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Squadron 42 Will Release in 2026 for PC with 30-40 Hours of Campaign, Prologue Gameplay Revealed
- Thread starter TxKnight7
- Start date
Snake29
Banned
Some beautiful redditor posted a bunch of comparison shots of this year's demonstration and last year's. The jump in quality is dramatic.
kutthoat5150
Member
Was hoping for a 2025 window but sounds like the PU is getting enough content to justify the jump back in to while waiting for SC. That said, despite the game looking like Cyberpunk 1.0 when it came out with the bugs and glitches, thought it looked decent. I know it's just the prologue but I was expecting some better emotional impact with it being so cinematic heavy. It almost feels rushed how you they put you right in the combat so quickly.
Comandr
Member
Oh sweet. What I'd really like to see is a DF style analysis of the changes. You can see quite a lot of changes on Bishop (Gary Oldman), from enhanced detail in the material of his uniform, to adding name tags to all the crew, to proper self-shadowing of clothing elements. The button strap on the jacket now casts a shadow - adding depth and realism. The granular detail is really impressive.
s_mirage
Member
Some beautiful redditor posted a bunch of comparison shots of this year's demonstration and last year's. The jump in quality is dramatic.
Hmm. The overall quality has improved, but it seems worse in an aspect that a lot of modern games seem to suffer from: why does everything have to look so fucking soft and lacking in contrast? Are they HDR images badly tonemapped to SDR? Also, incoming green tint alert.
Prekk
Member
Haha. What the fuck is going on?
I hope they'll never release this "game" or anything. This is just too funny to watch.
I can't even tell anymore who's being sarcastic and who's being delusional.
Comandr
Member
I imagine that they've increased the brightness for the demonstration. The beautiful thing about computers is you can change the settings to fit your specific tastes. The game has HDR support, and if that's not enough, reshade exists.
clarky
Gold Member
Some beautiful redditor posted a bunch of comparison shots of this year's demonstration and last year's. The jump in quality is dramatic.
To be honest there mate the 2023 stuff is perfectly fine.
CityHunter1981
Member
Other games are also not being worked on for 14 years.
Between 1990 and 1997, we had 5 main Wing Commander games and a lot of spinoffs.
Look also at GTA or Red Dead Redemption, these games are full of content at the highest possible quality and also “only” take 7-8 years.
Comandr
Member
I don't disagree. It's fine, in a vacuum. But compared to the 2024 shots, a lot of the lighting looks very video gamey and the details come across very flat.
The problem is - after all these years in development, and all the money spent - it can't be fine, it needs to blow people away, or half of neogaf will have their pitchforks ready to march on the studio, chanting "it was a scam!"
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Buggy Loop
Member
They've probably moved to their new GI also (software RT or RTGI). It looks like before they were hero lights, while now its more grounded realistically with what is going on, like ships being lit from the sun in space, the cloud colors.
clarky
Gold Member
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Comandr
Member
I completely agree. The hero lighting on characters was pretty obvious before where now it seems they've opted for a more holistic approach to lighting. That seems to be Roberts' design ethos throughout production. While many developers will implement tricks and cheats to make something work - magic elevators for instance - it's clear that the focus is on REAL systems. That's why we got very long videos on how real weather will work now.
That's a core thing I don't think many people understand about this production.
Redneckerz
Those long posts don't cover that red neck boy
I honestly don't get Dr Wilkinson in this thread: Most of the criticism i read in this thread made it sound like it was about Star Citizen.
But it is about SQ42. What?
SQ42 is pretty much the only thing these few years that CI has shown off and has shown off more and more like a proper game, compared to the always-developing SC.
Them coming out with a launch date when they know how much that has bitten them in the butt these years is telling.
Lets be real, SQ42 is where it really is at, because its far smaller in scale, yet it is still chokeful of ambition in tech. I am not going to lie that SQ42 gives me Cyberpunk 2077 vibes.
2026 is far away. And for something that is now in the feature complete state since 2023, that's really far away.
But if there is ever going to be a fully developed and finished product, its going to be this.
This is saying as someone with zero stock in CI.
But it is about SQ42. What?
SQ42 is pretty much the only thing these few years that CI has shown off and has shown off more and more like a proper game, compared to the always-developing SC.
Them coming out with a launch date when they know how much that has bitten them in the butt these years is telling.
Lets be real, SQ42 is where it really is at, because its far smaller in scale, yet it is still chokeful of ambition in tech. I am not going to lie that SQ42 gives me Cyberpunk 2077 vibes.
2026 is far away. And for something that is now in the feature complete state since 2023, that's really far away.
But if there is ever going to be a fully developed and finished product, its going to be this.
This is saying as someone with zero stock in CI.
{insert code here}
Member
Ribi
Member
Same
Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
What is ambitious about Squadron 42? Have they said anything about the scope or design that's interesting? That hour long gameplay look was a real b*oner killer for me.
Comandr
Member
I actually thought this was a really well thought out onboarding process. Get the player accustomed to simple controls first before graduating them to harder stuff. Being dumped into a cockpit with very complicated flight controls does not make for a great onboarding experience. As someone that has spent years getting accustomed to the flight controls each time I leave and come back, I found myself watching the demo continually thinking what a great tutorial it was. As you see below, there are a LOT of controls.
This demo is old as fuck and still looks sick as hell. Can't wait to see what it looks like updated.
This demo from last year shows a bunch of the scope and design and it looks amazing.
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Redneckerz
Those long posts don't cover that red neck boy
Most of the tech seen in SC is also in Squadron 42 on a more condensed 40 hour scale. 40 hours is quite a lot, too.
I am sorry but its like you are asking what is ambitious about Cyberpunk 2077. I don't think i need to link to the tech video of last year, knowing that SQ42 has the same tech..
FIREKNIGHT2029
Member
^ ^ Your typical Star Citizen hater with room temperature IQ. Haven't we been waiting for GTA6 longer? Are you less excited to play GTA6 because you want it out sooner? What a dumb statement.This is the IQ of a star citizen supporter. Having to explain that a decade is 10 years and being happy with that time frame
Buggy Loop
Member
The small trailer at the end of it all kinds of explains what's after the prologue but imo, it was too short for peoples seeing the game for the first time.
Prologue is really just how insignificant you start in this universe. You're just a gunner on a fleet of thousands. You failed the exam to be a pilot. You could have been a cleaner in a vessel for all that matters. Thing is how you'll develop afterwards in the story. You'll pass your flight exams. You'll be paired with a grumpy veteran, played by Mark Hamill, and the idea is that this skeleton crew of Squadron 42 will make a huge dent in history by beating the living shit out of the Vanduuls. Branching missions too if I recall.
Last year's trailer went more into what's after and what kind of game it'll be.
Sometimes like a marine, a pilot, a recon team, etc.
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Kenneth Haight
Gold Member
Buggy Loop
Member
blastprocessor
The Amiga Brotherhood
You’d have thought the prologue would look polished by now given it’s been a year since they said they started polishing.
Buggy Loop
Member
And it is? What the hell parallel universe is this?
If I could get the prologue demo right fucking now I would jump on it.
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
WTF is happening here!? the face changing to entire different person?
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Buggy Loop
Member
A memory error most than likely, like trying to load the gunner leader (JK simmons?) but at the wrong npc / wrong time. Seems easy enough to fix. Considering the amount of stuffs it loaded for those insane space scenes, including loading to a planet surface instantly in real-time while still seeing the ships in the sky @ this time stamp, surprising it held that well.
Shit happens, even for the "best" studios.
The list of glitch in games is a loonngggggg one.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
maybe we need a 
emoji reaction
emoji reactionReizo Ryuu
Member
I'm guessing they are using some kind of morph system to generate random faces, but the skeleton being animated somehow broke the morph and reverted it back to the base model, then when the animation completed it morphed back into the generated face.
RPSleon
Member
They were not working on duke nukem for 14 years, it was and on again off again project with several failed attempts and finally a game released that was made very quickly. The product that came out wasnt the result of 14 years of work. Find a better argument. Game development rarely takes 10 years+
Buggy Loop
Member
Right
So we're open to the fact that in late 2015, Crytek came in CIG offices with seamless tech which changed everything onwards?
The time they were sued 9 times by Crytek (and crytek lost all of them)? The Amazon lumberyard engine discontinued? Basically forcing them to say fuck it, we'll do in-house? You know the kind of R&D that is?
Or that also Squadron 42 has not had the full crew of devs, nor all the years of development, nor the full funding, because there's also the Star Citizen MMO in the picture? Just want to make sure it goes both ways the logic here.
Hrk69
Member
Still sounds like a bunch of excuses
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Buggy Loop
Member
Ah so it doesn't go both ways, we just kick CIG for shits and giggles, got it. Pretty damn clear.
Most studios would have folded with the year of lawsuits and an engine rug pull.
We're also gonna say that SQ42 got the full funding and dev crew to work on it for all these years? SC doesn't pull the blanket in the bed? The one that got like 9/10th of the total funding? That's the level of logic we stoop to? Fucking hell.
I'm out, if peoples argue in bad faith for a quick dopamine "LOL", I'll leave, no interest in those kind of one way discussions on a gaming forum.
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FIREKNIGHT2029
Member
It's a videeogame like any other game. "Cultural statement" my ass.
I'm equally hyped to play both games and being excited for a game is part of being a gamer. I don't need labels like "cultural statement" to get me excited to play a game I've been waiting years for. You sound like a Sheep.
Hrk69
Member
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Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
I'm now in on this big time. As a Wing Commander and FPS fan this game is looking top shelf great. Can't wait. Sure SQ42 and Star Citizen have been a loooong time coming but this is now looking epic AF. Take your time to finish this right. It's finally getting to the stages of seeing what they've been aiming at all this time.
Watching that prologue was crazy, the amount of money spent on that small section puts Call of Duty to shame. Never seen a game have that many explosions and high production in a game's opening. I like making fun of Star Citizen as anyone else, but it seems like some of that money is actually being spent on making a blockbuster game with insane production values. I'm very sceptical of 2026 release, it seems more like a showcase to get more funding. I think 2028 or later is probably more realistic.
It could of course never release and end up being a vapourware like many people think.
It could of course never release and end up being a vapourware like many people think.
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Life Diff
Member
Of course, you are a star citizen defender too
I wouldn't use DNF as an example of a succesful development effort. But technically after 1999 it was one continuous project that went through a content restart post 2002 due to an engine upgrade and had a big change of direction mid-way through when they pivoted to making a standard Duke3D sequel. However you can still find stuff from the 2001 build in the finished product.
What people forget about DNF is 3DR only had like 30 people working on it for most of its development.
Lucifers Beard
Member
Providing this delivers on all of the areas they've been talking about over the years, I imagine this will be a benchmark game for a long time.
It's annoying that they've taken this long but it does look awesome and even the current early access build is impressive when I log on to check it out every once in a while.
It's annoying that they've taken this long but it does look awesome and even the current early access build is impressive when I log on to check it out every once in a while.
ShadowNate
Member
I've been seeing DNF being used as an example of a long development time specifically to justify the Star Citizen scam for so many years, and I'm sure no one using it actually followed DNF development or read the (I'm sure) multiple "sit down" replies explaining the DNF case to them so they wouldn't keep embarrassing themselves.
Yet, here we are, Duke Nukem still being brought up.
It's funny to see it though.
Yet, here we are, Duke Nukem still being brought up.
It's funny to see it though.
ozz ex machina
Member
In about 10 years there is going to be an amazing documentary about this star citizen saga and what a shit show it was. It will be the most interesting thing to ever actually be released relating to star citizen.
ShadowNate
Member
Oh man Lumberyard was discontinued? Who saw that coming, lol (I think everyone).
That Lumberyard switch was such a joke by the way. They never actually switched to new versions of the engine, which Lumberyard developed off from (being itself a fork of CryEngine). They remained exactly where they were, in their own fork of old CryEngine (3 something iirc), doing their own hacks -- they had to, since CryEngine never supported expansive space levels, space flight, and the other things that Star Citizen aspired to (eventually) do.
So what did they actually do for the Lumberyard "switch"? They adopted the license, since Lumberyard included license for historic CryEngine releases.
That. was. it.
That Lumberyard switch was such a joke by the way. They never actually switched to new versions of the engine, which Lumberyard developed off from (being itself a fork of CryEngine). They remained exactly where they were, in their own fork of old CryEngine (3 something iirc), doing their own hacks -- they had to, since CryEngine never supported expansive space levels, space flight, and the other things that Star Citizen aspired to (eventually) do.
So what did they actually do for the Lumberyard "switch"? They adopted the license, since Lumberyard included license for historic CryEngine releases.
That. was. it.
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TVexperto
Member
Friend, its been 12+ years of the constant demo cycle of show cool things, give 2 year release date window, miss the window of release etc, delays .. How can you expect people not to be upset when theres 2 crashes and a ton of bugs in a 50 minute walkthrough that was 90% cutscenes of the prologue after this many years? If the prologue is this bad imagine how unpolished the rest of the game must be when the player actually gets to play the game! Not to mention this means sq42 will hog resources from PU for a minimum of 2-3 more years.
clarky
Gold Member
OMG i'd never thought of any of this thank god you are here!!!!!