12:10am EST - It is a huge week for Rust! With the forced map wipe coming Thursday, we’ve got a ton of new eye candy, reworked bone armor, awesome changes to Savas, and more. It's still early in the week, so this is all still in process, and some stuff isn't quite in game yet. Follow @Rustafied for news as the week progresses.

The forced wipe is only for maps - there is no sign at the moment of a forced XP wipe. Rustafied servers are not planning on wiping XP, however, if you’re looking for a fresh start experience, check out our new 300 slot EU server opening when the update hits - more info at the bottom of this post. Let’s get into it...

Graphics overhaul

Petur's long awaited graphics overhaul is set to go live with the update! As you may recall, this body of work features some stunning changes to the overall landscape and environment of Rust.

Not only are these changes visually appealing, they feature new functionality like tall grass to hide in and cacti which yield cloth when hit. I’m also happy to report these improved visuals do not appear to come at the cost of frames - most people polled are reporting the same FPS as they are currently getting on the main branch.

Here are some teaser screens - you can check it out first hand on by opting into the prerelease branch.

Savas: Conventional mode and mine shafts!

The small, non procedural map Savas is no longer just about being king of the hill - Petur has created a conventional gameplay version of this PvP oriented terrain. That means boxes and crates now have the standard loot, and building is not limited to that small square of land.

In conjunction with this new version, he’s also added an exciting new element: an underground network of tunnels. Styled by Vince to look like mine shafts, this low light series of tubes spawns rock nodes for your farming needs. We can’t quite experience this first hand yet, however, as the build is currently not working. Thankfully Petur told me this should be fixed today, so check back here and follow @Rustafied for more details as this becomes playable.

Edit: Petur just gave me the heads up the new Savas map is now playable. I hopped in to take some pictures... it looks incredible!!

Anti Gamma

Petur, who is just killing it, has also started on a new branch aimed at bringing an end to gamma boosting. The first commit? No gamma for u.

We won't be able to test this out till it is merged into main, but Petur told me he's shooting to get it in before the update.

LR300 accuracy?

After its entry into the game last week, the LR-300 has received some complaints about accuracy. Petur has swooped into action to make it more accurate, although that apparently was a lie. We’ll be getting confirmation and doing some tests prior to the update, so expect more on this as Thursday approaches.

Dungeon art

Vince has continued his work on dungeon art over the past few weeks. Along with fixing various issues like holes in the terrain, he’s made progress on elements of the train yard, military tunnels, and more. Not all of this is available to show at the moment given the state of prerelease, however, expect some visuals soon.

New Lighthouse

Accompanying the dungeon art, it looks like we’ll be seeing the new, bigger version of the lighthouse making its way in this week. Although you will eventually be able to travel to the top of this behemoth, Vince has closed the inside off for the time being, pending more progress. At the moment it appears the art has been added, however, it is not spawning on the maps so we can't test it out. More on this later.

Bone armor rework

As mentioned in last week's devblog, the new and improved bone armor is due to make its appearance with the update. No details yet as Helk has not implemented, but check back on Thursday for the specifics.

Rustafied.com - EU Main launch

I’m happy to announce we are launching a new server when the update hits: EU Main. This 300 slot server will wipe weekly and hopefully make it a bit easier to join a Rustafied server on wipe day if you’re in Europe. This is a brand new server, so for all of you wanting an XP wipe, this is a great place to get that fresh start.

I’ve also opened VIP for presale so you can get a guaranteed spot come update time.

Rustafied.com - EU Medium name change

If you play on our EU servers, you may have noticed ‘Rustafied.com - EU’ is now named ‘Rustafied.com - EU Medium’. This is nothing more than a change of name in preparation for the launch of the new 300 slot EU server. The map and XP is all still there, and it’ll continue to be a 200 slot, bi-weekly wipe server.