5/5 @ 2am - Where the fuck did the dev branch server go?! Don't worry, it's all right, this happens most weeks. The latest development build updated compatibility (protocol++) so only people opted into the development branch can see the server now. The map did not wipe but you need to opt your client into the dev branch before you can play in the server. Click here to find out how to opt in.

7:05pm EST - Paper maps are on the dev branch! Here's a peek and some details:

What we know about paper maps:

• Maps cost 10 paper
• They are not default blueprints
• Uses a fog of war (areas appear only as you travel to them)
• Hold G to bring up the map when it's on your toolbelt
• You can zoom in / out with the scroll wheel
• You cannot yet label / draw (although that is planned)
• It is only on the latest dev branch build (slated for a launch to main on Thursday). Our dev branch server isn't updated yet but will shortly.

4:25pm EST - It is a fresh week in Rust development and the primary focus of the day is maps. Garry is working on the new craftable maps while Andre is tweaking some things around map generation. The big update is scheduled for Thursday (as always) and no wipe will be forced. That said, poor performance may cause wipes sooner than later…

Performance

As with any game in development, lack of optimization leads way to poor performance. With Rust development, it’s been like a pendulum, swinging between shitty and passable. Performance was at a pretty decent state just the other week, however, the launch of the terrain improvements have quickly swung us in the other direction.

Along with universal complaints of lower FPS, performance on the server-side has also taken a dip. As Garry mentioned in the devblog, AI is the biggest culprit in slow server performance. Unfortunately, even when we turn it off on our 200 slot server, server FPS is still lower than ideal.

The team is aware of these issues and will address them eventually. In the meantime, I will be monitoring our servers closely, and will wipe the map once performance is truly horrendous. Note: this does not apply to our low pop server, where wiping less takes priority over performance.

Paper maps

Garry is focusing on the new paper maps with the goal of having them live in Thursday’s update. Given this work is still on a separate branch, I’m unable to give you any visuals at the moment. Here’s what we do know about the maps so far:

• It uses fog of war (the map fills in as you explore the area)
• It focuses on the player till you click somewhere else
• Like most items, it only functions when on the toolbelt
• You will be able to label / draw all over it

I’m really stoked to see these in game. The fog of war element will encourage exploration and the idea of looting someone elses map and seeing what they've labeled really spices things up. I’ll post some more in-depth coverage once the map branch is merged to main.

Note: This will mark the end of us generating maps for each seed we make.

Map generation

Andre is tweaking some things with procedural map generation. Most notably, he’s added the support for procedural component on custom maps. This may just be the first step in us seeing some rad towns on the new Hapis map, which are sorely needed. Speaking of the hapis map…

Hapis Island resource woes

The new custom map, Hapis Island, has some fatal flaws at the moment. Specifically, as I mentioned on Friday, it lacks loot and the spawning of nodes is fucked. To help remedy this, I've been running the following commands every couple of hours:

• del autospawn/resource/ores
• del autospawn/resource/loot/loot-barrel
• del autospawn/resource/loot/loot-barrel-1
• del autospawn/resource/loot/loot-barrel-2

This basically removes all the nodes and barrel spawns and resets the process, upping the probability of finding them. I’m expecting this to be much better by later in the week, but in the mean time, expect sparse resources if you’re Hapising it up.

Edit: Petur has started on an "unsuck hapis" branch. Nice.

Beancan grenade

Minh has completed the world model for the newest explosive device, the Beancan grenade. Given the amount of work already completed on this, I’d be surprised if it doesn’t make it into the update this week.

RHiPs

Along with creating youtube videos, I’ve started dabbling in streaming. From freecam events to tutorial gameplay, there are a lot of opportunities in the Rust streaming realm. One we had fun with last night was: Rust Highway Patrol.

Several admins and I roamed around the roads of our development branch server, helping Newmans in need and battling bandits when they engaged us. We also fielded a bunch of questions from the audience about gameplay and Rust in general. RHiPs will be going live again later tonight, so keep an eye on @Rustafied or follow the Rustafied Twitch for when it starts.

Question? Comments? Join the conversation at Rustaforum.com