Update 10.6 Release Notes

Hello Squaddies!

Welcome to Update 10.6!

We are excited to introduce the latest changes, updates, and bug fixes to Squad! Since the release of Update 10.5 back in June, the team has been working hard to improve the experience, address issues, and implement new systems to expand your arsenal. Here are a few of the key features coming with 10.6:

• A new party system allows you to team up and play with your friends! (No more splitting the party!)
• Improvements to the compass system that highlights important objectives, including new observation markers placed by any member of the squad.
• Significant performance improvements throughout the game, including updates to various maps, models, and even the UI!
• Two quality-of-life changes: the HAB now comes with a built-in ammo kit, and downed soldiers can now see their revive progress.
• An updated map vote config will help server owners prevent repetitive matches from striking your queues.
• Fixes for numerous notorious issues, including “turret surfing,” vehicles getting stuck in the terrain, and VOIP being disrupted by your Windows settings.
• Improvements to suppression which includes a noise reduction for bullet snaps.
• ...and more!

As always, we want to extend our appreciation to every Squaddie for continuing to report issues, offer feedback, and join into our playtests as we continue the development of Squad. THANK YOU! And please keep the reports and conversations coming so we can continue to make improvements in 10.7 and beyond!

See you on the battlefield!

— The Offworld Team

Looking to connect with fellow Squadmates, share feedback or stay up to date with the latest Squad news? Join the Squad Community Discord!

🫵 COMMUNITY COMMENDATIONS

With our Community, Community Development, QA, and Production teams working to identify and integrate your reports into the development process, we wanted to shine the spotlight on the issues that came from YOU and led to changes in the game TODAY.

• Various update have been made to the suppression effects based on community feedback. Shooters now need to strike within 3 meters of their target to be most effective, and targets will have more control over their soldier when suppressed.
• The noise of bullet snaps has also been reduced to prevent them from overpowering the directional sound of the shot being fired.
• The recoil of several vehicle-mounted machine gun turrets has been adjusted to prevent them from being too unstable to use.
• Adjusted the iron sights on the AK-12 to be easier to see through.
• Fixed an issue which would result in the initial helicopter spawns being delayed for the PLANMC Amphibious Assault battlegroup.
• Fixed an issue where in-game VoIP would stop transmitting if you queued up for another server while already on a server (while the queue popup was open).
• Fixed an issue which resulted in the Crewman / Pilot having 8 mags as opposed to 4.
• Add binoculars to the IMF LAT 03 FN FAL kit.
• Fixed an issue where the CAF Combined Arms Unit (Offensive) was missing two time-delayed MSVS Transport Trucks.
• Players can now aim down sight (ADS) after being revived without having to move first.
• Fixed the UB-32 Rocket Pod weapon on the GFI's BRDM-2 from firing in the wrong direction after aiming upwards.
• USMC Armored Battlegroups on the Fallujah and Mutaha layers will now (properly) use the defensive setup instead of offensive setup.
• Fixed excessive screen shake when firing scoped NSV and QJZ-89 emplaced machine guns.
• Al Basrah: RAAS v3: Fixed an issue where invisible collision areas could block projectiles along certain edges of the map.
• Al Basrah: Invasion V2: Fixed a collision issue above the northeast main base which would result in helicopters crashing.
• Harju: Fixed an issue on Harju where players could walk inside of a rock wall and shoot from within. (Hax!)
• Harju: Invasion_v4_CL: Repair stations now function as intended.
• Harju, Tallil: Fixed a collision issue that was blocking players from easily passing through a door on the concrete hangar structure on Tallil and Harju.
• Manicougan: Road crews have removed a rock blocking a road lane.

🪖 SQUAD - GAME UPDATE 10.6.0

NEW FEATURES

NEW: PARTY SYSTEM

Squad’s new Party System allows you to group up with friends in the main menu before joining a match. Create your crew, switch servers together, and automatically deploy into the game as a unified squad.

CORE PARTY FEATURES

• Party Limits: Form groups of up to 9 players and join a PVP server, or up to 5 players for Fireteam missions.

SOCIAL & PARTY MANAGEMENT

• Social Controls: Add, Remove, or Block players directly from the social menu.
• Party Controls: Party leaders can effortlessly Kick, Mute, or Promote players within their group.
• Recently Played List: A new menu tab refreshes after every match, allowing you to easily find and add players from your previous game.
• Party Privacy Settings: Toggle your party to "Locked" for invite-only access, or "Unlocked" to allow friends to drop in freely.
• Party VOIP: When you’re in the menu players can communicate via VOIP. Once launched into a server the VOIP will transition to Squad/Proximity VOIP

MATCH FLOW & IN-GAME INTEGRATION

• Auto-Squadding: Upon loading into a server, the party is automatically placed into its own in-game squad.
• Leadership Assignment: The Party Leader automatically steps in as the in-game Squad Leader.
• Squad Privacy: Auto-created squads default to "Unlocked" so other players can fill empty slots.
• Server Switching: When the Party Leader selects a new server from the browser, the entire party will automatically transition and join together as soon as space allows.

SERVER ADMINISTRAITON & BALANCE

• Anti-Stacking Measures: Added new rules for server owners to address team-stacking concerns.
• Updated Queue System: The server queue has been modified to respect the new anti-stacking rules.
• Admin Tools: Added new server-side options for managing party tracking and team imbalance.

COMPASS IMPROVEMENT

A variety of updates have been made to empower communication within your squad. Members will now have the ability to place observe markers that are shared with your squad, while the compass now features a number of upgrades to help direct soldiers to the various objectives marked by their fellow squad members and squad leader.

• Squad members can now place an ‘Observe Marker’ that are seen by members of their squad. This will appear as a blue full circle icon that appears only on the compass and is visible only to the individual’s squad.
• Markers have a set duration and a cooldown to prevent the ability to spam the marker.
• Members creating an observe marker will also perform a hand gesture, similar to when other observe markers are placed by Squad and Fireteam Leaders.

UPDATED MAP VOTING

We’ve tweaked the defaults around map votes in an effort to create more variety and less duplication when moving from round to round. Most notably, we’ve reduced the number of available maps to choose from, creating more separation before you’re able to pick a repeat faction, and added an additional game before returning to a previously played map.

Note that while these config changes will be the default for NEW servers, but will NOT override the config of existing servers. Server owners will have full control over these settings, and will need to decide whether to adopt these changes come 10.6. We do recommend giving them a shot: both to see how they play and to provide your thoughts about the experience.

• Players will now be able to choose from 3 teams/factions during the map voting phase, down from 6.
• The cooldown delay to replay a particular faction has been increased from 3 to 5 rounds.
• The cooldown delay to replay a specific faction unit has been changed from 3 to 4 rounds.
• The cooldown delay to replay a particular map has been increased from 1 to 2 rounds.

\[BETA] EXPERIMENTAL HELICOPTER FEATURES

To support our hardcore helicopter pilots owning the skies above the battlefield, we’ve spun up a 10.6-compatible branch that enables multi-device HOTAS and TrackIR™ support for their peripherals.

Please be aware that this is a *HIGHLY* experimental branch that has not been fully tested—so issues may arise—but we hope it gives us an early opportunity to gather community feedback and work with all of you to iterate and improve on the system.

More information about the features and how to access this branch can be found here:

🚁 Experimental Helicopter Features: HOTAS and TrackIR \[10.6 BETA]

GAME

GENERAL

• Fixed an emote exploit which allowed players to clip into thin walls.
• Soldier hands will now display the correct death state when the soldier attached to it is killed.

STABILITY & PERFORMANCE

• Players will no longer crash when disconnecting from Fireteam missions.
• General improvements have been made to the performance of the server browser.

DEV NOTE: A variety of improvements have been made to the performance of the game in one of the largest art replacements in Squad history. Most foliage in the Eastern European biome has been replaced, and work continues to replace and optimize the environment assets throughout the game.

The combined result of these changes is an overall reduction of the minimum requirements to play the game. We hope to be able to update our official recommendation from 6GB to 4GB of VRAM with additional testing, and look forward to hearing whether you notice the impact on your game in this and future builds.

• Various changes have been made to the maps, foliage, and assets used to improve the performance throughout the game.
• Foliage now uses voxelized representations at long distances. This better preserves their volume while aiding game performance by occluding more efficiently.
• Most textures have been switched to a virtual texture system to save VRAM. (Please report any texture issues on Discord or Steam.)
• Adjusted the set-up for clouds, volumetric fog, and lighting to improve performance.

DEV NOTE: To further reduce memory usage, we’ve also implemented a level streaming system (a UE5 system called “World Partition”) in one map, Yehorivka. This change *should* result in an average ~1GB improvement in memory usage depending on your hardware and graphics settings. This is on top of a ~700MB improvement gained with the foliage updates on the map.

The following layers are using the new level streaming system to reduce their memory footprint:

• Yehorivka_AAS_v1_WP
• Yehorivka_Invasion_v1_WP
• Yehorivka_RAAS_v1_WP
• Yehorivka_Skirmish_v1_WP

Some known issues:

• There might be some texture/material swapping visual issues at a distance. We have identified and fixes a large majority of these for a future update.
• Some rocks might go missing at a distance; this is also something that's been remedied for a future release.

We’d love to hear how this impacts your experience, as we will look to optimize all maps in a similar way if it proves effective; be sure to let us know on Discord or Steam so we can collate that feedback for the team!

DEV NOTE: We’ve also made various tweaks to ensure that low graphics presets further improve performance at the cost of visual fidelity. If you notice a greater downgrade to visual at low settings, it is recommended you revisit your graphics options and adjust them to your liking.

GRAPHICS

• Several emotes and gestures have had their animations adjusted to blend more smoothly into the idle animations.
• Fixed a visual issue where infantry equipped with a Mosin Rifle would not raise it above their heads when in the water.
• Fixed an issue where the preview model for deployables could be difficult to see in dark areas.
• Fixed a visual issue where all vehicle smoke launcher VFX were not firing from the correct smoke launcher locations.
• Fixed smoke effects resetting when changing the particle quality setting.
• Fixed an issue where shooting at vehicles would sometimes leave the incorrect bullet decals.
• Fixed a minor visual issue with the CRF CPV wreck, which was mistakenly using the WPMC black CPV wreck instead of its own uniquely-colored wreck.
• The CH-178 Helicopter will now use the correct wreck materials.
• When changing stances, the correct bipod stow animation is now played properly.
• Fixed the weapon-ready pose after playing certain gestures.
• Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU): Fixed the hand textures for several of the kits.
• British Armed Forces (BAF): Fixed an issue which would result in the helmets not being lit correctly and not matching the rest of the uniform.
• Middle Eastern Insurgents (MEI): Added new beard material to MEI character models.

AUDIO

• Fixed an issue which would result in the in-game VOIP not working if ‘Audio Enhancements’ were enabled under Windows Sounds settings.
• Fixed an issue where in-game VoIP would stop transmitting if you queued up for another server while already on a server (while the queue pop-up was open).
• Fixed a bug where players would be unable to select or change audio input devices on the settings menu.
• Added missing M249 foley sounds.
• Added foley sounds to match a new M32 animation.
• Added M240 firing sounds to the PMT-76.

UI

DEV NOTE: In 10.6, we've migrated our UI elements to a new back-end platform. This change comes with some big benefits, most notably addressing the massive and persistent memory footprint of the legacy system—meaning that the menu will no longer be consuming vram when not active.

On the downside, the early implementation of this system will result in UI elements appearing less polished than previous versions of the game: from overlapping elements and uncentered text to localized strings not displaying where/when intended. These are short term issues that are already in the pipeline to be fixed, as we believe the performance improvements will outweigh the rough edges you’ll experience in the current build.

If you encounter issues, we recommend checking out the list of known issues (below) to see what's known. If discover something that isn’t on the list, we encourage you to visit our Discord 'Bugs' forum to create or contribute to a thread so we can get it on our list to be fixed. A big thanks for your patience and persistence in helping us continue to improve Squad.

• Incapacitated soldiers will now see a progress bar counting down the time until they’re revived on their HUD.
• The currently loaded magazine will be shown slightly larger in the player HUD compared to reserve magazines, allowing for better visibility at a glance.
• Fixed an issue where the scoreboard would fail to appear after turning screenshot mode on and off again
• Irregular Militia Forces (IMF): Fixed an issue where the weapon names for the SL7, Rifleman 5, and Grenadier 2 kits were missing on the deployment menu.
• People’s Liberation Army (PLA) / PLA Amphibious Ground Force (PLAAGF) / PLA Navy Marine Corps (PLANMC): Corrected issues in the Scout kit role description.
• Fixed several issues with previewing in the Armory.
• Fixed an issue where Community Layers Mode Info showed the incorrect capture point locations.
• Fixed bug where in screenshot mode hid elements that were critical for gameplay.

MAIN MENU

• Added a new background image to the ‘Fireteam’ button on the main menu.
• Added a notification when the ‘Find Match’ search found no matches.
• Updated the weapon cards for the QBZ-95 and QBZ-95B weapons.
• Fixed an issue in the Armory where a weapon was displaying the incorrect weapon card.

LOGGING

• Updated the format of the chat messages saved to logs from just “chat” to: "Chat Msg Player\[Name] Channel\[Number]: 'Message'"

GAMEPLAY

GENERAL

• Scoped weapons can now use Focus Zoom (default: \[Shift] key) to further “zoom” by narrowing the field of view, similar to iron sight weapons.
• Updated in-game menus (such as the Commander menu) to prevent them from closing if the player attempts to move while they are open.
• Adjusted the camouflage netting of the Observation Tower reinforcement to improve visibility when looking outward.
• Wire-guided missiles (emplacements and vehicles) will now break the guidance of a previously-fired rocket upon reload.
• Fixed an issue which prevented players from entering vehicles when screenshot mode was on.
• Players can now aim down sight (ADS) after being revived without having to move first.
• Fixed an exploit which would maintain the ADS state while sprinting by using freelook.
• Fixed excessive post-ADS sway when looking through binoculars.
• Fixed an issue where the stationary zoom key would remain stuck if pressed while entering and exiting a UAV.
• Players will no longer be unable to place an item upon exiting a vehicle by switching to that deployable when entering the vehicle.
• Players will no longer appear on top of the weapon when dismounting a SPG-9 or Stugna-P emplacement.
• Fixed an issue with vehicle repairs visually repair vehicles but fail to fix their handling, leaving them in a broken state when commandeered.
• Reduced the detonation delay of AT mines to ensure fast-moving vehicles cannot trigger them and subsequently escape their fate.
• Fixed a bug where players would sometimes receive no suppression if they were crouched next to a low wall or window sill.
• Fixed excessive screen shake when firing scoped NSV and QJZ-89 emplaced machine guns.
• Fixed many iron sight weapons experiencing excessive camera location punch when suppressed.

DEV NOTE: We’ve taken a stab at fixing a fairly common exploit reported by players which allowed them to “surf” on the turrets of vehicles while ignoring the laws of physics. This should no longer be possible in 10.6.

• Fixed an exploit where players could ride on a vehicle at full speed by standing on the turrets.

DEV NOTE: While the team has attempted to fix as many of the issues causing vehicles to get stuck in the terrain and props as possible, there may still be edge cases where vehicles end up stuck int he terrain. If you encounter this issue, please visit our bug discussions on Discord to report 1.) the vehicle, 2.) the map and layer you’re playing, and 3.) the precise location and steps that resulted in the problem occurring.

• Fixed most issues with vehicles getting stuck on environmental street clutter and road obstacles when driving over them.
• Fixed an issue where some vehicles would tumble in an unrealistic manner when hitting a curb at high speeds.

DEV NOTE: Several adjustments have been made to the new suppression system in response to player feedback. This should make it less punishing while ensuring it’s still an effective tool to lock down your enemies.

• Suppression now prevents holding your breath to stabilize the weapon, but does not prevent you from zooming in.
• Reduced the suppression applied by shots that miss by more than 3 meters.
• Reduced the suppression weapon alignment punch by 80%. The punch was acting as a minimum amount of weapon movement per shot, even when the shot itself did not deal a meaningful amount of suppression.
• Fixed the excessive suppression camera punch when aiming through many scopes. This could cause the sight picture to go black, making suppression feel exceedingly harsh.
• Added suppression camera punch dampening to several iron sights weapons with small apertures to prevent the front post from being lost when under fire.
• Fixed inconsistent ADS suppression punch configs on MMGs.
• Fixed tearing, loud, and annoying close-up snaps for the 5.56 and 7.62 projectiles.

SQUADS

• HABs will now automatically include an Ammo Crate inside, allowing for easier resupply without additional shoveling.
• Fixed a bug when placing any FOB structure where using the \[Q] button to rotate the structure will also cause the player to lean to the left at the same time.
• Players will now be properly listed in the ‘unassigned’ field after they create/join and then leave/disband a squad.

SKIRMISH

• Updated Skirmish game mode to include Logistics vehicles so teams no longer have to exclusively rely on Rally Points.
• Updated the Skirmish game mode to include HMG emplacements.

TRAINING

• Added 150ms of delay to sight reaction time so bots never instantly kill a player before they can reasonably react. This should result in fewer cases of SquidBots reacting with super-human abilities—especially in close-quarters battles like the killhouse.

FACTIONS

BRITISH ARMED FORCES

• The BAF Air Assault battlegroup now has access to two FV107 armored recon vehicles, as intended.

CANADIAN ARMY

• Fixed an issue where the CAF Combined Arms Unit (Offensive) was missing two time-delayed MSVS Transport Trucks.

GROUND FORCES OF IRAN

• Fixed an issue which resulted in the Medic having more magazines for the pistol than intended.
• Fixed an issue which resulted in the Crewman / Pilot having 8 mags as opposed to 4.
• The Squad Leader Crewman will now require you to be a Squad Leader to obtain the kit, as intended.

INSURGENTS

• Fixed the texture of the cloth cover on the Insurgents HAB.

IRREGULAR MILITIA FORCES

• Updated the faction and battlegroup flags to better represent the faction. Thanks to all the players that took the time to participate and help determine the final design of their flag.
• Add binoculars to the IMF LAT 03 FN FAL kit.

UNITED STATES ARMY

• Updated all USA battlegroups to use M4A1 full auto rifles instead of M4 burst rifles. Crewmen and Pilots will still use M4 burst.

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

• Updated USMC Combined Arms battlegroup to now use the M27 Rifles.
• USMC Armored Battlegroups on the Fallujah and Mutaha layers will now (properly) use the defensive setup instead of offensive setup.
• Fixed the USMC Armored Battlegroup (Defensive) having access to TOW ATGM emplacements.

WEAPONS

GENERAL UPDATES

• Fixed scoped variants of the following weapons not displaying a consistent size on screen when using a non-standard Field Of View: Lee Enfield, Malyuk M150, Mosin, QBZ192.
• Grenades are no longer usable in main base. (Sorry, and you’re welcome.)
• Players can now aim down sight (ADS) in the main bases.

FIREARMS

• Adjusted Mosin / Lee Enfield / SKS to no longer have an extra round in the chamber when reloading, as this is not practical with these bolt action rifles.
• Adjusted the iron sights on the AK-12 to be easier to see through.
• Unified the size of aperture on all AK-12 models.
• Fixed excessive blur in the ADS transition of the scoped QJY-201 MMG.
• Fixed an issue with the BMP-1 barrel overpressure cone being rotated upwards instead of forward, where the main gun is pointing.
• Fixed IMF M4 Carryhandle +M68 not shooting straight.
• Fixed the recoil for the Timberwolf Sniper Rilfe to now allow players to see where they shot.
• Fixed the HAR-66 Anti-Tank Launcher's ranging.
• Fixed the AFU's BMP-2 Weapon Sight not updating when zoomed in.
• Fixed SKS PU and M21 Meupold dealing less suppression than intended.
• The M249 series weapon now has the correct barrel positions.

VEHICLES

• Improved the turning performance of several Tracked APCs and Logistics vehicles.
• The QTJ-02 5.8mm Coaxial Machine Gun will now have all 3000 bullets in its intended munitions count. (We counted.)
• Helicopters can no longer be tilted until they’ve successfully taken off, thus preventing pilots from immediately self-destructing their vehicle.
• The recoil of several vehicle-mounted machine gun turrets has been adjusted to prevent them from being too unstable to use.
• Fixed the issue which allowed players to kill the co-pilot of the BAF LPPV Armored Car from outside.
• Fixed the driver camera of the MRAP clipping through the vehicle when driving over rough terrain.
• Fixed interior glass reflecting too much light in Kozak.
• The Minsk 400 now accelerates more realistically, properly shifting through gears instead of accelerating endlessly to its top speed.
• Fixed a variety of issues related to the optical zoom of vehicle-mounted weapons.
• Fixed an issue where the M-ATV turret seat would deposit the player in the cargo bed or vehicle roof.
• Fixed an issue where the M-ATV roof exit point would cause the player character to clip with the vehicle turret.
• Fixed an issue where the M-ATV gunners would always exit via the roof exit point. Gunners now exit from the side doors, while all occupants use the roof exit point when the vehicle is in deep water.
• Canadian Resistance Forces (CRF): The VT - Light Transport (CPV Variant) will now use the correct camo texture to match other faction vehicles.
• Fixed inconsistent heights in the wheels of BMP-2 based vehicles.
• Fixed the turret positioning in the Sprut-SDM1's wreck.
• Fixed the BTR4 not being destroyed by ammo cookoff.
• Fixed player input being processed relative to the horizon instead of the local frame of reference when a vehicle was positioned on a slope.
• Fixed incorrect magazine size on PARS III Mk19 variants.
• Fixed the UB-32 Rocket Pod weapon on the GFI's BRDM-2 from firing in the wrong direction after aiming upwards.
• Fixed a visual issue with the BRDM-2 scout car.

EQUIPMENT

• Updated the CRF Bangerite IED VFX for detonation to be unique from other IED’s.

MAPS

GENERAL

• Add new name to the Memorial: Goon Bandit (Nathan Barker)
• Updated Gorodok, Yehorivka, Narva, Mutaha, Al Basrah, Fallujah, and Jensen's Range to use the new Virtual Texture system for level materials, map materials, and texture assets.

AL BASRAH

• Fixed an issue on Al Basarah where players could get stuck on a staircase.
• Skirmish_v3: Fixed a bug where the Main Base would fail to spawn and display as intended.
• Better configuration for Orchards, Crops and Vista meshes throughout the map to reduce minor CPU overhead contributions.

BLACK COAST

• General baseline optimizations throughout Black Coast.

CHORA

• Fixed missing grass in several locations on Chora.

GORODOK

• Removed the grass layer from farms so there's less overdraw and intersection happening on the farmlands.
• Replaced some of the oddly placed reeds with bushes.
• Fixed several texture issues on Gorodok.

HARJU

• Fixed an issue on Harju where building a HAB could result in players falling through the map when spawning.