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Unreal Engine 5 - PUBLIC PLAYTESTING ANNOUNCEMENT

[h3]Hello Squaddies![/h3]

The time has come! Open playtesting for Unreal Engine 5 is arriving this Friday!

Here’s what to expect:
  • You will need to download a special Playtesting Branch of Squad, that will be released later this week, with access on Friday Apr 11, 2025, around 11am PDT.

  • There will be multiple servers being hosted by Community names that you will know and recognize! Feel free to play wherever you like, but servers will open and close to accommodate the population needs! The general public will not be given access to the Server hosting branch for testing.

  • There is a special Squad Testing Discord that has now been opened to the public. Please be aware that all the normal Squad Community server rules apply in this server as well. Please refer to the onboarding channels for help if you need it! https://discord.gg/testsquad

We want to also mention that this is a WORK IN PROGRESS build of Unreal Engine 5, and is still in active development. That means you are likely to come up against bugs, or features that don’t work/feel the same way as the current 8.2 version of Squad. We have included some known issues in this post, but anything that you come up against can be reported in the previously mentioned Discord Server for testing.

Testing will run over the weekend from April 11th to April 14th, and then the UE5 builds will be taken down. Our goal is to run these tests every 2 weeks, with iterations to try each weekend of Public playtesting!

We are also hoping you can take the time to fill out a survey for us, answering some questions about your experience during testing. This will be available IN GAME, in the News Box on the main menu. We will send out a reminder of this later on as well.


[h3]Known Issues:[/h3]

  • We are aware of an issue that causes the player's FPS to drop to 1 for an amount of time. We are tracking this issue and would appreciate any and all reports of this.
  • We have yet to add the final pass on many of the Vehicles across the Factions. Paired with the new Vehicle physics, many of the vehicles may feel foreign or behave differently than you expect. Some Vehicles can get stuck on objects easier than in UE4 as well. Please leave us feedback on this in Discord.
  • There are some issues with PiP scopes that we are still working on.
  • Some areas of the map may be too dark or too light when looking into or out of buildings.
  • There are some known client crashes. Using the Unreal Engine crash report tool that pops up once Squad crashes, is a good way for us to receive a client crash.If you crash WITHOUT seeing the crash reporter, please let us know through the Testing Discord Server.
  • There are some texture streaming related issues, which can cause microstutters especially when a VFX is starting to play.
  • There are some visual artifacts relating to lighting and upscalers. There may be reduced sharpness, smearing, shadows or water surface shimmering or flickering may occur. This is something we are working to adjust for the next public playtest.
  • For other issues, please report bugs in a bug report channel with as much information as possible.


Stay tuned for more information in the coming days!

[h3]OFFWORLD OUT![/h3]

Dev Blog - An insight into UE5 technology with Norby, presented by Slay3Kilo!

[h2]Hello Squaddies![/h2]

Today, we have something a little different for you all! Squad Partner Slay3Kilo came to us with the idea of presenting some of the more technical aspects of the Unreal Engine 5 update to help the community better understand some of the work that our team is putting in behind the scenes!

Slay3Kilo and Norby, our Director of Technology (and a Founder of Offworld), get into the nitty gritty of a whole slew of topics, including:

  • UE5 as a Toolkit.
  • Key focus areas.
  • High-level goals for the transition.
  • Nanite technology.
  • Lighting improvements, including our custom Global Illumination system.
  • Anti-Aliasing.

Stick around throughout the video to also get some first looks at UE5 gameplay, recorded during some of our most recent closed testing!

You can find the video on Slay3Kilos channel, or watch here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We hope you enjoy the video! Let us know in the comments on Slay's channel if you would like to see more Dev Blogs in this format!

PS - News on Open Playtesting is around the corner. Stay frosty, Squaddies.

[h3]OFFWORLD, OUT![/h3]

Spring is here...

[h2]Save big during the Steam Spring Sale[/h2]

From now until March 20th, save big on all our games during the Steam Spring Sale. Save up to 60% off on all Offworld games. Read more about each game below, and we'll see you on the battlefield soldiers!

[h3]Squad - 60% Off[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/393380/Squad/
Squad is a tactical FPS that provides authentic combat experiences through teamwork, communication, and realistic combat. It bridges the gap between arcade shooter and military realism with 100-player battles, combined-arms warfare, and base building.

[h3]Squad 44 - 50% Off[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/736220/Squad_44/
Team up and join the frontline in Squad 44, the most authentic tactical WW2 shooter. Experience ruthless realism with an immense arsenal of faithfully recreated weapons and vehicles across massive WW2 battlefields.

[h3]Starship Troopers: Extermination - 60% off[/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1268750/Starship_Troopers_Extermination/
Starship Troopers: Extermination is a 16-player co-op FPS that puts you on the far-off frontlines of an all-out battle against the Bugs! Squad up, grab your rifle, and do your part as an elite Deep Space Vanguard Trooper to take back planets from the Arachnid threat!

[h2]Offworld out.[/h2]

Save 60% off Squad

[h2]“We've intercepted new transmissions. Ready to receive!”[/h2]

Listen up Squaddies. We're taking part in the Steam Spring Sale from March 13 - March 20, and you can get your friends and soon-to-be fellow squaddies in for 60% off. You heard right. The game's on sale from now until the Steam Spring Sale ends.

[h3]Offworld Out.[/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/393380/Squad/

Happy Holidays, Squaddies



LISTEN UP SQUADDIES!


For the last transmission of the year, we at Offworld wanted to thank you for being the best community we could ask for. This year has truly been incredible and we are excited to show what we have planned for next year!

But for now, eat well, spend time with loved ones, and we will see back in the studio, January 6th!

[h2]HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!![/h2]

[h3]OFFWORLD OUT![/h3]

Pick up Squad for 60% off during the Steam Winter Sale until January 2, 2025:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/393380/Squad/