First announced last year, indie survival game Rust has finally starting introducing female player models to the game. And, in true Rust style, is doing so randomly.
Just like it did with raceandā¦dick size, players are being assigned their gender based on their SteamID, which means thereās no way around it. Some of you will remain male. Others are destined to forever walk the land as a lady.
Given the factors involved, the moveālike the gameās last player changesāhavenāt exactly been met with universal acclaim. While many understand the motives behind the implementation (or just donāt give a shit), others arenāt happy at being āforcedā to play as a character not of their choosing, or seeing a character they had been using suddenly change.
And before you think those complaining are just a bunch of whiny dudes, remember: the decision is binding and random for everyone, so women are ending up as dudes as well
The decision to assign gender, rather than let players choose, is a direct response to what Newman feels is a bloat and prevalence of character creation in other games. As for why character traits are being mandated via SteamID, instead of something like a one-off choice, he explains:
We understand this is a sore subject for a lot of people. We understand that you may now be a gender that you donāt identify with in real-life. We understand this causes you distress and makes you not want to play the game anymore. Technically nothing has changed, since half the population was already living with those feelings. The only difference is that whether you feel like this is now decided by your SteamID instead of your real life gender.
In a world where plenty of games are being designed by committee, and community feedback is taken as gospel, I kinda like this āfuck you, I made thisā attitude.
Those who absolutely must make a change, though, can do so with this client-side fix; it wonāt affect how other players see you, but itāll let you choose what you see on your screen.
