Hi Squaddies,
New animation system? Check. Bipods? Check. Climbing and vaulting? Check. ALPHA TEN IS FINALLY HERE FOR GOOD? A BIG OLD CHECK! It's time! It's here! The wait is over and we're exceedingly proud to announce the release of Squad Alpha 10 -- and ready to get back on the machineguns. Catch up on the notes while you download!
Version 10 is now available. Please reset your appdata in the game settings if you run into trouble with the new build!
Full Changelog
Gameplay
- Vaulting and Climbing (Default: Spacebar) have been added as a new feature to the game. Vaulting will allow you to more quickly jump over small walls. Climbing will allow you to get over higher walls than was previously possible as infantry. This changes the playing field, as a simple rifleman's sandbag may be enough to scale a wall previously only accessible with a ladder. Another trick would be to use a vehicle or even another player as a booster which would allow you to climb over higher obstacles.
- "Free-Look" (Default: LEFT-ALT) has been added to all infantry weapons and equipment; as well as emplacements and open-top turret based weapons. This allows for the player to decouple their camera view from their weapon and look around without moving the entire player's body. There are options to configure this feature, including Hold/Toggle to activate; and whether to recenter the camera on to weapon or vice-versa upon exiting Free-Look.
- Crouch Sprinting is added to the game, meaning that you will be able to traverse distances with a lower profile, albeit at a slower pace than you would if you were standing up fully exposed.
- Transitions to and from prone have been lengthened to much more realistic levels. This is intended to make going to prone not the ideal movement option for engaging the enemy at extreme close range.
- You can now lean while in prone. This kind of lean involves moving your entire upper body to the side, so naturally you would lean out further.
- When deploying a FOB Radio it now starts with 0 construction points and 0 ammo points. The cap for ammo points has been increased to 2000 (was previously 1000).
- Logistics trucks works slightly differently and comes with some new functionality. The driver of the truck can now decide what he wants to carry, and how much (up to the vehicle's capacity). A conventional army logistics truck can carry a combined 2000 resources and a logistics technical can carry a total of 1000 resources. This means that a traditional logistics truck can carry 2000 construction points and 0 ammo points if it wanted to. You could just as easily carry 1500 ammo points and 500 construction points, it really depends on what the situation calls for.
- To drop off supplies, use (Default: LEFT MOUSE BUTTON); and to pick up supplies use (Default: RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON).
- Furthermore, logistics trucks now has the flexibility to load up supplies from a FOB and redistribute it elsewhere, making it possible to salvage some resources from an obsolete FOB or run strategies where you create a supply hub FOB that other logi trucks pick up from. Rest assured that there will be more development on this feature in the future.
- Due to the above changes, a number of deployable assets has received a reduction in construction costs such as HABs, Emplaced HMGs and Ammo Resupply Crates, as they relied heavily on assistance from those initial resources to get a FOB going.
- Changes to AAS flag capture mechanics, where non-capturable flags will no longer be blockable by the enemy. For example: if one soldier is in the capture zone of their team's first flag and nine enemies are in that cap zone as well trying to block it, the flag will still be captured. Once they find him and kill him, the flag will (obviously) stop capping. This should severely reduce the "Rush Flags" meta, and shift the focus more towards the linear progression of moving from flag area to flag area, as well as having a proper supply train with FOBs and logistics. Blocking a flag is technically still possible if you eliminate the entire attacking force, but it will require more resources to do and is more likely to fail.
- A new 3-minute "Staging Period" has been added before matches. During this time, you can spawn in at your team's Main Base or forward spawns, organize your squads, roles, get to your vehicles and prepare to move out. However, you are unable to leave the Main Base and spawn area until the timer has fully elapsed. To prevent griefing issues, you cannot fire your weapons during the staging period.
Kits and Weapons
- All animations for weapons and equipment in both first and third person have been remade from scratch for this new version.
- Weapons handling in general has been completely overhauled, including the way recoil, sway and weapons movement is done. We recommend spending some time on the Shooting Range to get used to the new feeling behind each weapon.
- Inventory changes allow for you to cancel the equipping/reloading of a weapon and to select another weapon extremely quickly. This gives players much more freedom and responsiveness when using their inventory.
- The length of your weapon also now plays a factor in how you maneuver through tight spaces and fire from cover. When you are too close to an obstacle or a surface, your weapon will be forcibly lowered and you will be prevented from firing and aiming down the sights. This naturally depends on the weapon in question, so bringing a long marksman rifle into small spaces is ill advised, whereas pistols will have a natural advantage in these tight spaces.
- The ADS (Aim-Down-Sights) zoom mechanic for ironsights has changed slightly in that you get half of the "Zoom" for when you ADS, and the rest of the zoom and sway stabilization when you hold "Focus" (Default: LEFT-SHIFT). The Focus should also feel more responsive with the transition into full focus being much shorter.
- Certain weapons now have the ability to transition seamlessly between one another. This includes switching ammunition types for Underbarrel Grenade Launchers and the RPG7, and transitioning between rifles and UGLs.
- Scopes have been redone to improve the visuals and fidelity of looking through an optic. This includes adding a pseudo-tunnel effect when looking around.
- All scope reticles' bullet drop compensators are now functional, we recommend doing some practice shooting on the Shooting Range to get acquainted.
- A vast majority of weapons now have the ability to adjust their sights to shoot at different ranges. (Default: X + Scroll Wheel) This includes grenade launchers, rocket launchers and rifles. Certain optics as well have the ability to be adjusted, like the M110 SASS' scope, and the SVD's PSO-1 scope.
- Deployable Bipods have been added to all Light Machine Guns (LMGs) and General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) (Default: C). Bipods will allow machine gunners to set up on positions and put down a large volume of fire with terrifying accuracy. Bipod can be deployed on virtually any surface, including other players! (so as long as they don't move)
- Added TT-33 pistol to Insurgents and Militia Squad Leader, Medic and Marksman roles, replacing the Makarov.
- Added the RPG-26 to the first Russian Light Anti-tank role that unlocks.
- Russia's Light Anti-tank roles are now split into two. The first kit still unlocks at 4 squad members and contains 2 RPG-26's. These are comparable to the M72. The second LAT kit still unlocks at 8 squad members and has the RPG-7, but it now has 2 fragmentation rockets.
- The US Army Squad Leader role now feature the M17 MHS pistol instead of the M9A1 Beretta. All other US Army role that has a pistol still uses the M9A1.
- All US Army kits, with a few exceptions, now use the M4 rather than the M4A1. This replaces the fully automatic capability with a 3 round burst. This change is made to reflect the fact that not all units currently have the A1 as well as give them a distinct faction identity where they want to keep the fights at range for the most part.
- US Army SL with front grip and Red Dot, Rifleman with Red Dot and Rifleman with Ironsight and front grip retains the M4A1, making them ideal for close quarters engagements in your squad load out. A kit should always be a choice depending on the needs of the mission.
- All factions now has access to a Machine Gunner kit that is a Fire Support role and unlocks at 5 Squad Members. It is limited to a total of 4 per team and unlocks one kit per 10 team members. Machine gunner kits costs 50 ammo points to rearm at a FOB.
- Machine Gunner kits are best suited as a support weapon in a static position. The kit has about 500 rounds of ammo appropriate for the weapon, as well as the standard sidearm for the faction, 1 white smoke grenade, 2 field dressings and a shovel. Combining the machine gunner kit with a rifleman's sandbags to deploy your bipods on and a Squad leader or Marksman to direct fire is a good setup, flavor your fire support squad with whatever other weapons systems you would want to provide overwatch with.
- Added binoculars to all Marksman kits.
- All binoculars now have a proper reticle with a stadiametric rangefinder which shows how tall a player is at those respective ranges in meters, aiding in judging distances.
- The Insurgents have had their Automatic Rifleman kits reorganized. The RPK-74 has been replaced with the RPK in its classic configuration using 40 round mags. Additionally the 40 round version now unlocks before the 75 round drum mag version does.
- The US Army now has a new Automatic Rifleman kit with the M249 using a M145 3.4x scope.
- All factions now have their first unlocking Automatic Rifleman kit moved to the "Squad Roles" section. This should allow us to see more LMGs on the field without compromising what your squad role is supposed to be. The more powerful Automatic Rifleman kits of each faction is still a Fire Support Role that you will have to compromise other kits in favor of.
- Replaced the AKS-74U with the AKS-74 as the Militia Light Anti-Tank kit's primary weapon to bring it in line with the other factions loadouts.
- Makarov and TT-33 pistols now have double the amount of magazines as they normally would to bring them to roughly the same amount of rounds as the double stack pistols. Note that the Scout kit no longer gets extra mags for his pistol beyond what other Makarov kits get.
- Decreased the killing radius on the 40mm high explosive grenades significantly. You will have to be accurate with it to give you a kill. It is still just as potent for dislodging entrenched enemies. In addition to this change we feel like we can up the ammo carried from 6 to 10 40MM HE/HEDP rounds for all grenadier kits.
- Militia Grenadier kit now uses an AK-74 with GP-25 (was previously using AKM with GP25).
- Insurgents get a Grenadier kit. This kit uses the AKM with GP25. This kit is limited to 3 per team, with one unlocking every 10 players on the team. The limit is there to symbolize the rarity of the usage. The faction as a whole should still be heavily RPG reliant.
- US Grenadier kit has iron sights instead of red dot. This is a temporary 'downgrade' because of the sight adjustment obstructions on the M203.
- The M110 SASS has had its 4x scope replaced with the appropriate optic. It is currently set at a fixed magnification of 6x for the time being.
- The Insurgent Raider kit now features 2 additional 71 round drum mags that you can equip instead of your usual stick mags for those last stand or breaching moments.
- All infantry rifles with up to 30 round magazines has had an additional magazine added to the loadouts.
- US Army M68 Red Dot sight has been rescaled to accurate proportions, and changed its sight alignment to full co-witness with the front ironsight.
- All non-scoped Rifleman now carry a deployable length of razor wire, in addition to their sandbag walls.
- All belt-fed weapons (machine guns, emplacements included) visually have a properly disintegrating belt now as you run out of ammunition.
Vehicles
- Entering or exiting vehicles and switching seats inside vehicles is no longer instant. The duration depends on the vehicle and the type of seat. This greatly reduces the effectiveness of soloing vehicles when a vehicle is flanked or ambushed. Either it will not be able to drive away or it won't be able to return fire instantly.
- BTR-80, BTR-82A, MT-LBM 6MB, MT-LBM 6MA, BRDM-2 now has a coaxial PKT machine gun to better deal with infantry threats and general suppression of suspected enemy positions. Coaxial machine guns are available on the '2/3' inventory slots on applicable vehicles.
- MT-LBM 6MB and BTR-82A now also has access to high explosive rounds for their main guns, these are very effective at dealing with infantry behind cover and in buildings. HE is still effective vs most of the vehicles currently in game but if you are fighting an armored vehicle especially IFVs it is still most effective to use AP rounds. For the time being, the ammo capacity for each round type has been lowered to 100 rounds of AP and 100 rounds of HE to limit its staying power on the field. This will go back up when more assets are in game.
- BTR-80, BTR-82A, MT-LBM 6MB, MT-LBM 6MA, BRDM-2 and Strykers now have smoke launchers. A vehicle with smoke launchers carries 2 launches worth of smoke. It can be rearmed at the cost of 75 ammo points per charge to keep spamming down and to keep it a significant defensive ability.
- All MTLB variants now has the same damage model as the BTR-80. This is a temporary change for v10 only. Ticket cost has increased to reflect the buff - PKT:7, NSV: 11, KPVT: 16, 30mm: 21.
- All 14.5mm KPVT turrets found on (BTR, BRDM and MTLB variants) now has an elevation range from -5 degrees to +60 degrees. This drastically changes its ability to engage from sloped surfaces. (Was previously -3 to +35)
- BTR-80 and 82A variants now have a "Commander Periscope" (and thus an extra seat) like the BRDM-2 has. The goal is to one day roll this into the driver position, however for now there is an extra asset for the vehicle.
- Improvised Rocket Artillery Technical has had its wounding radius increased slightly. Furthermore its rearmament cost has been cut in half.
- Improvised Rocket Artillery Technical's respawn timer has been reduced from 15 to 4 minutes.
- SPG-9 technicals has had their respawn timers reduced from 8 to 6 minutes.
- Insurgents has a Ural 375D logistics variant in civilian colors on certain maps.
- Insurgents and Militia now has a MTLB variant that features a ZU-23 mounted on the back. The vehicle also has the smaller PKT turret up front, making it a fun 3 man vehicle to fully operate. The ZU-23 like its deployable version comes with high explosive fragmentation rounds for this release and will be able to deal with hill campers and light vehicles in equal and swift fashion. The vehicle costs 18 tickets upon destruction and has a respawn timer of 6 minutes.
- Insurgents has a Ural 375D that features a ZU-23 on the back of it. A slow glass cannon of a vehicle, best used at long range and ambushes. This gun also shoots high explosive fragmentation rounds for this patch. This vehicle costs 12 tickets upon destruction and has a respawn timer of 6 minutes.
Deployables
- Added the ZU-23 twin barreled 23mm Anti Aircraft emplacement as a deployable for both Insurgents and Militia. For this release it features High Explosive rounds. It is limited to 1 per FOB and costs 400 construction points to build. It costs 100 ammo points to reload.
- Both the SPG-9 Emplacement and Mounted Technical variants have the option to choose between high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) and fragmentation rockets. Fragmentation rockets are suited for clearing groups of infantry and for shooting into confined spaces.
- All Mortars have access to Smokescreen mortar ammunition in addition to their normal complement of high explosive mortar rounds. These rounds provide a large smokescreen that lasts between 45 seconds to a minute, and are perfect for long-range suppression allowing for a large attack force to move on a position.
- Added a new wooden trench wall section to the Militia deployables. It costs 150 construction points and is limited to 10 per FOB.
Mapping
New Map: Belaya
- A new Eastern European themed map has been added to the game. This map also is set in a more frigid part of the continent, with light to medium snowfall happening on some map layers. A large tunnel complex part of an underground train line is located in the west of the map, creating some very intense CQB firefights in order to capture this facility. This map features a new weather system that is currently only on the snowfall layers of Belaya.
- Playable Layers include: 1 AAS layer, 1 Parallel AAS layer and 2 different Invasion layers
Narva
- Map has been greatly expanded, almost doubling the playable area and adding 7 new flag zones.
- Opened up Russian side of river and created new main bases for US and Russia.
- Redesigned existing and created new gameplay layers.
- Replaced or removed specific buildings in the city to improve gameplay.
- Fixed numerous building collision bugs.
- Optimized a lot of the existing areas.
- Added more micro-level detail to existing areas.
Logar Valley
- The main town in Logar Valley has been updated by replacing about 40% of the buildings with more two story and larger internal space structures.
- Many more damaged and ruined buildings were added throughout the map
- Added a few new bisecting roads to give more options to vehicles.
Shooting Range
- Changed the factions to feature US Army and Militia on this map so there is a larger pool of weapons to get familiar with.
- Overhauled the CQB Arena and added a lot of props and shoot-able metal drop targets, turning it into a Kill-House style zone.
- Added a grenade target structure to help players practice their grenade throwing into structures.
- Metal drop targets have been retextured to use the Squad brand yellow colour.
- Added a small 10m range behind the US Army spawn, with paper targets.
- Added the ZU-23 AA gun to the range.
- Gameplay Tips signage has been updated.
Sumari Bala
- Fixed a water transparency issue.
- Fixed building collision issues at Palace flag.
- Minor bug fixes.
User Interface
- The Main Menu has been completely redesigned from scratch.
- Server Queueing is now much less intrusive, allowing you to look around and work in the Main Menu while you are queueing for a server.
- Music player has been added to the Main Menu, featuring the entire Squad Original Soundtrack.
- Installed Mods are now viewable while in the Main Menu.
- A new UI Widget has been created for approving and declining Vehicle Claim requests. Doing it now should be a lot easier with a simple Yes/No hotkey.
- As a Squad Leader, you can now invite unassigned players into your squad.
- Added "Request Pick Up" to the SL hex menu.
- Added "Mine Spotted" to the SL hex menu.
- All weapon and equipment selection icons have been updated in visual style.
- Currently selected weapon and equipment names have been added above the reserve ammunition widget, telling you what you have selected at all times.
- Menu tooltips for kit roles have been changed.
- Launch movie has been dramatically shortened.
Audio
- New weapon fire sounds have been added, most notably for the M4
- New weapon foley sounds
- Increased radius of Local VOIP attenuation
- Added empty shell impact sounds for all munitions
- Added more variations to the close-up explosion sounds
- Added sounds to new character animations, notably transitions between different stances, climbing and vaulting.
- Added landing sounds for characters landing on different surfaces
- Added entry/exit and change seat sounds to vehicles that have a vehicle enter/exit timer.
- Added weapon switch sounds for vehicles with multiple weapons (ie. switching between AP and HE rounds)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed US Logistics Truck windows being fully bulletproof.
- Fixed destroying certain vehicles crashing the server.
- Fixed Ammunition indicators and Inventory being invisible while in a vehicle turret.
- Fixed the "Ballerina Pose" bug that was occurring usually when a player dies or exits a vehicle.
- Optimised the burn effects for vehicles and destroyed vehicles.
- Fixed incorrect bullet casings being used on all AK74 and AKM series rifles.
Misc
- Discord Rich Presence is now active with Alpha 10. This means Squad has some integration including seeing your squad's population, team population, the current server name you are on and the map layer being played.
Hot damn, that was a long one. Fortunately for you, knowledge is power, and your big ol' brain is ready for some playtime. Get out there and kick some ass, squaddie!