Optimizations, Tech Tree Improvements, and More!
12:00am EST – Development continues with a strong focus on backend optimization and systems work this week. The tech tree interface is also getting quality-of-life upgrades, the developer console has been expanded with new tools, and the upcoming apartment complex monument continues to take shape.
Server Performance Optimizations
One of the biggest areas of work right now is server networking performance. Developers have been experimenting with running player subscription updates — the system that determines what entities players should see — in parallel. Internal testing shows significant improvements under heavy load.
Several optimizations also reduce memory allocations and improve how networking tasks are scheduled and processed. The system for batching networkable updates has been refined to avoid creating excessive tasks when large numbers of entities are involved, and the main thread can now assist with subscription work while waiting for parallel tasks to complete.
Additional networking improvements include work on the NetworkVisibilityGrid system, improved packet handling, reduced allocation pressure, and enabling LZ4 high compression for network traffic.
Tech Tree Improvements
As part of a recent Hack Week project, developers have been experimenting with improvements to the tech tree interface — and it looks like the feature may be making its way into the game. The core idea is the ability to unlock entire paths of the tech tree at once rather than clicking through each individual node.
The UI now previews the full unlock path before confirming, highlighting the route through the tree and displaying the total scrap cost required. Unlocking can be done in a single hold action, with customizable unlock speed, making the process noticeably faster — and pretty satisfying to watch. The system also includes a few interface fixes, including resolving an issue where the total cost display could remain visible after switching tech tree pages.
Console and Chat UI Improvements
The developer console has received several improvements that make it easier to use and navigate. A new command list interface adds searchable commands, highlighted search results, improved autocomplete behavior, and a cleaner command browsing experience.
Chat systems were also updated so channel colors are now pulled from configuration rather than hardcoded values. Accessibility options allow chat label colors to be customized, and external channels such as Discord messages now display with proper color formatting.
Apartment Complex Monument Progress
Work continues on the apartment complex monument currently in development. Recent commits include new apartment doors, thicker and more detailed window frames, interior set dressing work, and structural additions such as an apartment wood stove.
Additional prefab updates and asset refinements suggest continued environment art progress as the monument moves further into development.
Fixes
A variety of gameplay, rendering, and stability fixes landed this week.
Fixed ScientistSuitNVGM mask causing errors
Fixed flickering hair cards in hide skirt
Fixed broken egg suit
Fixed corpse prefab pickup referencing incorrect item prefabs
Fixed pivot offset on apartment door B prefab
Fixed escape key not closing the attachment screen
Fixed console not pushing logs after entering commands
Fixed autocomplete command list snapping incorrectly
Fixed command override null reference in command list
Fixed deep sea planter errors when the deep sea event closes
Fixed GetBuildingPrivilege client softcore null reference
Fixed creative.freebuild grades breaking with the boat building plan
Fixed vending machine deployment regression
Fixed modular car fuel tank not connectable
Fixed navmesh loading failures caused by tilesLoaded not incrementing
Fixed binary save files not truncating correctly
Fixed server profiler recording failures on Linux
Fixed water SSR flickering when TAA was enabled
Fixed shadow issues affecting brutalist building blocks
Fixed incorrect cleanup on load failure
Fixed out-of-bounds navmesh tile index warnings
Fixed IO bounds issues
Fixed crashes and server build issues
Other Changes
A number of additional improvements and content updates were committed this week.
Increased the mature growth stage for most crops to 24 hours (from 14 hours)
Allowed Chinese lanterns to be placed on rock ceilings
Limit watch tower placement to every ~20 meters
Imported new firewood and firewood holder props with full prefabs, LODs, and colliders
Optimized firewood prop LOD distances
Continued improvements to kiosk models and trim materials
Bunny Suit texture, material, and cloth simulation updates
Updated and refreshed salvaged axe viewmodel animations
Updated third-person animations for several items and entities including machete, combat knife, workcart, locomotive, car passenger, arcade machines, and chairs
Improved third-person attachment handling and began converting attachments to prefab variants
Added attachment rotation component and third-person attachment culling at distance
Added new radial menu improvements for light toggles
Added a keybind to open the command list UI
Added a ForceServerIncludeMesh label system for server builds
Reduced mesh counts on certain props such as the Rustige Egg model
Added smoother viewmodel camera transitions when exiting animations
Cleaned up charm assets and updated skin lists
Updated armoured ladder hatch meshes and textures
Removed some temporary placeholder sounds
Various asset cleanup, folder organization, and prefab fixes