Hey buds,

Codename: Savage is coming back for a second round of testing on the Closed Experimental Server. We’re also re-opening our signup website and giving out more keys. If you already got a key for the CES last time around, you’re good to go.

Dates for both below:

• OPENS: Sat, April 14, 5am PDT / April 14, 2pm CEST / April 14, 9pm KST
  
• CLOSES: Tues, April 17, 5am PDT / April 17, 2pm CEST / April 17, 9pm KST

• OPENS: Mon, April 16, 6pm PDT / Tues, April 17, 3am CEST / April 17, 10am KST
  
• CLOSES: Wed, April 18, 6pm PDT / Thur, April 19, 3am CEST / April 19, 10am KST

We’ll publish another post this coming Monday to share our plans for testing Savage over the next couple of months.

See you soon!

Love,
PUBG Corp.

Hi friends,

This patch we’re tweaking the blue zone and doing some renovations on Miramar. Expect to see a couple of long-requested quality-of-life changes as well. Please leave us feedback about these changes! If the changes are working as intended, we’ll bring them over to the live server this week. We’ll keep you updated.

Love, PUBG Corp.


We’ve adjusted safe zone and blue zone functionality. Also, in-game clothing spawns have been removed.

• Blue zone delay time has been reduced. You’ll be given less time to linger between phases.
  
• The maximum movement speed of the blue zone has been reduced. The blue zone will move more slowly toward the end of the game.
  
• The damage inflicted by 7th, 8th, and 9th blue zones has been increased.
  
• Except for the first blue zone, the probability of creating an extreme safe zone (one far away from the center of the previous circle) has been reduced by 30%.
  
• The final blue zone will narrow down to the center instead of narrowing down to a random spot, and the total wait time including the blue zone inactive time has been reduced. (195 seconds to 90 seconds)
  
• As the end of the match approaches, the safe zone will increasingly favor areas with land over areas with water.
  
• On Erangel specifically, the first safe zone will now be revealed 30 seconds earlier.
  
• On Miramar specifically, players can now see the first safe zone while flying in the airplane. (We may or may not carry this over to the next live update. We want your feedback about this change.)
  
• In-game clothing spawns have been removed from all maps. Other item spawn balance remains the same.

Improvements were made mainly on Northern part (Northeast, Northwest) of the Miramar to make it a more appealing area.

• The Oasis can now be found in the north, and Alcantara village has been added to the northwest.
  
• We’ve added more roads, off-road paths, and car spawning positions to facilitate easy travel into and out of the area.
  
• Higher-tier loot is now more likely to spawn in specific areas of the north of Miramar.
  
• We’ve optimized the GPU performance of buildings seen from mid-range (all maps).

• Improvements to teams
  
  • You can now send requests for invitations by clicking the invite button on another player’s career screen.
    
  • If you are a team leader, you can now kick your team members.
    
    • You can also kick any team member using “Team” tab in the friends list, found at the bottom right corner of the screen..

• Footsteps should now always make sound when walking on tarp, carpet
  
• Fixed an issue causing some objects to become invisible at particular distances
  
• Indoor plants should no longer block bullets
  
• Fixed and removed some weirdly-placed road signs, plants, and stairs
  
• Fixed an issue that broke the killer spectating function whenever the killer died too quickly after taking out the spectating player
  
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused players to take no damage when exiting a moving vehicle

Players,

Tequila Sunrise is a new Event Mode that’ll run for just 72 hours. TL;DR: It’s shotguns and melee weapons ONLY, on Miramar, for four-man squads.
Check below for the full details, including some spicy info on how we’ve customized the safe zone system for this mode.

• STARTS: April 5th, 7pm PDT / April 6th, 4am CEST / April 6th, 11AM KST
  
• ENDS: April 8th, 7pm PDT / April 9th, 4am CEST / April 9th, 11AM KST

• Squads (All Regions)
  
  • You can choose to turn Auto Matching either on or off in the main menu. The default state is "On"
• NA/EU/AS: TPP & FPP
  
• KR/JP/SA/SEA/OC : TPP only

• Weapons
  
  • Shotguns (3x spawn rate)
    
  • Melee Weapons (3x spawn rate)
    
  • No other weapons
• Items
  
  • Bag/Helmet/Armor Lv.3 (3x spawn rate)
    
  • Bag/Helmet/Armor Lv.1 (0.5x spawn rate)
    
  • Ammunition (3x spawn rate)

• Immediately after the plane gets into the air, the first safe zone is visible on the map.
  
• The first safe zone will be smaller than its normal size.

• Time of day is locked at sunrise.
  
• Care packages are disabled.

Let us know what you think!

Players,

Tequila Sunrise is a new Event Mode that’ll run for just 72 hours. TL;DR: It’s shotguns and melee weapons ONLY, on Miramar, for four-man squads.
Check below for the full details, including some spicy info on how we’ve customized the safe zone system for this mode.

• STARTS: April 5th, 7pm PDT / April 6th, 4am CEST / April 6th, 11AM KST
  
• ENDS: April 8th, 7pm PDT / April 9th, 4am CEST / April 9th, 11AM KST

• Squads (All Regions)
  
  • You can choose to turn Auto Matching either on or off in the main menu. The default state is "On"
• NA/EU/AS: TPP & FPP
  
• KR/JP/SA/SEA/OC : TPP only

• Weapons
  
  • Shotguns (3x spawn rate)
    
  • Melee Weapons (3x spawn rate)
    
  • No other weapons
• Items
  
  • Bag/Helmet/Armor Lv.3 (3x spawn rate)
    
  • Bag/Helmet/Armor Lv.1 (0.5x spawn rate)
    
  • Ammunition (3x spawn rate)

• Immediately after the plane gets into the air, the first safe zone is visible on the map.
  
• The first safe zone will be smaller than its normal size.

• Time of day is locked at sunrise.
  
• Care packages are disabled.

Let us know what you think!

Within the next few hours we will open up access to Squads alongside Solo queue on the Codename: Savage Closed Experimental Server. Heads up that adding the extra queue will likely result in longer matchmaking times during off-peak hours. We're also re-opening signups for the test and giving away hundreds of thousands more keys for those who missed the first round of giveaways.

More keys are available right now on https://mapbeta.playbattlegrounds.com

Along with Squads, we’re also shipping some other changes to Codename: Savage based on early feedback:

• Increased the item and weapon spawn rates inside residential buildings and small cabins to improve the looting experience along the outskirts of the map.
  
• The first blue zone circle will show up right at the beginning of the match so players can plan their strategy before parachuting.
  
• Blue zone time adjusted to speed up gameplay during the first phase of the match.
  
• Red zone frequency has been lowered
  
• There are now fewer explosions inside each red zone. The size of the red zone remains the same.
  
• Vans now spawn less often. The two-wheeled motorcycle spawns more often. Motorbikes with sidecars have been removed from Codename: Savage.

This update is rolling out now.

Within the next few hours we will open up access to Squads alongside Solo queue on the Codename: Savage Closed Experimental Server. Heads up that adding the extra queue will likely result in longer matchmaking times during off-peak hours. We're also re-opening signups for the test and giving away hundreds of thousands more keys for those who missed the first round of giveaways.

More keys are available right now on https://mapbeta.playbattlegrounds.com

Along with Squads, we’re also shipping some other changes to Codename: Savage based on early feedback:

• Increased the item and weapon spawn rates inside residential buildings and small cabins to improve the looting experience along the outskirts of the map.
  
• The first blue zone circle will show up right at the beginning of the match so players can plan their strategy before parachuting.
  
• Blue zone time adjusted to speed up gameplay during the first phase of the match.
  
• Red zone frequency has been lowered
  
• There are now fewer explosions inside each red zone. The size of the red zone remains the same.
  
• Vans now spawn less often. The two-wheeled motorcycle spawns more often. Motorbikes with sidecars have been removed from Codename: Savage.

This update is rolling out now.

Earlier this year a few artists from the PUBG team took a trip seeking inspiration for our upcoming map, Codename: Savage. In this post, we want to take you behind the scenes of that trip to explain some of the processes we use when creating new maps.

We decided to explore Thailand because the look and feel of the new map is based on Southeast Asia. Understanding the flavor of the region is important, but the biggest opportunity was to go through an R&D phase of the asset creation process called Photogrammetry. We’ll talk about that more later. For now, you should meet the team!



The team on this adventure was comprised of Technical Artists, Concept Artists and 3D Environment Artists. Their names, starting from the left to right are Trey, Sergi, Collin, Kevin, InJeong, and Daesung. The guy at the far right in a grey shirt is a freelance photographer we hired named Dax. Cool guy!

This trip was the first time the PUBG Art Team visited a location specifically for world art development. Before this trip, there weren't a lot of emotional attachments among the artists to the maps we create because it was ultimately based off references found on the web, and not on real life interactions. By physically being in the jungles and mountains in a humid Asian country, it not only made us imagine what the new map will play like, but we felt the breeze, we smelled the air, and we heard the sounds. All of these experiences are helping the team create a unique experience for you.



We mentioned that you were going to hear about Photogrammetry. This is a process that allows artists to convert a real-world object or a selected area into an in-game 3D objects. An object is first shot from every possible angle, then the photos are imported into a Photogrammetry software that produces a 3D model. This process is usually intended for creating complex and realistic assets such as trees, terrain, complex props, etc.



Above, Daesung is preparing to take a photo of a rock that he wants to make into an asset for the game. Since the process requires multiple photos to be taken in an outdoor environment, the lighting conditions will change over time. As lighting conditions change, the colors and contrast of the photos will change as well. To synchronize the reference images of the rock, the pad with color swatches is included in the default photo for adjusting the white balance and color correcting the photos later.

We want to show off one of the tree types that we selected to populate the new map. Behold!



Now this is where it gets more difficult. The second step is to take photos of the object you’ve selected covering every possible angle. We have thousands of images of various objects that the team identified during the trip. Each object has been photographed like this.

The third step is to take those images, color correct them to have synchronizing colors and contrast. Finally, we take the adjusted images and import them into Photogrammetry software. The software makes a 3D model from provided images. A high polygon model is created which needs to be optimized to become a game-ready asset. There’s quite a bunch of polishing required from here as you can imagine, but we’ll spare you from those details.



Since the vegetation helps create the visual believability of a specific part of the world, we decided to implement Photogrammetry to our production pipeline and to experience what it feels like to be in the environment firsthand. Oh, here’s what this tree type looks like in-game (it’s still a work-in-progress).





We’re looking forward to giving you a real-deal South Asian experience when we release the new map later this year. We’re still in active development, and we’re excited about the direction we’re headed.

Earlier this year a few artists from the PUBG team took a trip seeking inspiration for our upcoming map, Codename: Savage. In this post, we want to take you behind the scenes of that trip to explain some of the processes we use when creating new maps.

We decided to explore Thailand because the look and feel of the new map is based on Southeast Asia. Understanding the flavor of the region is important, but the biggest opportunity was to go through an R&D phase of the asset creation process called Photogrammetry. We’ll talk about that more later. For now, you should meet the team!



The team on this adventure was comprised of Technical Artists, Concept Artists and 3D Environment Artists. Their names, starting from the left to right are Trey, Sergi, Collin, Kevin, InJeong, and Daesung. The guy at the far right in a grey shirt is a freelance photographer we hired named Dax. Cool guy!

This trip was the first time the PUBG Art Team visited a location specifically for world art development. Before this trip, there weren't a lot of emotional attachments among the artists to the maps we create because it was ultimately based off references found on the web, and not on real life interactions. By physically being in the jungles and mountains in a humid Asian country, it not only made us imagine what the new map will play like, but we felt the breeze, we smelled the air, and we heard the sounds. All of these experiences are helping the team create a unique experience for you.



We mentioned that you were going to hear about Photogrammetry. This is a process that allows artists to convert a real-world object or a selected area into an in-game 3D objects. An object is first shot from every possible angle, then the photos are imported into a Photogrammetry software that produces a 3D model. This process is usually intended for creating complex and realistic assets such as trees, terrain, complex props, etc.



Above, Daesung is preparing to take a photo of a rock that he wants to make into an asset for the game. Since the process requires multiple photos to be taken in an outdoor environment, the lighting conditions will change over time. As lighting conditions change, the colors and contrast of the photos will change as well. To synchronize the reference images of the rock, the pad with color swatches is included in the default photo for adjusting the white balance and color correcting the photos later.

We want to show off one of the tree types that we selected to populate the new map. Behold!



Now this is where it gets more difficult. The second step is to take photos of the object you’ve selected covering every possible angle. We have thousands of images of various objects that the team identified during the trip. Each object has been photographed like this.

The third step is to take those images, color correct them to have synchronizing colors and contrast. Finally, we take the adjusted images and import them into Photogrammetry software. The software makes a 3D model from provided images. A high polygon model is created which needs to be optimized to become a game-ready asset. There’s quite a bunch of polishing required from here as you can imagine, but we’ll spare you from those details.



Since the vegetation helps create the visual believability of a specific part of the world, we decided to implement Photogrammetry to our production pipeline and to experience what it feels like to be in the environment firsthand. Oh, here’s what this tree type looks like in-game (it’s still a work-in-progress).





We’re looking forward to giving you a real-deal South Asian experience when we release the new map later this year. We’re still in active development, and we’re excited about the direction we’re headed.

Players,

Today we’re going to take a look at the changes and fixes coming with PC 1.0 Update #9.
After the changes made to this test build are proven to be stable, the test build will be moved to the live servers. We will announce the schedule for the live server update soon.
Please leave your feedback in the relevant section on our Official Forum: LINK

• Players can now spectate their killer by clicking the “watch” button on their match result screen
  
• Solo killer spectating
  
  • If you get killed by the Blue Zone, the Red Zone or from falling, you can spectate the nearest player from your death location
    
  • When the player you were spectating dies, you can continue spectating the killer of that player
    
  • If the player you were spectating gets disconnected, you can continue spectating their killer
• Duo / Squad killer spectating
  
  • Same as above but can only spectate the enemy team after all your team members are dead
• You can report a player you are spectating in Killer Spectate mode by pressing R
  
• If you click Death Cam, you won’t be able to use the Killer Spectate mode

• The default setting for voice chat changed to “Team Only”

• Fixed a bug where vehicles suddenly flip, go flying or come back to the starting point while driving
  
• Fixed a bug where the IGN of your killer was not shown when viewing Death Cam
  
• Adjusted the rotation axis for the preview model in customization menu for better usability

Thank you.

Players,

Today we’re going to take a look at the changes and fixes coming with PC 1.0 Update #9.
After the changes made to this test build are proven to be stable, the test build will be moved to the live servers. We will announce the schedule for the live server update soon.
Please leave your feedback in the relevant section on our Official Forum: LINK

• Players can now spectate their killer by clicking the “watch” button on their match result screen
  
• Solo killer spectating
  
  • If you get killed by the Blue Zone, the Red Zone or from falling, you can spectate the nearest player from your death location
    
  • When the player you were spectating dies, you can continue spectating the killer of that player
    
  • If the player you were spectating gets disconnected, you can continue spectating their killer
• Duo / Squad killer spectating
  
  • Same as above but can only spectate the enemy team after all your team members are dead
• You can report a player you are spectating in Killer Spectate mode by pressing R
  
• If you click Death Cam, you won’t be able to use the Killer Spectate mode

• The default setting for voice chat changed to “Team Only”

• Fixed a bug where vehicles suddenly flip, go flying or come back to the starting point while driving
  
• Fixed a bug where the IGN of your killer was not shown when viewing Death Cam
  
• Adjusted the rotation axis for the preview model in customization menu for better usability

Thank you.