By Christopher Groux

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PUBG 's Vikendi Public Test Server is officially live on Xbox One and PS4. The download adds the brand-new 6x6 snow map, as well as the G36C rifle and snowmobile vehicle. Read the full patch notes below courtesy of a PUBG Corp blog post.

PUBG Dec. 20 PTS Update Patch Notes

NEW MAP - VIKENDI

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Vikendi Gameplay

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• Vikendi is a 6x6km map. The gameplay of Vikendi is quicker than Erangel and Miramar, but offers an arguably more tactical experience than Sanhok.
• Players can throw snowballs while waiting to board the plane in the starting area
• Vehicles will have less traction on snow or icy areas. Acceleration on icy terrain is slow and you lose more general vehicle control as you speed up.
• Footprints and vehicle tracks will appear as players travel in snow-covered areas. Keep an eye out! These are great to help identify if enemies have passed by recently.
• Keep in mind that footprints and tracks in the snow don't stay around forever!

Redzone

• The center of the red zone spawns outside of the play zone.
• The smaller the play zone, the smaller the red zone.

Bluezone

• The first circle of every game is much smaller than other maps, but subsequent circle sizes change less drastically.
• This facilitates more blue zone variety and unique experiences.
• Similar strategies work on Vikendi to Erangel and Miramar for the first three phases, but the zones will close slower starting from phase 4, similar to Sahnok. We feel this leads to a good balance between strategy and gunplay throughout the duration of each match.

Item Spawn Balance

• The overall item spawn rate is at a midpoint between our maps - offering a unique place between the spawn rates of Erangel and Sahnok.
• Level 3 helmets spawn in the world.
• Level 3 vests spawn more often than other maps.
• Smoke Grenades are spawned at a higher rate compared to other throwables.

NEW AR: G36C

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• G36C spawns only in Vikendi

  • Chambered for 5.56mm ammo, it can load 30 bullets and 40 with an Extended Magazine
  • G36C has a lower and upper rail for attachments, but cannot attach a stock

NEW SIDEARM: SKORPION

• Added a new handgun, the Skorpion

  • The Skorpion spawns on all maps

  • Single fire and full auto fire mode

  • Uses 9mm ammo, it can load up to 20 bullets and 40 with an Extended Magazine

  • Attachments:

    • Sight: Red dot sight
    • Muzzle: Suppressor
    • Lower Rail: Vertical Foregrip, Half Grip, Light Grip, Laser Sight
    • Stock: Stock for Micro UZI
    • Magazine: Extended Magazine only

  • Skorpion is also available in the Training Mode. Have fun!

NEW VEHICLE: SNOWMOBILE

• Added a new vehicle - Snowmobile
• The Snowmobile only spawns in Vikendi
• It seats two players and performs much better than other vehicles on snow and ice, but is more difficult to drive on other terrain.

QoL

• Minimap: Players can now further magnify the minimap
• Player order consistency: Player order between the lobby and in-game is now consistent so that players will have fixed numbers and colors based on lobby order when they enter a game.
• Added field of view slider in First Person Perspective mode (FPP) settings
• Added graphical settings option for Xbox One X
• Controller Guide can now be seen from the lobby from settings

Graphical Settings Options (Xbox One X)

For this initial round of testing, the graphical settings options will only be available for Xbox One X players. We are actively developing these options and are aiming to have them ready for all Xbox consoles as soon as possible (Xbox OG/S will have different settings).

• Framerate Priority

  • Sets the resolution to 2560 x 1440 and enables V-Sync. This setting is recommended for a more consistent framerate.

• Resolution Priority

  • Sets the resolution to 3840 x 2160 and enables V-Sync. This setting is recommended for a higher level of visual fidelity.

• Dynamic Resolution (NOT AVAILABLE FOR TESTING YET)

  • Changes the resolution in real-time. This is the best setting for ensuring an optimal balance between framerate and visual fidelity.
  • Further details are being finalized and tested internally.

Gameplay

• Decreased recoil of the P18C

• Improved the sound settings in option

  • The sound settings are now separated into Master Volume, FX Volume, UI Volume and Music Volume

• Maximum number of Forward Running Sensitivity has changed from 50 to 100

  • The maximum value would stay the same, so if your Forward Running Sensitivity was 10, it will change to 20
  • This is to have a more specific value

• Added auto-reload option

  • When enabled, you will reload weapons automatically when you try to fire while your magazine is empty
  • By default, this is set to "Off" but can be changed in the Gameplay menu

Performance

• Improved the client performance by optimizing the creation of character materials
• Improved performance by mitigating an issue causing thin objects to flicker.
• Optimized particles in rainy weather.
• Adjusted the parachute and character sync rate depending on the distance to improve server performance
• Optimized weapon target calculation overhead.
• Optimized culling logic of invisible instanced mesh.
• Optimized overall character movement cost.
• Reduced level streaming hitches.
• Reduced physics creation hitches.

Report

• Added the report player function to event mode games
• Press 'Y' to report the killer
• When reporting someone who had team-killed you, there will be an option of reporting "Teamkill"
• You cannot report the same player more than once in one game

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where players could sometimes climb stairs much faster while moving diagonally next to the wall.
• Fixed an issue where a downed players' character model would sometimes penetrate walls.
• Fixed an issue where characters would look like they were sliding while standing up if they took out a weapon and stood up at the same time.
• Fixed an issue of seeing headless characters when using healing items in FPP mode in prone position or when entering a vehicle.
• Fixed an issue where a player appeared to slide when standing up or moving while going prone before landing from a certain height.
• Fixed an issue where some animations were cancelled when moving with certain steps
• Fixed an issue where sometimes an enemy player was seen shooting with the weapon at the back of the character
• Fixed an issue where you can sometimes see through walls and rock surfaces while riding the motorcycle.
• Fixed an issue where your camera sometimes goes through the vehicle when the vehicle is leaning on an object.
• Fixed an issue where ADS worked unreliably when ADSing right after equipping a weapon.
• Fixed an issue where a player sometimes received collision damage from a motorcycle when another player picked up the motorcycle.
• Fixed an issue where a character would sometimes rotate even though its feet are fixed when the screen is rotated more than 180 degrees left or right.
• Fixed an issue where a player's motion was sometimes shown as scoping when taking steps next to a wall.
• Fixed an issue where characters could vault over other characters when positioned at certain heights.
• Fixed an issue where a player would sometimes clip through the floor of a building when disembarking a motorcycle.
• Fixed an issue where a character's animation would pop upward when getting close to the wheels of a buggy.
• Fixed an issue of where a character's animation would pop upward when crouching and standing up near a vehicle.
• Fixed an issue where player couldn't see his/her teammate's character in lobby after a match intermittently
• Fixed an issue where player couldn't loot some items such as weapon or ammo on the ground
• Fixed an issue causing a character to be headless when wearing certain skins
• Fixed an issue where players could shoot in an abnormal direction in free-look
• Fixed an issue where In FPP when character holding throwables or ready to throw throwables is moving facing the sky, his/her hand flickers and moves around
• Fixed an issue where players could get into certain terrain of Miramar which should be impossible
• Fixed an issue where player can stand up from a prone position faster than usual in certain conditions.
• Fixed the issue where players could use weapons while swimming if they kept pushing the weapon equip button near rocks.
• Fixed an issue which caused the screen to shake excessively when spectating an opponent who was firing a weapon.
• Fixed an issue where when freefalling out of the plane and pressing particular movement keys, certain animations didn't play correctly.
• Fixed the issue where the footstep sounds of players moving at low speed (walking when crouching) was not played to other players.
• Fixed an issue where the character's footsteps couldn't be heard when on carpet
• Fixed an issue where when click the "Play" button, game was frozen in the lobby.
• Fixed an issue where world map and wheel menu could be opened at the same time.
• Fixed an issue where a spot at the back of the truck and buggy would block bullets.
• Fixed an issue where when plane flew around you, the sound of plane was not played.
• Fixed a rare bug where teammates would receive friendly-fire damage, even if you weren't aiming at them while shooting
• Fixed an issue when the character passed through the barbed wire, it penetrates the character's body or cause unexpected termination.
• Fixed an issue where the hair when wearing certain beanies
• Fixed an issue where sometimes the effect sound of the Adrenaline Syringe is continuously played even after canceling
• Fixed an issue where vehicle horns continued to sound after exiting a vehicle while holding RT
• Fixed the issue where the team list does not correspond when observing his/her teammate and changing camera using LB/RB
• Fixed an issue where the casting gauge for health/boosting items and reviving was not shown while observing
• Fixed an issue when picking up a throwable while holding the same throwable, the holding amount did not update
• Fixed an issue the bolt action of the observee was shown incorrectly while observing
• Fixed an issue where the quick marker was unable to remove while observing
• Fixed an issue where the animation for equipping/unequipping the weapon was shown incorrectly after the observee stands up from prone while observing
• Fixed an issue where the motorcycle was not mountable on certain angle
• Fixed an issue where the sound of emote played just before the round begins at the in-game lobby continued to play even after riding the plane
• Fixed an issue where the camera passed through the door on certain angle when ADSing close to the door while holding a handgun

How to play the Vikendi PUBG PTS on PS4

For those who are just joining the party on PS4, Vikendi marks the first significant use of the console PTS. With that in mind, just go to the purchased section of your games library, and you should see PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds PTS as part of your inventory. You must, of course, own the full version of PUBG to take part in the PTS.

Note that this is essentially a beta version of the Vikendi map, which means bugs are sure to plague players on all platforms. It's not yet known when Vikendi will migrate to live servers, but the game's developers are targeting a January release date. This update is very similar to what live PC players got earlier in the week, which marks a meaningful stride for content parity in this otherwise fragmented game.

In terms of gameplay, Vikendi strikes a balance between the open spaces of Erangel and the claustrophobic feel of Sanhok. Loot is slightly more scarce in the barren environment, but strong weapons like the G36C are generally more rewarding to find. The snow also introduces footprint tracking effects, so make sure to obscure your path in tense situations.

PUBG is available now on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

What are your thoughts on the Vikendi PTS so far? Does the snow map live up to your expectations? Tell us in the comments section!

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