Greig’s team tested this concept with
Post Scriptum, a WWII FPS made by
Periscope Games using Squad’s
engine and published under
Offworld. “We contributed our
framework, our code, a lot of our
assets and our marketing. As opposed
to just publishing, we actually helped
them construct their dream,” Greig
says. He describes his unique
publishing division as “a bigger piece
of what OWI wants to evolve into”.
Core is still a few years down the
road, but Offworld is certainly staying
busy with Squad. And that’s good,
because there’s still plenty of room to
add new features and squash those
remaining bugs that occasionally pull
me out of the moment. Beyond its
own contributions, Offworld sees a
lot of potential for modders to help
the game live on for years, just as
they did with Project Reality over a
decade ago. You can already play a
Starship Troopers mod that turns the
game into PvE survival against an
army of giant bugs. That’s cool, but
I’m really here for what Squad
already is—an exercise in skill,
coordination, and teamwork on a
massive scale. I crave the chaotic
gunfights and social interactions that
add emotional stakes to every minute.
Playing Squad is like trying to
force a miracle into existence.
Sometimes that doesn’t happen, but
win or lose, it’s one hell of a ride.TOP: Soldiers can
stabilize their
wounds with
bandages, but they
can’t regain health
without a medic.code base. The complete engine
refresh, called Core, was described to
me as “Squad engine 2.0”. Core
incorporates new techniques and
wisdoms learned after years of
working with their own tools. Squad
itself will benefit from Core, but its
main purpose is as a framework that
Offworld can licence out to other
developers in the future. Greig
aspires to make Core the “best
framework for an FPS that exists in
the industry”. His team will work
with developers to implement Core
and guide them to their game’s
release. The relationship described to
me sounds like somewhere between
publisher and co-developer. Last yearTIME
0510152025303540 (MINS)It’d be nice if I could
land without
exploding into a
fiery wreck
So I’m supposed to be
transporting people
in this thing?!
Er, anyone else
know how to fly
one of these?IN A SPIN A typical first go with the newly introduced
and intimidatingly realistic helicoptersI already have
no idea what
I’m doing and
I’m still in the
tutorial“AS OPPOSED TO JUST PUBLISHING,
WE ACTUALLY HELPED THEM
CONSTRUCT THEIR DREAM”
CONFUSION