Good news, Rust fans – the survival game’s June 2021 update is here, with a bunch of new and overhauled content in tow. Among the stuff coming with the patch, there’s a new contact system that’ll help you work out friend from foe, the first phase of the Rust’s AI rework, update critters, and various other bits and pieces.

First up, that new contact system. Essentially, this mechanic will make a record of any new player you meet in your contacts, and any interactions you have with them – whether that be positive, not so positive, indifferent, or downright “rage-inducing”, as Facepunch says in a press release. To help you work out who might be a pal or an enemy quickly, players’ nameplates will now show up in colours to help denote their status in relation to you: blue for friendly, and red for hostile. You can use the binoculars to ascertain this from a longer distance, too. Plus, following the update, your name will get revealed if you wave at another player.

On the new-and-improved AI, Facepunch says the first phase replaces a bunch of different systems with a single new one, whose main advantages are that “it should keep the AI updated going forward”, plus it’ll be easier to add new features to in the future.

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