At the end of 2021 our focus had been on improving our communication with our players, and we want to continue that into 2022. Now that is a two way street, and it requires us to listen as much as talk, and so we’ve been listening to your concerns. Out of everything you’ve said the most commonly raised issue is our out-of-date Roadmap!
It is fair to say that the current public Roadmaps that we have provided, and yes there are two of them, have long ago ceased to be useful. While they were well intentioned, they were at best overly optimistic in their target dates. This resulted in us “breaking off more than we could chew”, or overpromising and underdelivering to you our players.
It’s just as clear to us as it is to you that something needs to be done and we wanted to let you know that it's one of our main priorities. There are essentially two main things we need to finalize before we’re able to present you with a new Roadmap.
Create a new visual format: We’ve done a static illustrated Roadmap in the past, which looks slick and is the kind of thing that marketing departments get really excited about. The problem is that it was hard to update and when things changed, as they are likely to do during development, it was cumbersome to make manual changes. We want us to update a Roadmap to take away from actual development, and so whatever we decide on has to be something that is easy to keep up-to-date.
Confirm what we can first share as part of the new roadmap: The intention is that all of our outstanding announced content (V2.12, US Marines, Australian Faction, Pan Asia Faction) will be released, and our wider development team is currently deep in planning to determine updated and realistic timelines for this content. Part of this process will be informed by the experience our new CEO Vlad Ceraldi brings to the table. If you missed our announcement about Vlad joining us, you can find that post here (URL LINK). Part of this timeline is also impacted by a few unexpected technical challenges that arose with the upcoming 2.12 release. While we wish this update would have had a much smoother release, we are grateful to all of our playtesters who have helped to identify bugs that can only be established via mass gameplay.
Now we have decided a few things about the Roadmap so far, and wanted to share those with you at this stage before it’s introduced to help set expectations.
Update Frequency: We are aiming to update the Roadmap once every two months. Even if nothing significant has happened in the interim, we at least want to share that everything that we have laid out on it remains accurate.
No Dates: One of the lessons from the previous attempts at a Roadmap is that we have not been great at hitting our own estimated dates. When we first launched the Roadmap, we made a point to emphasize that dates can and likely would shift - yet we still found ourselves getting too specific, and even with this warning we witnessed too much frustration with changes. Going forward, the Roadmap will focus more on presenting a Release Order and a set of priorities. Release dates for content will be communicated much closer to their actual release, so don’t worry we’re not going to sneakily update the game with a new faction without you noticing. Ultimately though experience has shown us that communicating dates too early in the development process only leads to broken promises.
Other Communication Touchpoints: We will continue to engage through our social channels, and elsewhere within our community. We are also looking at other methods to keep communication flowing between Roadmap updates, so that you’re kept better informed of what’s happening behind the scenes at Offworld Industries. These will include our Developer Q&As which we started last year, a planned resumption of the Squad Chat Streams later this year, Server Spotlights, monthly Wrench Mod Features, and other ideas. Our goal here is to avoid long periods of radio silence while we’re developing the game. Some of these initiatives are on hold until we can hire a new Community Manager to replace Krispy.
We understand that with the precedent of the previous Roadmap attempts you might have expected our next Roadmap to include the dates, and be updated on a more frequent basis. However, given that both previous Roadmaps ended with missed deadlines, and were not updated as frequently as promised we think that this time a more conservative approach is needed. While we will make mistakes we can also try our best to avoid repeating the same ones again, and again. Our aim is to not return to the complete lack of transparency that predated the first iteration of our Roadmap, and to instead iterate further and shift our approach in a manner that makes the most amount of sense for our team.
We know that you’re all anxious for the new Roadmap, and we’re anxious to be able to share with you our priorities and what we’re working on! For now all we can ask is for your patience, as we work towards getting that to you.
Best,
- The Offworld Industries Team
Meet Vlad Ceraldi Offworld Industries' New CEO
Greetings Squaddies!
Today is an exciting day here at Offworld Industries as we’re introducing our new CEO to the world! We’d like everyone in the Squad community to give a warm welcome to game industry veteran Vlad Ceraldi who is joining the team and bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience from Canadian studios like Radical Entertainment, Hothead Games, and Silicon Knights to help us level up here at OWI.
Since the departure of our previous CEO Offworld has been led by a committee of our executive team and we are looking forward to Vlad helping to guide the studio’s strategic vision and improve our efforts across the board.
While we could wax on about Vlad’s qualities, trying to butter up the new boss, it’s probably best to let him say a few things to our players about what he’s excited about as he joins OWI!
“Offworld’s independent origins mirrors my own in so many ways that I felt an immediate kinship with the studio and I am already having a ton of fun. The studio is filled with a lot of great talent and we have some exciting things in the works for our players. We have a lot of work to do but we have a great year ahead. I look forward to helping the company deliver fun new experiences for our Squad community, and overcoming some of the challenges the team faced last year.”
Now things aren’t going to change overnight here at OWI. Squad is not going to suddenly become an open world sports management simulator or a 2D platformer. With Vlad at the helm OWI is going to continue to grow, as our new CEO helps to guide strategic vision, and improve our processes across the board as we continue to develop new content for Squad, new titles, and beyond!
The future of Squad, and Offworld is looking bright, as we move forward in 2022 with purpose and passion!
We hope to see you on the front lines!
- Offworld Industries
Squad Server Spotlight - January 2022
Hello Squaddies,
It’s Jenny here, the Server Licensing Manager at Offworld Industries, with another Server Spotlight. Now you might be asking yourself what exactly is a Server Spotlight, well this is a chance for me to highlight some of the great community run Servers that help provide amazing experience for Squad players from around the world! Hopefully after reading about some of these great servers, you’ll want to check them out for your next game!
Whether they are old or new, it's always good to highlight the fantastic stuff our established Server Owners are doing every day.
Enclave
Started with the community in mind, Enclave is a Server that wants to ensure that their players can voice their opinions and be heard! Here player opinions can directly influence gameplay. From the start, the Enclave community has grown through the influence of its members. The server staff welcome all types of players from any background, experienced players, new players, and those all the way throughout that spectrum, giving them a chance to enjoy the game and to be part of the Enclave community.
Jenny's Notes: I recently visited this server and thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there. The atmosphere is welcoming and engaging, while the admins continue to support their players within their community. I did join one of the admins’ squad and they clearly explained to their squad what they will be doing and offered support to new players. I highly recommend visiting this server, just to hear Commander Bear's Helicopter speech, which is as fun as it is informative.
BaD: Broken as Designed
With experience over the years in various online gaming communities - the team behind the BaD: Broken as Designed Server have been involved in many great organizations. Wanting to build one that could really last the test of time they built from their collective experiences, apply the good, and create a welcoming space for all. [BaD]'s primary goal, their only goal really, is to serve as a place for folks to gather, be themselves, and play games.
The team at BaD hope that their name, "Broken as Designed", conveys the nature of their community. Perhaps a little more relaxed than true "mil-sim" (as an example, they do not have ranks and all of their members are equal). Perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek. Plus, being competitive at heart, they find that it's always fun winning while having "bad" in their tags.
Jenny's Notes: I really enjoyed this server, while I was on it the admins jumped into squads supporting new players. Helping the newer players they explained how to use their mics and how to type while in the game. All of the players were very engaged in the game with admins and experienced members from this community working alongside new players. I highly recommend visiting this server.
The 8th Infantry 'The Fighting Eagles' [8.FE]
Created in Jun 2019, this community was started by two friends who had very quickly grown to love the game of Squad!
The pair met many new people through playing the game and their time in Squad reached a point where it became more than just friends playing together and morphed into a tight knit community that aims to attract players with a compelling playstyle, camaraderie, and the server community’s ability to play the game in a serious manner while also having fun. Before the friends knew it, they had gained enough members to warrant giving their community a name! Wanting to honour the US 8th Infantry Division ‘Pathfinders’ they chose the server’s name.
On The 8th Infantry everyone has a part to play, there are so many ways to play the game and in so many other games teamwork is an option that is not always necessary. In Squad your shooting ability is not everything, A good medic supporting his squad is more important to the team than a great marksman any day.
The team behind the [8 FE] server also enjoy the Squad clan community as a whole, priding themselves on having good relations with fellow clans and communities as well as participating in squad community events.
The Eagles are a mix of young and old, serving and non-serving, all races, creeds and religions, experienced players and people who have just bought the game.
What makes this community amazing is their sense of family, they believe in looking after their own, their community is a place of betterment, encouragement and enjoyment, Not just in Squad but in all walks of life.
The admin team commits to seeding every Thursday and Sunday, with a good mix of time zones across North America & Europe.
Jenny's Notes: I had lots of fun on this server, I received a nice warm welcome and joined a squad with one of the members. They focus on supporting new players on their server, giving them assistance to teach them on how to play the game in a way that works for their server. I saw the admins act professionally while dealing with any issues that occurred during my visit. I would highly recommend joining this server for a few games!
Squad's 2021 In Review
Hello Squaddies,
2021 has been quite the difficult year. Here at Offworld, we had certainly hoped to accomplish more. We’ve touched on this with you all previously, but we wanted to share some final thoughts and a recap with our amazing playerbase as we prepare for the holiday break…
We started strongly with the release of V2.0 at the start of the year. This update included a number of significant changes to Squad including a significant Map Layer Overhaul which was similar in scope to an engine update, new content for your favourite factions, balance and gameplay changes, and long-awaited improvements to the Helicopter flight model. Also included was a new map based in Canada’s Goose Bay. For a full list of what we delivered with V2.0 see our launch blog [URL Link].
As is the case in game development nothing ever goes quite to plan and within a week we had identified and addressed a number of critical issues which were fixed with the V2.3 Hotfix [URL Link]. We would address more issues, and make some gameplay improvements with the V2.4 Update a few weeks later [URL Link]. The V2.4.1 Hotfix would arrive the next week with more fixes.
By the middle of April we had another significant update to Squad with V2.5 containing more bug fixes for V2.0 but also new replay functionality, allowing players to relive their most exciting moments from Squad. V2.5 came with a number of other updates, which are worth going over in its launch blog [LINK URL]. A few days later we addressed player concerns over the ability to abuse the client-side “demo recording” functionality to expose enemy positions during gameplay with the V2.6 Update [LINK URL].
Also in April the JoinSquad forums returned after being offline. If you have not had a chance to do it please register for the forums as it’s a great place to chat with your fellow players about the game. We’ll be utilizing our forums even more in the new year, so we hope to see you all there! [LINK URL]
The team continued to improve gameplay, and address outstanding issues in May’s V2.7 Update [LINK URL]. Unfortunately that build had more issues than normal and so the team refocused again releasing the V2.8 Update shortly afterwards [LINK URL].
While we had done extensive work providing gameplay updates and focusing on addressing technical debt in Squad, by that point in the year the team realized that players were anxious for more content. With our emphasis for new content on Amphibious we realized that we would likely not have anything out in a timely manner. Thus knowing about the great work our Mod Community was doing with Squad we ran the Open Modding Event with the aim of increasing usage of mods within the player base as well as allowing Licensed Servers to support mods. This Open Modding Event started in May and ran through the first week of June [LINK URL]. There was some technical work that we had to do on Squad behind the scenes to best support mods, and ensure that a mod would not have the ability to prevent players from even being able to run the game but we were glad to be able to provide this new support to our modding community, and let more players access mods on a greater variety of servers.
Near the end of June we began to hold playtests for what would become the start of the V2.12 Update that is currently in progress. With a significant overhaul to how lighting and shadows work in Squad the update touches on a great number of aspects of the game and has proven harder than we anticipated to release due to how much of the game the Shadows and Lighting overhaul impacts..
June also saw the release of Squad V2.9 containing a slew of gameplay updates and bug fixes aimed at improving your overall experience while playing Squad [LINK URL]. V2.10 was released in the first week of July to address some issues that stemmed from the release of V2.9 [LINK URL].
In August the Squad team released V2.11 with changes to spawn mechanics at HABs/FOBs, and a number of quality of life changes, including Saveable Keybinds, and most importantly the new map Anvil which was originally developed by Midnight Interactive for the Australian faction [LINK URL].
We understand that players are keen for the Australian faction to come to Squad. When we purchased it from Midnight Interactive it became apparent that significant additional work was needed. We have to ensure that the faction works with the improvements made by the dev team during layer overhaul as well as improvements and fixes made to the game engine. With other priorities being the focus of the Squad team we have not had the opportunity to dig into the bulk of the work to complete the faction and bring it up to releasable standard.
In September we resumed testing for the V2.12 Update, which also features gameplay improvements alongside the lighting and shadow upgrades [LINK URL]. Given the technical issues that we have had with other releases, and the wide ranging changes in V2.12 we are being cautious with the release, striving to ensure that it is rigorously tested before it’s release. We have already pushed it back after running into technical issues with the update, but now barring any further issues being discovered during the Playtest sessions we aim to release it in the first part of 2022.
In October we had the first Squad Developer Q&A and took questions on our forums [LINK URL]. It’s part of a renewed focus on open two way communication between us as developers of Squad and you the players. Your feedback is always welcome, and in fact has been extremely helpful throughout the history of Squad’s development and the lessons that we took from the Q&A [LINK URL] will help guide us as we go forward into 2022 and beyond. We also promised a second Q&A in December, but with the team focused fully on preparing V2.12 for launch in 2022 we are postponing it. The next Developer Q&A will come in the New Year.
It is clear to us as a development team that we have not released enough content for Squad this year and that we promised much more than we delivered.
Some of this was because we had to focus on improving what we call technical debt, fixing underlying issues with Squad that are not noticeable to players on a day-to-day basis but can greatly affect future development on the game.
Another issue was dealing with patching issues with Updates after their release. While having to address bugs, and fix issues after a major release like V2.0 is common in software development for a small development studio like Offworld Industries, having to shift to fixing issues unfortunately throws further development out of schedule far more than it would at a larger studio where a game team can have multiple groups organized to tackle parallel tasks. That is not an excuse, or an apology, it is simply a reality that as a studio we have to live with as we organize our priorities, and when making promises to you the player community.
At times in our eagerness to tell you about the things that we are working on that excite us, and that we know will excite you, we have naively overpromised and under-delivered.
We are looking at ways of improving our internal work flows to catch more issues before they’re released. We are also working towards staying focused on content creation and release so that we can get out the long promised updates like the USMC faction, the Australian faction, and the Pan-Asian faction as soon as possible.
As 2021 closes we are proud that we have begun to improve communication between you the players, and us the developers of Squad. In 2022 we hope to continue that improvement, and pair it with an increase in content being released for the game.
Whether you’re a longtime veteran of the game, or a fresh recruit in 2021, we’re thankful for your support of Squad and look forward to seeing you in the game soon.
Sincerely,
- Offworld Industries
Happy Holidays From Offworld Industries
Dear Squaddies.
From everyone at Offworld Industries we wish you a wonderful holiday season with your friends, family, and loved ones as we celebrate the end of another year!
This year has been a busy one at Offworld Industries, as we detailed in our recent post looking back at 2021 [URL LINK]. We are excited about what lies ahead for both Squad and our studio, and look forward to sharing more of that with you in the new year.
We are continually grateful for your support, and for your openness in sharing your feelings, and hopes for the future of Squad with us. You have given us such great feedback this year and we hope that you can tell how passionate we are about delivering the best game possible today and in the future as we focus on delivering more content in 2022! Please continue to share your thoughts with us via our channels such as the Join Squad Forums [Link URL], our Twitter account [Link URL], our Discord Server [LINK URL] and our Facebook page [Link URL].
Please note that the Offworld Industries studio will be closed from December 20th until January 3rd. You will still be able to reach our Customer Support Team through our Support Portal [Link URL], but please keep in mind that responses will take longer than usual during the holiday closure. In the meantime please visit our Technical FAQ for commonly reported issues [LINK URL].
Thank you again for your support and happy holidays from the OWI Team!
- Offworld Industries
Squad's Holiday V2.12 Playtest Event
Hey Squaddies,
With the Squad team’s focus on releasing the V2.12 Update early in 2022 we will be running an extended playtest over the holiday break, as a method of obtaining details on how the update runs in a live environment and hopefully uncovering any significant issues prior to launch.
We have partnered with a number of our Licensed Servers to provide an opportunity for players to experience the new Squad V2.12 build from December 17th to January 4th.
Already we have confirmation that one of our Licensed Servers is planning to have events over the holidays on the [|56|] Canadian Gaming – Advanced RAAS Update – V2.12 Test Bonanza.
They have provided us with these details about their events:
Description: Squad Playtest Special Events.Test out all of the forthcoming V2.12 Features and provide helpful information to OWI and help with the testing of their next update. Join us while we play all the new layers of Yeho, Goro, Kohat, Narva and we might even throw a new lighting Basrah in there. Months worth of free whitelisting will be given out.
Dates: December 18th, 25th, and January 1st
Time: Event starts 11am EST (Server Seeding Starts @ 10:40am)
INSTRUCTIONS
These playtests will occur on the “Squad
– Public Testing” application, so players will need to have the “Squad – Public Testing” application.
To get the best results and to be able to join the playtest, follow these guidelines
The “Squad – Public Testing” application will be available in your Steam Library ONLY if you own Squad. It can be found by searching for “Squad – Public Testing” within the Steam Library search bar.
Downloading the “Squad – Public Testing” application is equivalent to downloading another copy of Squad, so please ensure you allow yourself enough time to download it and enough HDD space to have it installed.
The build(s) we will be using during the playtests are not currently available. This means if you install the “Squad – Public Testing” application now in preparation for the tests, there will be an additional (smaller) download closer to the time of the tests. Please keep that in mind, and set your Steam Library to auto-update if possible.
RELEASE NOTES
This latest V2.12 Playtest is similar to the previous versions (Link URL) with the addition of the following changes:
Added some holiday spirit, in the form of deployable Christmas Trees, snowmen, and throwable snowballs in the v2.12 build. These deployables are available on all Belaya, Goose Bay, Gorodok, Mestia, Manic-5, Skorpo, Yehorivka map layers.
Removed the “Ultra Low” option on Low Setting – this will degrade performance for players running on low, especially with min spec hardware. This is because we are using a build built from the Content stream rather than the “Shadows Fallback” stream
Adjusted forced settings to work with particle scalability and texture mips bias – This could potentially bring further optimization for users running on LOW.
Added binoc zoom in/zoom out sounds – minor Quality of Life improvement
Added mechanical jostling sounds for Rifles/MGs when soldiers are sprinting – minor Quality of Life improvement
Anvil minor optimizations and bug fixes. Lighting layers now use HDR skies. – minor Quality of Life improvement
Playfab Client Performance Stats – This is the big one which will give us more data to potentially use in decision making and troubleshooting remaining issues blocking the release of v2.12
Let us know what you think of V2.12 and share your experiences with this forthcoming Update in our forums (URL Link) which we’ll be checking in January. Thank you for your support and we’ll see you on the field this holiday season!
- Offworld Industries
SQUAD V2.12 PLAYTEST THIS SUNDAY
Hello Squaddies,
Offworld Industries will be holding an additional public playtest on Sunday, December 12th at 16:00 UTC.
These playtests will be a chance to give feedback on the performance of the upcoming v2.12 update, which includes the following features:
Shadows & lighting overhaul
Buddy boost (being able to jump on your teammates to get over walls)
Capture zone scaling (capture speed will now scale with the number of players in a capture zone)
Joining the public playtest will help us see how these changes perform. It is also a chance to try out upcoming gameplay changes and fixes for v2.12.
We are looking to get a broad range of players so that we can be sure that the shadows and lighting overhaul will work for players on all types of systems. The performance of V2.12 on lower end hardware is a potential blocker for its release and we want to confirm that it will perform to an acceptable level.
These playtests will occur on the “Squad – Public Testing” application, so players will need to have the “Squad – Public Testing” application.
To get the best results and to be able to join the playtest, follow these guidelines
The “Squad – Public Testing” application will be available in your Steam Library ONLY if you own Squad. It can be found by searching for “Squad – Public Testing” within the Steam Library search bar.
Downloading the “Squad – Public Testing” application is equivalent to downloading another copy of Squad, so please ensure you allow yourself enough time to download it and enough HDD space to have it installed.
The build(s) we will be using during the playtests are not currently available. This means if you install the “Squad – Public Testing” application now in preparation for the tests, there will be an additional (smaller) download closer to the time of the tests. Please keep that in mind, and set your Steam Library to auto-update if possible.
Take your chance to leave an impression on v2.12, and we’ll see you on the field.
– OWI
Upcoming Public Playtests & SquadChat
Hello squaddies,
Today, we’re dropping in to let you know of some upcoming playtests the team has planned to run V2.12 through its paces before release.
Before that, we’d like to thank those who joined us in the previous playtests to look at the upcoming Shadows & Lighting changes. We hope you’ll be joining us again (along with some squadmates who may have missed their chance) to give these new changes plus many others that are part of V2.12 a run for their money and to help the development team with any bugs/issues you may uncover while taking part.
NOTE: These playtests will occur on the “Squad - Public Testing” app.
The “Squad - Public Testing” app will be available in your Steam Library ONLY if you own Squad. It can be found by searching for “Squad - Public Testing” within the Steam Library search bar.
Downloading the “Squad - Public Testing” app is equivalent to downloading another copy of Squad, so please ensure you allow yourself enough time to download it and enough HDD space to have it installed.
The build(s) we will be using during the playtests are not currently available. This means if you install the “Squad - Public Testing” app now in preparation for the tests, there will be additional downloads closer to the time of the tests. Please keep that in mind, and set your Steam Library to auto-update if possible.
Currently, we are planning for these tests to run on these dates:
Saturday 2nd October 2021 - Sunday 3rd October 2021
During this, we will provide the means for you to provide your feedback and any bug reports, which the team will then utilize to give a new build for a further test on:
Saturday 9th October 2021 - Sunday 10th October 2021
We’re very excited to see the community taking these builds for a spin in at least one full server so the team can see any issues which may occur at max server capacity, which is why we’d love to see you encouraging everyone you know who plays Squad to get involved so we can observe any issues at total capacity or within niche squad types.
We will also be holding a V2.12/Shadows & Lighting specific SquadChat on Wednesday 29th September 2021. We will be sitting down with some of the Designers and Level Design team to discuss the upcoming update and tests. We can’t wait to see you there.
Keep an eye out here and on our social channels for further information before these events, and we’ll leave you with this little teaser.
The Wrench - September 2021
Danish Armed Forces Mod (by Viktor)
This mod aims to represent the armed forces of Denmark as they stand today. The mod will include custom rifles, vehicles, and custom-ish soldier models.
Better Armor Layers (by Zezacle)
Better Armor Layers catered to the hearts and minds of all those armor squads out there. (And sadly, to all the AT players too.) Sometimes, you just want an armor-focused match, but there isn't quite the Layer you're looking for. BAL aims to scratch that itch with RAAS layers with brand new layouts and vehicle-centric gameplay. Rarely should a crewman be aimlessly wandering around Main Base without a chariot to ride into battle. This also means that Infantry players are going to have to play smart and coordinated, feeding ammo to their ATs, and placing those ever pesky ATGMs. Ever wanted a Tank on Kokan? Yeah. We've got Tanks on Kokan.
Additionally BAL has brought the 6v6 Tanks game mode to your favorite maps like Gorodok, Yehorivka, Narva, Mutaha, and more, while also spicing it up by making it Random Advanced and Secure (RAAS Tanks).
Whether it’s Events, Memes, or general variety in the layer rotation, BAL can provide a fun experience to all. This Layer Pack is in its early days, and that means there is much more content planned for it, including brand new Invasion, AAS, and RAAS layers, eventually covering every map in Squad.
See you on the battlefield. (Don't Ammo Rack me please) - Zee, Mod Author.
For a complete overview of Better Armor Layers, join the Discord: https://discord.gg/KqCgSpqD2v For a better marketing schpeel, check out the Steam Workshop page: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2583205870
Japan Ground Self Defence Force (by Gunslinger and the JGSDF Mod Team)
We are creating the JGSDF as a playable Faction in Squad. Our goal is to make a faction that is balanced but feels different enough to be worth the effort. We want the JGSDF to be fun to play but also fun to play against. We're still looking for Blueprint Specialists, Modding Experts, Animators, and 3D Artists, especially for environment Art. If you want to know more or support us please join us at our discord.
Visits our Discord for more information on the Mod: https://discord.gg/UCZZ5Kt3B8
Raid Mod (by [RWR] Robez)
Raid Mod is a brand new PvPvE game mode for Squad that features a hardcore ruleset, full kit customization, and a dynamic, mission-based gameplay loop. In this mode you will become the soldier you idealize, taking into the game whatever weapons and equipment that you need to complete diverse missions to gain tickets and personal currency that can be used to buy even better equipment and assets. However, when you die out in the field you lose anything that you brought in with you, any reward you gained, and are sent back to main to join a new squad and try again. Compete against members of the other team to complete the AI/PvP based objectives and then return to main to collect your reward. Raid Mod is currently in Alpha status so join the discord to see updates and be informed when we hold future playtests: https://discord.gg/Wx9ss89t.
French VBL (by Tactical Collective)
BORIS is currently working on the texture of the Véhicule Blindé Léger for the French Faction. This will be our recon amphibious vehicle, and different versions will be available:
Brazilian Armed Forces Mod (by Smoking Snakes Dev Team)
Hey guys we are here once again to showcase another WIP, this time we have the EE-9 Cascavel a Brazilian made reconnaissance vehicle, equipped with a 90mm cannon, capable of firing multiple projectiles such as: APFSDS, HESH, HEAT-T, HE rounds.
Treason (by JJ)
TREASON is a game mode inspired by popular games like Mafia, Secret Hitler, and Trouble in Terrorist Town. Commissars and Comrades work together to uncover the treasonous comrades. The Traitors work in secret to kill all innocent players and carry out their plot!
Featuring a variety of unique custom maps and tools to play, TREASON will be a great mode for taking a break from the stress of leading those blueberries into battle with something a little different :-)
The mode is still in development, but expect to see a playtest soon!
https://discord.gg/uH8pUBYhWe <- Link to my personal Mod Hub with information on all my projects.
Hawk’s RAAS Rework (by EyeOfTheHawks)
Now with more layers than ever!
Hawks RAAS Rework looks at tackling the predictability of laned RAAS, redesigning from the ground up how point selection works. Its been dubbed "GRAAS" or "Good-RAAS". With this new generation method, you'll experience point configurations and areas of the map that you may have never seen before.
Now with well over 100 distinct layer configurations, Hawks RAAS Rework is the perfect supplement to any server, giving you a classic Squad experience with a new twist. Don't bother loading up Squadlanes, because it won’t work, it’s the RAAS experience we always wanted.
Some of the changes since you last saw me on the wrench: - Added standardized CAF faction templates - GRAAS Layers on Goose Bay, Manic-5, Anvil, Fools Road, and more! - Point balance changes to help speed up the early game, so there's less waiting around - A bunch of new experimental Invasion and TC Layers
Did I mention it’s only 40MB and has workarounds for the "infinite running man" bug that's bothered us all since day 1?
Be sure to check out the workshop page (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2442357787&searchtext=hawks+raas+rework) and the Discord (https://discord.gg/mCEH6xZW6M) and the google doc with more layer information (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y_OZTQ9n-tIxoJ3beW9umqOQ2DuakL1vzvvN2AV2CZI)
Keep an eye out for a server near you running it! And as for that last screenshot, some things are best left a surprise
Grand Falls (by BaronVonBoyce and Gunslinger)
Located on the US-Canada border, Russian forces are approaching from their previous victories during their amphibious landing in Labrador and seizure of the Manic-5 dam, Canadian and NATO forces will have to hold them here or risk Russian infiltration into the American homeland.
Grand Falls is a 4x4.5km map with the goal of capturing the feeling of a North American suburb and small town. It is in an early-playtest stage and remains unoptimized. Some small optimizations have been made in the most recent updates, including an erosion pass on the terrain courtesy of Wunda to help reduce the feeling of the landscape being ‘too smooth’.
The Wrench - August
Hello squaddies,
We’re back again with another version of The Wrench, your number one source for knowing what the modding community has been up to, and to get updated on how their work is progressing.
Oh boy, have the modding community come through with some delightful-looking mods for y’all to admire.
As always, if any of these mods catch your attention, be sure to join the mod teams Discords, or provide feedback via their Steam Workshop page (if available)
Now, on to the creations!
PGM HECATE 2 by Tactical Collective
Titoonet is presenting us the PGM Hecate 2, a long-range precision rifle chambered in .50BMG (12.7mm), used by snipers in the French army. The rifle is equipped with a Scrome J10 (x10 zoom) scope that will allow shots from 500 to 1800 meters. We are thinking of a few ideas to balance this rifle in-game, for example, reduce standing accuracy a lot, low ammo, or a lack of short-range ranging options on the scope
The Squad Masters Mod started as a small mod for the Squad Masters BLITZ tournament. But it grows fast into a caster/streamer-friendly system with alot of features.
Now the mod should be a system for better squad streaming for caster and viewer. Every AAS vanilla layer is added to the mod to be usable for nearly everyone. Every Event that wants to use vanilla AAS or RAAS layers should be able to use this mod. So the caster and the viewer have a much more friendly system to understand what happens on the map.
Caster Cam Features: - Kill feed - Radio built and proxy ranges - Radio health info - HAB Siege Status, sphere, and ranges - Rally point siege ranges - Rally point spawn timer - Flag Info with capture status - Kill/Death/Downed info - Vehicle health info - Add/Change team logo (128x128px) - Add/Change event logo (64x64px) - Add/Change team names - Teleport by clicking on the Spawnmap - Stick with the cam on players/vehicles - Change the stick height and range
And more is being currently worked on.
View more here: https://streamable.com/n3afgr Visit the Steam Workshop page: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2504260929
Dutch Armed Forces by Victor
A Squad Mod that aims to add an accurate representation of the Dutch Armed Forces into the game. Read more on their progress over on their site here: https://sites.google.com/view/dafmod1
Visit their Discord: https://discord.gg/FaSEnuc79v
Squad_JO is a Gameplay modification of Squad, based on the classic game Joint Operations from 2004 - "western democratic" coalition forces versus "rebellious anti-western" allies. It retains Squads' organization & communications but removes much of the structured role-playing elements required by players, allowing for a more accessible playing style that highlights 'playing the objective'.
With headshots and knife attacks killing outright and no rally points, this makes for a more deadly game that puts a greater value of life on the player and encourages smarter play, with plenty of room for tactical styles that don't rely on the 'FOB-crafting' meta. The Mod includes Multi-faction teams, modified Gamemodes for AAS, PAAS & TKOTH, and numerous new assets. It also includes numerous gameplay layers for a bunch of Squad-vanilla maps as well as two classic Joint Operations maps; Black Rock Beach and Dormant Volcano Isle. The mod is now in its final stages of completion of all the basic changes to gameplay and visual elements. The mod will be updated to v1.0 very soon but is totally playable as it stands and is cooked for Windows and Linux servers. Future additions will be the CAF and Aussie factions when they are available within the SDK.
For more in-depth details, please see the description and change notes on the Steam Workshop page.
Grand Falls by BaronVonBoyce and Gunslinger
4x4km
Grand Falls is a town located in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada. It's situated on the Saint John River. The town derives its name from a waterfall created by a series of rock ledges over which the river drops 23 meters.
Located on the US-Canada border, Russian forces are approaching from their previous victories during their amphibious landing in Labrador and seizure of the Manic-5 dam, Canadian and NATO forces will have to hold them here or risk Russian infiltration into the American homeland.
Squad: Vietnam by the Squad: Vietnam Team
Squad: Vietnam update time!
We get asked on a daily, sometimes hourly basis when we’re going to be releasing our mod and we wanted to give a quick shout out to our ever-growing and patient community. We’re nearing 6k Discord members and know many of you are eager to play. We very much appreciate all the support and understanding of our focus on quality over an early release.
Those of you who have been following the mod for a while will be glad to hear that our flagship Mekong delta based map is coming along nicely. We’ve added another member to the mapping team and hope to be featuring it in a Wrench edition very soon. Until then you can catch a few sneak peeks and even a SQD:VN themed wallpaper over on our Instagram.
Recently we showed our Huey helicopter over on our discord. The Huey along with napalm and the M16 are some of the most iconic Vietnam War-era US arsenal pieces we can think of. Po our very talented Huey modeler with assistance from advisers has spent hours making sure it’s perfect and we can’t be happier with the results. So here are a few extra renders for everyone.
Platoon is a mod set on re-imagining the fundamental Squad gameplay loop.
In typical Squad gameplay, quite often players are subject to walking simulators, but that isn’t because Squad is a slow-paced game. Instead, this is because Squad is an incredibly fast-paced game that rewards those who capture objectives quickly, and not necessarily those who win firefights.
In many games, the most efficient way to capture an objective is usually one Squad Leader running around and placing multiple radios with a HAB on them. For an average game of Squad, this results in uncoordinated hordes of enemy attacks requiring defenders to go out and overrun HABs, play hide and seek with radios, and destroy one FOB while the three other spawn points are still allowing attackers into the objective. FOBs are glorified team spawns, wave spawns are tiresome, and many games can be won without memorable firefights all because of strategic teleportation around the map.
Platoon aims to re-imagine the FOB, create the ability to establish fire support areas around the map, re-imagine a player’s interaction with objectives, and also create more interesting unit cohesion between infantry, vehicles, command assets, and emplacements. Most importantly, Platoon hopes that every game can result in memorable and entertaining firefights.
Join us as we create new gameplay interactions, new game modes, and a new way to enjoy the game we all love.
Koshtantau is a map with high mountains, steep slopes, and dense forests. In the middle of the map, there is a radio station on a mountain top that can be reached through a long tunnel from the valley. There are several checkpoints alongside the road system. The map also contains an iron mine, a worker camp, a scrap yard, and a crash site.
Factions -Russian vs. Militia
Current Layers -Koshtantau_AAS_v1 -Koshtantau_RAAS_v1 -Koshtantau_Invasion_v1 -Koshtantau_Training
South African Border War: Operation Savannah (Angola Map) by Springbok
A conflict theatre set during the South African Border War/Angolan Civil War of the 1960s to 1980s.
Japanese Ground Self Defense Force by JGSDF Mod Team
Hello, we are the JGSDF MOD Team and aim to create the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force as a playable Faction for Squad. Even though we are a relatively new mod, we're glad that our team already has some very talented people helping from the Squad Modding Community! We do not have any ETA on the mod yet and our main goal is to make a balanced yet fun faction while also having fun and learning while we create this faction. If you want to know more about this project or if you want to actively support and help us, please come around to our Discord.
Greetings from the JGSDF MOD Team!
VDV Russian Sub-Faction by VDV Mod Team
We first want to thank you for the interest shown in the last Wrench. For this reason, we have listened to you and have created a public discord.
In the last Wrench, we showed you the Jump Helmet and RPG-22, since that we were able to welcome new members to the team and work on new things like the SVDS and Mi-8 retexture.
SVDS
VKS Grey Mi-8 VKS Green Mi-8
If you are willing to join us, we are looking for Military Advisors, 3D Artists, UE4 Developers, etc. you can apply in #📩-apply-here.
You can also head over to our discord for any questions, will be glad to answer those.
Brazilian Armed Forces by Smoking Snakes Dev Team
Hey guys!
For you out there that doesn’t know us, we are a dev team that aims to bring a Brazilian faction for Squad with unique vehicles, weapons, maps, command actions etc.
Today we have some more work in progress to showcase for you guys, this time we brought the Guarani with actual textures, unfortunately, we didn´t have time to prepare decent textures for the other 2 models, I hope you guys can understand.
Please go check out our discord and website http://squadbrazil.rf.gd https://discord.gg/ucXhXEKcaT
