Weekly News, 31.07.2024

What's new?

• Rust
• Project Zomboid

Rust

Facepunch Studios turns 15, and to celebrate, it's got a bunch of updates, collaborations, and promotions to really hammer home that this team has come a very long way—from just Garry's Mod development to the ever-ongoing work with Rust. Coupled with some fairly major discounts on their games, Facepunch is branching out into new merchandise and community features. Here's a brief rundown of the more major announcements

15th Anniversary Celebration

Facepunch Studios is going to turn 15 years old, and to celebrate this special birthday, it's throwing a sale for all its games—including Rust and its DLC—on Steam.

The studio reflects on its history—from launching Garry's Mod in 2009, a sandbox video game highly recognized due to the creativity and liberty it enables, to Rust in 2013, a video game genre redefining what survival is today.

Rust’s Biggest Update Yet

Facepunch teases big Rust update, due 2024 the biggest one it's ever had Web posted 2023-05-25 134000 Coming with a ton of new stuff and improvements; more Twitch events promised to get the community involved in advance.

Licensed 3D Printed Rust Items

Facepunch has ordained an official partnership with Lootroom, a company most famous for 3D-printed Rust items, to give users high-quality replicas of guns, props, and other types of in-game assets made by the company.

Lootroom's journey began in 2018, starting with a small Rust furnace model and growing into a business now running over 20 3D printers, shipping products to more than 45 countries.

This partnership represents a major milestone, finally allowing Rust fans to buy officially licensed merchandise.

Twitch Drops and Community Engagement

FancyOrb's next event, Global Warfare 2, will include Twitch drops for viewers who would like to try to win exclusive skins from their most favorite Rust streamers.

Facepunch encourages players to connect their Twitch accounts to receive these rewards.

Community Creations and Collaborations

A Reddit user under the name ABRISSBIRNE27 shared some Rust-themed Lego sets in a post, creating interest in whether there could actually exist official Rust Lego merchandise.

A limited edition figure of a Heavy Scientist or a Hazmat character resulted from the cooperation between Facepunch and Youtooz; in fact, that company states that even more items are on the way.

Fans are encouraged to share photos of their Youtooz figure in the wild and tag both Facepunch and Youtooz on social media.

These updates and partnerships showcase Facepunch's dedication to celebrating its legacy while continuing to innovate and connect with its community in new and creative ways.

Project Zomboid

The newest changelog for "Cortman by Night" details changes that add new functionality, refine existing features, and squash bugs to get the game running more smoothly. More specifically, this update refines already existing mechanics and adds additional elements to the gameplay, such as crafting, animation, environmental details, and more. Here is a summary of the key points covered in the update

Crafting System Overhaul

Three developers from TEA Games have since moved to assist with the crafting revamp so that it's finished on time and documented well for modders.

Crafting interactions have been polished, the ones related to player movement with regards to the crafting stations and their corresponding audio cues, however systems on their own have yet to change and are still static.

New skills have been fine-tuned in an effort to avoid redundancy as much as possible but focus on providing the player with exciting progress.

Sandbox settings now also include the ability to set your skill XP multipliers, to take things faster toward being skillful in your own way.

The game will not reward XP for scrapping, dismantling, or ripping from now on. That is aimed at the prevention of unfun gameplay loops, which underlines the importance of the construction and repair gameplay style against destruction.

Wilderness Skills

New skills, in particular Knapping and Carving, have been included for wilderness play to help players make tools and decorative items from flint, wood, and bone.

Recipe Improvements

This update adds many new crafting recipes, some of which will now be automatically learned based on your skill level, thus saving the pain of searching for them manually.

Now more accessible are recipe schematics, including diagram-based designs for illiterate characters.

Basements and Subterranean Areas

Build 42 introduces two types of subterranean lairs, random and permanent, adding bunkers, tunnels, and cave networks to the game’s map.

Testing for random basement locations is ongoing to ensure they function correctly in different game scenarios.

GrappleTech Animation Updates

GrappleTech, which will allow characters to manipulate each other directly—such as dragging bodies—and includes new animations like throwing people through windows, is near completion.

The update will enhance realism in interactions but dial some elements back, like character effort noises, for a more refined experience.
These updated changes showcase the dedication of the developers to improvise gameplay with thoughtful enhancement, setting up a more immersive and engaging experience in future builds.