Inspired by the Project Reality modification for Battlefield 2, the game will place its players in a realistic environment and encourage them to work together. Doing so tends to be an excellent way to build an immersive and visceral combat atmosphere. To those familiar with PC shooters, the best way to describe this would be as a middle ground between the Battlefield and Arma series.

Built from the ground up in the Unreal Engine 4, Squad pits teams of up to 50 players against each other in white knuckle modern day combined-arms combat scenarios, with both conventional and unconventional forces. The players dictate how the scenarios unfold with base-building and interactive environments, intuitive squad command and management tools and large-scale warfare where strategy and leadership are just as important as a quick trigger finger.

The battlefield of Squad is built around organized teams using both the environment and the assets available within the ga6me to wage a tactical battle against an opposing team. From role organization to base building to vehicle mechanics, teamwork amplifies the effectiveness of the tools at your disposal. Supported by intuitive positional VOIP and navigation systems players will be able to maintain situational awareness and seamlessly interact with others. Dedicated chain of command channels and localized voice will be an effective tool for communication and organization.

It’s been a busy month at Offworld Industries - here is what the team has been working on behind the scenes that you can expect in coming updates, and everything else that’s been going on in the last month.

Systems

New Animation System Work in Progress

Over the past year the Offworld development team has been hard at work in the background trying to get together the talent and the pieces behind the new animation system for Squad. Since going into Pre-Alpha, Squad has utilised virtually the same Animation System to drive its character movement and weapons handling, and it is definitely showing its age. Behind the scenes, a new system that would not only make our characters move and behave much more naturally, but also allow us to add a whole host of features that were not possible previously is being worked on.

New Inventory System

The Weapon and Inventory system is the oldest system in Squad’s code base, created in 2014 for the original Squad prototype. Since then, more and more requirements to the system have been tacked on and a number of little features such as shovels, medical kits, and bandages have been added. The more progress that is made, the more the team found themselves with a great need to re-engineer the weapon system to better support a wide variety of new weapon types.

Since the release of Alpha 8, building had begun on a robust and extensible equippable system called CoreInventory. The sytsem is being re-architectured from the old system onto a far more robust and mod-able platform. It’s also being prepared for use in future games Offworld Industries creates. A more robust medical system, groundwork for kit customization system with attachments, bug fixes, as well as allowing equipment animations to cancel when switching weapons have also all been worked on.

Finally, a system that allows stat-changing Effects on players, vehicles, and potentially deployables is being developed to expand on the effects of being injured, suppressed, revived, or any number of events that happen in Squad.

Art

• SPG9 Kopye Recoilless Rifle: Revealed in an earlier monthly recap, the SPG9 is almost ready for action! Emplaced or mounted to a technical, it is capable of firing High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds at velocities faster and ranges further than the RPG-7. However the gunner and weapon are extremely exposed when engaging the enemy, so this should be the equivalent of a glass cannon for the Insurgent and Militia factions.
• Anti-Tank Mines: To go along with the Improvised Explosive Devices, unconventional forces will also get access to victim operated anti-tank mines such as this soviet era TM-62 mine. Capable of ruining the day of all but the most mine-resistant vehicles.
• British Faction Update: The Brits are coming to Squad! Over the past few months more solid progress has been made with the artwork for its characters and weapon systems.
• L110A2 Light Machine Gun: Based on the same platform as the US Army's M249 SAW, the L110A2 LMG as used by the British forces has been completed. The L110A2 will be available with iron sights as well as a SUSAT sight.
• L109A1 Frag Grenade: Standard British fragmentation grenade has been completed.
• SA80 Series Assault Rifle: The main armament used by the British ground forces are the SA80 series of rifles. The L85 has been seen in many different configurations in recent years, such as with the SUSAT sight, an ACOG and a back up reflex sight and most recently being fielded with an Elcan sight. Expect to see most of the above options available in time. Player’s first experiences with the L85 in Squad will be with a set of iron sights or an ACOG without the back up sight. There will be other additions to the family of SA80 rifles, such as the short L22 carbine used by vehicle crews, or the mostly outphased L86 Light Support Weapon that will be temporarily filling a DMR style role for the first few patches with the British faction until a proper DMR has been finalized.
• Stryker ICV: Shown off a while ago, the Stryker is just about ready to hit the battlefields of Squad! The first version to enter service is the Infantry Carrier Vehicle. A very tough transport and support vehicle that is designed to be proof against even fiercest .50 caliber weapon systems as well as shrugging off most rocket propelled grenades. Armed with a remote controlled M2A1 .50 cal machine gun and eventually functional smoke launchers, this is a tough, but valuable infantry support vehicle. It is likely that more variants of the Stryker chassis will be seen in time.

Mapping

New Eastern European Map

Work has begun on Squad’s newest map, which will feature its first urban battlefield in the Eastern European theater. The environment team has been busy creating brand new statics that include multi-story apartment buildings, commercial buildings, gas stations, and a variety of industrial facilities. Most of the buildings will be enterable, so close quarters infantry battles will be common. The map will also have plenty of open and strategically complex areas with a mix of rail yards, parks, industry, and quiet residential streets. Players can look forward to fighting their way through the outlying residential areas, across railroad tracks and along tree-lined avenues - all in a push to take the city center.

Gorodok Expansion

With vehicles rolling out in full force, Gorodok will be expanding to a full 4k playable area. To showcase vehicle gameplay trees have been cleared and larger plains and fields have been added. There will also be many new objectives and completely new gameplay layers including the Insurgency game mode. In the end, Gordok will be almost 4x the size that it currently is and will provide many more unique gameplay experiences.

New Soundtrack

Offworld Industries is proud to have a talented composer preparing Squad's Original Soundtrack. Scott Tobin created Volume 1 andhas now completed Volume 2, which will be coming to Steam very soon.

Squad is currently available on Steam Early Access.

Squad seeks to establish a culture of camaraderie that is unparalleled in competitive multiplayer shooters. This is a game where you can work together and coordinate with your team: players from around the world, often that you just met.

Squad will support up to 100 players in competitive multiplayer. This broad scope serves to immerse the player into a rich battle environment filled with challenges and opportunities. With teams of sufficient size, some players can perform supporting roles while leaving enough front-line combatants to provide fun and challenging gameplay across the full expanse of the battlefield.

A wide variety of support vehicles and aircraft will be included. Tanks and close support helicopters will spearhead a team’s assault into enemy lines while transport helicopters and APCs will provide much needed logistics and transportation support.

Commanders and squad leaders will be given the ability to shape the battlefield through construction of defensive and offensive fortifications as well as control of battlefield planning and supplemental combined arms assets. Coupled with this, spawn dynamics will be affected by occupation of territories and level of supply each objective is receiving. Organized control of the battlefield will ensure a properly supported supply structure and pave the way for a strategic victory.

It’s all about teamwork.

Key Features:

• Massive Online 50 vs 50 Squad-Based Combined Arms Warfare
• Large scale maps up to 8km^2. (currently working with 2km and 4km maps)
• Organic and Emergent Gameplay, this won’t be a linear shooter
• Maps based on Geographic Information System satellite data of real world locales
• True First Person (aka ‘body awareness’) character models, there won’t be walking gunheads here. High quality models and complex animations systems.
• Built in Voice Over IP using the best codecs available, with attenuated localized, intra-squad radio, and inter-squad command radio communications.
• Simulated damage models and simulated ballistics
• NO grinding rewards system and no dress up dolls
• Showcase Deployables and Base Building which no other military FPS has.
• Real world current time period armaments using highly accurate modelling
• Teamwork oriented gameplay that doesn't require a clan or private server to fully realize the potential of the gameplay.
• The creation, defense, destruction and resupply of chained spawn positions in an overlapping and always fluid emergent chessboard designed in our maps.
• A very open development team with excellent community communication, and preparations in progress for mod support near retail release.
• Essentially an "everything" game. Infantry/Logistics/Air Combat/CAS/Armor Warfare