Hey squaddies!

The time has come! We’re proud to announce the very first Alpha 13 Public Test. Now, since this is a fairly complex patch, there are a few things you should know before the download completes and you visit the Custom Server tab.

First, there will be bugs, including known crashes. This is the first public testing build. We need you to make sure you use the crash reporter to send us logs. (Press “Send and Close” when it appears.)

Secondly, the test may end at any time depending on how things go. This is also the reason there are no community servers. If all goes well, we’ll expand testing to include more servers.

Thirdly, your feedback is crucial. Please share your thoughts in Discord, on the forums, on reddit, or anywhere you can get it to us!

Fourthly, the patch isn’t done. This is a work in progress that will continue to be optimized and change, especially with your help.

Those are the major points, folks — if you can handle those, it’s time to get your A13 on. If you need a little more detail, we’ve included some patch notes below.

Getting the Test

1. Open up your Steam client

2. Click on LIBRARY -> Games

3. Type ‘Squad’ in the search bar.

4. Click on Squad – Public Testing and then on ‘Install’

5. After the installation is complete launch the game

Simply navigate to the Custom Servers tab after that to find a server!

Note: You may need to clear your cache if you’ve had a previous test installed.

Alpha 13 Test Notes

This is our first public test of A-13.

Games will be hosted on our servers in the Custom Servers tab , no community servers (yet).

, no community servers (yet). We’ll run this test for a limited period of time, and may shut it down abruptly if it’s not providing value.

The purpose of this public test is to receive early feedback from you on the gameplay in A-13. As we approach releasing A-13 this feedback is valuable in reducing the delay between public testing and release.

We are by no means done with optimization for A-13, but we feel the game is reasonably playable at the moment, enough to get a satisfying play session with minimal hindrances, and to experience the spirit of A-13’s changes in a meaningful way.

There’s a known crash during map change. We’re tracking this and additional crash reports will help us nail it. If you get the crash reporter dialog, please choose “Send and Close.”

VOIP issues occur when the player talking Txing is in an emplacement or vehicle, causing distortion of voice. In our internal testing we found this issue wasn’t a huge problem in general play. It’ll be fixed in 3 weeks(™).

Please join in, have fun, get an early look at what A-13 will deliver on. Then share your experiences with each other and with us, give us (constructive!) feedback, so we can make smart decisions on what remains to be done before we ship this mother.

A more in-depth list of the changes made in A-13, and the context behind them, is coming next week from Design Squad.

Gameplay Changes

A full list of gameplay changes is available here. A little light reading for your download. 😉

Offworld out.