Hello Squaddies!
Today, we are releasing the Squad 8.0 Patch Notes EARLY. The update will be released June 12th, 11AM PT (7PM BST).
We've got a long list to get through today, so stick with us to the end!
This update brings new units for the RGF, USA, and TLF factions and an overhaul of our anti-tank guided missile system. We’re also improving our loading screens and releasing a new pack of weapon skins.
New for USA
- 37th Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division (Armored) Joining the USA faction as their Armored unit, the 37th will use M1A2 main battle tanks, supported by M113A3 APCs, as logistics vehicles and armored personnel carriers for the infantry. They will also receive the new M7A3 BFIST IFV, an M2A3 IFV variant lacking the TOW ATGM.
- 1st Cavalry Regiment (Mechanized) Filling in the Mechanized unit in the USA faction roster, the 1st Cavalry Regiment will use M2A3 IFVs, supported by M113A3 APCs, as logistics vehicles and armored personnel carriers (including a Mk19 variant). They will also receive our new M1064A3 mobile mortar carriers, utilizing a heavy 120mm mortar but at the cost of not having deployable mortars on their FOBs.
- 497th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (Support) The 497th will join the USA faction as their Support unit. They will receive three M939 logistics trucks supported by M1151 MRAPs, M113A3 APCs, and M1064A3 mobile mortar carriers. They can deploy an extra HAB and ATGM similar to other conventional faction support units.
- Mk19 AGL Emplacement: A Mk19 automatic grenade launcher (AGL) emplacement can be deployed to and built on ADF, BAF, CAF, TLF, USA, and USMC FOBs on Air Assault and/or Light Infantry units. Note: The Mk19 is currently a placeholder for the German GMG automatic grenade launcher that should be used by the BAF and CAF factions. We plan to add more types of AGLs for other factions in the future.
- M113A3 APC: The M113A3 is an iconic, mass-produced armored personnel carrier. It will appear in-game with an unarmed logistics variant, an M2 heavy machine gun variant, and a Mk19 automatic grenade launcher variant. It will appear on the USA Armored, Mechanized, Support units, the CAF Armored (Logistics variant), and TLF Armored & Mechanized units (Logistics variant).
- M1064A3 Mortar Carrier: The M1064A3 is a mortar-carrying variant of the M113A3 APC. It uses a powerful 120mm mortar. It will appear on the USA Mechanized and Support units and the TLF Support unit.
- M7A3 “BFIST” IFV: The M7A3 Fire Support Team is a recon variant of the M2A3 IFV that swaps out the TOW launcher for an advanced optics and sensor pod. This vehicle will replace the standard M2A3 on the USA Armored unit and appear on the Mechanized unit.
- Mk19 Vehicle Variants: The USA and USMC factions will now gain access to M1151 and MATV Mk19 variants, which will appear on the USA Air Assault unit and the USA & USMC Light Infantry units. The USMC also get a RHIB Mk19 variant on their Amphibious Assault Unit.
New for TLF
- Land Forces Logistics Command Battle Group (Support) Joining the Turkish Land Forces as the support unit, they will use three BMC Logi trucks, supported by Cobra II MRAPs and ACV-15 APCs, and receive the new M113A3 M120 mobile mortar carriers.
- UH60 Helicopter: We’ve reskinned our UH60 helicopter for use with the TLF. This vehicle will use PKT door guns, available in Air Assault and Support units for the TLF.
We have also updated the uniforms for existing TLF troops to be more authentic. Go check them out!
New for RGF
- 205th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (Mechanized) The 205th will fill in the mechanized unit for the Russian ground forces faction. It will focus on the new BMP-3 and BMP-2M infantry fighting vehicles, supported by MTLB APCs as logistics vehicles and armored personnel carriers.
- BMP-2M IFV: A modern modification of the BMP-2 IFV, notably using additional weapon systems - an automatic grenade launcher and a quadruple Kornet ATGM launcher system replacing the Konkurs on the BMP-2. This vehicle will be available for the RGF Mechanized unit.
- BMP-3M IFV: A modern upgrade to the BMP series using a 100mm cannon, 30mm autocannon, coaxial machine gun, and Bastion anti-tank guided missiles. This vehicle will be available for the RGF Mechanized and Amphibious Assault units.
- T-90A Tank: A third-generation main battle tank to replace the T-72 series. It will use armaments similar to the T-72B3 already in-game but will have upgraded frontal & side hull armor and frontal turret armor. We have plans to differentiate this vehicle further from the T-72B3 in the future. This vehicle will be available for the RGF Armored, Combined Arms, Motorized, and Light Infantry units.
- BMP-1AM IFV: This is an upgraded BMP-1 variant that uses the same 30mm autocannon turret found on the BTR-82A. It will replace the BMP-2 on the RGF Armored unit and appear on the Mechanized unit.
New for INS & IMF
- Added a technical truck with a mounted Kornet ATGM to the IMF and INS factions’ Light Infantry and Motorized units.
New for VDV
- Added the RGO Impact Frag Grenade as the standard fragmentation grenade to the VDV faction.
New for CAF
- Updated the CAF TAPV with its authentic armament, a 40mm automatic grenade launcher (C16), and a 7.62 machine gun (C6) combination turret. This will now be the only TAPV variant. Note: The Mk19 is a placeholder for the German GMG automatic grenade launcher that should be used for the C16.
Anti-Tank Guided Missile Overhaul
We’ve reworked our existing anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to extend their features, introduce various nuances, and update their visual effects.
ATGMs now have various strengths and weaknesses based on their guidance method. For example, wire-guided ATGMs (like the TOW) have an easier time hitting moving targets, but are less accurate at long range compared to beam-riding ATGMs (like the Kornet). At this time, the differences are tuned on the more conservative side, as our main goal is to move these weapons away from being effective anti-aircraft weapons to open the door for more dedicated anti-air weapons in the future. Future iterations to ATGM characteristics may be made to ensure this goal is achieved.
Wire-Guided ATGMs (TOW, Konkurs, HJ-73C, AT-3 Malyutka, HJ-8, F2 MILAN)
Strengths: Easier to hit moving targets without losing guidance.
Weaknesses: Terrain and obstacles can foul the wire, and they have less effective range and accuracy than Beam Riders. They cannot fire on the move.
Beam-Riding ATGMs (Kornet, Bastion, Refleks)
Strengths: Greater accuracy at long range, can be fired on the move, more resilient guidance system.
Weaknesses: It is harder to hit fast-moving targets at medium/long ranges and is vulnerable to IR smoke countermeasures.
IR Smoke Countermeasures
Vehicle-mounted smoke dischargers are now accurately represented with their infrared countermeasure qualities. Their smoke will now confuse the guidance systems of ATGMs, causing a loss of guidance that will likely cause the missile not to hit its target. The distance at which smoke canisters explode has also been increased from 25m to 50m. This change only affects smoke deployed from vehicle-mounted smoke canister launchers. The ‘driver smoke’ that vehicle drivers can deploy or hand-held smoke grenades do not possess IR blocking capabilities.
New Loading Screens
We’ve added new loading screens that include gameplay tips.
- Added a Seizure Warning screen as part of the start-up process.
- Made several quality-of-life improvements to vehicle recovery times. The intent is to reduce frustration when resetting vehicles since the current vehicle handling implementation and physics system can result in some wild vehicle behavior.
- Reduced base time for teleport recovery to 20 seconds, down from 30.
- Decreased the time added for rotating a vehicle with recovery by 90%, now 180 degrees rotation should add only 4 seconds to base recovery time, down from 40.
- Increased the time window for consecutive recovery attempts to receive the speed bonus to 30 seconds, up from 15.
- Increased the speed bonus for consecutive recovery attempts by 44%. With the new base recovery time, the consecutive attempt to recover a vehicle should now take 3 seconds, down from 8 seconds.
- Removed helicopters from all conventional Armored units, except for the VDV, which will continue to have a helicopter but on a 30-minute delayed spawn. The intent is to provide a more meaningful trade-off when selecting conventional armored units, which will be due to the lack of air-mobile logistics for the entire round duration.
- Improved bullpup rifle (EF88, L85A2, QBZ95-1) gunplay characteristics. The intent is to make bullpup weapons feel better and more effective in combat.
- Clear Sights now cancels when Steady Aim is held, even if the sway is too high to see through the sights.
- Added a new Accessibility setting under "GAME" settings - "DISABLE WEAPON MODEL BLUR". This setting prevents the Depth Of Field effect from blurring your weapon when not aiming down sights, helping prevent eye strain.
- Set all weapons using the C79A2 magnified optic (CAF C7A2/C8A3/C9A2) to default to 100m zero from 200m. Although 200m is the authentic range on the C79A2 optic since the difference between 100m and 200m zero is more negligible in real life, the presence of additional gravity on our projectiles makes this a usability issue for players who may often shoot too high when aiming at targets at 100m.
- Reduced the recoil of the TLF SOR-109T SMG. The intent is to make this weapon feel better and more effective at short range.
- Slightly increased weapon stabilization time after deploying a bipod.
- Consolidated INS and IMF armored/non-armored technicals and Urals into "Technical HMG", "Technical SPG", "Technical Logi", "Technical Transport", "Ural Logi", and "Ural Transport". Different variants will spawn randomly.
- Consolidated ADF PMV Mag58 and PMV Mag58 x3 into "PMV". Different variants will spawn randomly.
- Consolidated USMC M1151 armored and non-armored variants into "M1151 M2", “M1151 M240", and “M1151 Mk19”. Unarmored and armored variants of each will spawn randomly.
- Toned down the brightness of the blue color on the PLANMC character uniforms.
- Adjusted the maximum number of certain fortification deployables with either a high limit or no limit for conventional factions. The intent here is to reduce the defensive potential for non-support conventional units.
- Conventional Support units can have a maximum of six bunkers and four observation towers per FOB.
- All other conventional units can have a maximum of four bunkers and two observation towers per FOB.
- Increased teamwide availability of the Heavy Anti-Tank role from 2 to 4 on conventional factions’ Light Infantry and Air Assault units. The limits for how many HAT roles can be in a single squad have not changed. The intent is to make up for the lack of heavy vehicles in these units by providing more availability of anti-vehicle infantry roles. Note: Along with this change, the TLF Air Assault unit can now access a HAT role using the M2 Carl Gustav.
- Added a voting setting for server owners that allows them to show a unique map only once within voting options (for example, if this option is on Fallujah AAS v1 and Fallujah Invasion v1 will not show at the same time in voting options).
- Added voting settings for server owners that limit the number of options for each game mode that can be shown within voting options (for example, can only show 1 Invasion layer, 1 AAS layer, but up to 4 RAAS layers).
- Added a voting setting for server owners to only trigger voting for the map, not the factions or units. Units will be chosen randomly from all available units on that layer and will take into account the faction & unit skip settings and the symmetric matchup setting.
- Added an admin command to enable and disable voting.
- Added an indicator to the unit preview screen that informs players when game elements like commander abilities, boats, or helicopters are unavailable on the selected map.
- Adjusted text on the voting screen for clarity.
- Added music for faction voting and SFX to the result screen.
- The default keybinds for rotating deployables in placement mode are now Q and E (formerly Left Arrow and Right Arrow).
- Intel XeSS upscaling is now supported and appears as an option on the graphics settings menu
- Updated the DLSS plugin settings.
- Added the special characteristics of the INS and IMF factions to their descriptions on the unit info screen.
- Reduced the number of T72B3 for VDV Armored from 2 to 1. The intent here is to reduce the overall firepower of the VDV Armored unit, which previously had two T-72B3 tanks in addition to their two Sprut-SDM1 tank destroyers.
- Reduced the number of LAV-25 IFVs on USMC Armored from 2 to 1. The intent here is to reduce the overall mobile firepower of the USMC Armored unit, which previously had two LAV-25s in addition to their two M1A1 tanks.
🔨General Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug with the server browser that displayed all servers even when a language, playstyle, experience, or map rotation filter was used.
- Fixed a bug with the server browser that could cause the game to freeze for 2 seconds when the server list was refreshed.
- Fixed a client crash that could occur after playing the startup video.
- Fixed a bug that could allow players to vote twice during voting.
- Fixed a bug that could cause players to be stuck in voting flow when map layers are set up incorrectly.
- Fixed a client crash related to using mortars.
- Reduced the third-person volume of the RGF BMP2 IFV’s cannon.
- Fixed a bug that caused helicopters to behave strangely after being reset with a teleportation command.
- Mods should now correctly show details in the server browser.
- Fixed a bug that allowed players to shorten the VDV AK-12’s reload animation.
- Fixed a bug where the VOIP UI could break if a player lost connection to a server while talking.
- Corrected the zeroing on the PLA DTC041A-30 Autocannon.
- The CAF HAT role now has the correct munitions.
- Fixed a bug that interrupted VOIP transmission if a player clicked on the map after dying.
- Added missing RPG hit effects to the side hull of the USMC AAVP APC.
- Fixed a bug that could interrupt ADS if the player pressed space during the crouch-stand transition or while prone.
- Fixed a visual issue with BAF backpacks.
- Fixed a bug that caused the backblast of emplaced and vehicle-mounted anti-tank weapons to be offset.
- Fixed a visual issue with the PLA soldier vest.
- Fixed a bug in the tutorial where characters could get stuck in a “T pose.”
- Fixed a bug that allowed the TLF faction to have 2 AR MG3 Irons roles in a squad instead of the intended 1.
- Fixed a bug that prevented the IMF M2 HMG (with shield) emplacement from zooming during ADS.
- Adjusted the way that Invasion POIs are numbered on the Interactive Layer Map Details Screen so that it makes more sense.
- Fixed a visual bug with how the Quad Bike e-brakes in the water.
- Fixed a bug with the custom browser that could cause empty lines to appear amongst filter results.
- Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the Team Select Screen to refresh unnecessarily.
- Fixed inconsistent rotation for the C6A1 FLEX MG on the CAF LAV III Wheeled APC.
- Added the missing Amphibious Assault unit icon to the voting screen.
- Fixed a bug that could prevent a team from voting, instead presenting them with the results of the other team’s vote.
- Fixed a bug where using the AdminRestartMatch command during the voting phase could cause issues with the next round’s voting phase.
- Fixed a bug that caused the player’s legs to change location after exiting an emplacement.
- Fixed a collision issue that allowed the USA/USMC Quad Bike to drive through some other vehicles.
- Fixed a visual bug with the USMC AAVP7A1 APC.
- Fixed a visual bug with the USA M4 M203 with Underbarrel Grenade Launcher.
- Fixed a bug where the M1151 map icon used the image for an open-top jeep instead of an AT jeep.
- Fixed a minor visual issue with TLF soldier gloves.
- Fixed an animation bug with the KNT-76 that could cause soldiers using it to look odd to other players.
- Fixed a bug where the Crewman’s repair kit was causing clipping while playing the Join Me gesture.
- Fixed a bug where the NLAW caused the Overwatch gesture to look strange.
- Fixed a bug with the muzzle flash VFX on the VDV BMD-4M and PLA ZBD04A IFV.
- Fixed a bug that prevented the player’s cone of vision from appearing on the minimap while manning the turret on the BAF FV107 Tracked ARV.
- Fixed a bug with using freelook while using a weapon with a deployed bipod.
- Fixed a bug that caused players to clip through the wall of the PLA CSK131 Jeep when sitting in the back.
- Fixed a bug with the idle third-person soldier animation for players using the PLA QJY88 MG.
- Fixed a bug that caused the turret mount on the PLA ZBL08 IFV to change color based on distance to the vehicle.
- Fixed a bug that caused the soldier’s arm to clip through the ammo box when firing while aiming down sights with the TLF MG3 MMG.
- Fixed some bugs relating to the Team Select Screen and Mode Info screens appearing when they shouldn’t.
- Fixed a bug with the Team Select Screen that caused the map info popup to appear stretched out in wide resolutions.
- Fixed a visual issue with the rockets on the backs of soldiers using PLA and PLANMC PF98 HAT roles.
- Fixed a bug that caused the USA/USMC Quad Bike to take damage when the ammo box on the front carrying rack was shot.
- Fixed a bug that caused the Insurgents acronym to be missing from the available units list on the voting screen.
- Fixed a bug where multiple map layers had "None" as the lighting layer on their info screens
- Fixed a bug with soldier animations in the tutorial.
- Fixed a bug with the TLF MPT-76 UGL’s inspect animation.
- The USMC Combined Arms (large setup) unit now has one M939 Logi and two AAVC logis as was intended.
- Fixed a bug that could cause clipping during the Flex emote.
- Fixed a bug that caused the TLF MG3 Machine Gunner to have a pair of Soviet field binoculars.
- Fixed a bug that caused the wrong kit information to appear when hovering over kits in the role selection screen.
- Fixed a bug that caused Fireteam map markers to be removed when a new fireteam lead is assigned.
- Fixed a bug where vote requirements could be disabled through the Admin Cam Tool but not re-enabled.
- Fixed a bug that prevented the IMF Infiltrator Kit Role from counting towards the 3 available Fire Support Role slots.
- Fixed a bug that caused Squad map markers to be removed when being promoted to Commander.
- Fixed a bug that caused grenades thrown above players in the prone stance to bounce off of their character model.
- Fixed a bug that kept modded factions from working properly in the voting process on modded servers.
Map Updates & Bug Fixes
General
- Standardized all large map RAAS layers to have 7 flag layouts. Smaller maps (Chora, Fool’s Road, Kokan, Mestia, Sumari, and Logar) still have 5 or 6 flag layers. The intent is to standardize the RAAS experience on larger maps and enable us to get more accurate analytics on rounds of RAAS gameplay to inform future iterations. Iterations to existing gameplay layers and new layers will continue in future updates.
- Fixed a bug that caused the wrong voice lines to play when an objective was captured on an Invasion layer.
Al Basrah
- Invasion v1 - Fixed a bug that removed the initial 10-minute delay from the BAF Combined Arms FV510s.
- Invasion v1 - Fixed a bug that caused the BAF Combined Arms unit to have more FV510s than they should. The unit now has one FV510 and one FV510 UA.
- Invasion v2 - Fixed a bug that partially caused the boat repair station to float.
- AAS v1 - Fixed a bug where the BAF truck sometimes spawned flipped over.
Fallujah
- TC v1 - Fixed the MBT spawners for both teams.
- TC v1 - Fixed a bug with the Team 1 ammo box at the main base.
Gorodok
- Destruction v1 - Fixed an issue that prevented Team 1’s MBT from spawning.
Harju
- AAS v1 - Fixed a bug that allowed players to hide inside of a certain rock
- Invasion v2 + RAAS v1 - A Repair Station is now available for boats in the Main Base.
- Invasion v1 - Fixed a bug where IMF Minsk Motorcycles were not spawning in the Main Base.
Manicouagan
- Added a new Invasion layer, Invasion v2.
Kamdesh Highlands
- AAS v1, RAAS v1 - Helipads can now be used in the main bases.
- Insurgency v1 - The helipad in Team 1’s base can now be used.
Kohat Toi
- Added two new layers, RAAS v2 and Invasion v2.
Sanxian Islands
- AAS v2 - Fixed a bug that caused the ammo crate to spawn on top of the helipad
Weapon Skins
Clash Pack ($4.99 USD)
This new pack contains three weapon skins for use with the VDV and USMC factions.
Here is a closer look at each weapon in the pack:
Nettle - VDV AK-12 Rifle (For use on woodland biomes):
Mirage - USMC M16A4 Rifle (For use on desert biomes):
Horizon - VDV SV-98M Marksman Rifle (For use on desert biomes):
Mod SDK Update
- Updated the mod SDK to v8.0.
- Updated mod versioning to v8.0. This means that all mods will need to be re-cooked with the v7.2 SDK to be compatible with the updated version of the game.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent modders from uploading mods to Steam workshop
- Added a new ModdedAssetValidator. This validator will run for any assets within a mod folder, checking whether it references any vanilla assets that are included in the ModSDK, but not included in the shipped game. This was validated before, but at cook time. Now modders will find out far sooner when they're referencing an unshipped asset. This validator also introduces coverage for referenced sublevels and plugin assets, which weren't validated before.
- For a mod to be cooked, all its assets must now pass asset validation (throw zero validation errors).
- Fixed validation errors being thrown for Factions and Layers assets not being included in chunk settings.
- Fixed validation errors being thrown by assets referencing plugins such as Black Coast and Harju.
- Fixed validation errors being thrown for all SQRestriction_Count data assets.
- Introduced the Factions and Layers Creation Tool, which handles setup for you when making a new mod for Squad!
Known Issues
- We are aware of an issue where framerate may have an impact on weapon handling. Our team is working hard to find a solution, and we will update the community when we are closer to a fix.
- Emplacements and certain vehicles may occasionally have camera perspective issues when leaving the vehicle or reloading the vehicle’s weapon.
- BMP-1 IFV - The 9M14P Malyutka's guiding wire may appear to pop out of the vehicle and move erratically after firing.
- The new RGO impact grenades may detonate when a player is downed while holding one.
This concludes our debrief for the 8.0 Squad Release Notes! Stay tuned to our Steam forums for all our upcoming comms!