PUBG: Battlegrounds: Interview mit Dave Curd zur Entwicklung von Sanhok zu COVID-19-Zeiten

Übersicht
Image: Bluehole

Wir von Xboxdynasty hatten die Möglichkeit Dave Curd zu einem PUBG-Interview einzuladen und ein paar Fragen loszuwerden.

Englisch / Original

Hello Dave, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions from Xboxdynasty.de.

During the coronavirus crisis you had to reorganize your entire development team. What changes did you have to make exactly?

There were so many changes that we had to make due to Covid-19, we faced a great deal of challenges that we’d never have imagined this time last year.

The biggest change we made was having the whole team work from home, and we did this very early on. This of course disrupted our process, as we had to swap real life meetings for Zoom calls, but the team rose to the challenge – and I was really impressed and proud of the work we produced.

In some ways, working from home may have actually helped us – we had more time to polish the map as we were able to cut out things like commuting and long lunches with colleagues.

I also think everyone worked that little bit harder, as we were all determined to show how effective work from home can be.

During this time you completely redesigned the Sanhok map from home. How many employees were involved?

We had 16 employees who worked on the project full time, and then a smaller number of external developers who assisted us with the remaster of Sanhok.

How could you create solutions for employees who, for example, cannot set up an office in their own four walls?

These days finding technical solutions is a lot easier than it was when I first got into the industry. We didn’t really have any major technical issues other than the occasional small hiccup. Things like getting employees listed for play tests, and making sure VPNs work, could slow us down slightly from time to time – but it wasn’t a huge deal. At most these issues could be resolved with a call with our technical support team.

What obstacles did you encounter that are not present in the normal office?

In our studio we have so many creative and talented people, and this naturally leads to a great working environment where everyone is bouncing exciting ideas off one another.

Of course we can’t fully replicate that from home, but everyone went that extra mile to ensure the whole team was connected and supported during Covid-19.

We regularly checked in with each other to chat about work and make sure everyone was feeling ok about the situation. We also hosted lots of testing sessions where we could just hang out and have fun!

Covid-19 is far from ideal, but our response as a team has been first class. Everyone rallied together to create an amazing map in Sanhok.

Was the coffee better or worse? Was there more or less coffee than in the office?

Well to be honest I myself am not a coffee drinker, and I think diet coke tastes the same wherever you go!

Although talking of work comforts, one thing PUBG Madison did was send out free lunch coupons to all employees. This meant we could order food to our houses and have lunch together at the company, which was really nice. It gave us an opportunity to catch up while tucking into a delicious takeaway.

I assume that you had to move a lot of data back and forth while developing the new map, how did you solve this?
Whether working from home or in the office, we have exactly the same system – we sync all our files, make local changes and submit the files to the depot where others can access them. Nothing changes except how far apart our desks are.

How did you test the changes for bugs?

So obviously we made a lot of changes to Sanhok, and that meant we had to run a lot of tests to ensure that everything was running smoothly. This meant the engineers had a lot of code reviews, we’d then have gameplay tests on Wednesdays to check Sanhok worked as intended, and then fun play tests on Thursdays where we’d see if the new map was a nice gaming experience.

I think fans perhaps don’t realise how much testing actually goes into every new feature. From the loot truck to new weapons, everything had to be checked to ensure it was working correctly.
Fun play tests were also good because not only were we conducting important game research, but also connecting with one another and checking in with our teams in an informal setting. One thing about working from home is you can often lose the social side of your job, so this was a nice way to chill out and chat with each other – and maybe even enjoy a little bit of trash talk on the battleground!

How do you respond to the feedback on the new Sanhok Map from players?
At PUBG we are fans first, always. One of the big things we are hearing is the lighting could be more effective, so that is on our radar. The great thing is PUBG is an evergreen product that is always changing, so you can expect to see it adapting in the future.

We actually have a wonderful data department here at PUBG who tell us how players are approaching the map. When you have a game that has sold over 70 million copies, that is really important – it is difficult to gauge community sentiment just from Reddit or Twitter, so we like having a mixed approach. The data is showing us that in all regions the loot truck has been embraced, which is something we are really pleased about.

What have you personally learned about what it means to work from home?

I’ve learnt that it is not about the environment you work in, it is about the people you work with – and if you give people extra responsibility and trust, then they will work hard to repay your faith.

This is a scary time for all of us, no one knows what is going to happen in the future, and I think it is a real testament to our staff that everyone delivered above and beyond expectation.

We’ve got a great team here and we are very lucky to have them1

Thank you very much for the opportunity to ask you a few questions today in these hard times. Do you perhaps still have something you want to get rid of and want to tell our readers of Xboxdynasty.de?

I just wanted to thank everyone for their support and we’re working very hard on future content, so definitely excited to show you more in the future.

 

PUBG-Fans can win this, just click in the image for more infos:

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2 Kommentare Added

  1. n1co 29405 XP Nasenbohrer Level 4 | 05.09.2020 - 11:13 Uhr

    Sorry, aber seit der Einführung der Bots auf dem PC ist PUBG dort so gut wie Tod. Je später der Tag/Abend um so weniger die Bots. Aber trotz ansehnlicher KD und Chicken Win Rate sind in unseren Matches Abends durchschnittlich 25 Bots auf dem Server.

    Mittags ist es am schlimmsten, Duo auf Karakin, 6 echte Spieler der Rest Bots. Da kann man schön KD Kosmetik betreiben aber wirklich Spaß macht das nicht wirklich.

    Und bei dem ist nicht irgendein Virus oder Lockdown Schuld. Probleme werden konsequent ignoriert und neue Features werden kaum bis schlecht integriert die dazu noch weitere Problem zu den bestehenden mitbringen. Abgesehen von der Cheater Problematik die sie immer weniger im Griff bekommen.

    Die neuen Waffen Sounds hören sich schrecklich an, Schritte können weiterhin nicht immer eindeutig zugeordnet werden. Meist hört man die Schritte der Gegner hinterrücks nicht. Bots die sich plötzlich teleportieren können oder teils unbesiegbar sind, Items aus dem Inventar die dann verschwinden wenn man sie benötigt… usw…

    Der aktuelle Stand von PUBG zeigt spürbar, dass die Entwicklung am neuen Titel immer mehr Leute von PUBG Team abzieht. Und somit verschwinden auch die Spieler…

    Nach über 2.000 Stunden Spielzeit am PC und den aktuellen Entwicklungsstand, wird es wohl an der Zeit das Spiel zu deinstallieren.

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  2. Kirito 1860 XP Beginner Level 1 | 05.09.2020 - 12:07 Uhr

    Ich bin kein Fan von den Bots

    0