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Weekend Roundup: StackUp Edition!

Hey, squaddies!

We’ve got a big weekend for you! Starting on Saturday at 11 AM PST, we’ll be broadcasting live on Twitch to support the StackUp.org Call to Arms 2019! Some of your favorite Squad streamers will be broadcasting live from OWI HQ to bring you some hard-hitting action, developer interviews, and, of course, FREE games.

We’ve got goodies from our partners at Periscope Games, Paradox, and from our pals at EA Vancouver. Be sure to hit the blog for the full schedule of events, subscribe to our Twitch channel, or join forces with us on DonorDrive!

Oh, and be sure to bring your pals: we’ll be hosting a free weekend and sale as well. =) Just point ’em to Steam!



We know waiting is the hardest part, so might we recommend testing out the new Commander patch? Close air support operators are standing by.

To the events!

November 15
10:00 AM PT (1800 UTC)

[RIP] Rusty in Places vs. The World

November 16
10:00 AM PT (1800 UTC)

Squad Charity League: SRG vs -IW-

11:00 AM PT (1900 UTC)

Official Event: StackUp Call to Arms 2019 Live Stream

12:30 PM PT (2030 UTC)

Squad Ops: Operation Scarlet Storm Rising (MARS)

5:30 PM PT (0130 UTC, 17/11)

Squad Ops: Operation Grit

6:00 PM PT (0200 UTC, 17/11)

SCL: UC vs USF

November 17
11:00 AM PT (1900 UTC)

SCL: Doctor’s Office vs NAC+CHEFS 11:00 AM PT (1900 UTC)

SCL: Blueberry Esports vs FGB

11:00 AM PT (1900 UTC)

SCL: DLC vs Royal Regularines 11:00 AM PT (1900 UTC)

SCL: Misfit Platoon vs ULL

11:00 AM PT (1900 UTC)

SCL: WeHeartSquad vs FRA

Signoff


Even if you’re not calling down the heat, it’s sure going to be fun as hell to watch! We hope you’ll join us on Saturday and maybe, if you can, give a little back. =)

Would you like to see your event here? Let us know.

Offworld out.


(Header image courtesy of official partner Squiders. Thanks, buddy!)

Call to Arms 2019 on November 16

Hey, squaddies!
Those that have been with us for a while know that veterans are near and dear to our heart, being the very backbone of Squad. Ranging from the service members on the team to the ones kicking ass every day in-game, we literally could not be where we are today without them.

We’re partnering with StackUp.org again this year to celebrate veterans starting on November 16, 2019 at 11 AM PST with a day of giving and gaming! You might even say it’s a Call to Arms:



We’re joining forces with the Squad community, Periscope Games, some friends at EA Vancouver and Paradox, as well as some of our favorite streamers to bring you giveaways, developer interviews, and, of course, no shortage of kick-ass action. If you can’t make it, don’t worry: we’ll keep the donation link active throughout the year.

Get Involved Now

Be sure to tune in to our Twitch Channel for a day of awesome gaming, interviews, and free games!
Schedule of Events
11:00 AM
Welcome and Introductions
11:30 AM
Squad: 2019 and Beyond
12:30 PM
SquadZ Shambles into our hearts
1:30 PM
StackUp and the Air Assault Crew
2:00 PM
Squad Ops takes it to the next level
3:00 PM
Andrew from EA Vancouver joins the fray!
3:30 PM
Post Scriptum takes the field
4:30 PM
Farewell and Thank You
All times are PST. (Click here to find your time zone. Times are approximate — tech happens!)

The Troops

We’ve got some special partners helping out with the donation drive! A special shout out to:

Barton GeeksEh? Genesis0109 JohnnyOmaha Karmakut MoiDawg OperatorDrewski Ranger Dave Rakunvar Smed and the SquadZ Folks The Squad Ops Community
Offworld out.

Commander Released to Squad - Public Testing

Hey squaddies!

We’re calling you in for some fire support on this one! The commander update is now being deployed to your Squad – Public Testing client. That role comes with some cool new tools and, perhaps more importantly, a big bit of BOOM. While we’re still working on the file set of patch notes, we did want to include a partial list of changes to help you test. Be sure to let us know what you think!

Video Patch Notes
Public Test Notes
Systems
Commander Role added

We’re introducing a new leadership role that is focused on planning and keeping the team on task. The intent for this role is to keep intel flowing between the various Squads, and in ideal circumstances, Commanders can create a dynamic plan for the entire team to follow. We envision that this role can be played in a variety of styles.
  • Commander role is voluntary and requires a vote to elect.
  • Commander abilities are on timers. These may vary for release, so please send us your feedback!
  • Conventional Faction Commanders have access to a UAV that can be used for remote reconnaissance.
  • Conventional Faction Commanders have access to 155mm Artillery barrage, in a creeping pattern or a static pattern focused on one location. Conventional Artillery fires two “ranging” shots before the main barrage.
  • Conventional Commanders have access to an aircraft based Gun or Rocket strike.
  • Unconventional MIL & INS Commanders have access to a Handheld Drone, a more versatile UAV.
  • Unconventional Commanders have access to a static Heavy Mortar barrage. Heavy Mortars are less accurate, have less splash damage, and less penetrating power, but do not have any “ranging” shots required by conventional artillery.
  • Commander abilities have cooldown timers. (Timers reset if a new commander is selected.) Note: Note: Timers are subject to change during testing.
  • Conventional Factions Commanders must be within the radius of a fully built HAB use their abilities.
  • Unconventional Factions Commanders must be within the radius of a HAB or near any friendly vehicle to use their abilities.
Infantry Gameplay
  • Added a stamina penalty for leaning, with stamina loss over time when moving as well as using it in bursts. Note: Further improvements to the leaning system and ways to prevent its abuse are in development for a future update.
  • Added stance based stamina regeneration. Stamina will now regenerate faster while crouched and stationary; fastest while prone and stationary.
  • Updated leaning to have different movement speeds. (Crouched movement speed is halved while leaning).
  • Improved the prone lean trace blocking to help decrease the chances that a player can see through the world on steep hills. Further work is in progress.
Vehicle Gameplay
  • Added vehicle velocity inheritance to players ejecting from vehicles in motion. If a player ejects past a certain velocity, the player will ragdoll and take damage upon impacting the ground.
  • Updated all vehicles to use a new and improved Speed Dependent Gearbox system . Instead of shifting gears at engine RPM ratios gear shifting now happens based on vehicle speed. This will make sure vehicles are always in the best gear driving uphill.
  • Updated Helicopters to have a subtle camera shake during active flight. Camera shake intensity is based on RPMs of the engine.
  • Updated Helicopters so that they can now be steered for a short while after disabling the engine.
  • Adjusted Helicopter collective sensitivity.
Misc
  • Added the ability to join another server via the server browser while currently in a server or in the local training range.
  • Added the ability to queue up to another server while currently in a server or in local training range – HUD will show a small queue widget to let the player know their current queue status.
Deployables Gameplay
  • Updated Insurgent HAB static to be larger with a new interior layout, to help eliminate players spawning on top. Spawning on top is still an occasional issue and will be fixed in a future update.
  • Fixed collisions on the ZU23 and Mortars to now collide properly with vehicles and vehicle physics bodies.
User Interface
  • Added a toggle on the command screen to collapse the squad list, so the map can now be displayed in fullscreen glory – especially useful for Commanders.
  • Added a toggle to deployment and command screen (chat bubble toggle) to turn on/off text chat (also accessible in UI options).
  • Removed [GAMENOTIFICATION] showing up in server messages.
Known Issues
  • Helicopter Tail Rotor component currently can only take damage from collisions with ground, statics and other vehicles. Projectile damage to tail rotors will come in a future update.
  • Helicopters have various handling tweaks, damage values and small bugs that will be addressed in a future update.
  • Clients frequently 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.
  • When clients get a crash to desktop and the Crash Reporter appears, pressing “Send and Restart Squad” will restart Squad without EAC, which will prevent players from joining most public servers. The workaround, for the time being, is to press “Send and Close”. A proper fix for this issue is under investigation.
  • Occasional client crashes in various circumstances. Detailed crash reports help us fix things faster and we truly appreciate those that have filled out and sent crash reports.
  • Players will occasionally spawn without full ammo on their first spawn on a server. This occurs if a player was in the match during the map switch but did not spawn in during the staging phase. Actively investigating a fix for this bug.
  • Occasionally a player will not spawn at a Rally Point, this often happens when numerous players are spawning in at the exact same time. Actively investigating a fix for this bug.
  • 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.
  • Occasionally Self-bandaging fails. Actively investigating a fix for this issue.
  • The CP Icon (Capture Point / Flag) will sometimes not show up on a client’s HUD in the RAAS game mode. This is likely related to RAAS “Lanes”. Investigating a fix for this issue.
  • Insurgent HAB still has a spawning issue where there’s a chance the player will spawn on top of the model instead of inside it. Actively investigating a fix for this bug.
  • ATGM projectiles desync for other players that are not the gunner, however, what the gunner sees should be the true synced projectile. This is an inherent problem, and the solution will be in the long term.
  • Vehicles parking brake will get 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’. Investigating a fix for this issue.
  • “Alt-tabbing” out of Squad during a loading screen will freeze the client. The recommended solution, for now, is to run in “Borderless” mode.
  • Ammo rack component (on IFVs and Tanks) takes a very long time to repair.
  • 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 will need to be restarted to get the microphone to work again.
  • SFX bug while Firing in full auto.If the player presses the fire button for a short period of time, the sound effect gives the impression that you fired more rounds then you actually did.
  • Localization for most language translations is currently out of date. Our plan is to push a full localization pass when we are much closer to full release and are locking down all the text that will need to be translated for the game.
  • 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 will remain on the Player’s HUD until they get back in the Emplacement and then Scope out.

There are, of course, bound to be some more bugs being a test release… which is precisely where you come in! Be sure to let us know what you think in the forums, or drop by Discord to give us some feedback!

Weekend Roundup, 11/7


Hey, squaddies!

We’re glad to see so many of you survived the zombie onslaught last weekend! Unless… you aren’t, uh, undead, are you? Fortunately for us, squaddies like to use their brains, not eat ’em.

By the way, don’t forget you can still play both SquadZ and Space Crew in your custom browser right now. It’ll give you something to tide you over while waiting for this weekend’s events:
November 8
11:00 AM PT (1800 UTC)

[RIP] Rusty in Places vs. The World

November 9
5:30 PM PT (0130 UTC, 10/11)

Squad Ops: Operation Mustard Stain

On this date in 1942, Operation Torch saw Allied troops opening a “second front” with the battle for Northern Africa.
November 11
Remembrance Day celebrated throughout the Commonwealth.

Veterans Day celebrated in the USA.

We thank all the heroes around the world for their service!
Signoff

Speaking of thanking people for their service, keep your eyes peeled for a little something on the StackUp front in the near future.

Would you like to see your event here? Let us know.

Offworld out.

OISC Semi-final Recap

Hey Squaddies

The Semi-Finalists of the Offworld Industries Squad Championship threw down this weekend striving to make it through to the Grand Finals. Chora, Gorodok and Al Basrah were the venues for this round and the teams delivered on the action as always with plenty of highlights provided. Once again we have the results and highlights right here!

Division 1
Blueberry eSports WIN vs LOSS Mumblerines
RaveN + ProG WIN vs LOSS Source Of Quality Directives

Division 2
Sigma Tactical WIN vs LOSS We Love Squad
Some Random Guys WIN vs LOSS Misfit Platoon

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]




Grand Finals


Four teams but there can only be two winners! With only the final games remaining teams now have time to prepare for their last game hoping to claim the win in the championship matchups. Who will take the victory?

Division 1
Saturday, November 23
RaveN + ProG vs Blueberry eSports

Division 2
Sunday, November 24
Sigma Tactical vs Some Random Guys


For all of the information on the tournament, including rule-set and results, visit the OISC toornament page.