Rust’s Built Different Update Reworks Character Models and Animations

Rust has replaced its character models in the new Built Different update, giving Facepunch’s long-running survival game a much-needed visual and animation pass. The change is live now and affects player bodies, heads, hair, clothing fit, and how characters move.

According to the official post, Facepunch says the old models were limiting future work on characters, animations, and other features. The new rigging and movement systems should make basic actions look less stiff, with the studio showing off improved upper-body motion while holding a torch as one example.

Players will keep their current gender and race seeds, but faces may look different the next time they log in after the update. Facepunch also says it’s still working on a player customizer, with more details planned for later this year.

Built Different also adds Ballistic Armour, described as the first major new upper-body armor in a while, along with the M16A2 rifle. There are new store items too, including a Discord Wumpus plush, plus a range of optimization and animation changes running underneath the more visible character overhaul.

Rust first hit Steam Early Access back in 2013, so this is a pretty notable cleanup for a game that’s been built on years of updates, wipes, and survival sandbox chaos. Not flashy in the trailer sense, but the kind of change regular players will see constantly. Despite the game’s age, Rust is more popular today than ever, routinely averaging well over 100,000 concurrent players. While this one isn’t an MMO, it’s massive popularity has helped grow the survival genre which now includes titles that bill themselves as MMOs like Dune: Awakening.