5/22 @ 4:40pm EST - Some bug fixes and animation tweaks happening today, but overall, not too many commits. Therefore, rather than write about it, I'm going to play the game! Stream starting momentarily on the Rustafied twitch channel.

4:30pm EST - Devblog and update are out! http://playrust.com/devblog-61/ 

4:00pm EST - The update stream is live! http://www.twitch.tv/rustafied/

3:30pm EST - Some miscellaneous commits still coming in. Supply drop blueprint was removed, so that's good. Our live update stream is starting in half an hour, stay tuned!

1:55pm EST - Models for the wooden ladder are in...

10:50am EST - The most exciting day of the week is here. In several hours, the update goes live, shifting gameplay in a huge way. Although we’re not seeing as many new items as we did last week, what it means to build a protected base has forever changed. Along with summarizing the changes coming this week, I’ve added some tips for protecting your base given the advent of a very powerful new raiding tool.

Follow @Rustafied for updates throughout the day and tune in to our live update stream starting at 4pm EST.

Ladders

Raiders have a new, very powerful ally: The Wooden Ladder. This default blueprint costs 300 wood and can be placed where building is blocked to easily scale rocks and walls. Forever shifting the dynamic of base protection and raiding, the ladder has quickly divided the community. While many are happy to see the days of OP rock bases come to an end, there are those who complain these things ruin the game by making it impossible to protect your shit.

To them I say, chill… Even though this is a game changer, it is not a game breaker. It is an opportunity to adapt. Personally, I love the idea of something disrupting gameplay dynamics so drastically. It keeps things fresh, forcing you to think in a new way and keeping you on your toes. See more details on ladders in my post from yesterday and check out the bottom of this post for some tips on protecting your base from ladders. 

Player collision

The days of running straight through Newmans are gone; player collision has been added. This not only changes PvP interactions, it makes navigating bases much more difficult when working with a group. Another dynamic introduced with this: Boosting. Although it takes a little practice, it is now possible to jump on players shoulders. I’m really interested to see how this is going to be utilized in the wild.

Server browser search / filters

Finding servers just got easier as Garry added server search and filters.

Ammo fixes

No more free conversions to HV ammo; Helk has fixed the bug which changes normal ammo to HV when you reload with 1 HV round in your inventory.

Shorter commands

Typing console commands just got easier as you can now forgo the first part of many of them. For instance, “graphics.fov 75” can now be, “fov 75.”

Object quality slider

A new addition to the F2 menu, the object quality slider allows you to select the lowest quality LOD’s for objects around you.

Unity 5.1 / DX 11

Garry has updated to the newest release candidate of Unity. With this, we also move from DirectX 9 to DirectX 11. It doesn’t look like this has improved performance much, however, it has introduced some funky visual bugs.

Other things:

• Anticheat bans are visible to the whole server
• Mushrooms no longer slow you down
• Volume slider works again
• Furnaces no longer crazy loud
• Hapis improvements (maybe?)

So how the fuck do I protect my base now?

Barricades
These puppies just got much more useful. A spiked barricade placed next to a wall will block a would-be raider from ascension. Watch out for your door, however, ladders can be placed over doors and used to go around corners of bases. Barricades on the roof is also a good idea.

Overhangs
Using floor pieces to create overhangs around your building will block ladder access to the floors above. Consider placing multiple rings around your base on different levels. Watch out for overhangs on the second level, given the new player collision, people can stand on each other to place ladders higher up.

Misdirection
Bleed raiders dry of their resources. Create fake loot rooms, forcing them to waste time and C4 only to lower their morale when they find nothing but charcoal in the boxes.

Cave bases
Build in a cave. They cut down on ladder use and make it easier to control the points of ingress.

Water bases
Newmans hate water. Even though ladders can be placed while in water, the added dynamics of cold and wetness will make your base a less attractive target to potential raiders.

Layer up!
Place many doors / walls between points of ingress and your valuable loot. The more layers raiders have to go through, the better the chance they give up before they get to your stash.

Small and armored
Instead of building huge, try a smaller, armored base with barricades all around it.

Will there be a wipe?

A map wipe is not forced this week, however, all Rustafied servers will be wiping when the update goes live. Given current entity counts, this is the only way to ensure smooth gameplay for the coming week. No blueprints will be wiped.

Live update stream

Join me at 4pm EST as we look at what's new this week and answer questions about changes to gameplay. We’ll track the status of the update till it goes live, at which point I’ll shift gears and broadcast from our freshly wiped low pop server. Follow the Rustafied twitch to know exactly when the show starts.

Question? Comments? Join the conversation at Rustaforum.com

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