Squad, developed by Offworld Industries, is large scale 50 vs. 50 first-person milsim (military simulator) shooter which relays on teamwork and communication from all players. All battlefields in the game are built around teamwork and communication by all players to wage tactical warfare against the opposing teams, utilizing the assets available for each match, and the various roles available for players to take up. Squad offers a positional VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocal) system for players to communicate with each other. Either through a “Local Channel” or a “Squad Channel.” The player can play from militaries ranging from the U.S Army Rangers, to Austrialian Army.
The game can be traced back to the popular Project Reality mod for Battlefield 2 developed by EA, a free-to-download mod that reworks the game mechanics of Battlefield 2 offering a complete rework of visuals, sound, movement, ballistics system and more. Due to Project Reality emmense praise and success, this layed the foundations for Squad creation, with a heavy focus on teamwork and communication.
Offworld Industries released a dev blog on Thursday June 8th, announcing a major overhaul to the games core infantry gameplay. Offworld Industries goes on to say in their dev blog,
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 developers aims to overhaul and improve infantry combat, stating that it “…presents a mixed picture with both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, teamwork can still yield rewarding experiences…there are several notable concerns regarding the combat systems in Squad. One significant hurdle is the tendency towards individualistic gameplay under their current iteration.” They go onto explain as an example, that one player can possibly wipe out an entire squad through flanking.
Among some of these changes are to the suppression mechanic, where suppression blurs the players screen, hinders a players aim, and the difference in weapon calibre. The bigger the gun, the faster the supression will occur. Offworld is also reworking the gunplay of Squad, most notably with the hip-fire mechanic. Instead of the generic cone of fire, the weapons will move with the player’s camera. Other reworks include picture-in-picture scopes and optics and reworks to character movement with stamina and treversal adjustments.
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.
Currently, these changes are being tested on Squad‘s CBT enviroments, whihc comes free when you purchase the game, during posted sessions. Currently, on the game’s subreddit and Steam, the player base is excited for these new changes. Pointing out what they like and dislike for those who had a chance of testing these changes out, like weapon sway, movement changes, flinch, etc. Others brought up focusing on performance and stability issues of the games before working on such mechanics.
Offworld Industries has yet to announce a release date for these changes.