If you were hoping to see Miramar being introduced on this update, I’m sorry (I’m just the messenger) but unfortunately that’s not going to happen. At least there are some other features and improvements announced coming up! Also, I’ll be discussing the current state of the game right after it.
Find the official statement below;
Xbox players,
First and foremost THANK YOU for your patience and perseverance over these last few weeks. We recognize and fully understand the challenges while playing through some of the more impactful issues, and appreciate your persistence and continued support throughout. We have been hard at work on this patch, and we wanted to take the time necessary to ensure stability before rolling it out into Xbox Game Preview. This update brings a number of fixes that you’ve been asking for, alongside continued optimization, stability and UI improvements. We have also included initial support for Game DVR, where you can enable automatic recording of gameplay highlights. Find out more information about Game DVR and using Upload Studio at: https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/apps/upload-studio-info.
Details and availability
This patch will be live at 6PM KST / 1AM PST / 10AM CET today.
Please restart your Xbox after the patch goes live to get the update.
Gameplay
- Introduced multiple pre-match starting locations in order to optimize both server and game client performance
- Weapons are removed from the starting island prior to the match starting
- Game DVR is now supported for automatic recording of gameplay highlights. This feature must be enabled within the Options / Settings menu.
- We continue to listen to your vehicle feedback and have lowered the damage taken from objects throughout the world such as rocks, trees, and uneven terrain
- Adjusted the sound effects of both water and red-zone bombing
- Party matchmaking is now influenced by the player’s MMR
- Adjusted long-range blood VFX back to the original colors
UI/UX
- Improved visibility of squad member colors (yellow, orange, blue and green)
- Players can use the right thumbstick to rotate their character model during customization
- When customizing character appearance, the D-Pad can be held to switch between menus
- Preview is supported when customizing appearance or creating a new character
Items
- Updated the design of the energy drink
Bug Fixes
- Fixed water sound effects
- Fixed Red Zone disappearing immediately after it starts
- Fixed random character teleportation following initial landing
- Fixed an issue where some doors could not be entered despite appearing open
- Fixed issue of recovery and boost items being able to be used when underwater
- Fixed the character animations when transitioning from jump-prone to standing
- Fixed unexpected character death caused by falling while moving
- Fixed areas of fencing where specific sides could not be penetrated by bullets
- Fixed buildings with missing stairs
- Fixed bug which caused objects to float in the air
- Fixed areas of terrain which were causing player characters to become stuck
- Fixed an issue which prevented team members being displayed following acceptance of an invite
- Fixed the issue of revive being cancelled unintentionally
- Fixed hand animations when reloading/shooting the Kar98 in a prone position
- Fixed the issue limiting peak parachuting speed in FPP mode
- Fixed character animations when moving from prone to entering a vehicle
Optimization / Stability
- Optimized textures, landscapes and buildings throughout the island to improve performance
- Fixed a crash occurring when HDR was enabled
- Fixed a frozen character issue when reconnecting following a crash
- Fixed a crash occurring when the player opened their inventory
- Fixed a crash occurring when the spectated player was using a scope
Localization
- Applied new Russian, Japanese and Chinese (simplified/traditional) fonts
- Japanese only: Adjusted the Katakana font
- Japanese only: Fixed incorrect order of wording during object interactions
- Portuguese only: Fixed the display of height meter when parachuting
Known Issues
- B button incorrectly displayed to cut parachute cable; this should be X
- When viewing the map, the X, Y, and B buttons are fully functional – please be aware that this can cause you to exit the plane or vehicle whilst in motion. Please only use the map button to return to gameplay until this is resolved.
Once again, car damage has been balanced; the amount of damage the environment did on a car – or player- was ridiculous, and even unfair if you take into account that half the time a rock suddenly spawns in front of you, out of nowhere (like the RKO).
Client and server performance improvements are really necessary but they’ve said that before and never happened. The Game DVR is cool for those interested, but since turning off Game Capture and Streaming is supposed to make the game run better, I won’t be using it.
Current state of the game
I’ve been wanting to cover this topic for a long time now, and finally took time to do it due to the latest update.
First of all, even though this article is not about Fortnite, I must mention it. PUBG main competitor is scaling up ranks and it seems to be unstoppable. Given the huge development support smartly structured on seasons and content updates on a regular basis, comparisons can’t be avoided.
The market has found where the money is at, and every day a new contender is willing to join the risky fight for the Battle Royale throne.
Click here to check the Fear The Wolves announcement, made by thr S.T.A.L.K.E.R devs.
This means the remaining PUBG potential needs to be put on the Xbox table if it wants to stay on top, and they better make that happen ASAP.
Give us new maps, make the game playable and stop nerfing vehicle damage just to buff it in the next update.
In my opinion, the development has been pretty inconsistent so far. Where’s all the money? I can safely say 4 million copies sold does turn into profit, but it doesn’t look like it has been invested on a reinforcement developer team or anything like that.
I do know this is a Game Preview Program title and is not a final version, but I believe it has been one of the worst launches on the Preview history… performance wise.
Taking a look back in time, you could see how all the hype in the world was on PUBG Xbox launch… There was a great marketing campaign done and everyone was happy and excited.
Once it launched, the very first build was basically broken (something you shouldn’t expect, not even for a first preview build) and full of bugs. I can understand the occasional bug, even now, but there is still a ton of improvements that need to occur; it’s been out for enough time now and has sold well enough to start delivering what it has to.
As a consumer, I have all the right in the world to speak about a product I’ve purchased, and as a journalist it’s just a call of duty. My impressions overall are pretty negative and I even feel disappointed as of now. To be honest, I was expecting more support and less bugs, also more optimization and stability as it should be.
The game having such issues makes me wonder if it will ever make it to the end in a healthy condition. If having it completely fixed can be achieved with time, what is taking so long then? I’m just demanding more stability, a decent one at least. I can get used to waiting a couple of seconds for textures to load right after the drop, but getting kicked out or lag is wearing my patience and trust off.
Despite what I’ve written so far, I’m a big Microsoft, Xbox and PUBG fan, and that won’t ever stop me from giving my thoughts by talking what I consider facts with the only purpose of demanding results. PUBG has given me some intense moments after all, I can’t deny that. But, as much fun as this game can potentially deliver, if frustration is kept guaranteed on every match, maybe it’s time to drop off a 60 fps flying bus instead.
