Rust Map Seeds, World Size, and Custom Map Setup

Overview

Rust procedural generation creates dynamic archipelago landscapes containing monuments (Launch Site, Military Tunnels, Outpost, Bandit Camp), road networks, subway train tunnels, and rivers. Server owners can customize map geometry by adjusting the seed, world size, or loading hand-crafted custom .map files created in map editors like RustEdit.

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Procedural Generation: Seeds and World Size

Procedural generation is controlled by two parameters set in the DustBowl Warden Startup tab:

World Size (server.worldsize)

• Specified in meters. Allowed values range from 1000 to 6000 (step increments of 50).
• Small (2000 - 3000m): High player encounter density; suited for small pop or fast-paced solo/duo servers.
• Standard (4000 - 4500m): Official vanilla size; includes all major monuments, military installations, underground rail network, and off-shore oil rigs.
• Large (5000 - 6000m): Massive landmasses; requires significant server RAM (12GB+) and takes longer to generate navmesh.

Map Seed (server.seed)

• An integer from 1 to 2147483647.
• Each seed generates a completely different layout of terrain elevation, monument locations, and coastline shapes.
• Tools like RustMaps.com allow you to preview procedural monuments and road networks for any seed and size combination before booting your server.

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Loading Custom Maps (.map)

Custom maps crafted in RustEdit or purchased from creators are packaged as .map files.

1. Upload the custom .map file to a public direct-download host with HTTPS support (such as Dropbox, GitHub Releases, or Cloudflare R2).

   Note: The URL must end in .map and provide direct file bytes without HTML confirmation screens. (If using Dropbox, change dl=0 to dl=1 at the end of the link).

2. Stop your server from the Warden Console.
3. Open the Startup tab.
4. Locate the Custom Map URL (server.levelurl) field and paste your direct download URL:

https://assets.dustbowl.games/maps/custom_rust_island_v2.map

5. Ensure the Level (server.level) parameter is set to:

Procedural Map

6. Start the server. On boot, the server downloads the .map bundle, verifies checksums, and compiles the monument hierarchy.

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Next Steps

• Monitor memory and tickrates in Rust Server Performance, Tick Rate, and Lag Optimization.
• Configure remote administration in How to Configure and Connect to Rust RCON.