Facepunch Studios has posted Devblog 73 for its grim survival sim Rust, revealing the key areas that the team are working on, as well as some new content players should expect to see over the next few months.
Objective one: fixing the game’s slightly wonky shooting mechanics. Hitboxes will be revised, muzzle flashes reduced, and a hit indicator sound added.
“The incomplete hitbox code is the major issue here,” the developer explains. “Basically we have separate damage scalar values for each area of the body, so if you get hit in the legs or arm it does less damage, and if you get hit in the toes or fingers it does a LOT less damage. Sounds good in theory, right?”
“Unfortunately, there has been a bit of a long-standing oversight that has caused a lot of WTF moments in Rust. The problem is that when you hit someone in the finger or hands or arms it will only deal damage to the hit body part, even if a more critical body part as just beyond it – such as your fingers being infront of your face.”
There’s still plenty to do to get combat feeling right, but for now the team has increased the damage from arm and hand shots. There are also some fixes to improve the game’s rubber-banding issues, and various other tweaks that should result in an improved performance. Also, a bunch of new balaclavas and bandannas to wear, which will presumably look more intimidating if you’re charging around the post-nuclear wilderness wearing nothing else.
At the bottom of the post you’ll find a full changelog for Rust’s next patch, which should drop in the next few weeks.
