A DEEP LOOK INTO

SQUAD

CONTENT____________________________________

• Introduction

• Currently implemented features

• Development history

• Difficulties and challenges

• Our next goals

INTRODUCTION____________________________________

• A MMOFPS game

• The game has been developed since 02/2010 by VTC Studio

• Game Engine : Gamebryo LightSpeed

• Middleware: PhysX, Raknet, Scaleform, wWise

• Graphics: 3D

• Official site: http://squadvtc.com

SQUAD

FEATURES IMPLEMENTED____________________________________

GAME MODES

• Team death match: Players are divided into two separate teams, the score is calculated based on the number of kills. By the end of the match, the team with higher score wins

• Base Destruction: Two teams will own certain amount of key points in form of resource generating structures. The goal is to protect your own strategic points while trying to destroy the opposing team’s. By the end of the match, the team with higher score wins

• Flag Capture mode: Players are divided into two teams, each team has its own flag to protect. The goal is to protect team’s flag and get the opponent’s at the same time to earn points. By the end of match, the team with higher score wins

CHARACTERS AND CLASSES

• SCOUT: lightly armored and fast moving units that specialize on close combat, detection and ambush.

• TANKER : heavily armed with high damage weapons, they are the backbone of any team in the game.

• SNIPER: specialized in long range combat, proficient with sniping rifles, this class can wreck havoc on enemy line from afar or keep the base safeguarded from enemy attacks

SKILL SYSTEM

• SCOUT: Scan – helps to detect enemy’s location in a limited time..

• TANKER : Berserk – helps to increase weapon damage in a limited time, however once player activates it, armor’s effect will be reduced..

• SNIPER: Focus - helps the body to avoid impacts from enemy’s bullets and also provides better accuracy when shooting..

Each class in the game will have several exclusive skills to define the play style and their roles in the battle, indicated as:

GAME MAPS

• City in the border: Map of Base Destruction mode, the city with bunkers and secret tunnels to discover

• Old market: a market place with the aesthetics of colonial old town architecture

• School: Large map, situated in an abandoned school with symmetrically positioned sniping points

• Secret Factory: a small map of jet engine research site that provides a dynamic environment for death match game mode

GAME MAPS

• Bagdad under fire: a symmetrically organized map for flag capture game mode

• Wild West: newest map just released, a small American western town..

• Old Palace of Persia: a small map of Persian architecture with high tower sniping points, appropriate environment for every 3 classes to train their skills

• Wild Castle: a maze of an old European castle with defending walls and hidden tunnels

ITEM SYSTEM

Divided into 3 main catalogues: Character, Gear, Weapon

• Character: Diverse character system to choose

• Decorative gear: such as: Helmets, masks, glasses, clips, shoulder straps with bags, shoes.. Except for the armor, which actually helps to reduce the enemy’s weapon damage, these items do not have any real influence on gamer’ s fighting capabilities but give them the option to customize their characters.

• Weapons: Full different weapon system for each classes

CUSTOMIZABLE WEAPON

Weapon upgrades

• Scopes: Zoom options for guns

• Silencers: Hide the sound of your muzzle, avoid being detected by enemies

• Laser pointes: Help players to have a better view during shooting

MISSION

Missions are timely designed, including daily and monthly missions

• Daily missions: System will generate random missions for each player on a daily basis. Finishing these mission will grant the players some certain rewards.

• Monthly missions: Extra rewards will be given to players who have finished all the daily missions.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY___________________________________

• Looking for appropriate game engine that mostly suitable for the game requirement.

• Divided into 2 separate teams with specific work: GUI + Database, Core Team.

• Coordinate between teams.

• Working under high pressure: High expectation is set for a great investment.

DIFFICULTIES AND CHALLENGES____________________________________

• Less experience. Poor engine’s documentation and support

• Lagging and performance problem

• Hackers

• Bugs like crazy with no clues

• A specific example with Mission system implementation

•Biggest lesson learnt: Never ever fear of rebuild everything from the beginning if needed because it cost much less time and resources than trying to fix a mess.Clearly set the most important goal to achieve when starting a new feature, and then step by step fulfill other goals

OUR NEXT GOALS____________________________________

• New game features to come

• Build up our knowledge and experience and skill

• Successfully publish SQUAD to 10 markets in co-operating with N.V.I.A, Ltd

• Commercialize the game in more possible markets

Thank you!

Enjoy SQUAD close beta 2 at http://squadvtc.com