Minicopter is here!

Update day is upon us and with it comes a new mode of air transportation, a slew of fresh electrical items, new tree and hemp models, and best of all, performance improvements for both servers and clients!

Our update stream goes live at 3pm EST. Follow @Rustafied for news throughout the day. Let’s get into it...

Minicopter added

A new vehicle has arrived to grace the skies of Rust! The Minicopter is a two seat helicopter which runs on low grade fuel. Similar to Hot Air Balloons, you’ll find these around the map at random intervals. A rare commodity, only several spawn per map (the exact number is not clear yet).

Steering is accomplished by moving your mouse to control direction, using ‘W’ and ‘S’ to raise and lower, and ‘A’ and ‘D’ to go side to side. They rise to a respectable altitude and move at a decent click.

SAM sites will target them, so watch out! Thankfully, the copter is maneuverable enough to be able to dodge incoming missiles. If you do get hit, it’ll drop the vehicle health by about 5% (meaning 20 direct hits will down the Minicopter).

Radio Frequency Devices

A whole family of new items has arrived which allow you to communicate with your electrical devices and teammates like never before! These radio frequency (or RF) devices operate on a broad band of frequencies (1 to 9,999) which can be set by the user. Make sure to keep your frequency a secret though, as anyone can broadcast on any frequency they choose!

These radio transmissions travel instantly across the map, with no limit on range or number of devices. There are 4 items in total which make up the group: A RF Receiver, RF Transmitter, RF Broadcaster, and Pager.

These devices hook up to other electric items via the wire tool, and allow for remote triggering in a way never before possible. They are all non-default blueprints and require a level 1 or 2 workbench to craft.

Here are some specifics on each one of these new RF items:

RF Receiver

This deployable device will trigger electrical current to flow when a signal is sent on the frequency which it is set to.

Crafting cost
8 high quality metal
1 tech trash

Crafting time
30 seconds

Workbench
Level 2

Recycles for
4 high quality metal
50% chance of 1 tech trash

Research cost
20 scrap

RF Transmitter

A handheld switch which communicates with any Receivers or Pagers on the same frequency. Hold the trigger down to activate; let go to deactivate.

Crafting cost
5 high quality metal
1 tech trash

Crafting time
30 seconds

Workbench
Level 1

Recycles for
3 high quality metal
50% chance of 1 tech trash

Research cost
20 scrap

RF Broadcaster

Similar to the transmitter, this device sends out a radio signal on the frequency it is set to. As opposed to being handheld, however, this device is deployed and sends out a signal when an electrical current is received.

Crafting cost
10 high quality metal
1 tech trash

Crafting time
30 seconds

Workbench
Level 2

Recycles for
5 high quality metal
50% chance of 1 tech trash

Research cost
20 scrap

RF Pager

This handy little device will make noise (or vibrate if set to silent) when it receives a signal on the frequency it is set to.

Crafting cost
25 metal fragments
1 tech trash

Crafting time
20 seconds

Workbench
Level 2

Recycles for
13 metal fragments
5 scrap
50% chance of 1 tech trash

Research cost
20 scrap

HBHF Sensor

A new way of sensing the presence of others has arrived. The Heartbeat, Breathing, Humidity, and Footstep Sensor (or HBHF for short) is triggered when anyone in direct line of sight shows up within 20 meters of where it is placed.

Configured with a hammer, it can be set to go off when authorized or unauthorized people are in range. This allows for multiple uses, from sounding the alarm when intruders are about, to automatically turning the lights on when teammates arrive back home.

Crafting cost
15 high quality metal
1 tech trash

Crafting time
30 seconds

Workbench
Level 2

Recycles for
8 high quality metal
50% chance of 1 tech trash

Research cost
75 scrap

RAND Switch

A new type of switch has made its way into the mix this month. The RAND switch does exactly what it sounds like: when current runs through, it randomly closes between true and false. Although the practical uses for this switch may allude you at first, it does open up some interesting possibilities for traps, contests, and games.

Crafting cost
5 high quality metal
1 gear

Crafting time
30 seconds

Workbench
Level 1

Recycles for
3 high quality metal
75% chance of 1 gear

Research cost
20 scrap

New lights

Two new lights will be available once the update hits. The Siren Light and Flasher light both hook up to electricity, and do pretty much what you would expect: light up.

The Siren Light is red and spins around in 360 degrees when power is flowing. In contrast, the Flasher Light is blue and pulses very quickly 3 times every couple of seconds.

They can be deployed on grounds, walls, and ceilings around your base. In conjunction with the new HBHF sensor, they could be used to alert you and your team of certain instances. They also could be part of an effective landing pad for your Rusty new Minicopter.

Flasher Light

Crafting cost
5 high quality metal

Crafting time
30 seconds

Workbench
Level 1

Recycles for
3 high quality metal

Research cost
750 scrap

Siren Light

Crafting cost
5 high quality metal

Crafting time
30 seconds

Workbench
Level 1

Recycles for
3 high quality metal

Research cost
750 scrap

New palm trees

The arid biomes of Rust have received a face-lift this month with the addition of several new types of palm trees and bushes. These large and sometimes oddly angled new variants of foliage look great!

New Hemp models

Palm trees aren’t the only foliage being tweaked this update. Hemp has received a new model. First teased a couple devblogs ago, these new models have finally made their way in. They do not change anything about how hemp grows or functions, but they do look pretty neat!

Performance improvements

The team at Facepunch has prioritized a bunch of fixes and improvements to performance this month. Focusing both on clients and servers, Helk and Co. have implemented a bunch of optimizations which should make game-play much smoother overall.

From garbage collection buffering to turret triggers, a variety of approaches have been used to achieve these improvements. I’m not going to attempt to go into the 1’s and 0’s of the technicalities behind these changes, but I expect the devblog will have a bit more insight if you’re interested in the nitty gritty of what was done.

The main takeaway from this: Performance should be better all the way around! As always, we can’t know the full extent of these improvements till they are launched and running on a server with several hundred people. That said, I am very optimistic to see this body of work in the wild.

Unity update

Complimenting the above optimization, a new version of Unity is in use with its own set of performance boosts. Alistair told me it's hard to note all the changes down, but there are definitely some gains to be had - some of which are in now, some which will come in future updates. For more details on this version of Unity, check out the changelog here.

Generator Art

Tom has been killing it with new art recently. Along with finishing up on the new RF devices, he’s posted a render of a new electrical generator. This didn’t make it into the game for this update, but we will likely see it in the near future.

Other stuff

• Memory cell now has 'toggle' input

• Cargo ship destroys building blocks it encounters

• Oil Rig monument didn’t make it in, most likely with show up next month.

• Work started on a Giant Excavator monument

Charitable Rust 2018 raised $62,000!

In case you missed it, the final numbers are in, and Charitable Rust 2018 raised $62,000 for charity: water! Check out more info on my previous post.

Building Community Team!

Applications are open for our community team! If you’re over 18 and interested in helping with the creation and production of community events in the form of building, video editing, plugin development, artistry, and more, please fill out our application by following the link below.