6:08pm EST - I'll be streaming from our dev branch starting around 9pm EST tonight. We'll see how easy it is to get into bases with ladders now and explore the best forms of protection. Follow us on Twitch to know when we go live.

5:20pm EST - Just updated our dev branch server so ladders are in. If you're on our dev branch server and you can't craft a ladder, make sure your client is opted into the development branch. 
This is a game changer...

4:06pm EST - Ladders can now be placed on rocks and when building is blocked!

2:34pm EST - After a slow start to the week (Unity 5.1 bug bs), Rust development is in full swing. With mining, new ammo types, server browser improvements, throwable items, and ladders on the agenda, this weeks update stands to be a good one. So far today, Garry’s primary focus is on a new item...

Wooden ladder

With most of the bugs caused from the Unity 5.1 upgrade behind him, Garry is now able to get into some new functionality. First on the chopping block: Wooden ladders. These have just been added to the development branch and their functionality is still being worked on, so expect things to change as we get closer to the update. Here’s some details:

• Cost: 300 wood
• Time to craft: 200 seconds
• Default blueprint (can craft from the get-go)
• Textures and icons are not in yet
• Can only be placed on the side of walls at the moment
• They are the height of one wall
• You can place ladders on top of each other, allowing you to go up multiple stories
• They can be destroyed in 3 hits from a hatchet
• Cupboards do block placement (Update: you can now place ladders when building is blocked)
• Can’t be placed on rocks or anything else (Update: they can now be placed on rocks)

Note those last two. The excitement around this item is mainly due to their potential use in raids (specifically, raiding rock bases). The ability to place them on rocks or where building is blocked are key elements to making this an effective raiding tool (as opposed to just another way to get around your base). Before you bust out the pitchforks and torches, remember what I said above, this is still a work in progress. Let’s wait till Garry finishes the first implementation before we tar and feather him.

Update: Garry for the win, he's just made it so ladders can be placed even if building is blocked and made the placement more tolerant, so you can place on rocks.

Mushrooms no longer collide with players

Ever since they were added several weeks ago, these sporous little fucks have been tripping up Newmans left and right. Thankfully, getting slowed down by mushrooms should be a thing of the past now that the colliders have been removed.

Performance / LOD's

We’re seeing a good number of commits today around LOD’s. As you may recall, LOD’s are varying quality models for items in the game. This allows lower quality versions to be rendered when farther away, making it easier to process and increasing frame rates. These are a very welcome sign as FPS has been far from ideal for a while now.

Object quality slider

Another potential breakthrough in performance, the object quality slider has been added to the F2 menu. This slider appears to allow you to always render the lowest quality LOD’s, regardless of distance. Hopefully this will provide a sorely needed FPS boost to those running less powerful machines. As far as aesthetic is concerned, the difference for a lot of things is very subtle:

Volume slider working again

Since the update last week, the in-game volume slider has not been functional. I just tried on the latest development branch and it appears to be hooked up again.

Tip: Turn off furnace sound

I don’t know about you, but the furnace sounds are too damn loud! Not only can I not hear myself think when they are running, I end up waking the neighbors because I’m screaming at my colleagues on teamspeak. Someone shared a trick which will provide some temporary relief:

• Go to your options menu (F2)
• Under speaker mode, select any other option
• Then go back to the option it originally was
• All furnace sounds will now be muted until they are stopped and started again

Thankfully, this should only be necessary for another couple days because the furnace sound appears to be toned down significantly on the development branch.

Stream on

I'll continue streaming from our Hapis Island server tonight around 9pm EST. Also, tune in on Thursday at 4pm EST for our live update stream. Follow the Rustafied twitch to know exactly when we go live.

Edit: Given ladders are in dev, I'm going to stream from our dev branch server instead tonight and see how easy it is to get into bases.

Question? Comments? Join the conversation at Rustaforum.com

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