It would appear that Facepunch Studios has no limit to how much Rust will evolve as the developer continues to bring new features to the massively popular online title. In that pursuit, it would appear that plans are underway to bring delivery drones to make getting into Rust more accessible, with certain limitations placed on the new feature as to not break the game completely.
The feature has been shown off by Rust producer Alistair McFarlane, who shared a video of what how the drones will work in-game, along with some specifics about how players can access them. Additionally, this new delivery service may be coming quicker than some fans had expected, as it appears they are planned to arrive with an upcoming update.
In the demonstration, it appears that the way players can interact with these new drones is through the game's vending machines, where players can set up purchases to be made and delivered using the new feature. The drones will then fly out to go pick up the materials and return with whatever had been purchased, allowing for players to interact with the markets from a distance. This could prove to be especially helpful for new players picking up Rust during its popularity surge that the game has been seeing over the last several months.
At the moment, what McFarlane has shown is only a demonstration, and the build of these that actually makes it into the game will likely work somewhat differently, as the developer did mention that the drones are subject to change. Additionally, these will only be accessible in safe zones with fixed vending machines that face open areas that players won't be able to craft, likely to limit abuse of the system. Even with these limits, players can still be excited to see what the drones are capable of after their planned rollout with the upcoming update for Rust, which is expected to drop on February 4.
Altogether, its the incremental changes that keep a game like Rust popular moving forward, by making sure that the player experience is always evolving and never becomes stale for too long. It's a tough tightrope to walk, though, since it also means not making so many drastic changes that longtime players lose what they enjoyed, or adding so much that new players are overwhelmed. Facepunch Studios will have an interesting road ahead of it with this recent rush in popularity, but new advancements like the drone system are a good direction for the time being.
Rust is available on PC, with PS4 and Xbox One versions currently in development.