PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds reopens the doors to its third map this week for another round of testing. Previously known as Codename: Savage, it has now been given a final name: Sanhok.
You'll be able to board a plane and leap out into Sanhok from Friday, 11th May at 3am UK time, until Monday 14th May at midday.
Anyone who owns PUBG on Steam can access the test.
Update: Just a bit of clarification: if you activated a code for an earlier test of this map, but don't own PUBG, you'll still be able to playtest the map this Thursday. If you never got a code, but you do own PUBG, you'll also be able to test the map. Basically, the only ones who won't be able to partake in the upcoming test are those who never activated a code and don't own the game.
As PUBG Corporation put it when I asked: "Everyone who was given Steam codes to the Experimental Server prior to it going "open" for all PUBG owners will continue to have access. If they do not own the base PUBG package, they will continue to own and keep access to the experimental server by virtue of their earlier activation."
Original story: PUBG's 4x4km map, codenamed Savage, has a new round of player testing coming soon, as well as a new name. It's called 'Sanhok' now, and if you're wondering why, I'll explain in a moment. The player testing will begin Thursday, May 10, at 7 pm Pacific time, and run until Monday, May 14, at 4 am Pacific.
That's good news for those who enjoyed PUBG's smaller map and the accelerated matches it produced, and even better news if you didn't get to try it for yourself: unlike the two previous tests, this one doesn't require a code. As long as you own PUBG, you can join in.
As for the new name, Sanhok, a press release we received explains:
"The vibrant plantlife, map-splitting waterways, and distinct structures and villages that span the map are inspired by the islands that dot the Southeast Pacific Ocean along Thailand, the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian countries. From that inspiration, and by combining the Thai word for “fun”, สนุก (pronounced sah-nook) and the Tagalog word for “chicken”, manok (pronounced mah-nok), the official name of the map, Sanhok, was born."
Personally, I will probably continue to call it Savage because I am stubbornly resistant to change. Speaking of which, we don't yet have patch notes on what may have changed since the previous test of Sav—sorry, Sanhok, though we're told we'll see "many fixes and updates" based on player feedback. PUBG Corp will release more specifics on Wednesday.
Bluehole ran into a serious issue this week, as their servers crashed 24 hours into the return of their 50 player deathmatch mode. War Plunkbat was the temporary return of the team deathmatch from last month, which breaks from PUBG s traditional once you re gone you re gone structure and allows you to respawn. There are ten teams of five and everyone starts with top-tier loot. Or, would start with top-tier loot, if anyone was able to connect to the game. Desert Knights mode was supposed to run until the end of the weekend, but had to be yanked by Friday afternoon after a Thursday night launch. (more…)
The folks of Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds have made one of the most significant adjustments to how the game is played, via the Weapons Balance Update (Patch 12), which re-balanced everything from damage to scope reticle to movement speeds while certain weapons are equipped. It’s such an intricate and deep re-alignment of the entire game that Plunkbat players are encouraged to take part in a new survey in order to make sure PUBG Corporation haven’t, you know, completely ruined the game. In exchange, there is a lottery system for survey participant rewards.
Also, if you’re still not on board with Plunkbat, please read about Plunkbat’s creator agreeing with you. You’re wrong, though, and so is he.
On Thursday evening, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds launched its time-limited Desert Knights mode, a 50-player deathmatch pitting ten five-person teams against each other in a small corner of Miramar. It was meant to run until the end of the weekend, but on Friday afternoon developer Bluehole had to pull the plug early because it was messing up the game's servers and stopping players from connecting to PUBG altogether.
That's bad timing, to say the least. Players had less than 24 hours to try out the mode, and it didn't make it through to the weekend, which would have been peak playing time. I suppose the team had no choice but to pull it when they discovered that it was causing issues elsewhere, but that won't be much consolation to players that were eager to dive in.
PUBG's first deathmatch mode, which ran last month, went a lot smoother, so here's hoping that the hiccup with Desert Knights was a one-off. My guess would be that Desert Knights will return soon, giving players that missed out another chance to play it.
The ability to trade in-game items between players has been switched off in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for the foreseeable future - to stop the sale of these items using third-party sites.
In a new blog, PUBG Corp. called the decision a "temporary" measure, but there was no mention of how it might solve the problem, or what timeframe this could take.
To clarify, this does not involve the sale of items via the Steam marketplace. This is about the "personal trade" system which PUBG Corp. says was "supposed to allow friends to trade items without any costs attached".
I was just about to tell you how I’m looking forward to War mode, the (sorta) new event for Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds. Then I got caught off guard by just how edgy and ridiculous it sounds to get excited about something with a double-barrelled reference to conflict in its name. It’s a travesty that there’s nothing else we could call it.
Warm Plunkbat is the imminent and temporary return of the team deathmatch mode from last month, which breaks from PUBG’s traditional ‘once you’re gone you’re gone’ structure and lets you respawn. This time round though, it’s played with ten teams of five and everyone starts with top-tier loot. I wasn’t around for the last one, so I’m intrigued to see how Plunkbat plays when most of the tension of dying gets cut away. It kicks off at 3am, so if anyone’s mega keen you’ll only need to stay up for a few more hours.
Personal item trading in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been temporarily turned off according to a news post developers PUBG Corporation released through Steam today.
To clarify, personal item trades are when you give another player an item in your inventory for free. It's one of two methods of trading available on Steam, the other being selling those items through the Steam Marketplace.
The PUBG Corporation didn't say much on why this decision was made, only that it has "seen a few cases of players using the personal trade function to sell items using third party sites." PUBG Corporation has deemed this a violation of their system, and is turning off personal trades while it searches for "a better solution."
While personal item trades are intended to be a simple way of, say, giving a friend an item you don't want, the system has been used to handle the sale of in-game items on Steam in exchange for real money. This, of course, is no surprise to those who have been following the controversy surrounding third-party item selling in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
For years, CS:GO players have been selling their skins on third-party websites in exchange for money. This grey market was placed under a spotlight two years ago thanks to the rise of gambling websites that let players risk their weapon skins in games of chance. In response, Valve began cracking down on gambling websites for being in violation of its Steam Subscriber Agreement, stating that their "commercial use of Steam accounts is unlicensed and in violation of the SSA."
Nearly a month ago, Valve announced stricter rules regarding personal item trading in CS:GO. Now, players have to wait seven days before they can trade an item, which Valve hopes will curb scammers and fraud.
It's been an ongoing problem on Steam's virtual item economy, one that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is struggling with too. The PUBG Corporation said that "once we figure out a way to prevent abuse, the restriction will be lifted." But didn't specify a window for when that may be. It's an understandable move, however. Since PUBG first implemented tradeable items, players have worked tirelessly to find ways to exploit the game.