Hi Squaddies,

The day is finally here. Vehicles have arrived. It has been a long road for everyone on the development team, and especially you, the player. But finally one of our long awaited features is ready to roll out. Besides this, our programmers, production artists, mappers, testers and support staff have all been hard at work producing other content that will certainly make Version 7 one of our biggest and most ambitious patches yet.

Version 7 is now available via Steam and below is a full changelog.

For a summary of the major changes, please read our previous news post HERE.

Note: There is a known camera bug when exiting vehicles including stationary .50 cals in the Firing Range Simply enter the Admin Cam (Shift + P) and exit the Admin Cam (Shift + P) to reset the First Person Camera. The bug does NOT happen in multiplayer.

Changelog

Gameplay

Vehicles have been added to the game. Please familiarize yourself with what you will encounter on the battlefield.

Starting map tickets have been increased across the board by about 150-200 tickets. This gives more room for a comeback and to accommodate vehicle losses.

Vehicles have a respawn timer from 3-6 minutes from the time that the vehicle is lost. Vehicles with weapons on them have a respawn timer of 6 minutes. Note that some vehicles on some maps have no respawns and are a one time use only.

Losing a vehicle will result in a potentially heavy ticket loss (4-30 tickets!!). Protect and repair your vehicles!

If a vehicle flips over, it will catch on fire to get it off the map. This will take a while, and your team will be without an asset for a while. Pay attention to where you drive.

New System: Vehicle Claiming

Overview: The squad vehicle claiming system in its first iteration will function primarily as a way to strengthen the role of the Squad Leader and eliminate the ability of players to go rambo and take a vehicle without any responsibility for its usage. The system is entirely passive but also considered an advanced system. Only SL will interact and be notified as to the claim states.

Only a Squad leader may claim a vehicle. The SL claims the vehicle by attempting to enter the vehicle or by approving a vehicle claim on his minimap made by members of his Squad.

He will get one of several messages depending on the vehicles current claim condition.

“Only Squad Leaders may enter unclaimed vehicles.” – You are not an SL.. Nice try!

– You are not an SL.. Nice try! “You must have the Squad Leader role to claim a vehicle.” – Go get an SL kit

– Go get an SL kit “Must have at least 3 members in your Squad to claim vehicles.” 3 members – 1 vehicle can be claimed 6 members – 2 vehicles can be claimed 8 members – 3 vehicles can be claimed

3 members – 1 vehicle can be claimed 6 members – 2 vehicles can be claimed 8 members – 3 vehicles can be claimed “Must have at least 2 squad members nearby to claim a vehicle.” Much like our FOB and Rally Point systems you need to have your Squad with you to claim a vehicle. (2 additional members) Vehicles can also be approved for claim by approval on the minimap by a Squad Leader

Much like our FOB and Rally Point systems you need to have your Squad with you to claim a vehicle. (2 additional members) Vehicles can also be approved for claim by approval on the minimap by a Squad Leader “Unable to enter due to another Squad’s claim on this vehicle.” This vehicle is already claimed. Please try a different vehicle or radio for a ride.

This vehicle is already claimed. Please try a different vehicle or radio for a ride. “Vehicle Claimed.” – Great Job! Your Squad can now enter the vehicle and have a happy battle!

In addition, a squad leader can claim a vehicle by approving a claim made by his Squad members. If 3 squad members are near an unclaimed vehicle and the Squad has claimed slots available they can request a claim by attempting the enter the vehicle.

They will be notified to Radio their Squad Leader for approval. Squad leaders can open their minimaps and approve the claim. (provided they have a claim slot available)

Active VS Passive claims and how it affects your Squad.

The system maintains a chain of possession of claimed vehicles through Active Claims (You have a squad member actually in the vehicle) and Passive Claims (Your squad claimed and used the vehicle but currently have no members of your squad occupying a vehicle seat)

Active Claims always give you complete control over the vehicle seats and the driver position. Players not in your squad cannot enter the driver seat of your actively claimed vehicle (but they can enter the other seats). In order to maintain an active claim you must have a squad member somewhere in the vehicle.

Any Squad member may also bump a friendly from an occupied seat by switching to that seat. (via the F keys)

Passive Claims are maintained even when the vehicle is not manned. Your Squad members can enter and exit the vehicle freely and the driver seat will still remain locked to the owning Squad. However.. A passive vehicle can be claimed by another Squad Leader provided he has the ability to do so. (This can be done in person via attempting to enter the vehicle or remotely via a group of 3 squad members)

We all know there are good reasons and bad reasons for losing and/or choosing to lose a vehicle. We want to reward the good reasons and punish the bad ones.

Here are some messages relating to dropping off your vehicle you will encounter.

Additional Mechanics: There may be a good reason to want to unclaim a vehicle and we are providing a number of methods to do that.

Drop off the vehicle at a FOB.

Drop off the vehicle at a Main Base.

Coordinate another Squad Leader to take over your claim.

As with any experimental system: A lot will be changing as we get testing feedback and we will continue to refine and improve it.

Spawning, Supplies and Logistics

Rally Point cooldown timer is now 2.5 minutes. 2 minutes if placed too close to enemies. Rally Point needs a fellow squad member within 8m to place (was 5m).

Forward Operating Bases no longer have an active spawn point when initially deployed.

Forward Operating Bases no longer have an active spawn point when initially deployed. Forward Operating Bases gain an active spawn point after having been placed for 5 minutes (Unless visited by a friendly Logistics truck).

Losing a Forward Operating Bases Radio now results in a 20 ticket penalty (was 10).

Passive supply rate has been lowered to 1 per second.

A FOB can now hold a total of 2000 Supplies and 1000 Ammo.

Forward Operating Bases get an active spawn point if a friendly (loaded) logistics vehicle comes close to the radio. Bypassing the 5 minutes of waiting time.

Bringing a loaded logistics truck to a Forward Operating Base and unloading supplies near the FOB radio will deposit 1000 supply points and 1000 ammo points to the base. Logistics technical will supply a base with 500 of each rather than 1000.

You will need to press the “Unload Supplies” button (Default: “Q”) to unload supplies. Once a logistics vehicle has unloaded its supplies at a FOB the space in the graphical representation of the supplies goes away. You will need to restock the vehicle again to perform another resupply action. Drive to your main base supply depot to pick up new supplies.

Kit Changes

Binoculars removed from all medic kits.

Change to the rate that Fire Support kits unlock at. They now unlock one slot for each 3 squad members you have. Was 2 slots at 4 and an additional at 8. Riflemen classes should be a bit more frequently seen now.

US medic kit now has an M4 with a red dot sight.

US LAT kit now has an M4 with a red dot sight.

US ironsights rifleman now has a foregrip on his M4A1.

Marksman kits with SVD now has 6 magazines instead of 4.

Russian kits that previously had the AKS-74M now has the AK-74M.

Insurgent RPG Gunner kit now has the AKMS instead of the AKS-74U.

Russia and Militia gets access to an additional scoped rifleman at 8 squad members.

Adjusted the limits of the AK74 Fighter kit for insurgents. Now limited to 2 rather than 3.

Reduced the number of colored smoke grenades carried by the Squad Leader kits. Now has 1 of each color rather than 2. Still carries 2 white smoke grenades.

Added HEAT rounds to all RPG-7 kits and adjusted the number of Fragmentation rounds as well. Militia and Insurgents carry 2 Fragmentation rounds and 2 HEAT rounds. Russia carries 1 Fragmentation and 2 HEAT rounds.

Added Designated Marksman kit for the US Army. The kit has the M110 DMR and an M9 with an additional pistol magazine like the other DMR kits. Kit unlocks at: 5 squad members and 10 team members, limited to 1 per squad.

Added Scout kit for Insurgents and Militia. The kit contains SKS as the primary weapon and also has a set of binoculars. This kit is perfect for scouting and directing fire. Kit will get more toys in the future 😉 Kit unlocks at: 3 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.

Added a limited alternative Fighter kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a AKS74 with 1p78 optic. Kit unlocks at: 8 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.

Added limited alternative Fighter kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a G3A3 as the primary weapon. This rifle has better range and more stopping power than your standard AK rifles. Kit unlocks at: 4 squad members, and another one at 8.

Added alternative Squad Leader kit for Insurgents. The kit contains a G3A4 as the primary weapon. This rifle has better range and more stopping power than your standard AK rifles. Kit unlocks at: 6 squad members.

Added Raider class for Insurgents. The kit contains the PPSH-41 as the primary weapon and RKG-3 anti tank grenades. This kit is perfect for causing mayhem up close. Kit unlocks at: 6 squad members and is limited to 1 per squad.

Weapon Handling

Weapons now move more dynamically when you perform rapid twists and turns. This makes sight alignment take ever so slightly longer.

Weapons with a foregrip have less vertical recoil than weapons without (M4 variants, PM md. 63 and AMD-65). Additionally it also has a faster sway pattern to simulate the pressure applied. Lastly they have an ever so slightly quicker ADS time than a weapon without.

Weapons with underslung grenade launchers similarly have less vertical recoil due to the added weight out front. Furthermore these front heavy weapons have slightly more sway.

Minor tweaks to M4 recoil to compensate for the very high rate of fire.

RPG-7 and M72 has lowered deviation to make hit percentages similar to real world expectations.

HMGs such as the M2 and Dshk are now able to sustain fire for a longer time without overheating, but cools off at a slower rate.

Deployables

Added vehicle repair depot deployable. Costs 400 supply points and slowly and passively repairs vehicles in a radius around it.

Hesco/sandbag bunkers are now reduced to 300 supply points.

Hesco walls are now reduced to 200 supply points.

Single hescos are now 50 points.

Sandbag walls now cost 50 supply points rather than 100.

Added C sandbags to Insurgents and Militia. 50 points.

Added a new Pillbox-style Sandbag Wall that has firing ports.

Sandbag Walls are now stackable again.

Razor wire now cost 25 supply points.

M2A1 on tripod is now 350 supply points.

Dshk heavy machine gun on tripod is 350 supply points.

Concrete barriers are now 50 supply points.

Vehicles

Not all weapons will be able to damage all vehicle types.

Most vehicles in the game will be able to take about 2 hits from an RPG-7 HEAT round, M72 LAW or RKG-3 grenade. The exceptions are the technicals who can take about 1 and a few bursts of rifle fire to top it off. The other exception is the BTR that will be able to take roughly 3 rocket hits.

The BTRs main 14.5mm cannon will be able to easily chew through all vehicles before it. The gun has Magnification that can be switched with the 1 and 2 Number keys.

Heavy machine guns such as the M2 and the Dshk will be able to damage all current vehicles fairly easily. Some vehicles are more resistant than others, expect anywhere from a 1/3rd to almost a full belt of .50 cal ammo to be needed, depending on the vehicle you are firing at.

Rifles and infantry weapons are split into three categories.

7.62 Caliber weapons will be able to damage bring down soft skinned vehicles such as the technicals and trucks. Expect to spend up to several hundred rounds to reduce a healthy vehicle to a useless hunk of metal. Weapons in this category include everything from 7.62×39, such as the AKM, up to the 7.62x54R of the SVD.

5.56/5.45 Caliber weapons will be able to do light, and significantly less damage to technicals and trucks. You will need the determination of your entire squad to take down a fresh vehicle with just your hand weapons. Examples of these calibers are the M4 and the AK74 series of rifles.

5.56/5.45 Caliber weapons will be able to do light, and significantly less damage to technicals and trucks. You will need the determination of your entire squad to take down a fresh vehicle with just your hand weapons. Examples of these calibers are the M4 and the AK74 series of rifles. Pistol calibers have no effect on a vehicle’s health whatsoever. Conserve this ammo for self defense.

Fragmentation grenades. Hand grenades, the RPG-7s fragmentation grenade and the GP-25s fragmentation grenades do little to no damage on vehicles. They are only able to slightly damage unarmored technicals and trucks. Use the proper explosives for the job!

There is one exception to the fragmentation grenades. The US 40mm grenade launcher utilizes the HEDP rounds which are somewhat effective vs soft skinned vehicles. They will be able to damage all vehicles in the game, but at a significantly reduced rate as the armor of the vehicle increases.

There are currently no indicators of your vehicle’s current health in the field. So keep track of what you have been fighting and return to base or a FOB to get fixed up and rearmed at a repair depot. Keeping your vehicle operational will give you a great advantage.

Damage Effects

Unlike most games, vehicle damage effects are not tied to a specific % of health. In Squad, effects such as a vehicle being on fire, doesnt necessarily mean that the vehicle is about to die.

Several weapons have a chance to light vehicles on fire. As a vehicle is closer to getting on fire, the vehicle will start smoking in an increasingly more dramatic way. Once a vehicle is on fire (visible flames) the vehicle as well as all of the occupants will take a light amount of damage every second until the flames die out by themselves or the vehicle is destroyed.

The TL:DR version of the weapons that adds chance for a vehicle to catch on fire is as follows (in descending order):

(Most Powerful) RPG-7 HEAT rounds / M72 LAW / RKG-3

14.5mm Armor Piercing Incendiary rounds from the KPVT on the BTR-80

US 40mm HEDP rounds from the M203

M2 and Dshk HMGs

Penetration

First step on a long road ahead for projectile penetration! Depending on what weapon you are using and what vehicle you are shooting at, there is a possibility that your rounds can penetrate the hide of the vehicle and damage the passengers inside, at a greatly reduced level.

The higher the caliber of your weapon, the more damage you will do to the occupants of the vehicle. If you can penetrate it in the first place.

Vehicles such as the BTR-80 are immune to all infantry firearms and can only be penetrated by .50 cal or larger. The remaining vehicles can be penetrated by infantry rifle calibers.

Systems

Players now move slower when moving along inclines and up stairs. The speed reduction is governed by the type of material you are traversing.

Acceleration into a full sprint has been decreased by half.

Addition of a Walking Animation while ADSing.Addition of a prone movement animation while moving around in Prone.

UI

Order and Enemy markers will appear in 3D space for a brief amount of time when initially placed to the Squad of the Squad Leader who placed it.

Order markers (Construct, Move, Defend, Scout, Attack, etc) can now only be seen by the squad.

Enemy Spotted markers (vehicles, infantry, etc) can be seen by the team.

Each squad is allowed 1 action marker and 3 spot markers at a time. As you place new markers the older ones will be removed.

Crowdfunding backers have now been added to the credits list.

When creating a squad, the SL will be given a squad leader kit. They will then be taken to the Roles screen so they can exchange it for another version of the SL kit.

When joining a squad, the player will be taken to the Roles screen so they may choose their kit.

Updated the map flags to be higher quality and new designs for the Militia and Insurgents.

Kits are now grouped in appropriate sub groups at the ammo crate.

Redesigned the FOB Status Widget and fixed a few cases where it wouldnt show up when it should.

The ammo counter widget now displays a rough estimate of the rounds you have in your magazines, including the one in the gun.

Art

Added PPSH-41 submachine gun.

Added G3A3 battle rifle.

Added G3A4 battle rifle.

Added SKS semi-automatic carbine.

Added RKG-3 anti-tank grenade.

Added M110 SASS designated marksman rifle (rifle has placeholder optics).

Added PG-7V HEAT anti-tank rounds to the RPG-7 launcher.

Added Dshk heavy machine gun emplacement for Insurgents and Militia.

Added the AKMS back to the game.

Removed the AKS-74M.

Updated textures on base AK-74 models.

Added Technical

Added M939 transport and logistics truck

Added Ural 375D transport and logistics truck

Added BTR-80 APC

Maps

Added new map Yehorivka to the map rotation.

Added Night version of Chora

Added Infantry layers for most maps

Added Dusk version of Gorodok

Added more details to Sumari Bala

Added one of each vehicle type and variation to Jensens Range. All of them are enterable with no requirements. 30 second respawn timers on them.

Added a racetrack to Jensens Range

Modding

Added a function to the Radial Menu, IsMarkerVisible, that can be overriden and used to hide markers

Moved Ragdoll behavior to a component on Soldier and added a number of methods to control the ragdoll state. This should allow modders to put the soldier into a ragdoll state at any time, rather than only when incapacitated.

SQPawn now switches the team of MapIconWidgets, so the team state should always be correct.

Added new Ruleset function VehicleDestroyed.

Before we sign off, there’s one last thing we want to share.

We are extremely excited to be able to share the first trailer for Post Scriptum: The Bloody Seventh. The first full scale conversion for Squad under development currently.

Congrats to Periscope Games for taking this huge step into the public. We are very proud of your work so far and look forward to lending our support.

Offworld out.