Rust Roaming Scientist Boats: Coast Patrols, Smarter AI and Loot

Update (Nov 5): confirmed in the November update. Mainland scientist boats shipped, up to two groups patrolling for up to an hour. See the patch notes.

Scientist boats are coming out of the deep sea and patrolling the main island in Rust. Commits from October 27 and 28 add roaming scientist boat groups that spawn every few hours, a much better boat AI for steering and picking targets, and a chance for the boats to drop blueprint pages and books. The work was merged into Facepunch's main branch on October 28.

There is no release date. Facepunch has not said which update this ships in, and the numbers below can still change. Here is what the commits show.

Roaming boats around the main island

A branch called "mainisland_roaming_scientistboats" holds most of this work, and it was merged into main on October 28. The key commit sets the timing: 1 to 2 boat groups spawn every 5 to 8 hours, and they spawn together. Each group then stays for a random 30 to 60 minutes before it leaves.

A follow-up makes sure the boats spawn at the edge of the map and travel inwards, so they arrive from open water instead of popping up next to the shore.

They also hug the coast more than before. A commit on October 28 changed the minimum distance from shore from 100 meters to 35 meters. For anyone with a base near the water, that means these boats can get close.

Smarter steering

The boat AI got a big rework on October 27. The movement commit says scientist boats now steer smoothly instead of weaving side to side, and that they reliably get themselves unstuck. The old steering snapped to the nearest of 8 directions, which made a sawtooth path. The new one uses 16 directions and blends between them. A bug that stopped the "stuck, so reverse" logic from ever kicking in at higher speeds was also fixed.

One more fix stops players from taking the PT boat out of the deep sea, the same rule the other boats already had.

How the boats pick targets

Several commits change how the crew chooses who to shoot at:

• If no one on the boat can see the target, the boat turns around to face them.
• If the target is no longer valid, the crew moves on to someone it can see, or gives up.
• If the main target is blocked, the boat swaps to another target. If the target stays hidden for a long time, it bails.
• Boats in a group used to pass a hidden player back and forth forever. Now they give up 45 seconds after losing sight.
• PT boat turrets look around when they have nothing to shoot at.
• When the driver dies, another scientist takes over driving. Killing the driver will no longer stop the boat for good.

New targeting for all AI scientists?

On October 28 Ian Henderson also added a new targeting system for AI scientists. The commit says scientists remember where they lost a target, switch to another visible player when they lose their main target, and keep attacking even if the target hides. It calls the result "more stable/fun overall."

The commit says "ai scientists" without naming the boats, so it may reach scientists on land too. This is our guess, based on the wording and on it being part of the boat work. If it does apply everywhere, hiding behind a wall at a monument may not end a fight the way it does today.

Loot: blueprint pages and books

The boats now carry part of the new blueprint loot. A commit gives the scientist RHIB a 20% chance to drop a blueprint page and the PT boat a 20% chance to drop a blueprint book. A later commit on October 29 removed the book chance on the PT boat and says the blueprint page remains. Pages and books are part of the blueprint rework that is also still in progress. See our posts on the blueprint rework and the new blueprint loot spots for how those tiers work.

What it means for players

If this ships as it looks now, the coast gets more dangerous every few hours. Expect one or two boat groups to show up from open water, cruise close to shore for up to an hour, and fight harder than the old deep sea boats did. In return, they are a new place to farm blueprint pages and books. Coastal bases may want a little extra defense facing the sea.

When will roaming boats come out?

No date yet. Rust's monthly updates land on the first Thursday of the month (see how Rust updates work). The branch is merged into main, which is a good sign, but Facepunch has not confirmed the November update or any other.

FAQ

How often do roaming scientist boats spawn? The commits say 1 to 2 groups every 5 to 8 hours. Each group stays 30 to 60 minutes.

How close to shore do they come? The minimum shore distance went from 100 meters to 35 meters.

What do the boats drop? A 20% chance for a blueprint page from the RHIB. The PT boat first had a 20% chance for a blueprint book, but a later commit removed that and says the blueprint page remains.

Can I stop a boat by killing the driver? Not for long. Another scientist now takes over driving.

Sanguine Rust

Sanguine Rust is a PVE server with zombies, bosses and skill levels, where NPCs are the main fight. We test every Rust build on a test island before moving our islands over. See what Sanguine Rust is about.

Source: Facepunch commits