9/26 @ 8:00am EST - The connection issues have been resolved!  Server and client updates are out.

9/26 @ 3:00am EST - Rust-wide connection issues happening now - many servers going down randomly. The developers are aware and working on it. 

9/24 @ 12:35pm EST - We are experiencing issues with timeouts on our servers. We're working on finding a resolution - thanks for your patience!

1:45pm EST - The update and devblog are live!

1:35pm EST - Our update stream is going live a bit early today!

1:10pm EST - The server update just went live - might see this update hit soon!

7:40am EST - Update day is upon us and we’re seeing some small but significant shifts along with progress on long term functionality. The recoil changes mentioned by Helk last week have not made it in as he has been working hard on the location component system (expect more on this in the devblog).

Our update stream goes live at 2pm EST (unless it’s an early patch like last week). Follow @Rustafied for news throughout the day. Let’s get into it...

Update summary video

Check out this weeks update summary video from Puddy!

Build privilege checks

In an unpopular move, Andre has made it so building privilege is also checked at the construction placement position, not just player position. This changes various building techniques, and nerfs raid towers in a big way.

Building blocked notices

Small bases will be a bit easier to hide as building blocked notices now only show when the hammer, building plan, or a deployable are equipped. Although yes, people can still just run around with a hammer out everywhere, this at least makes it a bit harder to detect hidden shacks.

Revive improvements

Helping your fellow wounded Newman up has been improved this week. The line of sight check has been made more forgiving, meaning the revive isn’t cancelled immediately if you lose focus.

Grass displacement

Finding items in the grass will be a bit easier also as Andre has added a new form of grass displacement. As you may recall from its previous implementation, this causes grass below your character model to shift a bit, making the ground more visible. Although this feature is not on by default at the moment, it can easily be turned on via a new toggle in the graphics options.

Natural cave hype

Vince has been trucking along on the new natural cave systems. Still no visuals yet, however, we’ve seen some interesting commits. With mention of glow worms, ore vein textures for gold and uranium, and more, excitement continues to build over this upcoming underground network. As with all changes to map generation, this body of work won’t go live till the next forced wipe at the earliest (October 6th).

Other things

• Improvements to water aesthetics and reflections
• Progress on the new lighthouse interior (expected by next forced wipe)

US Main slot increase

We’ll be upping the slots to 400 on our main US server when the update hits. This increase is not only to help with the large queues after wipe, but also to stress test the limits of the game. As with any test of this nature, if performance suffers, we will drop the slots back down to 350.

9/24 Edit: Given all the craziness with server issues today, we lowered back to 350. Will consider upping it again in the near future.

Gone next 2 weeks

I will be traveling the far East for the next two weeks and removed from most things Rust. Never fear, the Rustafied crew will be picking up the slack, so expect to still see update posts and streams on Thursday’s.