Rust update wants you to stop building and start exploring

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We don't have a Hammer Simulator yet because, well, that's basically what Rust is sometimes. Facepunch Studios is aware that many players spend a lot of time, maybe too much time, hammering their abodes together in the survival adventure, so a forthcoming update with streamline the process. This means you'll probably spend more time exploring and gathering resources than, y'know, hammering. Apparently some people aren't happy about the changes though. Not enough hammering.

"I’ve seen a few people comment that they don’t understand why we’re changing the build system," Garry Newman writes in a new devblog. "They loved it, it was miles better than legacy, don’t change it, please god don’t change it. Well – you probably should have said something before because all I’ve heard is moaning."

Once the changes are live, players will have a lot less hammering to do. According to Newman, resources rather than time should be the payment for building, and as a result exploration and gathering will be a stronger focus. "Anything we can do to encourage players to explore, we should," Newman writes.

Another reason is that the art cost was too high. "Every component needed 7 different stage models (wood, wood2, stone, stone2 etc), this is a lot of art – especially when you consider that things like stairs don’t need that. The new system keeps these requirements low – while allowing for the maximum customizations."

The full notes are over here.

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.