1/21 @ 4:05pm EST - The client / server update is out along with the devblog. All of our servers have updated and wiped (except low pop, which didn't wipe).

1/21 @ 3:00pm EST - Our update stream is live!

1/21 @ 11:52am EST - The update is due out in several hours and we’re still seeing some commits roll in. Helk has improved the flashlight and laser sight (see new pictures below), Alex has added a bunch of new sounds, and Andre has done some fixes and optimizations for stability.

Our update stream will go live at 3pm EST and all signs point to the update being out at normal time (between 4 and 5pm EST).

1/20 @ 4:20pm EST - We’ve got new weapon mods, bitches! Not only that, door speeds have doubled, admins have a new remove tool, other attachments are now cheaper, and a bunch more!

The update is expected to hit tomorrow (Thursday) and will not force a wipe. That said, all Rustafied servers (except Low Pop) will wipe when the update hits. Here’s a summary of what’s to come...

Laser sight added

I’ll never forget my third day playing legacy Rust. I had just established my first base with a newfound, naked friend (right atop resource mountain, you know the spot). That evening, a large group of geared gentlemen showed up at our doorstep.

Fearful for our survival, my associate and I feebly crouched around, hoping our assailants would simply get bored and leave. Unfortunately for us, they had already heard our loud clomping - and yes, the furnace might have been on - so they decided to stick around.

Ascending to the second story, we thought it a good idea to assess the situation by peeking out our lone window. The following exchange took place:

"Oh shit!"
"What? What's wrong man?
"What's that red dot on your head?"
"What red dot?"
"Oh shit, you got a red dot on your head too!"
{together} "OH SHIT!"
*pop* *pop*

Yes, this is literally the exact lyrics at the end of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Warning” - amazing song, you should go listen to it now. And yes, this was one of the pinnacle moments which had me fall in love with Rust. So I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear me say, “Hell yeah, the fucking laser sight is back!”

Here are some details:

Cost
15 High quality metal

Crafting time
2 minutes

Toggle key
F

Flashlight

Accompanying the lasersight, a flashlight mod has also been added, and night combat will never be the same. It works how you would expect: The mod is attached under the barrel of the gun and, when turned on, it lights up shit in front of you.

Cost
10 High quality metal

Crafting time
2 minutes

Toggle key
F

Another cool thing: miners helmets and candle hats can now also be toggled using the “F” key.

These are underbarrel attachments

An important thing to note about these two new attachments: they are underbarrel mods, meaning they sit underneath the barrel of the gun and subsequently, you can only equip one at a time.

Reduced prices, increased slots

With the addition of the laser sight and flashlight, Helk has reduced the cost of all weapon mods. Also, to account for the additional mods, the number of available weapon mod slots has increased to 3 across the board. Here are the new prices:

Holosight
20 High quality metal

Silencer
20 High quality metal

Doors close faster

In response to numerous complaints about the slow speed at which doors close, Garry has doubled the animation speed. This should make it a bit easier to keep out unwanted visitors when returning home. You may want to keep using the airlock method, however, because you still cannot interact with the door while the animation is playing (so no more quick closes like the days of old).

Leveling system started

Garry has begun work on the new XP / leveling system, first mentioned in his 2015 review post. Don’t expect to see anything related to that in this update though, it’s a large functionality and will likely take several weeks to get the initial version ready to launch. Expect some more in depth analysis of this game changer in the coming weeks.

Follow up on Holmzy’s Law

Earlier this week, I posted an opinionated letter to Garry regarding the new feature which broadcasts in chat when items are spawned by admins. This prompted a conversation in our server owner community, which Garry chimed in on.

Long story short: The feature is staying, but admins are getting a helpful new feature...

Admin remove tool

Until now, admins on vanilla servers have been able to remove items two ways: Buildings could be destroyed with the wood hammer and deployables (furnaces, signs, boxes, etc.) had to be disposed of the old fashioned way -- by force. This was a big reason for admins spawning things, and a core component of the complaint most server owners had against Holmzy’s Law.

Thankfully, Garry has added a new, command based remove tool. By binding a key to the command “ent kill”, admins can now remove things around the map with the click of a button. See it in action here.

Example:
bind g “ent kill”

Other things:

• Change FOV when screen aspect is high to avoid being able to side-eye through walls
• Animal animations smoothed out so the bear isn't so herky/jerky when he's attacking players.
• Can throw melee weapons while running
• Crossbow arrow no longer disappears
• Fixed bug with the beancan grenade fuse not disappearing
• Roofs can no longer be placed downwards
• Reduced roof max placement distance
• Sentry + ak worldmodel now uses new AK model
• Fixed water reflections on OSX

Main wipe schedule

For the past two weeks, we have been trying a bi-weekly wipe schedule on our main server (as opposed to the normal weekly wipes). Along with many complaints from players, the memory usage on our server has steadily been going through the roof. Given this, main will be switching back to a weekly wipe schedule when this update hits.