PUBG Corp are bringing back the new PUBG map Savage to the test servers, under the new name of “Sanhok.” Now everyone who owns a copy of PUBG on PC will be able to give it a go too, as the closed experimental server simply becomes the “experimental server.”
The 4x4km map is inspired by Southeast Asian islands like those found in Thailand and the Philippines, and this inspiration is reflected in the new name. It combines the Thai word for “fun,” สนุก (pronounced “sah-nook”) and the Tagalog word for “chicken,” manok (pronounced “mah-nok”) and becomes “Sanhok” (pronounced “sah-nok”).
PUBG Corp organised an expedition for its technical artists, concept artists and 3D environment artists to Thailand, a first for the company. There, they used a technique called Photogrammetry, which lets artists convert real-world objects into 3D in-game objects. They go into more detail in a post on their Steam Community page, where they also talk about their trip from a level design perspective in a second post.
One aspect of their design of note is a picture they grabbed from their Thailand trip of a really big hole. It’s the Phraya Nakhon Cave near Bangkok, and they were excited by how players might interact with it in-game and designed an underground cave system to incorporate into it. “How’d you like to drop from the plane and try to hit a hole like this? That’d be badass right? That’s exactly what we were thinking,” they said in the post.
The design team have been trying out what they call “open development” for the new PUBG map, which functions in a similar way to how Steam expects developers to use Early Access. As players give Sanhok a go, PUBG Corp has been making additions and reacting to player responses online. With a few months left before its full release, they plan to add new vehicles and weapons alongside these environmental features.
Testing for the new PUBG map will begin this Thursday on May 10 at 7pm PDT, and end on Monday May 14 at 4am PDT. If you own PUBG on PC, it’ll show up in your Steam library.
