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Squad (video game)

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Squad
Digital Frontcover
Developer(s)Offworld Industries
Publisher(s)Offworld Industries
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows[2]
Release15 December 2015 (Steam Early Access)[1]
Genre(s)First-person shooter, tactical shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Squad is a tactical first-person shooter video game being developed by Offworld Industries. It is set to be self-published through Steam and is a spiritual successor to the multi-award winning Project Reality modification for Battlefield 2. Squad is available on Steam Early Access starting December 15, 2015.

Gameplay

The goal of Squad is to create a "tactical first person shooter built around teamwork and cooperation".[3]

The game features infantry combat and will be expanded to include various land vehicles and rotorcraft with fixed-wing aircraft a likely addition.[citation needed]

Development

Announcement

Development of Squad was announced in October 2014 when Project Reality developer Sniperdog (known as Merlin on the Squad forums) made a post on the Project Reality forums.[4] The announcement carried the news that the team of fifteen was making a spiritual successor to Project Reality on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4.

Closed Pre-Alpha Release

After Squad's announcement, select YouTubers and trusted community members from Project Reality were given Closed Pre-Alpha Access. They were used as Offworld's testing team for Squad. Game servers were only run for select media and testing events.

Commander and Ranger Kickstarter backers were given Closed Pre-Alpha access to game build #1566 on July 24, 2015. The Alpha had to be downloaded through a download portal on the website and had to be downloaded in full each time it was updated. At this time, servers for Squad were run only on weekends. Updates were available to download every week before the weekend started.

Squad left Closed Pre-Alpha and moved into Closed Alpha on September 26, 2015.

Closed Alpha Release

Squad Leader and Company Clan Pack Kickstarter backers were allowed Closed Alpha Access on September 26, 2015. This marked the first time that Squad severs stayed up 24/7 and Offworld Industries moved to monthly Alpha Updates instead of weekly ones.

Steam

Greenlight

On April 5, 2015, Squad appeared in Steam's Greenlight service and it was announced in an update called "Vote For Us".[5] Within 24 hours Squad had been 'Rated up' 9,200 times.[6] Within three days after appearing in Greenlight, Squad was 'Rated up' over 27,000 times and was confirmed as the most popular game then in the Greenlight service.[7]

After eight days on Greenlight, Squad was officially greenlit by Steam on April 13, 2015.[8]

Store

Squad first appeared in the Steam Store on November 18, 2015. Offworld developer Chuc made a Forum Announcement that stated the game would release into Early Access on December 15, 2015.

Kickstarter

The kickstarter started on May 26, 2015, and ended on June 27, 2015, with CA$434,805 pledged.[9] There were six backer levels to choose from, excluding the Rifleman and Squad Leader tiers which were available to purchase after the Kickstarter but ended a month before Squad hit Early Access on Steam.

Mag Packer Rifleman Squad Leader Commander Ranger Edition Company Clan Pack
$5 $30 $70 $100 $300 $325
Donation to the Cause Access to Steam Early Access
Backer Tag in forums and game		 Closed Alpha access onwards
Founders Key
Founders Patch in game and on forums
Optional Alternate Camo for AK/M4
Digital Soundtrack
Ingame Name added to credits		 Closed Pre-Alpha access onwards
1 Extra Key for Closed Pre-Alpha Access for a friend
Founders Key
Founders Patch in game and on forums
Optional Alternate Camo for AK/M4
Digital Soundtrack
Ingame Name added to credits		 3 keys for Closed Pre-Alpha access onwards
Closed Alpha launch weekend access
3 Founders Keys
Founders Patch in game and on forums
Optional Alternate Camo for AK/M4
Digital Soundtrack
Ingame Name added to credits
1 set of custom SQUAD embossed/etched Dog-tags
Commemorative piece of "actual fast-rope" in a special edition case		 5 keys for Closed Alpha access onwards
Special clan versus clan invitational event
5 Founders Keys
Registration and inclusion of clan patch for clan members (in game)
Founders Patch in game and on forums
Optional Alternate Camo for AK/M4
5 Digital Soundtracks
Ingame Name added to credits
1 set of custom SQUAD embossed/etched Dog-tags
Commemorative piece of "actual fast-rope" in a special edition case

Media coverage

PC Gamer wrote an article about Squad on April 6, just after the Greenlight announcement.[10] April 7 saw Polish gaming websites GRYonline,[11] Eurogamer[12] and Onet[13] publish articles as well as Czech website Tiscali[14] and the French website Le Journal du Gamer[15] alongside British blog VG247[16] and Belgian blog 9lives.[17] April 8 saw German website Gamestar publish an article.[18]

Games.on.net posted an article about Squad on April 10.[19]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Squad was composed by Project Reality composer Scott Tobin.[20] Volume 1 was made available for purchase on Steam on April 30th 2016. [21]

References

  1. ^ "Squad Greenlight Page".
  2. ^ "Squad for Linux?". Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  3. ^ "FAQ - Squad". joinsquad.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  4. ^ Merlin / Sniperdog. "Squad: A commercial game made by developers of and inspired by PR:BF2" (Website). Project Reality Forums. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  5. ^ Developer (5 April 2015). "Vote For Us" (Website). joinsquad.com. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. ^ "Steam Community :: Discussions". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "Steam Community :: Discussions". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  8. ^ "Steam Community :: Discussions". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  9. ^ Developer (21 May 2015). "Kickstarter Announcement" (Website). joinsquad.com. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  10. ^ "Squad is a team FPS from the makers of Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Wieści ze świata (Squad, PlayStation Vita, Dead Space 2) 7/4/15". GRY-Online.pl. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  12. ^ "Squad od twórców moda Project Reality trafiło do Steam Greenlight". Eurogamer.pl. 6 April 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  13. ^ Neithe (7 April 2015). "Squad - gra od twórców moda Project Reality". Onet Gry. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  14. ^ Tiscali. "Tvůrci modu Project Reality představili svou vlastní online střílečku Squad". Games.cz. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  15. ^ "Quand des moddeurs de Battlefield développent leur propre jeu, ça donne Squad et ça à l'air top". Le Journal du Gamer. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  16. ^ "Battlefield 2 Project Reality mod team working on full game". VG247.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  17. ^ "Battlefield 2-modders lanceren Squad - 9lives". 9lives.be. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  18. ^ "Squad - Team-Shooter der Project-Reality-Modder (Battlefield) angekündigt, Trailer". GameStar.de. 8 April 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  19. ^ "Squad hits #1 on Greenlight and carries on the legacy for the Project Reality Battlefield 2 mod, courtesy of Unreal Engine 4". on.net. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. ^ "Scott Tobin". facebook.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  21. ^ http://joinsquad.com/readArticle?articleId=92. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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