What is the RUST Industrial System?
The RUST Industrial System (RIS) is an automated processing game mechanic that improves the quality of life of solos and teams alike within the RUST community. Similar to both the Electrical and Farming systems, RIS introduces various components, game features, and blueprint functionality to allow for more time outside the base and less time spent crafting and organizing.
To understand the Industrial System’s mechanics, we must first break down and define what each of the components of the system does individually and how they may come together to form more than the sum of their parts.
Industrial System components
In total, there are 7 Industrial System components available, and while each item already appears in greater detail in our RUST Item Database, you will find a short synopsis below.
Industrial Combiner
The Industrial Combiner functions much like the farming system’s Fluid Combiner or the electrical system’s Root Combiner, taking three individual ‘input’ sources and directing them through a single ‘output’ port. However, instead of moving something simple like water or electricity as other combiner types do, the industrial combiner moves any item in the game designated by another RIS component, the conveyor (read on).
Industrial Conveyor
If there is a brain of the RIS system, the Industrial Conveyor takes on this role. Requiring one electrical power to function, the industrial conveyor works as the intermediary ‘Player Will’ of the whole apparatus. It allows players to program which items (represented and connected by the Input port) they would like passed through to whichever destination (the Out port) is connected to.
In addition, players may also specify the minimum and maximum quantities to be moved when present. Nothing will move through a RIS system without a powered industrial conveyor calling the shots.
Industrial Crafter
At its core, the RIS aims to serve two base functions; the movement of items for either storage alone or the movement to craft items through automation and then store them. While the industrial conveyor is very much in charge of all movements made within the system, the Industrial Crafter handles the combining of items and resources into more refined, finished tools.
The industrial crafter requires 1 electrical power to function and utilizes a straightforward screen interface. Within this screen is a slot for a blueprint to be inserted, dictating the player’s desired outcome. Beneath that are additional slots for the resources required for the crafting of this blueprint to be added. Finally, at the bottom of the window are four built-in output storage slots for items created using this crafting method.
This item must be attached to a workbench to be deployed, and it cannot craft any blueprint requirement that exceeds the level of the attached workbench. Up to two of these devices may be attached to a single workbench at a time.
Industrial Splitter
The Industrial Splitter functions much in the same way as the farming system’s Fluid Splitter or the electrical systems Splitter, taking a single ‘input’ source and directing it out through 3 different ‘output’ ports. However, instead of moving something simple like water or electricity as other splitter types do, the industrial splitter moves any item in the game designated by another RIS component, the conveyor (read above).
Currently, the splitter will attempt to split items equally, abiding by down-chain filter settings first before defaulting to an equal distribution of what is left. Out ports that aren’t specified will be ignored.
Pipe Tool
The Pipe Tool is to the RIS system what the Wire Tool or Hose Tool are to their respective systems. Instead of utilizing simple black wire or a series of colorful water hoses, players will attach what appears to be 3/4 inch piping between the assorted RIS component network setup, allowing for the assorted passing of items and resources from point to point.
At current, the piping has the same limitations and restrictions as the other wiring and hose types, stretching a specified distance and making limited stops along the way before being unable to go further. It may also be colored by the player when placing by holding R while brandishing the tool.
Storage Adaptor
As any good plumber will tell you, all you need to make things work is the right adaptor; behold, RUST’s answer to and 90-degree elbow fitting the Storage Adaptor. The storage adaptor is one of the simpler components in the system, although certainly one of the most important.
Its sole use is to deploy onto existing storage mechanisms and provide a simple Industrial In and Industrial Out port. Currently, it may be deployed on the following items, with listed attachment ports per item:
- Coffin – 1 slot
- Drop Box – 1 slot
- Electric Furnace – 1 slot
- Fridge – 1 slot
- Furnace – 1 slot
- Large Furnace – 4 slots
- Large Wood Box – 4 slots
- Locker – 3 slots
- Small Oil Refinery – 1 slot
- Tool Cupboard – 2 slots
- Vending Machine – 1 slot
- Wood Storage Box – 1 slot
Electric Furnace
The Electric Furnace, while not a component of the RIS system, was added to the game in conjunction with the other industrial items. It functions in the same way as the small default furnace and takes the standard smeltable Metal or Sulfur Ore and converts them to their more useful forms. Unlike the original furnace, the electric furnace instead uses three electrical power to operate, attached to the device via Wire Tool into its single power In port. Turn On and Turn Off toggle ports have also been added for remote functionality.
Currently, the electric furnace, the same as the original furnace, may have a single storage adaptor attached to it, allowing it to become a part of automated smelting/discharging systems. As a byproduct of not using wood, the electric furnace produces no Charcoal.
Default blueprints
Many times during the developmental stage of the Industrial System, the topic of blueprinting default items for mass-automated crafting was brought up but not very well touched on by many working on it. Default blueprints, as in those you begin with from the beach, aren’t being excluded from Industrial Crafting.
To ensure that any item craftable in the game may be run through the Industrial System, RUST developers added functionality to the Research Table to be able to ‘blueprint’ otherwise already known simple items for insertion into the Industrial Crafter. Items like Low-Grade Fuel, Wooden Spears, or even the research table itself may be learned at the very low cost of 10 scrap and used like any other blueprint.
Players will be prompted, as in the below photo, that research in this way is intended and that the item will be absorbed in the process.
Default Blueprints cannot be learned, similar to already-learned regular blueprints.
How to get started with the RUST Industrial System
There is very little to be done with the RUST Industrial System without having existing (or new) electrical in place to provide a small amount of energy to make its components function. For more details on how to get started on that, be sure to check out our Rust Electricity guide.
Once you’ve established your electricity and scrounged up a few components, along with your trusty pipe tool, you must determine what purpose you’d like your RUST Industrial System to serve. Again, much like RUST’s electrical system which has an endless amount of potential circuits, the same will be true with the industrial system.
Industrial System admin commands & convars
As with all systems added to RUST, certain convars are added to allow for administrative changes to things such as timing, rate of transfers, and other assorted.
Below are all the convars available in-game, with many strictly designed for quality assurance and testing.
givebp "shortname"– This command gives a testing admin the blueprint specified.server.conveyormovefrequency– Determines the time (in seconds) between moving materials from the output storage unit to the destination input storage/crafter, the default set to 5 (seconds)server.industrialcrafterfrequency– Determines the time (in seconds) taken to move crafted items from the output queue to destination storage from output storage, the default set to 5 (seconds)server.maxitemstacksmovedpertickindustrial– Determines whole stacks moved per tick, default 12server.enforcepipechecksonbuildingblockchanges– Defaulted to true; this convar can be used to check for illegal pipes when changing conditional models and remove any offending pipes, currently only enabled on wallsserver.defaultblueprintresearchcost– Default 10, determines scrap cost to research default blueprints for automated crafting purposes
Final thoughts on the RUST Industrial System
While these commands, components, and values have made their way onto live servers, it is important to remember that everything exists at the whim of the game developer and can be altered or removed at any time. Per usual, we will do what we can to keep up with these changes, but the struggle is real.
As always, make sure to join us on Discord and share the exciting creations that you are able to piece together in mad scientist style. We’d love to hear them and try some out ourselves.
