2:00pm EST - The server and client updates are live!

1:00pm EST - Our update stream is live! twitch.tv/rustafied

12:00am EST - Going live today, a huge update, featuring some of the biggest changes to gunplay and recoil we’ve seen in years! Also, Hapis makes its comeback, there’s a new weapon, rail changes, NPC’s at Launch, fixes, and more.

The update is expected at normal time, 2pm EST / 7pm BST, and will force a map wipe across the board (no sign of a forced blueprint wipe). Our update stream goes live at 1pm EST where we’ll show off all we can about these new changes and answer questions. Follow @Rustafied for news throughout the day.

New gunplay and recoil

There are a slew of huge changes related to recoil and gunplay entering the game today. I’ve done my best to summarize everything you as a player need to know in the sections below.

As with all new additions to the game - especially big, chunky boys like this one - this is all subject to change! I would not be surprised if we see a couple hotfixes in the days following this update, and further tweaks to PvP in the coming monthly updates.

Overview
The changes to PvP dynamics going live today shift much more than just recoil -- although it totally does that, too. Long and short: recoil patterns are easier to manage / learn, there is a native crosshair when not in ADS, visual hit markers, directional damage indicators, new sounds, a new extended magazine item, and more!

New recoil
Top of the list, new recoil has been implemented to pretty much every gun. As a quick side note, recoil can be difficult to describe in text -- I’ll do my best but you really just need to try it out for yourself to see. If it’s still pre-update, you can hit up various staging servers which have been set up to test the new recoil out.

Overall, recoil is easier to learn and manage. Instead of complex patterns you’d need to master to spray with accuracy, each gun now has a simpler pattern to learn. A positive beyond the lower learning curve is these patterns should actually make it harder for scripters to do their thing.

Although not the main impetus for these changes, a number of scriptable aspects of recoil have been addressed. This ideally reduces the effectiveness of scripts and hinders their ability from gaining such advantage.

So what are these new patterns like? Well AK spray basically goes up and to the right. SAR is very accurate with less recoil than before. LR spray goes straight up with a little wiggle side-to-side. The recoil pattern per weapon, although pretty consistent from spray to spray, seems to have a little RNG variability both horizontally and vertically. This means they are similar each time, but also have some randomness.

Recoil, as expected, is also impacted by what your player is doing. You’ll have less of a recoil pattern if you’re crouching and aiming down sight (ADS) while spraying. On the flipside, if you’re running and hip-firing, your recoil is going to be drastically greater.

To give you a sense of the patterns, here are some examples we did yesterday on staging. These represent the full auto recoil pattern with zero compensation while being stationary and ADS. The left pattern represents standing, the right pattern is crouching. Keep in mind, all is subject to change!

Native crosshair
In a first for Rust, a native crosshair has been added by default when you are holding guns and crossbows. It’s a responsive crosshair similar to those you’ve seen in other games.

If you’re not familiar, it has a middle dot to show where the center of your aim is (duh) and then has four lines surrounding which shift in distance from the center based on how wide your weapons aim cone is. Actions like crouching or putting a laser sight attachment on will lower that area. Things like running and jumping will make it larger.

Visual hit markers
Now, in addition to the audio hit markers we’re used to (love a good headshot squish), a visual cue has been added when you land a body or head shot. Very similar in style to COD games, it’s a little white mark which quickly flashes on the screen right when you hit.

Directional damage indicators
You can also have a better idea of where you’re getting hit from with new directional damage indicators. Now, when a projectile hits you, you’ll see a transparent blood-red crescent appear on your screen from the direction you were hit from. This can be very helpful if you’re getting picked off from a distance and you can’t tell where it’s coming from.

Note: If you’re shot by someone with a silencer from a distance, you will not see any directional damage indicator.

Other stuff

• You can turn most of these new UI elements (crosshair, hit markers, and such) off in the options menu if you choose to.

• There are also new sounds for several weapons. Some may still be a work in progress.

HMLMG added

Along with all these PvP shifts, there is also a new weapon afoot! The HMLMG (or handmade light machine gun) is a T3 tech tree item which features a 60 round magazine of 556 ammo. Almost a poor-mans M249, the HMLMG can be found between HQM Armor and the Assault Rifle on the tech tree.

It costs 500 scrap to research (2000 total on the tech tree) and will take 30 HQM, 1 rifle body, 2 springs, and 3 gears to craft. Its spray goes up and to the left with some slight RNG on the vertical axis. 

Extended Magazines

A fresh attachment for this PvP update, the Extended Magazine has been added to the game. Adding 25% capacity to the magazines of various guns, this puppy may just be the difference between life and death in your next showdown.

A tier 2 tech tree item, it costs 10hqm to craft and requires a workbench level 2. Applied just like any other weapon attachment, it can be only be equipped on certain guns.

Works with:

Hapis is back!

Another biggie for this month's update, our favorite static map, Hapis, is coming back to official rotation! Taken out after the world revamp update last year, Hapis is back and better than ever! It still has the same overall layout and feel you’re used to, while also featuring some new monuments and goodies.

Primarily, the Dome monument has been added to the desert and power ziplines have been placed around the map. There’s also been a bunch of miscellaneous topological shifts to various sections of the map. Overall though, it’s still our good ole’ Hapis.

If you’re looking for a place to play Hapis after the update, check out our EU and US Zenlabs servers on the official list - they’ll be hosting Hapis or the foreseeable future.

Covered train carts

We’ve also got some shifts in the realm of the above rail network. First, there is a new covered workcart variant to be found on the tracks around the map. It functions in the same way as the other work carts (which are still spawning around the map) while providing extra protection for passengers.

In addition, you’ll notice the above rail tracks around the map are slightly different from last month. Along with the side sections we’re used to, there are now new segment types which run parallel but are much closer to the neighboring track (see 3rd image below).

Lastly, the workcart controls have been updated. They now show the number of coupled carts on the top right of the screen, they beep when a new cart is connected, and the display is 40% brighter. Also, the original workcart console is now blue.

NPC’s at Launch

With all these PvP changes, you’ll be looking for someone or something to shoot at. If you head down to the Launch Site, you’ll have fresh targets as NPC’s have been added to the monument.

Initial testing shows around 6 blue scientist NPC’s in the main launch building and 2 on the roof. We’re not seeing any NPC’s elsewhere around the monument at the moment, however, as with all of this, it’s subject to change.

Graffiti store pack

According to @playrust, there will be a graffiti store pack going live for sale today. Players who purchase will be able to tag up various surfaces in Rust using the Spray Can. Without the pack, the Spray Can is currently spraying a Rust decal when equipped and left clicked.

Edit: The pack is now live on the item store!

Various fixes

There have also been a slew of miscellaneous fixes throughout this month. Here is a summary:

• Fixed vehicle control sensitivity being lower at higher FPS

• Fixed spear gun not appearing in players hands when equipped

• Fixed floating wooden barricade cover

• Fixed cargo ship RHIB being unusable after server restart

• Fixed cargo ship RHIB leaking fuel and storage entity after server restart

• Fixed footstep sounds always being barefoot sounds after changing to other footwear in inventory

• Fixed players with the same name as a prefab displaying as the prefab instead of the player

• Fixed Powerplant green card skip

• Fixed some alignment issues on answering machine UI

• Fixed WorkCart movement audio playing when it shouldn't be in certain situations

• Fixed solar panels pointing to the sun's location in the server's central sky dome instead of the suns true direction

• Fixed barbwire parts on stone wall and stone gate not showing for players on lower settings

Other stuff

• You can now craft ammo at mixing tables (provided you have the blueprint)

• Compound bow loses less durability while held back

• Reduced height and size of landmines

• Added vehicle sensitivity slider in options menu

• Added open / close interaction sounds to a bunch of deployable items

• Added ability for admins to hide certain HUD elements via the F1 > tools tab

• Limit the size of chat history to store in memory on the server, Configurable with the chat.historysize convar (default 1000)

• Added FPS counter configs to the options menu

• AI commands added:

  • Added ai.killanimals server command

  • Added ai.AddIgnorePlayer and ai.RemoveIgnorePlayer server commands. AI now checks the ignore list when adding players to memory.