DEV BLOG #12
Hello Survivors! We’ve been working on this Dev Blog for sometime now, with the aim of making sure we address the most recently discussed topics by everyone in the community, providing answers to some of your questions as well as sharing some new exciting announcements!
This will be the last Dev Blog of 2022 so let’s start with a quick recap of everything that was added to Rust Console Edition this year.
2022 RECAP
This year has been a very exciting year for both the development team and for the community, with a lot of highly requested content making its way to Rust Console Edition. We started the year off with Offshore Blowout that brought the Oil Rigs, a new NPC threat in the form of the Heavy Scientists and the grenade launcher. Following this came the Deadly Catch update that brought the Fishing Villages and a new water vehicle, the kayak! Finally our most recent update, Oceanbound, added the L96 rifle and two Cargo Ship variants to the game.
On top of all the content updates, we also released seasonal content, such as Halloween and Christmas events (more about Christmas later). During this time we’ve made sure to have plenty of stability patches to ensure the game is as bug free and as smooth as possible. This is a massive challenge in a constantly changing game like Rust Console Edition.
There’s more to come in 2022, some of our plans have already been mentioned in previous dev blogs, like the Power Surge update coming to the public test branch at the end of November, and the addition of event servers to the main branch. We still have a few more surprises that we want to reveal in this Dev Blog!
Before that let’s see how our latest Public Test Branch update (1.23/1.2.3) is performing.
UPDATE 1.23/1.2.3 (PUBLIC TEST BRANCH)
A few weeks ago we released 1.23/1.2.3 on staging, with more than 250 bug fixes, which included plenty of gameplay, quality of life improvements, and crash fixes. This is one of the biggest updates we ever released in terms of fixes and our aim was to address the most concerning community bugs and find solutions for some highly reported issues such as invalid shots and audio crashes. After the update these issues may still occur but with much less frequency, or be completely gone. As we continue to investigate these issues, more information will be revealed to the team and this will allow us to keep working on tweaking the fixes to fit all the possible scenarios. So far the fixes look very promising and development is on the right track to get the issues sorted in the near future.
UPDATE 1.56 (MAIN BRANCH)
On the 24th of November, update 1.56 will be released for both Platforms with the monthly wipe, and with this update we will bring some of the fixes introduced with update 1.23/1.2.3 over on the public test branch. We decided to hand-pick some of the fixes instead of bringing it all over to ensure a stable build over the holiday season, plus some of the fixes still require a little more testing before being brought over. We want to bring only the most relevant ones for now, as this will give us time to focus on our next point of discussion - Powersurge, knowing that the main branch will be stable.
Patch notes will be available once the update goes live tomorrow, so be sure to keep an eye on our website.
POWERSURGE! (PUBLIC TEST BRANCH)
Power Surge is making its way to the public testing branch on November 24th, and this content update will completely change the way that Rust Console Edition is played!
Gone are the days of “magically” powered items! From now on, everyone will need to have an energy source (solar, wind or small generators) to run all the electrical components in their bases. This update introduces a huge variety of new components that allow you to work on more elaborate base designs.
Explore your creativity by creating your own automated systems with the help of buttons, switches, pressure pads, laser detectors, storage monitors, the HBHF sensor and timers.
On top of these new components, electricity also brings the new modular turrets! The rework will bring some much needed balance back to the game as big bases could have large amounts of turrets without having to worry about any cost. Turrets now require constant power when turned on and will need to be supplied with weapons!
An important question to answer about Power Surge is the Rust+ app and the Smart components that come with it. At the moment we have no plans to make it part of the update, but it’s something we can revisit in the future.
These are just some examples of what’s to come with Power Surge there’s plenty more in it!
Powersurge will remain on the public test branch until the start of next year so we can collect feedback and test it with all of you. Once we feel this update is ready for the main branch, we will announce it in our usual channels. Currently this is expected to be released in Q1 of 2023 depending on the amount of feedback and issues that arise.
If you don’t have access to the public test branch yet but you would like to participate in the test for Power Surge, the next topic will be of your interest.
SPECIAL PACK INCOMING…
We’ve managed to keep this one a secret...
On November 24th a brand new bundle is making its way to Rust Console Edition. This bundle includes a brand new Dark Camo skin pack, 500 Rust Coins and if you have the base version of Rust Console Edition, you will also be granted access to the public test branch. For those of you asking for an upgrade path, this is the way!
The pack needs to be purchased directly through the platform stores (meaning you can not buy it via the Skin Store). The price will be $6.99 (price may differ depending on region).
ONGOING PROGRESS FOR COMMUNITY SERVERS
Although we don’t have an estimated release date yet, we do have a new progress update! This includes some new UI screenshots we want to share with you all. Below you will see what our latest iteration of UI looks like, as well as some of the options players will have available. Keep in mind that this is all a work in progress and things are subject to change:
With the release of community servers, one section of UI we want to change is the server browser. The screenshot above shows what a future server list could look like for an Xbox user. Servers will be divided by official, console exclusive, community, favourite and history. We will also display server tags alongside each server so players have a better idea of which type of server they are joining, which will be filterable so that you can find your perfect server.
The bottom two options will allow you to create your own server or view and manage one that you already own, we are still iterating on the functionality for these screens so we will share these at a later date.
The next screen getting a polish will be the “Players in Game” screen, here you will be able to see a list of players in the server like normal, however now it will show their role in the server, such as Owner, Admin, Mod and VIP.
While a player is highlighted you will be able to press A/X to make an action on them. This could be changing their role, permissions, gifting an item or to take other actions like kicking and banning for breaking server rules…
Lastly, the final screenshot that we want to show is some of the admin tools to get a better idea of what we are planning to have with the release of community servers, below is a breakdown of how each of these options work.
The permissions option allows the owner to define what permissions each role has such as Admins, Mods and Players, the options below will only work if your role has the permissions from the owner of the server.
Server wide gifting allows you to choose an item to give to all players.
Spawning an item is very similar to Server wide gift, however it will only give you the item.
God mode will prevent you from taking any damage at all.
No-clip will allow you to fly and pass through objects.
The Teleportation setting will allow you to use the map to teleport anywhere, this is different to the other settings as the permissions you have will enable or disable the option.
Zoning is a feature we tested on the public test branch with Oceanbound, where a PVP zone was placed over the cargo ship. With community servers this feature will be expanded upon even more and won't just be used for PVP, more to come on this in the future.
EVENT SERVERS ARE COMING TO THE MAIN BRANCH!
We now have a date! December 8th will bring the release of the Target Practice servers to the main branch. Since we released Target Practice servers on the public test branch, we’ve been making plenty of adjustments based on player feedback. The most recent update happened on the 17th of November and completely changed the experience players have with this type of server.
For those of you who are not yet familiar with them, target practice servers are the perfect place for you to warm up before a long session on Rust Console Edition. You can practise your PvP skills, learn recoil patterns and improve reaction times without the fear of losing your weapons or simply have an action packed gameplay session when you don’t have as much time to play.
We believe this mode enhances the player experience and offers a nice compliment to the base game. The version that is running at the moment is subject to change based on player feedback, but as of now we are really happy with how much players are enjoying them. Please let us know what you think about these types of servers once you have a chance to try them out!
CHRISTMAS EVENT
In the beginning of December to mid January, the Christmas event will be live to all players in Rust Console Edition. Every few in game hours, you will hear Christmas bells and presents will spawn all around you! Break them, and gifts will come from inside. There’s three types of gifts, small, medium and large. Each contains different rewards, those rewards will depend on the size of the gift so the bigger it is the better your prizes will be!
You can also merge gifts together to ensure better rewards - 10 small gifts can be merged into a medium gift and 5 medium gifts can be merged into a large one. If you're feeling extra generous during the season of giving, you can always reward your teammates with a nice gift or two.
Time limited in game items will also be available with the Christmas event. These include the Christmas tree which you can decorate to your liking, ice walls that will give a more “wintery” feeling to the exterior of your base, and varios cosmetics like the Reindeer Antlers and the Santa’s hat for you to wear during this special time of the year. Some of these items will be craftable during the event whilst others will drop from gifts.
WHAT’S COMING NEXT?
At the moment our focus is on the Powersurge update and getting it polished and ready for a future main branch release. This release will be around Q1 of 2023, we will share a more specific date once we can.
Since Powersurge is almost on the public test branch, now it’s a good time to share the name of the next two content updates we have planned. Those will be Cultivator and Horsepocalypse. We hope this makes you even more excited for what’s to come for Rust Console Edition!
We had a great year in 2022 and we could not have done it without all of you. Once again thank you so much for supporting us and we will keep working hard to deliver the best experience possible!
See you on the island.
