Ways Season 8 Improves Fortnite
UI Overhaul
If there’s been one aspect of Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode that’s still felt a little bit in the ‘beta’ phase, it’s been its UI. We’ve seen improvements slowly but surely since its initial release, but with Season 8, the whole things got an overhaul to give its menus and other interfaces the same level of polish that the rest of the experience has.
It’s arguably most notable when first starting up the Battle Royale mode. The lobby has been overhauled and the menus now feature more of an electric blue color scheme and clean layout.
The Challenges tab has also seen a number of changes, making it easier to quickly check your progress on a particular set of challenges or enable Party Assist (more on that later) before diving into a game, rather than having to hold down that left analog stick as you trawl to the most recent set of challenges.
Arguably the most controversial of these UI changes is the update to the markers, or ‘Ping’ system as it’s commonly referred to. Rather than having to open up your map and place a marker down that your teammates can see, it’s now possible to ‘hot ping’ a location.
All you need to do is look at a location and press left on the d-pad on consoles or the middle mouse button on PC and you’ll ping that location out to your teammates immediately. It even comes up with how far away you are from that spot in meters, too.
Yes, yes, it’s something that Apex Legends introduced to the battle royale scene when it released earlier this year, but it’s a welcome addition in Fortnite.
Not only does the distance markers make it easier to see how far you’re going to travel and whether or not you’re likely to make it out of the circle, but it also means you can communicate with your teammates non-verbally a heck of a lot easier.
Considering we’ve seen daily and even some weekly challenges require you to work or play with friends or other players, this is sure to help co-ordination, not just with challenges, but in the moment-to-moment gameplay of Fortnite when playing with others, too.