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It's hard to say exactly where or when the battle royale genre started, but PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds certainly helped bring it to prominence. But since it debuted in late 2017, the game has fallen a bit out of favor, with competitors like Fortnite usurping its place in pop culture consciousness. But developer PUBG Corporation hopes to change all that with a new initiative named, appropriately enough, "FIX PUBG".
The official site begins with a strong acknowledgement of players' frustrations: "'FIX THE GAME.' This is a phrase that we’ve been hearing a lot lately. Bugs, performance problems, and quality-of-life issues have been limiting PUBG's true potential, and you want it fixed. So we think it's time to do something about it." The site goes on to explain that over the next three months, PUBG Corp. will dive headlong into issues that have plagued the game, updating its roadmap as goals are met.
PUBG breaks down the planned fixes and overhauls into five categories: client performance, server performance, anti-cheat, matchmaking, and bug fixes / quality of life issues. Here's what it all means for you, the player:
Fewer dropped frames
One of the biggest issues the FIX PUBG project has identified is a problem with recurring frame drops, or "hitches". While the average frames per second has steadily risen since launch, it would intermittently drop to below 60 roughly every 10 seconds, causing an annoying stutter effect. With average fps now at 60 or higher, PUBG Corp. will be looking to reduce hitches.
A higher tick rate for less lag
A game's tick rate refers to how often its servers are updated with new information. A high tick rate is harder to keep up with, but makes player actions feel fast and accurate. A low tick rate helps lessen strain, but can lead to a sub-par experience. PUBG Corp. wants to up PUBG's tick rate, especially as it relates to objects close to you and early in the game (no more laggy landings). This should also help prevent those annoying moments of getting shot even though on your screen it looked like you were behind cover.
New anti-cheat measures to curb hax
Play any online game and you're bound to find - or at least hear of - people cheating. But when that game is a competitive free-for-all, cheaters take a massive toll on the fun more honorable players have. PUBG Corp. recognizes that current anti-cheat measures aren't quite cutting it, and are developing new algorithms to recognize and punish those pesky haxorz. And if that doesn't work, PUBG Corp. says it's working with authorities to take legal action against cheat developers, distributors, and resellers.
Tweaks to matchmaking
PUBG Corp. describes its plans for matchmaking as "a complicated system to build and get right," and therefore offers no promises about what will change. But it's part of the studio's roadmap nonetheless, and the devs are taking into consideration things like ping, distance, and language.
So many bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements
You'll definitely want to check out the FIX PUBG roadmap on this category, as it's quite extensive. There are, of course, tons of bug fixes both planned and already implemented. PUBG Corp. is also focusing on making its game just a bit more presentable, from making it possible for dead teammates to place markers to the inclusion of a colorblind mode. Animation fixes, HUD improvements, you name it - almost every aspect of PUBG will be getting some sort of facelift over the coming months.
If you haven't checked out the game in awhile, now's a great time to come back - for starters, you can try out the new PUBG desert map, Miramar.
