12:00am EST - With one week till the August update and forced wipe, the team is cranking on functionality and fixes.

Harcore Refresh

Work on refreshing the Hardcore game mode continues to roll out week by week, and things are really starting to take shape. Here’s a quick summary of the main changes that have landed so far:

Upkeep costs are now doubled, ammo crafting is five times more expensive, and all weapons must be found — they can’t be researched, and they’re gone from the tech tree entirely. That said, you can repair any gun without needing the blueprint. NPCs drop half as much ammo now, and vendors no longer sell pistol bullets.

On the navigation front, your player marker and direction will now show on the map if you’ve got a compass in your belt. Otherwise, you’re on your own. All these changes are still a work in progress, and we’re expecting even more tweaks soon — so stay tuned for a full breakdown in next week’s update post.

New Menu Almost Ready

The completely overhauled ESC menu is nearly ready for release, and this week it's getting some final polish — including a massive boost to server search speed. We're now seeing searches return in around 20 milliseconds, even with over 10,000 servers and multiple filters active. Not bad at all.

This new menu brings a full visual refresh and plenty of usability upgrades. You've got four main tabs: News/Session, Play, Store, and Settings — with a social section that's always visible at the bottom. The Play tab includes filters for Official, Community, Modded, and more, while the Store now features categorized filtering, improved DLC previews, and a new skin viewer that lets you inspect items in detail before buying (it also works on your inventory).

The Settings menu now lives on its own cleaner page, and gestures can be customized using drag-and-drop with live previews. No official word on when this will hit live, but odds are looking pretty good for a launch alongside next week’s update.

Pilot Hazmat DLC Incoming

Looks like the next DLC pack is ready for takeoff — the Pilot Hazmat set is shaping up to land with the August update. Most of the content is already in and looking sharp, though as always, things are subject to change and some tweaks may still happen before launch.

Here’s what’s included so far:

M15 Pistol
A remodel of the Semi-Auto Pistol with a pilot-themed twist. Features glow-in-the-dark iron sights for some added flair.

Pilot Hazmat Suit
A fresh hazmat skin with a full aviation-inspired design. Already modeled and looking slick.

Flight Control Code Lock
A code lock skin that brings some aircraft panel vibes. Slightly smaller light than the standard one, but still clearly visible.

Black Box
A reskin of the small wooden storage box, modeled after a real black box. Mostly non-glowing with subtle accent lighting.

Salvaged Ejector Seat
A chair reskin with ejector seat aesthetics — great for post-raid lounging. Still being refined, but the theme is clear.

We’ll keep an eye on this one as it nears the runway, but it’s looking like it’ll be part of the August content drop.

Fixes

Possibly fixed the ancient rare bug that makes doors unable to be picked up until a lock is placed and removed from them.
Fixes memory leaks related to Rust+'s camera renderer and Nexus mugshot savings
Fixed flickering issue when viewing a prefab
Various fixes and updates for different gameplay elements like watch towers, LR300 mesh, codelock skins, and restart toasts in primitive mode

Other Stuff

Improved rain - no longer sometimes partially clips through ceilings.
Admin convar `global.god` (godmode) now displays GameUI when godmode is active
Move server restart chat messages to toasts
Log results after single scene run and fix extra timers in results for benchmarking
More work on improving the Scientist AI
More work on the Naval Update (floating cities, boats, etc)
More work on the Decor Lighting DLC
Work on some new Halloween items