Hello Channel Netmarble Readers!! 
We believe that you all have much interest in Netmarble’s upcoming games - as many as 20 under-development new games were introduced  on January 27th, at Netmarble's 5th NTP(Netmarble Together with Press) Event.
<Squad Battle>, a real-time action combat game, is one of the games that were first announced at the 5th NTP. It is about to hold its pre-alpha test from  February 16th for five days (until the 20th). Today, Ch. Netmarble met the <Squad Battle> dev team to ask about details about the game and what the pre-alpha test entails.




1. Hello! Nice to meet you all. Would you please introduce yourselves and describe what <Squad Battle> is?

Hello, we're the Squad Battle development team.

Squad Battle is a real-time action combat game where players can enjoy using various melee weapons and experience fast-paced battles. Upto 60 players can participate in a battle in which three players will be grouped as a ‘Squad’. Twenty squads then compete with each other to become the last squad standing. The game map, Cagliostro, is set in the downtown area of this city. Various objects and other interactable elements spice up the action and overall experience. The key point of the game is to capture the bases to gain an advantage on the map. Fierce and strategic battles will break out between squads as each tries to capture these points.

2. It's exciting to see Netmarble jump into the Battle Royale genre on PC, especially via the Steam platform. What led to the decision to develop a PC-first title?

Netmarble has grown and has a large user base who enjoys our mobile games. We aren't walking away from making memorable mobile games. However, we thought it was necessary to create a different kind of game on a more diverse platform, exploring interesting genres to repay our loyal fans' expectations. Ultimately, we chose to make a Battle Royale game that many users can enjoy. Rather than being bound by rules set by the developer, we wanted to create a playground that allowed players to have fun coming up with their own set of rules and strategies when facing a rapidly changing environment.

3. The action shown in-game looks unique. Is there a reason for choosing a third-person point of view?

We've been planning to use Third-person since the early stages of development. Because we have so many unique melee weapons, we decided the third-person view would provide a better perspective. So, we spent a lot of time ensuring that users would have precise controls with this camera. In addition, long-range weapons or grenades have never been an element of this game, so we felt a third-person camera would not hinder combat ability.

4. You mentioned paying close attention to weapon action. What do you plan to focus on in this pre-alpha test?

We had over ten 'focus group tests' around the world during early development. We received positive feedback regarding the unique weapons, skills, and level design. We also received some constructive criticism around balance issues with some weapons, some common questions about new rules, and the game's speed. 

After taking the testers' feedback and improving on it, we thought our game was ready to be reviewed by more users. That's why we decided to conduct a pre-alpha test, introducing 12 weapons. Balancing the weapons will be the most important factor in this test. We will listen to feedback to try and strike a balance between having unique weapons and ensuring they aren't overpowered.

In addition, we would like to prepare for the actual launch by reviewing the server stability alongside the various bugs and optimization issues that may arise during the testing phase.

5. Do you have plans to add more modes after the Pre-alpha?

Certainly, we understand that matching is essential since many players use it to play together. But for the first test, we are only testing the basic mode to facilitate the user experience during the short time. However, please note that we are also developing various other modes since our goal is to create a lot of fun real-time action battles in a single game.

6. It feels like the game has just been announced and is also undergoing a testing phase. In terms of completion, at what stage is the pre-alpha at?

Since it is not a game with a recognized IP but a game that needs to be approached by users from the start, we thought it was more important to make some foundation for a fun game. So we took some time to make the game more approachable at the start, and we were preparing for the test. Unlike the CBT of the existing game, some external tests were conducted a little early. As such, I think feedback and communication from users who will be the game's main characters together are essential in the Squad Battle. Even now, the development team is checking every comment you make on the official Squad Battle Discord as soon as they are made and checking to see if anything is missing.

I can say we're about 70% done with the game. The action-based battle system's foundation has been set, and we've already prepared various types of content to add in the future. We are also planning on implementing player suggestions as well.

7. It looked like the pre-alpha test is only available to North American players. Is it possible to play in other regions?

It will be possible to join from other regions in the future, but as is the nature of the genre, the game requires good latency. Because of this, we will be running the test for players who are in close proximity to US servers. Our goal with Squad Battle was to create an action title that can be enjoyed by players all over the world, so we plan to approach these tests step by step so players from all regions can enjoy the game as soon as possible.

8. Are there any plans for console and mobile releases?

This pre-alpha is the very first test to prove the ‘game-ability’ of Squad Battle. As a Battle Royale, we would like to invite as many users as possible to experience the game as a whole. Therefore, we are putting our effort into optimizing for low-spec PCs and providing smooth gameplay for many users. After the pre-alpha test, we plan to prepare for the best visual quality optimal to various PC speculations so every user can enjoy Squad Battle with better graphics. 

Because this is an action game that requires precise controls, our current focus is on mouse and keyboard controls. And since there are many players who prefer controllers, we plan on providing support for those peripherals as well. We plan to make Squad Battle playable on mobile, portable consoles, and other platforms once we achieve stability on PC.

9. What was your biggest concern while developing Squad Battle?

The biggest concern while developing Squad Battle was its combat action mechanics. As we are also gamers ourselves, after playing many games in our lifetime, there are too many games where you cannot control the character the exact way you want to. And as We’ve mentioned earlier, one of the development goals for Squad Battle was to create an action battler that players from every country can enjoy. So we gave a lot of thought to making a game that is both accessible and action-packed. 

Real-time action battlers involve landing attacks on enemies and taking fire from them simultaneously. We believe that focusing too heavily on one aspect will only make the game enjoyable for a small player base. After much discussion, we decided to make Squad Battle a free-aiming skill-based action title, where the player's input determines the character's movement and timing. Restricting a character's movement is a crucial part of the gameplay, so it is impossible to remove it entirely. Still, we carefully designed the game so that weapon skills and special abilities can reasonably allow you to avoid such situations. The goal was to avoid interrupting the player's input to implement natural combat mechanics. Disappointingly, of course, there were some elements that we had to abandon due to these reasons, but we decided that useless flashiness was less important than the game's balancing; we wanted to make players feel that their actions matter in each match.

We would greatly appreciate it if players understood the direction we are trying to take during this test. We will make sure to listen to all of your opinions to create a game that players can enjoy for a long time.

You can still pre-register for the Squad Battle pre-alpha test. Go to the Squad Battle Steam page and add it to your wishlist. Your interest and support are greatly appreciated! 

Find out more about the pre-alpha test on the official Discord. 

<Go to Squad Battle Steam Page>

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1688720/Squad_Battle/

<Squad Battle Official Discord Channel>

https://discord.com/invite/squadbattle