8/21 @ 5:10pm EST - There was a small server / client update earlier today. Along with fixing some errors and tweaking some things about the server list / query ports, it has made it so typing 'kill' will kill you immediately instead of putting you in a wounded state.

8/21 @ 12:56pm EST - Some servers are still having trouble showing up on the list. If you're not seeing our servers, use the below commands to connect directly:

• Main: client.connect 74.91.115.49:28091
• Low pop: client.connect 74.91.115.49:26032
• Dev branch: client.connect 74.91.115.49:28074
• Hapis: client.connect 74.91.115.49:27083

4:54pm EST - The update has just hit and the devblog is out! Our servers have updated and main has been wiped.

3:05pm EST - Update stream is live! twitch.tv/rustafied

2:30pm EST - Update stream goes live in half an hour! twitch.tv/rustafied

12:45pm EST - Some new changes from the past 12 hours:

• Block rotation allowed for another 10 minutes after an upgrade
• New horse footstep sounds
• New plant picking sounds
• Wounded in chest animation added

1:02am EST - Just about time for an update. This week we’ve seen more work on tweaks and backend facing things than new items or functionality. Even if we don’t have any shiny new objects to impale Newmans with this week, some serious steps forward have been made. No wipe will be forced, however, they may happen at the server owner's discretion (Rustafied wipe info at the bottom of this post).

No indication when the update will go live yet but our update stream will go live at the normal time (3pm EST). As always, follow @Rustafied to keep track of any new shit during the day. Let’s get into it...

Update video

Here is a quick video featuring some of the changes in this update:

Workshop stuff

Garry, back from his vacation, has been focusing primarily on the steam workshop. Refactoring and integrating how the game interacts with the workshop; we should see 3rd party items start entering the game in the next several weeks. It’s not clear at this moment what, if anything, forward facing will make it in the update, but expect to see Rasta beanies and policeman T’s wandering around Rust in the near future.

Rust SDK update

Complementing his workshop progress, Garry has also updated the Rust Software Developer Kit (SDK). Here are some change notes:

Microfiber shader works
Added dirt layer shader
Jacket is now skinnable
Snow Jacket is now skinnable
Boonie Hat is now skinnable
Balaclava is now skinnable

Peturs fix bag

Petur is back and has a big bag of changes. He’s been rocking out commits all week to lighting, loot spawns, and procedural map generation. To the joy of many players, he has toned down the blown out HDR effects, making lighting overall much more even (see example below). As I write this, it is not clear what will go live this week. Given the context of these changes, some will have to wait until next week or the forced wipe (9/3) before they go live.

Dungeons

Vince has been working for the past several days on a branch name, “dungeons_greybox.” I spoke with him briefly about this body of work. He shared it “is going to be an important development for the game in the coming months, regarding radtowns, caves, monuments, etc. Dungeons are simply the term we want to use onward to speak of them, to make it simpler.”

Basically, over the next several months we will see new and custom (some procedurally generated) "dungeons" popping up around the map. Can't. Fucking. Wait.

Graphical enhancements

We’ve seen a lot of commits from several team members this week in the realm of graphical fixes and enhancements. New and improved shaders, performance enhancements, HUD tweaks, more efficient compression; although all might not be readily apparent, these changes have stepped the game forward.

New animations

Expect to notice some changes to the way things move, Mihn has tweaked and added a bunch of animations including: idle gestures for several weapons, improved animal movement, smoother jump transitions, helping up from wounded state, and more.

New console commands

Andre added two new console commands to view FPS. Typing ‘client.fps’ in the console will display your FPS at that moment. The same goes for server.fps, however, that is only accessible to moderators.

Admins are no longer all female

The female model is still not quite ready to be rolled out. In lieu making it live (and to still allow for testing), Andre has created a developer cvar (dev.gender) to allow developers and moderators to set their gender on the fly (and made everyone male by default).

Admin note: If you’d like to be female again, set ‘global.developer true’ then change dev.gender from -1 to 1.

PVE demolish

The 10 minute timer for demolish has been removed from servers with PVE enabled, meaning players can use their hammers to demolish at any time. Personally, I’d love to see this become a server setting, allowing individual server owners to decide if they want a demolish timer or not.

Server list improvements

Several improvements have been made to the server list. First, you no longer have to press refresh all to see servers when first loading (an issue introduced the other week). Also, Garry has changed it so server queries share gameserver port (instead of using the gameserver port + 1). This will ideally help servers show up more consistently on the server list.

Other stuff

• Gibs when breaking barrels
• Fixed shadows in first person so they don’t lag
• Fix for ragdolls floating away from where they were

Rustafied wipe schedule

Here is what you can expect when it comes to map wipes on Rustafied servers (no blueprint wipes planned):

• Main - Will wipe when the update hits
• Low pop - Will not wipe
• Dev branch - Will not wipe
• Hapis - Will not wipe

A note on wipes: Over the past several weeks, entity counts have been staying lower (thank you, decay) and performance has been holding up longer. Yes, performance is always best after a fresh wipe, however, the time in which it takes performance to drop has been trending outwards. To test the limits of this, I do not plan on wiping any Rustafied servers till the next forced map wipe (2 weeks from now).

Rustafied is an independent operation. Want to show your support? Donate or become a patron. Thank you!