PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds will launch for Xbox One via Xbox Game Preview on 12th December, Microsoft has announced. The game will play on Xbox One X with HDR enhancements, while 4K support is due to be added further down the road.
Today's announcement was made during Microsoft's presentation at Paris Games Week, where PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds stars as a console launch exclusive on Xbox One.
Eurogamer caught up with the man himself, Brendan 'PlayerUnknown' Greene, and Battlegrounds' executive producer, Chang-Han Kim, to chat about the game's console launch, its battle royale genre copy cats and the differences between the Xbox One and PC versions.
In a week in which Assassin’s Creed Origins has managed to break the charts to such a degree that it somehow not only appears three> times, but also stopped Feedly from being able to display the rest of the games in the correct order, we also see a few other new entries. But absolutely no new names. (more…)
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds aims to roll out its long-awaited vaulting and climbing mechanics this week on test server—however it appears the online battle royale game could now face being banned entirely in China, the game's biggest region by player population.
That's according to this Bloomberg report (via Gamesindustry.biz) which suggests the game's last-person standing, battle to the death-style makeup presents a "deviation" from the country's "socialist core values and traditional Chinese culture and ethical norms".
In turn, the Chinese content watchdog reckons PUBG is "not conducive to the physical and mental health of young consumers".
Loosely translated by Google, here's the watchdog's advice to Chinese developers that might echo games such as PUBG: "To this end, I recommend the domestic game companies should not arrange [research and develop], the introduction of such games, do not advocate to test such a way to attract users. At the same time, gaming, live and other platforms should not be such games to provide publicity, promotion and other services."
Recently, a Chinese Terminator 2 mobile game surfaced that includes a suspiciously familiar battle royale mode. The company responsible, NetEase, works in partnership with Blizzard in operating online games such as Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and StarCraft 2 in the region.
Update: As detailed in our original story below, PUBG was expected to roll out its much-anticipated vaulting and climbing features this week via its test servers. Unfortunately, an unexpected issue during internal testing has postponed the new additions.
Bluehole hasn't provided much on the hows and whys of the delay, besides suggesting it's to "allow for a smooth testing of the new features and content."
We'll update as and when we know more.
Original story: PUBG creator Brendan Greene said in June that vaulting, climbing, and diving would all be coming to the game, a plan that was firmed up a few months later when he said that the vaulting part, at least, was expected to go live in November. It turns out that he was pretty much dead-on with the estimate, as the PUBG team announced on Steam today that "we will be running the test servers for PC 1.0 for the first time next week," giving players an opportunity to climb, vault, and test changes to driving, ballistics, and other "features and systems."
"Crossing and scaling obstacles may intermittently create many new tactical options available to the players. The standard jump feature can be used in standard situations, but there are many areas where it does not suffice. After all, PUBG features a play area of considerable proportions. In addition, objects located on the map differ greatly in shape and size," the developers wrote. "Such complexity can cause many problems for the players who need to rely on fast and effective means of jumping over (or on top of) boxes, containers, fences etc. For that reason we have decided to implement dynamic vaulting and climbing mechanics."
The initial plan was to enable climbing objects of up to one meter in height, but that was eventually increased to a height limit of roughly 2.3 meters. Almost anything can be climbed as long as the height is right; players will be able to climb chest-high objects with a weapon in hand, while those that are higher will require two hands, so your weapon will automatically be holstered before you start to ascend.
Predictably, implementing the new system will be a complex undertaking. The post digs into the technical elements a little, but the bottom line is that it will probably be a rocky road to start with. "Due to the nature of this system, we expect possible issues, bugs and problems to occur," the PUBG team said. "Ironing out this feature may take some more time, but we do hope you will have a lot of fun with it and make great use of it. We are eagerly awaiting your feedback and reports."
The developers also promised ongoing efforts against PUBG cheaters, including "new measures to better identify and track" the people who play unfairly.
"For a very long time, our development team has been analyzing data from a large pool of users who show abnormal gameplay behavior to build a system that helps us positively identify cheaters. We are now able to use the system to identify and ban these users more proactively. Using this system, we have already identified and banned about 20K additional users in only one day," the message says.
"This is only a start. On top of BattlEye, we will use a monitoring system to strengthen our efforts to prevent use of cheats and impose penalties on them. We promise you that we will continue to do our best to quickly find and ban people who use cheats. We hope you will start to see an improvement going forward."
One thing that isn't coming, however, is a single-player campaign: Greene confirmed with Gamespot at PAX Australia that despite wanting to do it, there's no time, no resources, and "no plans to add anything like this to the game. No single-player is coming to Battlegrounds."
Good news, PUBG-pals, the wait for vaulting and climbing is almost over! No longer will you get stuck on a fence as your squad points and laughs at your inability to just jump over it like a person. The feature isn t quite ready for the live version of the early access game, but you ll be able to take it for a spin in the new 1.0 test servers next week. Also up for testing are client and server optimisation, a ballistics overhaul and changes to driving.
We’re excited to share that we will be running the test servers for PC 1.0 for the first time next week! We would like to invite our players to test vaulting & climbing and other existing features and systems we have modified. The test servers will be up for several days to allow everyone to try out the test build and give feedback.
Key changes:
Client and server optimization
Added vaulting & climbing
Changes in vehicle driving
Ballistics overhaul
We have made changes to some mechanics to make them more realistic and balanced. However, all changes are not final and we need your feedback after testing. In addition, this is only the first test build so there will be issues and bugs that have not been fixed yet. But we would like to assure you that we will do our best to address most of those issues when we release 1.0 unless there is a critical roadblock.
Patch notes will be posted early next week but we wanted to explain a little bit about vaulting & climbing today. Action & Gunplay Lead Pawel Smolewski has written a piece about the feature.
Vaulting & Climbing
Crossing and scaling obstacles may intermittently create many new tactical options available to the players. The standard jump feature can be used in standard situations, but there are many areas where it does not suffice. After all, PUBG features a play area of considerable proportions. In addition, objects located on the map differ greatly in shape and size. Such complexity can cause many problems for the players who need to rely on fast and effective means of jumping over (or on top of) boxes, containers, fences etc. For that reason we have decided to implement dynamic vaulting and climbing mechanics.
This feature enables in-game characters to quickly scale obstacles in front of them. Although we initially planned to allow crossing over structures which are up to 1 meter high, we have eventually decided to extend the functionality of the feature by increasing the limit to about 2.3 meters. Almost any static object that meets the dimension criteria can be scaled. Additionally, passing through openings in structures (such as windows) is possible as long as they are wide and tall enough. You may scale almost any static object which is short enough. Objects which are chest level high can be scaled with a weapon in hand. Taller structures that require pulling up to vault need to be performed with both hands free of any items (they will be holstered automatically when animation is played). Running towards the obstacle will generate momentum that will ensure faster motion. Performing the action from stationary position is also possible but the animation played will be slower, leaving players vulnerable for a longer period of time.
On the technical side the system consists of about 40 animations adjusted for different heights and situations. We internally use the term vaulting to describe the action that involves crossing over an obstacle while climbing refers to a motion that will cause the character to remain on top of it. By default control over vaulting and climbing is placed on the same key as jump and is context based. However, we do provide the players with a possibility of splitting the jump and vaulting actions to separate key-bindings in the controls section of in-game settings. When attempting to vault, the geometry of the objects in front of the character is scanned and an algorithm decides whether vaulting action can be performed and what type of animation can be used to get across or on top of it. Climbing will be preferred whenever there is enough space for the character to stand up. However, vaulting can be enforced by holding sprint button while moving – if the obstacle is thin enough, character will slide or cross over. Motion that involves pulling up can be cancelled before reaching the apex by starting to move in the opposite direction.
Due to the nature of this system, we expect possible issues, bugs and problems to occur. Ironing out this feature may take some more time, but we do hope you will have a lot of fun with it and make great use of it. We are eagerly awaiting your feedback and reports.
In the next few days, we will also touch on other important changes. Please stay tuned for more updates on the test server.
Regarding the use of cheats, we will be doing everything we can and use all resources available to detect and impose penalties on users who use cheats. Recently, we have implemented new measures to better identify and track their usage. We have designed reliable systems to do this more efficiently than before.
For a very long time, our development team has been analyzing data from a large pool of users who show abnormal gameplay behavior to build a system that helps us positively identify cheaters. We are now able to use the system to identify and ban these users more proactively. Using this system, we have already identified and banned about 20K additional users in only one day.
This is only a start. On top of BattlEye, we will use a monitoring system to strengthen our efforts to prevent use of cheats and impose penalties on them. We promise you that we will continue to do our best to quickly find and ban people who use cheats. We hope you will start to see an improvement going forward.
Thank you. The PUBG Development and Community Team
We’re excited to share that we will be running the test servers for PC 1.0 for the first time next week! We would like to invite our players to test vaulting & climbing and other existing features and systems we have modified. The test servers will be up for several days to allow everyone to try out the test build and give feedback.
Key changes:
Client and server optimization
Added vaulting & climbing
Changes in vehicle driving
Ballistics overhaul
We have made changes to some mechanics to make them more realistic and balanced. However, all changes are not final and we need your feedback after testing. In addition, this is only the first test build so there will be issues and bugs that have not been fixed yet. But we would like to assure you that we will do our best to address most of those issues when we release 1.0 unless there is a critical roadblock.
Patch notes will be posted early next week but we wanted to explain a little bit about vaulting & climbing today. Action & Gunplay Lead Pawel Smolewski has written a piece about the feature.
Vaulting & Climbing
Crossing and scaling obstacles may intermittently create many new tactical options available to the players. The standard jump feature can be used in standard situations, but there are many areas where it does not suffice. After all, PUBG features a play area of considerable proportions. In addition, objects located on the map differ greatly in shape and size. Such complexity can cause many problems for the players who need to rely on fast and effective means of jumping over (or on top of) boxes, containers, fences etc. For that reason we have decided to implement dynamic vaulting and climbing mechanics.
This feature enables in-game characters to quickly scale obstacles in front of them. Although we initially planned to allow crossing over structures which are up to 1 meter high, we have eventually decided to extend the functionality of the feature by increasing the limit to about 2.3 meters. Almost any static object that meets the dimension criteria can be scaled. Additionally, passing through openings in structures (such as windows) is possible as long as they are wide and tall enough. You may scale almost any static object which is short enough. Objects which are chest level high can be scaled with a weapon in hand. Taller structures that require pulling up to vault need to be performed with both hands free of any items (they will be holstered automatically when animation is played). Running towards the obstacle will generate momentum that will ensure faster motion. Performing the action from stationary position is also possible but the animation played will be slower, leaving players vulnerable for a longer period of time.
On the technical side the system consists of about 40 animations adjusted for different heights and situations. We internally use the term vaulting to describe the action that involves crossing over an obstacle while climbing refers to a motion that will cause the character to remain on top of it. By default control over vaulting and climbing is placed on the same key as jump and is context based. However, we do provide the players with a possibility of splitting the jump and vaulting actions to separate key-bindings in the controls section of in-game settings. When attempting to vault, the geometry of the objects in front of the character is scanned and an algorithm decides whether vaulting action can be performed and what type of animation can be used to get across or on top of it. Climbing will be preferred whenever there is enough space for the character to stand up. However, vaulting can be enforced by holding sprint button while moving – if the obstacle is thin enough, character will slide or cross over. Motion that involves pulling up can be cancelled before reaching the apex by starting to move in the opposite direction.
Due to the nature of this system, we expect possible issues, bugs and problems to occur. Ironing out this feature may take some more time, but we do hope you will have a lot of fun with it and make great use of it. We are eagerly awaiting your feedback and reports.
In the next few days, we will also touch on other important changes. Please stay tuned for more updates on the test server.
Regarding the use of cheats, we will be doing everything we can and use all resources available to detect and impose penalties on users who use cheats. Recently, we have implemented new measures to better identify and track their usage. We have designed reliable systems to do this more efficiently than before.
For a very long time, our development team has been analyzing data from a large pool of users who show abnormal gameplay behavior to build a system that helps us positively identify cheaters. We are now able to use the system to identify and ban these users more proactively. Using this system, we have already identified and banned about 20K additional users in only one day.
This is only a start. On top of BattlEye, we will use a monitoring system to strengthen our efforts to prevent use of cheats and impose penalties on them. We promise you that we will continue to do our best to quickly find and ban people who use cheats. We hope you will start to see an improvement going forward.
Thank you. The PUBG Development and Community Team
Gather round, plunkbatters and PUBGilists. Put aside your differences in nomenclature for a moment and enjoy some trivia courtesy of Chris Bratt from Eurogamer. His Here s a Thing series of videos are short forays into the nooks and crannies of the game industry and this one is about the frying pan of Playerunknown s Battlegrounds a last-resort item that bloodsports folk use to hit their enemies. The thing is: it accidentally became a bulletproof bum-protector, as Chris explains. There s more details about this ultimate insult-weapon in the accompanying article, but I understand you may not have time to read it, embedded as you are in your war of words. I hear the ‘PUBG’ vs ‘Plunkbat’ conflict is complete… pan>demonium.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' blue zone is now deadlier than ever thanks to a new patch, and the further you are from the safe zone on the map, the more damage you'll take over time. That won't apply to the first circle, though, which means you'll still be able to hike a fair distance in the blue zone early on and live to tell the tale.
In case you weren't aware, PUBG's map has an ever-tightening play area. Anyone caught outside of that area is said to be in the blue zone, and gradually takes damage over time. Developer Bluehole announced last week that the blue zone would become more dangerous, although it didn't specify the exact mechanics. Now we know. The patch has been running on the test servers since Monday, and now it's live for everyone. It's roughly a 2GB download (fairly beefy, but that could be because you have to re-download existing assets).
The objective of the patch is to encourage more players to prioritise the safe zone, which should lead to more focused firefights. I think the way it's implemented should just about work: it will mean that players head for the circle earlier, which could speed up the action.
The wording on Bluehole's initial announcement suggested the patch was only for the test servers and wouldn't be live on the main servers until the game fully released (it said it "would merge improvements, bug fixes, and other features, all at once to the test servers, which will then be implemented cumulatively for the 1.0 release"), but there you have it.
This is Playstyle Royale, where I head into Playerunknown s Battlegrounds and try to win my chicken dinner while adhering to arbitrary rules. This week s rule comes from Balnakor, who suggested this in the comments from last time:
Conflict avoidance: loot up how you like, but you can t use any weapon apart from smoke/stun grenades until you are in the last two.
For added tension, I m only giving myself five attempts. It s going to be a tough one.
