## What changed
**Network Performance** — Multiple optimizations to reduce memory allocations and improve server efficiency through parallel processing and task scheduling
## Performance Improvements
- **UniTask library** — Replaced with implementation to eliminate allocations from multithreading code
- **Player snapshot sending** — Accelerated per-frame updates using new fuzzy pool and removing buffer preallocation
- **Player network subscriptions** — Network subscription updates now run in parallel
- **EAC and Analytics tasks** — Scheduled earlier to prevent main thread blocking
- **Anti Hack logic** — Remaining server Anti Hack systems parallelized
## Overall
Server performance improved through reduced memory allocations and parallel processing of network and security tasks.
Use of UniTask library to avoid allocations from multithreading code
Speeds up per frame player snapshot sending by using new fuzzy pool and removing buffer preallocation
Runs portions of player network subscription updates in parallel
Schedules EAC and Analytics tasks earlier to avoid main thread waiting on them
## What changed
### New Content / Visual Improvements
- **Player heads** — expanded selection with unique materials, eyelashes, and improved eye lighting
- **Hairstyles and beards** — reworked with new anisotropic shaders for more natural appearance
- **Clothing** — updated all garments to work with new character rig and proportions, refreshing older assets
### Bug Fixes
- **Player model art pipeline** — modernized to make future fixes and improvements easier to implement
- **Animal pathing** — reduced random deaths of new animals by fixing navmesh issues on convex/concave terrain
- **All clothing compatibility** — fixed long-standing issues with gear on the updated character model
### Navigation System Overhaul
- **AI pathfinding** — implemented new navmesh system that runs in background after server startup and loads instantly on restarts
- **Animal and NPC access** — animals and scientists can now enter player bases (currently limited to simple bases without doors while system is being tested)
- **Performance optimization** — obstacle handling moved to separate threads with budgeted processing to prevent framerate impact
- **Scientist AI improvements** — custom pathfinding costs now discourage direct routes for cheaper flanking; can quickly discard unreachable cover positions without expensive queries; limited maximum time per pathfinding request to prevent lag spikes
- **Future AI updates** — system now supports scientist AI updates on cargo and excavator locations
## Overall
RUST overhauled player character visuals with improved heads and hair, updated all clothing, and implemented a new navigation system that allows NPCs and animals to move through bases while improving performance and AI behavior.
Expanded the number of heads in the game, with each head now having unique materials and additional details such as eyelashes and improved eye lighting.
Reworked and expanded hairstyles and beards, using new anisotropic shaders to make hair feel more natural.
Updated all clothing to work with the new rig and proportions, giving a lot of older assets a much-needed refresh and fixing some long-standing issues.
Modernised the art pipeline behind the player model, making future fixes and improvements much easier to ship.
Animals and scientists will be able to enter and move in player bases. For now they can only enter a simple base with no door when the new navmesh is enabled. This is part of the groundwork for keeping sheep, cows, dogs.
New animals dying randomly happens less (it happened because of unity failing to path on some convex or concave terrain).
We’ll be able to update the scientist AI on cargo and excavator (which was not possible before because we needed a moving navmesh).
New scientists will have better and cheaper flanking (through a custom A* cost that de-incentivizes direct paths).
Navmesh is built in the background after the server starts, but on restarts it will be loaded from disk which is instant.
The obstacles like player foundations are handled on other threads + budgeted, and don’t impact the framerate (unity’s way of handling obstacles has a significant constant performance overhead).
We limit the max time a single pathfinding query is allowed to take, so a single npc can’t create a lag spike with a long path request.
When looking for cover or peeks, new scientists will be able to quickly discard positions they can’t reach without needing expensive pathfinding queries.
## What changed
**Chainsaw** — now always hits the X when farming trees
**Watchtowers** — can no longer be spam placed next to each other
**Junkpiles** — fixed spawning on sleeping bags
**IO counter** — can now set the reset value
**Sleeping bags on death screen** — added visual indicator to distinguish between sleeping bags in the deep sea
**Light source toggling** — tap keybind to toggle all equipped light sources simultaneously (original behavior); hold keybind to open radial menu for individual toggling when multiple light sources equipped
**Command list screen** — added, showing all available commands
**Admin auto completion** — now works with server convars
**Console text size** — CTRL + Scrollwheel to increase/decrease
**Convar descriptions** — all missing descriptions generated using AI with (Generated) warning label
**Inventory favorites** — can now favorite items and find them in dedicated tab
**Inventory recents tab** — added
**Inventory item size** — CTRL + Scrollwheel to increase/decrease
**Inventory keyboard controls** — added
**Team radar** — added player positions and team ID display
**Team radar buttons** — added teleport and mute buttons
**Team radar filtering** — added UGC filtering panel
## Server Administration
**Relay configuration** — added three new convars: `relayenabled` (enables RustRelay server), `relayurl` (sets recipient websocket server URL), and `relaytoken` (sets Bearer token for HTTP Authorization header)
## Performance Notes
- Server-side antihack logic runs at 2.3ms
- Player network streaming updates at 3.8ms
- 0.3ms overhead from incomplete async tasks
- C# async allocations create optimization tax
##
Chainsaw now always hits the X when farming trees
Watchtowers can no longer be spam placed next to each other
Fixed junkpiles spawning on sleeping bags
Can now set the reset value of the IO counter
Added a visual indicator to distinguish between sleeping bags in the deep sea on death screen
Tap the keybind to retain the original behaviour: all equipped light sources toggle simultaneously.
Hold the keybind to open a radial menu (when multiple light sources are equipped), allowing you to toggle each one individually.
The areas marked with 1 and 2 are running serial code. For 1(2.3ms) it's running our server side antihack logic, for 2(3.8ms) it's updating player's network streaming
For number 3 - we spend 0.3ms because one of async tasks doesn't finish early
For number 4 - our use of C# asyncs is leading to allocations, so our optims have a tax
A command list screen has been added, showing all the available commands
For admins, auto completion now works with server convars
CTRL + Scrollwheel will increase/decrease the text size
All the missing convar descriptions have been generated using AI. You'll see (Generated) in front as a warning, we figured AI descriptions are better than no descriptions.
You can now favourite items and find them in a dedicated tab
We've also added a "Recents" tabs
CTRL + Scrollwheel will increase/decrease the item size
Keyboard controls have been added
Added player positions and team ID
Added teleport and mute buttons
Added a UGC filtering panel
relayenabled #Enables the RustRelay server
relayurl " https://example.com " #Url of the recipient websocket server
relaytoken "" #Token of your choice to be passed as Bearer HTTP Authorization header