Patch numero uno
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds could be considered a hit rather quickly after it launched on Xbox One last week. Within 48 hours, it had already sold more than a million copies. But its eventual popularity was never really a question. This was destined to do numbers.
A more contentious issue was how it performs on Xbox. There’s widespread talk of low framerates, with Xbox One S being noticeably worse that Xbox One X. This breakdown from Digital Foundry does a fine job explaining the situation. (In my experience, it was perfectly playable on Xbox One X once your character actually gets on the ground; the plane stuff can be pretty rough.)
But, the Xbox version is still in early access. There’s room for improvement, and improvement is necessary. Developer PUBG Corporation has taken the initial steps by releasing the first update for Xbox One. Nestled in the long list of changes is the vaguely-put “first pass visual and performance improvements.”
It’s impossible to qualify or quantify what that means. PUBG Corporation is never going to say something like “frame rate is now 4 percent more stable.” The patch size is 4.7GB, which is substantial. But it’s still a “first pass” which doesn’t invite illusions that this is finalized. There’s probably a long way to go, but this is a start. A literal start.
Here’s the full list of patch notes:
Gameplay
- Gas can now be used while on bike or bike with sidecar
UI/UX
- Equipment icons on HUD will now be visible
- Player icon is now more clearly visible on the world map
- UI prompts now appear when reload and enter a vehicle options are present
Character
- Tweaked hair color options
Animation
- Cleaned up sidecar passenger animations in first-person view
- Fixed player camera issues while a passenger on the backseat of a buggy
- Addressed arm animations specific to holding some weapons
- Character now correctly faces the proper direction when stopping while swimming
Others
- First pass visual and performance improvements
- Slightly improved anti-aliasing on Xbox One and Xbox One S
- Localization updates for Vietnamese, Spanish, (Spain/Mexico)
- Controls on motorcycle no longer inverted
- Keyboard functionality is disabled
Bug Fixes
- Fixed instances of player nametags not properly displaying in the lobby during Squad and Duo play
- Fixed minor animation while crouching and prone
- Fixed issues where curtains on windows block line of sight of players in the TPP mode
- Fixed an issue where when Squad leader left the party, voice chat ceased to function as intended
- Fixed issue where players could lean out of vehicles even when obstructed
- Fixed collision of cardboard boxes in Yasnaya city
- Fixed typo in the controller guide
- Other minor fixes
Xbox Game Preview Patch Notes #1 [PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds]
