Squad traces its roots back to the esteemed Project Reality mod for Battlefield 2. The mod's immersive and realistic combat mechanics garnered immense praise and a dedicated following, laying the foundation for Squad's creation. Its emphasis on teamwork, communication, and coordination as essential ingredients to triumph became the driving force behind our vision for Squad.
From the outset, our aim was to build upon the success of Project Reality, propelling the gameplay experience to unprecedented heights. We understood that the mod's quality stemmed from its demand for collaborative teamwork, where victory hinged on players relying on one another to achieve shared objectives.
Yet, during Squad's development, we faced the inevitable temptation to stray from this original vision. Influenced by prevailing shooter trends and the desire for broader appeal, we found ourselves at times prioritizing individual skill and instant gratification over the core principles that made Project Reality exceptional. The evolving gaming industry, with its emphasis on fast-paced action and solo play, gradually seeped into Squad's design choices, leading to mechanics and features that favored a more independent playstyle and somewhat diluted the importance of teamwork and coordination.
The current state of infantry combat in Squad presents a mixed picture with both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, teamwork can still yield rewarding experiences. When players effectively coordinate their actions, execute well-planned strategies, and communicate seamlessly, they can achieve remarkable feats on the battlefield. These moments of collective triumph are the core strength of Squad and create lasting memories, highlighting the importance of collaboration.
However, there are several notable concerns regarding the combat systems in Squad. One significant hurdle is the tendency towards individualistic gameplay under their current iteration. Instances occur where a lone wolf flanker can single-handedly decimate an entire squad, undermining the emphasis on teamwork and coordination. This individualistic nature detracts from the intended immersive and cooperative experience.
Recognizing this drift from our roots, we have decided to take a decisive step towards rectification and realignment. Our upcoming changes to the infantry combat systems signify a renewed focus on fostering an environment that thrives on teamwork, communication, and coordination. By acknowledging and addressing these past deviations, we recommit ourselves to delivering an authentic and immersive experience reminiscent of the vision we set out with for Squad.
Where we are going.
Moving forward, our primary goal is to steer Squad's combat systems towards a greater emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. We have learned valuable lessons from our previous work and player feedback, which have highlighted the need to enhance the gameplay experience by fostering a stronger sense of camaraderie and strategic decision-making.
To achieve these goals, we are approaching the changes we want to implement in a deliberate and comprehensive manner. We have conducted extensive research, analyzed player behavior patterns, and engaged in internal testing to fine-tune our approach. By adopting the "see-think-speak-do" philosophy, we aim to create a combat system that encourages players to observe the battlefield, analyze the situation, communicate effectively with their squadmates, and take purposeful actions.
One of the key changes we are implementing is to create longer firefights and provide more opportunities for tactical choices as a squad. By adjusting the pacing and dynamics of combat, we aim to extend the duration of engagements, allowing players to make informed decisions and employ various tactics to overcome the situation. This will not only deepen the tactical aspect of Squad but also generate more memorable war story moments that players can share and reminisce about.
In addition, we are striving to make combat more approachable for players of all skill levels. We understand the importance of creating an inclusive environment where new players can feel useful and contribute to the overall success of the squad. By providing opportunities for newcomers to engage in suppressive fire or support roles, while experienced players execute flanking maneuvers and decisive pushes, we aim to strike a balance that promotes both learning and effective teamwork.
During our internal testing, we have already witnessed significant shifts in player behavior. The changes we have implemented have prompted players to rely more on their squadmates, communicate more frequently and effectively, and strategize collaboratively. We have observed increased coordination in movements, better utilization of cover and suppressive fire, and a greater focus on overall squad objectives. These changes have led to a more immersive and rewarding gameplay experience, with players actively contributing to the success of their teams.
In conclusion, our vision for Squad's combat system entails a shift towards enhanced teamwork and cooperation, longer and more strategic firefights, and a more approachable experience for players. We anticipate that these changes will fundamentally change the way Squad is played. The benefits will be far-reaching, fostering stronger player engagement, more dynamic and memorable moments, and ultimately solidifying Squad's position as a premier multiplayer, first-person shooter game that thrives on teamwork and strategic thinking.
Specific Changes
Suppression
Work in Progress
Goals
Our goals for suppression were to make it a core part of the combat puzzle, give greater purpose to MGs, and make it useful to shoot at the general location of the enemy without necessarily having a clear view of them. When the fight kicks off and the suppression kicks in, it should enhance the feeling of being in a chaotic firefight.
Features
Complete rework of suppression VFX
Suppression blurs the distance but keeps the foreground navigable, so you can seek cover, return fire, or escape.
By depriving the suppressed player of some of their perception, suppression becomes a meaningful debuff and instant retaliation is inhibited. Being suppressed will require you to behave as you might in real life, despite not being in real danger. The enemy will use it to cause trouble for you, but remember that you can do the same to them!
There are multiple levels of suppression, with new VFX kicking in as it becomes more severe. The higher your suppression level, the longer it takes to fade out.
Various kinds of feedback and effects have also been implemented to make being suppressed feel not just oppressive, but exhilarating.
Suppression aim hindrances
Player behavior modification under-fire (sway and flinch penalty).
This makes counter-suppression more about dumping rounds at the shooter, rather than lining up pinpoint snap shots.
Suppression is now applied in a more systematic way, so it should only occur in situations where one would realistically expect to be suppressed.
Per-weapon suppression power
Machine guns don’t just suppress you more, they do so faster and the suppression will persist for longer. The heavier the weapon, the more severely it can suppress you.
This also applies to vehicle-mounted HMGs and autocannons, which makes even light vehicles able to terrorize entrenched or hidden infantry.
Explosions now also cause suppression in an area of effect (examples: grenades, mortars, artillery, autocannon HE-Frag).
Players in protected turrets and emplacements are less susceptible to suppression - suppression resistance.
Improved bullet penetration exit VFX so you understand when lead is coming through the walls and have a better readability of the situation. Don’t forget your eye protection!
Gunplay
Goals
To facilitate longer shootouts, we need to reduce the odds of them ending in one or two shots. From there a sudden encounter can grow into a full-on firefight as the rest of the squad joins in, suppressing fire is laid down, maneuvers are planned and executed, and reinforcements are called up. Overall, you should have the time you need to call out contact with the enemy, analyze the situation, coordinate with your squad, and execute a plan together.
Every weapon is being reworked to have a defined role, with strengths and weaknesses which need to be covered and complimented by your squadmates.
We aim to add depth while making it easier for new players to be useful and live longer. We also want to make guns feel more satisfying to shoot, even if they’re not always as unconditionally accurate as before. It should be fun to shoot a gun in an empty room.
Features
Reworked traditional Hip-Fire into Point Shooting
The weapon now moves with your camera in a cone of motion as you look around. This emulates the experience of using hand-eye coordination to aim without looking down the sights.
This is primarily meant to increase non-ADS reaction time without resorting to traditional bullet spread mechanics.
But perhaps most importantly, we just think it looks and feels really cool.
Recoil has been modified and made more sophisticated
Recoil has been tuned to make full-auto more situational, and to create realistic tradeoffs when using different kinds of weapons. It is still possible to be very accurate, but you need to be smart about it and remember what kind of weapon you’re using, learn your guns!
Added Recoil Misalignment: Recoil now causes the weapon to rotate in more axes, and can be thought of as an additional dimension of recoil. This misaligns the sights and creates a natural “cone of fire” shot pattern. It has a particularly significant impact on machine guns, emulating the “beaten zone” and the real machine gun theory necessary for them to be employed in Squad as they are in real life. Generally speaking, muzzle climb is controllable, but recoil misalignment is not. Even the most skilled shooter can only counter recoil to a certain point. This also affects the accuracy of follow up shots, so there is a situational tradeoff between slow, accurate fire and less accurate high-volume fire.
Sway has been reworked from the ground up
Increases initial target acquisition time, particularly when running and gunning, but fades out quickly enough that you can still post up and make accurate long-range shots.
Added new dimensions to sway: a second layer of sway now rotates the weapon to misalign the sights, similar to Recoil Misalignment. Sway now also offsets the weapon laterally and vertically. Together, when used conservatively, these changes help the sway feel much more like the product of a soldier holding a weapon in two hands, and help us achieve our goals for accuracy mitigation without making any one component feel excessive.
As before, the amount of sway is driven by Stamina, Movement, and Stance.
To help you better understand the sway mechanics, a small indicator was added to the compass, taking inspiration from Project Reality.
Steadying your aim no longer applies instantly
The accuracy benefits of holding your breath now fade in over a couple of seconds.
You must be more patient when lining up shots on targets of opportunity - or you could fire a burst immediately, in hopes of fixing them in place with suppression until your teammates can get involved!
Per-stance ADS time
Your character will line up the sights faster when crouched, and fastest when prone or bipoded.
Bullets now go exactly where your gun is pointing under all circumstances
This has allowed us to embrace a fully animation-driven sway and recoil system.
The effects are particularly noticeable during animation transitions, such as when shooting after sprinting. Watch your muzzle discipline!
The bullet impact point is also more accurately represented in optics when animations are affecting the point of aim.
Look And Feel
Improved muzzle gas VFX
Improved screen shake when firing
Improved recoil and settling motions
More realistic movement of weapon in sway and recoil (see above), inspired by helmet cam footage and the experiences of our developers, many being active or former service members.
More natural-looking movement of weapons on bipods. This makes bipoded weapons feel and play less like turrets.
Added more animations and wobbles from various gameplay events such as changing stance, leaning, and going ADS.
Adjusted the camera position when ADS in a way which better shows off the weapon firing VFX and animations
Scopes
Work in Progress
Goals
We aim to add tradeoffs to magnified optics so there are benefits to having a mix of different weapon configurations in your squad, and to set the standard for video game representations of scopes in the 2020s. It should feel like you are looking through an optic, not a camera.
Features
Picture-In-Picture scopes.
These render the scene from a separate camera and project it onto the lens. Besides looking far better, this approach allows us to accurately emulate the advantages and tradeoffs of using magnified optics. We have aspired to achieve nothing less than the best implementation of scopes ever put in a video game.
The behaviour of these optics is a 1 to 1 emulation of how real optics work. They are affected correctly by every movement of the gun and camera. Many visual details have been added to make it feel like you’re looking through a lens, including scratches, scuffs, refraction, and colour shifting.
Reworked mouse sensitivity when using magnified optics for much easier fine adjustments, and added more granular control options for players to customize. See Soldier Sensitivity Scaling in the Game Options.
Thanks to advancements in technology, and a few sacrifices to the Sphere, our goal is for the reworked scopes to run as smoothly as the old scopes. *edited for clarity
Thanks to how PIP scopes emulate the real challenges of using magnified optics, there are some tradeoffs for the user:
The new scopes generally have more zoom than the old scopes, but more of your field of view is occluded by the scope, so while your peripheral vision is expanded, the target area is harder to scan. This is just like looking for a specific object in the distance through a pair of binoculars. The scope is therefore a pinhole view peering into a further engagement range.
Peripheral vision is blurred while looking through scopes.
Scopes are not affected by suppression blur, but sway is a bigger problem.
Scopes will suffer much more in close quarters. Rely on Point Firing, or ideally, move with a buddy who has CQB-oriented sights!
Scopes take longer to ADS and are more severely affected by eye relief issues when aiming with heavy sway.
Tradeoffs between the different optics options:
Scopes have an advantage at range but suffer at close quarters.
Reflector Sights and Holographic Sights excel at CQB and have the shortest ADS times, but cannot be adjusted for range.
Ironsights are the middle-ground option. They are effective in close quarters and the sights can be adjusted for engaging distant targets.
Character Movement
Goals
It is necessary to slow down engagements and the overall pace of the game. This will give players time to See → Think → Speak → Do, encourage the use of vehicle transportation, and create counter-play to rush tactics. While speed and aggression have a place in Squad, as they do in real life, they should not be more effective than communication and coordination.
Chokepoints and barriers should be meaningful obstacles which require adapting your defensive and offensive tactics. Assaulting a high-walled Afghan compound, for example, will soon be a completely different experience.
Features
Pacing and Stamina adjustments
Character movement speed has been reduced. The faster movement introduced late in Squad’s early access period was intended to help players get into combat faster. In hindsight, we concluded that it actually made the game more unforgiving and contributed to even more running around, by encouraging a Spawn-Run-Die-Repeat cycle. Slightly slower movement creates more time to react and coordinate in combat. Taking regular stamina breaks is now advisable, especially with the weapon sway changes. This creates opportunities to regroup and get oriented. In internal testing, we have found the movement speed changes make it easier to keep squads together, lead to more interesting fights, and significantly reduce the cognitive load on the Squad Leader.
Stamina regen rate was slowed down slightly. Stamina costs for various actions were rebalanced.
Traversal
You can no longer climb or vault while in mid-air. This significantly affects which rooftops and ledges are accessible, making it much easier to think tactically about locking down lanes and access points, since there are fewer possible approaches, especially in urban combat. This also encourages the use of the teamwork-oriented buddy-boost ability.
Prevents lone wolves from negating environmental obstacles to get easy flanks or overcome FOB fortifications. Removes ninja moves from the list of options to win a fight.
Vault and climb heights were adjusted.
Reworked fall damage to be more punishing, but also more consistent and predictable. Fall damage is now applied as a percentage of remaining health based on the height of the fall, down to a minimum value. The effect is that you can no longer survive multi-story drops when at full health, but you should always be able to predict whether a fall could kill you before you risk the drop.
Reworked Leaning to create less gamey-feeling close-quarters encounters and solve the lean-spam exploit. Additionally, leaning is inhibited when using some heavy weapons.
Various small tweaks to make the game feel both simultaneously more fluid and more grounded in reality.
Experience the Infantry Combat Rework in our Upcoming Playtest
Revamping Squad's infantry combat systems is the first step in our broader initiative to align all gameplay systems with the goals of our original vision for the game. We understand that achieving a truly immersive and cooperative experience requires a holistic approach, addressing various aspects of the game. While focusing on the revamp of infantry combat is crucial, we are committed to thoroughly improving and refining other gameplay systems to ensure they complement the realignment of the game’s direction.
We recognize the importance of not rushing the release of these changes and our top priority is to provide the best possible experience for our community. That's why we are dedicated to conducting extensive public testing and actively gathering feedback from players. This approach allows us to fine-tune the revamped infantry combat systems based on real-world gameplay experiences and ensures that we have the buy-in and support of our community.
This commitment to comprehensive testing and community involvement guarantees that the changes we implement to the infantry combat systems will resonate with players and align with their expectations. Our goal is to deliver a polished and refined experience that not only meets our goals but also exceeds the expectations of our community.
We will be running a series of playtests to thoroughly test the changes and actively involve the community in the process, we can make well-informed decisions about the overall realignment of Squad's gameplay. We highly value the input of our dedicated player base and want to ensure that their voices are heard throughout the development process. Stay tuned for the announcement date of our first playtest very soon!
Welcome to the world of Being The Game! This is my first project that I have been developing on the Unity engine for half a year. I have divided the project into several stages of development, and at the moment I have already completed the fifth phase and am actively testing the game. In addition, I began to engage in the media part of development, communicate with the audience, record videos, stream and talk about the development process and its successes. The first video with the tests of the project was recently released on my YouTube channel.
So, let's return to the question of the structure of the world in the game universe. This universe represents the ancient era by the standards of our reality, with all the charms and complexities of that time, but with one distinctive feature - all the peoples in the world of Being The Game are descendants of an ancient civilization consisting of many peoples and races. Over time, they lost most of the technological and cultural achievements of their common ancestor and followed completely different paths of development.
The main part of the human race, over time, united around a talented politician and speaker, who later became the head of all the western lands of the continent and created an Empire under his command. Living an incredibly long life among his subjects, he constantly sought to increase his skills and the power of his Empire. Proclaimed emperor and named defender of humanity, he became a living legend. They began to deify and perpetuate him during his lifetime, and it was for something — after living for the third hundred years among his entourage, among whom no one lived to be seventy, he was a real miracle.
The power of the Empire was largely created thanks to the legions, who became famous as a result of many wars and organized in a closed city on the territory of the Empire, about which there were rumors of terrible experiments on humans or even divine miracles. At that time there was no accurate information about the structure of those lands that were located beyond the pass in the Valley of the Empire's Beginnings, but it was known that the legions that came out of there no longer looked much like people who obeyed the Empire and were called up for military service from all districts. They, with a cold and ruthless gaze, unconditionally carried out the orders of their commanders and carrying the word and will of the Emperor, were located in the territories, formed a network of roads, residential complexes and fortifications, thus strengthening the influence of the Empire in the regions. In addition, they built fortifications for the arrival of expeditionary units with suspicious devices similar to huge blue crystals. Special units consisting of veteran legionnaires who reported personally to the Emperor sacrificed ten captive slaves and then activated a strange mechanism that created a sphere around the crystal. Then the whole squad disappeared inside the sphere.
The legionnaires who arrived at the place formed militia and work detachments from local residents who wanted to join the Empire. The remaining people were sent through a strange device, along with the incoming troops of the emperor. After these detachments took away new slaves, they immediately left the fortification and disappeared into the depths of the buzzing sphere.
Legionnaires who lived longer than ordinary people had enough skills and authority to establish settlements and train the mortal warriors of the Empire
They had less strength and experience, so they did most of the hard work in the Empire, relying on quantity. They were easy to recruit, but also easy to lose, because due to the high mortality rate, the turnover of this group was significant.
Some of the peoples who continued to wage war against the Emperor and his legions used their astral strongholds as fortifications and bases. However, most preferred to live in the relative safety of the astral, far from the troops controlled by the Emperor.
Over the centuries, the Empire gradually expanded, and the invasion of their fortified astral became more and more difficult and dangerous, while the legions took most of the astral known to them under their control, but these dimensions still became monstrously dangerous for all parties to the conflict. Some even said that the Thestrals had powers that the ordinary world did not have, and that powerful beings lived there that could destroy entire armies.
Thus, the astral became a kind of fortress for everyone who was against the Empire and who did not want to live under its rule. And although their inhabitants were different and often waged war among themselves, they had a common enemy - the Emperor and his legions, whom they gladly provoked and repulsed on their astral borders.
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical - Summerfall Studios
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is HONOURED to be one of Tribeca's official selections for 2023! Tribeca Festival is happening from June 7 through 18 in New York City, and will be featuring an incredible line-up of games. We feel so blessed to be part of the festival - be sure to check it out!
The Tribeca Showcase will be broadcast LIVE on June 9th at 12pm PT / 3pm ET (and June 10 5am AEST, for the Australians!) with some cool behind-the-scenes on Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical and Summerfall Studios. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXaOO- aHx9M&pp=ygUcdHJpYmVjYSAyMDIzIGdhbWVzIHNwb3RsaWdodA%3D%3D]You can catch it here![/url]
We’re also thrilled to be part of the amazing Future Games Show, co-hosted by our very own Laura Bailey, voice of Grace. Don’t miss out on some very exciting news - delivered by Grace herself - LIVE on June 10 at 10am PT / 1 PM ET / June 11 3 AM AEST and catch a brand new Stray Gods trailer!
[horror squirrel removed = no AI assisted art allowed on Steam] (AI concept art)
- FIXED: new Turret FX no longer tanking framerates - FIXED: player squirrel broken post process - FIXED: computer terminal screen emissive textures - flashlight updated (more realistic / horror atmosphere?) - point lighting overhaul lobby and hive (better like flashlight?) - map fog / night work (better with fewer 'anomalies')
[horror squirrel removed = no AI assisted art allowed on Steam]
Aero Tales Online: The World - Anime MMORPG - Anisage Games
[GENERAL] - Added extra skill slot for mount on mobile. - Added tag effect for God Mode tag. - Added tag effect for Beta Tester tag. - Friend list limit increased from 30 to 50. - Monster names become evident and the colors of the names will now change according to the power level of the monsters towards you. + The dark gray name indicates that the monster is much weaker than you and will not give experience. + The gray name indicates that the monster is weak and will give little experience. + The white name indicates that the monster is suitable for your level and will give good experience. + The red name indicates that the monster is stronger than you and will give average experience. + The dark red name indicates that the monster is much stronger than you and will give little experience.
[PERFORMANCE] - Performance improvements have been made on the DigiNet Arena map.
[MAP] - The Sudden War map has been completely renewed.
[TRANSLATION] - All item descriptions have been translated into supported languages.
[SYSTEM] - AOE Skill Assist and Directional Skill Assist have been added to the game settings for mobile users. When you activate these options, the initial aiming position of the skills will be above the target. - The fishing system has been renewed. + When the cursor is on the green area, you can fill the fishing bar by pressing PUSH or SPACE, when the bar is full, you will caught the fish.
[FIXES] - Adjusted the handle part of the Night Bow skin. - Fixed a bug in Red Clan Shoes(M) production cost. - Fixed bugs related to Devil Drako. - Some UI adjustments have been made. - Fixed some bugs related to light monsters in the Tower Of Sky map. - Fixed the Orc Boss monster's red carpet. - Adjusted Lucky Wheel and Piano UIs.
[MATCHMAKING] - Premium tasks in the Matchmaking panel now easier. You can earn rewards by winning fewer matches.
[AC SHOP] - Beater costume set has been added to the AC Shop. - The Sunlight weapon set has been added to the AC Shop. - You can now preview houses before purchasing them.
[INFORMATIONS] - Estimated iOS release date: this week! - We continue to improve on the problem of the target appearing in the wrong place after the stun.
