PUBG: ping-based matchmaking coming soon, PC test patch expands replay reporting, adds on-plane player counter

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds will begin trialling a new, ping-based matchmaking system sometime this week.

If you remember, developer PUBG Corp promised prior to the game's 1.0 launch that ping limits are being considered. The idea, as it existed at the time, was to only allow players within a certain ping range for each region.

In other words, Chinese players won't be able to play on US servers and so on. Having a high ping in PUBG typically results in a terrible experience for the high ping player's opponents more than anything else, creating uneven and unpredictable fights.

The proposed system, in its newest iteration, does not simply lock players out if they have too high of a ping. Instead, it will prioritise low-ping players when filling up servers during matchmaking. This means that low-ping players should only be playing against other low-ping players.

PUBG Corp said that the feature will begin early testing sometime this week in some regions.

Today's test patch brings more client optimisations and bug fixes. The biggest change is that you will no longer be able to see other players on the plane before you jump. Instead, an on-screen counter will show how many players are still on the plane. This is being done to improve performance.

You will only start seeing other players after either you or they jump. The ability to report players from the replay viewer is getting an upgrade, too. Now, the developer will receive a one-minute video every time you report an incident. You can only do this once, per player, per replay file.

Finally, PUBG Corp apologised for being silent since the release of 1.0, and promised to share, in March, a roadmap of the content coming to the game in the first half of 2018. Major features are currently in the works, including a new map.

See the patch notes for today's test update below:

World

• Replaced some fences in Miramar to unbreakable fences or walls in order to optimize the client.

Gameplay

• When the player is riding in the airplane, they will no longer be able to see the inside of the airplane. This is to improve the early game client and server performance
• Other players will be visible once they jump out of the airplane
• When riding the airplane, you can check the number of remaining passengers via the new UI element at the bottom left of the screen

Replays

• When reporting someone through the replay system, we now receive a one minute replay file centred on the point of your report
• It is impossible to report through a replay file which has been created longer than a week ago
• It is impossible to report the same player multiple times in the same replay file

Bug fixes

• Fixed the issue where the player would die from falling when vaulting and climbing
• Fixed the issue where after reconnecting to the game, the player would get a glitched view when using ADS on their weapon
• Fixed the issue where the player didn’t receive any damage after entering a vehicle from a prone position and then exiting while the vehicle was moving
• Fixed the issue where after entering the vehicle (passenger seat) from prone position and using heal/boost items, the player was shown using the items in prone position instead of sitting down

Misc

• Made changes to prevent the reduced heal/boost time cheat