong relationships together outside of the game. From rocket scientists and military veterans to financial regulators and students, we are a community with people from all over the world - Hong Kong, Norway, USA, etc. - who emphasize communication, cooperation, and coordination of the team. In summary, for us, selflessness is the key to success together, and ultimately, TacTrig can be summarized in just a few words, "the team, the team, the team.” With over tens of thousands of combined hours in the game, TacTrig offers an established environment of competent, mature, and knowledgeable players who come together in the name of camaraderie, competition, and community!

https://discord.gg/B8NtyDs

Jennys Notes: When I visited their server, I received a very warm welcome. I spoke to some of the players on their server, and they told me they always play on this server because they are just serious enough to have fun. I enjoyed playing on the server and having a few chuckles with the players while playing. I highly recommend checking this server out!

And my final recommendation is:

[C] Caroleans

Our community started long ago in the days of Project Reality. We called ourselves "Carolean Legion" and ran a server for the Swedish community. We started playing Squad during 2018, hosted a server, and rebranded into [C] Caroleans. Our clan was later divided into two branches: "[C] Caroleans" for competitive, and "[L] Legionnaires" for only community. Since entering the squad scene, Caroleans has been steadily rising, now competing in Rivals, OISC, and OSS.

Our server is best known for aiming towards experienced players, encouraging fast-paced and high-level gameplay. Our community is welcoming and willing to teach players who wish to take their gameplay to the next level and give Squad a go. Our server is also the only server that is announced as Swedish speaking for the Swedish community.

What we love most about Squad is the dynamic gameplay, freedom and creative battlespace, and delicate balance between realism and arcade elements.

https://discord.io/caroleans
https://discord.com/invite/GVCGg5s

Jennys Notes: When I joined this server, all the players were engaged in the game. The squad I joined spoke to me in English and told me they enjoyed playing on this server because they felt the gameplay was of a high standard. They also praised the admin team on how they handle situations quickly and effectively. I had so much fun playing on their server. Their admins and community gave me a lovely warm welcome. I highly recommend checking this server out!