Test Server Update & Smash: Micro Stutters and More!

Help us test what we've been working on behind the scenes to improve performance!

With this weekend's Test Update, we need YOUR HELP to jump in, play, and let us know your experience! We'll be hosting Test Server Smashes at the below times, with rewards to match:

APAC Test Server Smash
Solos - 4AM - 7AM PT on Saturday, April 7 (8PM - 11PM JST on Saturday, April 7)
Fives - 4AM - 7AM PT on Sunday, April 8 (8PM - 11PM JST on Sunday, April 8)

EU Test Server Smash
Solos - 10AM - 1PM PT on Saturday, April 7 (7PM - 10PM CEST on Saturday, April 7)
Fives - 10AM - 1PM PT on Sunday, April 8 (7PM - 10PM CEST on Sunday, April 8)

NA Test Server Smash
Solos - 5PM - 8PM PT on Saturday, April 7
Fives - 5PM - 8PM PT on Sunday, April 8

And of course, the rewards:

• Play 5 Solos or Fives matches on any region during the Test Server Smash this weekend and receive 2 unlocked Bronze Mayhem Crates on the Live server.
• Win 1 Solos or Fives match on any region during the Test Server Smash this weekend and receive 1 unlocked Silver Mayhem Crate on the Live server.

You can only earn the above rewards once, and all rewards will be granted after the weekend ends.

Combat Training (formerly known as Combat Zone) will also be open at the times and regions listed above for those that would prefer to test the new update that way. Read on below for the full patch notes, and be sure to fill out the in-game survey once you've played as well!

Micro Stutters

Performance and micro stutters have been our top priority for many months. Recently, we have been modifying the internal structures that were optimized pre-Windows 10 Creators Update. These should reduce many of the micro stutter symptoms that have been idenitifed by our internal QA teams as well as the community. A huge thank you to everyone who has sent videos and information - these have been immensely helpful as we have been able to reproduce and address specific issues and find opportunities to optimize the game code. Here are the specific changes in this update:

• Optimized how the GPU handles shotgun particle effects.
• Optimized collision detection by multi-threading scenarios that were only running on a single thread.
• Optimized threading line-of-sight and shoulder swap collision checks.
• Optimized how information is sent to the Kill Feed that reduces load on the UI.
• Optimized how SpeedTree handled vertex buffer multi-threading.
• Optimized SpeedTree billboard rendering.
• Optimized how the game engine handles scenarios where numerous players are fighting in a particular area; most frequently found in Fives.
• Fixed a specific micro stutter case that could occur by optimizing how irradiance volumes are created and handled.
• Fixed a specific micro stutter case that could occur when aiming down sights.

Battle Royale Updates

• Crouch fatigue exists to prevent crouch spamming, however there were circumstances where it was a bit too punishing. Crouch transitions should feel smoother now and you're allowed a bit more movement before the fatigue kicks in.
• Spawn Selection window now opens by default and the gas ring preview is always enabled.
• To combat the "head glitch" issue, we made firing over objects more restrictive requiring more of your upper body to be exposed before you can fire over objects. The most notorious of these was the light bar on top of cop cars. Now that we've moved the light bar to be inside the cab, we can relax this requirement a bit and allow you to shoot over objects easier. As always, we'll continue to monitor this and make improvements as necessary.
• Vehicles are now more evenly distributed throughout The Arena regardless of the safe zone's starting location.
• Shotgun hit feedback has been updated so that if any pellets are headshots, the Kill Feed and Death Screens will properly give it credit as a headshot.
• H1Z1 has unique combat that can be difficult to master. We introduced the Combat Zone largely as a tool to help players learn and master the various weapons. We've renamed it Combat Training, and made a few updates to enhance the overall experience.
  • Players now always spawn with an AR-15, AK-47, and Shotgun in their weapon slots, and an SMG in their Inventory. Increased Inventory capacity to allow for easier weapon swaps.
  • Respawning players are now hidden and protected from damage until they've fully loaded in. This should reduce the frequency of "spawn kills."
• Gave the HUD a quality-of-life pass:
  • Reduced size of mini-map player icon.
  • Made teammate death state and kill count more identifiable.
  • Kill Feed is slightly more prominent and now stays active on the end screens.
• Added the Level 100 reward (for reaching Level 100 prior to Early Access Launch and the account level wipe).
• Several additional anti-cheat improvements and optimizations are in this build.

Auto Royale Updates

• Adjusted how ammunition is distributed to players. When you reload, another magazine will be moved from the vehicle to your inventory. This ensures that you can always reload and no longer need to split ammo with your teammates and drag it into your inventory. We also removed the ability to take ammo directly from the vehicle inventory, since it is no longer necessary, which will prevent teammates from taking all the ammo for a particular weapon.
• ARVs now start with 6 land mines and 2 smoke screens.
• Sedans now start with 1 oil slick and 3 smoke screens.
• Repair Kits and Combat Repair Kits are now instant-use (they still heal over time).
• High-Octane Turbo can now be used when the vehicle is airborne, allowing for some pretty interesting new behaviors. Try it out!
• Rocket Launcher has been tuned and polished. Recoil has been significantly reduced and rockets do more damage to players inside a vehicle that is directly hit, and will knock off their helmets. Rockets that directly hit players will now also accurately damage vehicles.
• Land mines can now be destroyed with a single shot.
• Removed or adjusted numerous objects on which vehicles could get stuck.
• Vehicle Horn is no longer bound by default to Mouse 3.
• Players are now properly removed from vehicles after disconnecting.

Bug Fixes

• Trees will no longer pop in and out when playing on max render distance.
• Players now get proper kill credit when an opponent they've recently damaged is killed by bombs, gas, or falling damage. Kill Feed also now shows the proper icons for these scenarios, as well as deaths from nearby explosive barrels.
• Empty airdrop crates will no longer incorrectly spawn at the center of the map.
• Falling off objects should no longer feel different regardless of Reduce Input Lag setting.
• Players no longer float when prone-rolling off a building.
• AK-47 switch fire rate UI no longer remains off screen after switching to other weapons.
• A team member's dot on the compass should always have its correct color.
• Stay in Group UI no longer overlaps with other HUD elements.
• Rebinding "F" to any key no longer prompts user that another binding will be cleared when it is not currently bound.
• Vehicle upgrades are now always properly applied in Auto Royale.
• Players who wind up solo-queued into an Auto Royale match will no longer get booted to the desktop and will instead be sent to the main menu.
• Fixed numerous clipping or floating objects in Auto Royale.