Workstations Update - 3.25.5.0 Update Notes

Workstations, crafting menu upgrades, screenshot contest winners, and more!



This update introduces workstations! Workstations are a major change to crafting and progression.

In order to craft most items, you will need to be near a workstation. Many recipes have been updated to require a workstation, although we’ve also tweaked a few recipes to be slightly more (or less) difficult to craft – requiring a certain skill or needing different ingredients than before.

Workstations


We’ve made most of these changes based on survey and preview branch feedback. As this update releases, we’re curious to hear your thoughts so that we can make further adjustments. For any players who don’t want workstations: you can easily disable them with the “Enable Workstation Requirements” difficulty setting.

EDIT: Along with disabling Workstation requirements, players also have the option to skip the new “Details” menu with Left Shift by default. Additionally, mods can continue to add custom items without needing to tie them to a workstation.

You can still craft lots of items without workstations! For example: Rags, Bandages, Splints, Bedrolls, Spikes, Fertilizer, the Saw, and wooden structures can be crafted anywhere.

To get started, build a Simple Workbench from wooden planks, scrap metal, and nails.

Screenshot Contest 2025


The results are in! This update adds many of your amazing screenshots as in-game loading screens, and you can expect more to show up in other places in the future.

Thank you to everyone who joined in! We got 1,754 submissions from 316 brave photographers. If you didn’t win, don’t worry: we’d like to give more chances to win screenshot contests in the future, using what we’ve learned to improve and simplify the process.

The winners names, sorted alphabetically: AidenGamingUk, Alesprite, Alder “cookiez” Daniel, analizin, AtlasPrime, Avertnus, Bananajome, BoomViz, BuLLeTCaTTe, Choose.357, Christiansen, Cogtail, cucuycharles, Dizzpie, Doodlebug54, Dyna, esuehu, ExtremeAnanas, Fish, Freddyhun, Go ahead :}, gonbom, Hungary360, IamHonk, InZane, ItsMeJake :), Jarvis D, JB Miller, JienSultan, John “Rea”, John “SoullessMemes”, Johny2Jackets, Kitsune, Konstaabel, Konstantin_Beankari, Le Arctic Fox, LinceDuty, MaplesBeef, Mariatheone, MatuZalon, Milloni_611, Mr Strootle, Mythzone, NoNameiqz, NyaNyaPatricia, Phobia, posshim, Reimzon, SaucyHooligan, SebaaX, sieo, Silver, SIMON6021, Slacks, Supreme, That One Beach Guy, TomatoChunks, Toste, TSB, VeeT, Vird, Wath, ZioZip23, Zyliath, z.btw, {WC}PistolPete, …!BLACK N WHITE SPY!..

Q. Which screenshots will be featured as loading screens (and/or elsewhere)?
We are prioritizing high-resolution screenshots. For loading screens, we chose peaceful environments; and for our website will mostly use action-packed shots.

Q. When will the winners get their prizes?
They should be received within 24 hours. If you don’t receive your prize, please contact us through our Support Site.

Steam requires that the game be launched within the past 30 days for the developer to be able to add items to a player’s inventory. Your prizes may be delayed if your account hasn’t launched Unturned in the past 30 days.

Q. What if I didn’t win?
We’re sorry if you’re disappointed! We’d like to provide more opportunities to win a screenshot contest in the future. We’ve learned a lot running this contest and hope to improve and simplify the process.

EULA

When discussing open sourcing and the new curated map program with our lawyers, they advised us to also introduce an End User License Agreement (EULA). As such, this update adds a EULA to Unturned on Steam.

We want to keep it as fair and reasonable as possible—and we believe the current revision closely matches the status quo and how players already interact with the game. Things like creating Steam Workshop mods, server plugins, fan-made animations, and other non-malicious content will always be allowed.

View the End User License Agreement

Q. Can you summarize the EULA?
We asked about this! Although a Quick Summary can’t be included inside the legally binding portion of the agreement, the first paragraph explains where it can be found and how it relates to the agreement.

Q. Does this affect modding or other community projects?
Primarily as a legal protection against cheating/hacking, this agreement includes language against decompiling or reverse-engineering the game.

Though we are aware of players who’ve publicly datamined our game for positive reasons, such as for modding or documentation. We don’t want to stifle those useful resources for players. We’ve reached out several community projects with our explicit support and permission for them to continue. If you’ve decompiled our game and shared our code publicly, please email us.

Changelog

New Items

  • Simple Workbench [ID: 1916]

  • Dye Vat [ID: 1917]

  • Desk Lamp [ID: 1918]

  • Brick Oven [ID: 1919]

  • Chemistry Lab [ID: 1920]

  • Food Prep Station [ID: 1921]

  • Spinning Wheel [ID: 1922]

Crafting Balance

  • Most items are craftable from a Simple Workbench. (Some basic items—like Rags, Splints, and Wooden Structures—are still craftable from anywhere.)

  • Most items are repairable from a Simple Workbench. (With some exceptions—such as bows, arrows, and drinks/canteens.)

  • Buffed durability of suppressors, most guns, and most melee weapons across the board, to compensate for them now needing a workstation to be repaired.

  • High-end medicine (vaccines, dressings, etc.) and explosive items (charges, grenades, etc.) can be crafted at a Chemistry Lab.

  • Certain items can be recolored at a Dye Vat.

  • In addition to previously recolorable items, dye recipes now exist for: Parka, T-Shirt, Shirt, Trunks, Toque, Cap, Bandana, Balaclava, Poncho, Scarf, Sweatervest, Daypack, Dufflebag, Travelpack, and Umbrella.

  • Morphine, Adrenaline, and Medkits are now craftable.

  • Straw Hats are now craftable, repairable, and salvageable with/for Wheat.

  • Impact-Absorbing Pants have an alternative crafting recipe, using Thief Pants.

  • Sportshot is cheaper to repair but salvages for less.

  • Adjusted the Engineering skill level required for various guns.

  • Brick Structures now require Crafting II skill.

  • Vaccines now require Crafting III skill.

  • Pies, Cakes, Doughnuts, Waffles, Pancakes, Cheese, and Bread require an Enclosed Heat Source.

  • Split Coconut has two recipes available – one requires Overskill Level 1 skill, the other requires Kitchen Capabilities (Food Prep Station).

  • Crafting and repairing clothing requires Sewing Capabilities (Spinning Wheel).

General Balance

  • Increased most vanilla storage container sizes by 20-30%.

  • Reduced Lederhosen storage sizes to better match similar items

  • Buff Spring-Loaded Boots storage from 3x2 to 4x2 and provide a slight amount of armor (0.975 multiplier) to encourage more use.

  • Tracksuit Bottom and Cargo Pants rarity changed from Common to Uncommon (similar to other 15+ slot pants) - only visual change, spawn chances are the same.

  • Morphine restores more health.

  • Adjusted damage values on Pike, Shovel, Scythe, and Snow Shovel.

  • Updated several item names and descriptions. Of particular note, Oven is now Electric Stove.

Performance

  • Improved performance drawing sparse variants of instanced foliage.

  • Improved vehicle update performance, particularly for wheeled vehicles.

  • Improved skybox reflection capture performance.

  • Improved physics material custom properties performance (e.g., for footstep audio).

  • Reduced overhead of many of the variable-length network RPCs.

  • Replaced legacy blur effect with newer built-in depth of field.

Quality of Life

  • Certain error messages show a button to check for updates and repair game files.

  • Added accessibility option to tune down sprinting field-of-view boost.

  • Freecam now loads distance objects and trees, much better for recording or spectating!

  • Separated streamer mode into Anonymize Multiplayer Details and Hide Rich Presence options.

  • Tutorial briefly explains how workstations work.

Crafting Menus

  • Blueprints are sorted from most to least craftable. Previously, they were sorted fully craftable and then a mix of everything else.

  • Blueprints using “state transfer” preview the applied changes to the output item.

  • Mods can create custom categories for filtering their blueprints. The new Salvage category is an example of this.

  • The crafting menu lists all blueprints craftable with your current items. (Previously, it always applied a filter, which is now optional.)

  • Compressed crafting list entries to fit better on smaller screens.

  • Blueprints with quest-related conditions/rewards can display them in the new crafting details panel.

  • Ignoring blueprints was moved to the details panel. Ignored blueprints are now hidden from results, rather than unclickable.

  • Ignoring blueprints as a way to avoid accidentally crafting blindfolds is less necessary now that a hotkey is needed to skip opening the details panel.

  • Crafting menu tooltips explain why a blueprint is not currently craftable.

  • Dye recipes now only appear if you have the white base item. (Previously, they’d appear if you had a flare.)

  • Added new loading screen tips for workstations.

Difficulty Settings

  • Added Enable_Workstation_Requirements to Gameplay config. If turned off, only the previously-existing “Heat Source” requirement applies.

Modding

  • “/FreezeCameraTransform” command to preview regional visibility.

  • Effect asset OneShotAudio property for audio-only effects.

  • Asset error messages include which mod they’re from.

  • Blueprints, item actions, and NPC conditions and rewards support newer dat list format.

  • Running the game with “-ParseAssetMetadata” and “-ResaveAssets” can automatically convert most blueprints to the newer format. This is our first experiment with automatically upgrading asset files.

  • Cobra_Jam example item is now guaranteed to lose quality each shot, so it’s more consistent for modders experimenting with gun jamming. (Not relevant for most players.)

  • Custom recipes can require multiple tools, e.g., Blowtorch and Saw.

  • Custom recipes support all skills, e.g., Overkill.

  • Modders can create custom tags that should be provided by workstations or used to categorize their custom recipes.

  • Modders can easily reuse our vanilla tags/workstations for their own mods, or continue to let their items be crafted from anywhere.

Fixes

  • Chewing gum in wrong position for left-handed characters. [Thanks Zone!]

  • Poor handling of delayed Internet response in cosmetic crafting menu. [Thanks Praise The Lord!]

  • Rocket launcher projectiles with modded grenade components credit the shooter. [Thanks rube200!]

  • Maybe fix driver turret rotation in multiplayer. [Thanks mewshindo!]

  • Clothing icons taller than 2 slots overflowing inventory headers. [Thanks Dizzpie!]

  • Tall items’ amount labels overlapping blueprint requirements in crafting list. [Thanks Feel and Ewad!]

  • Rodent Ears cosmetic hitbox in menus. [Thanks YourBuddyHolly!]

  • Corrected some non-HTTPS URLs to HTTPS.

  • Streamer Mode loading screen tip missing from tips list.

Special thanks to biedaktokox, DiFFoZ, Ewad, Feel, and sm1leeywashere for their help resolving a few issues while this update was on the preview branch!

Additionally, huge thanks to Dogfood for the excellent new workstation items, and to Molt for his extensive work on everything from screenshot review to hundreds of crafting changes!


View on Steam or Report Bugs

5 Likes

Every time I see Bananajome, I mistake my own name

1 Like

Lol, I won the contest, feels awesome to have my name in the beloved game
Though a shirt and a camera? I think we also needed some pants too

Really cool to see me get shouted out for the Rodent Ears bug fix. Congratulations to all the Screenshot Competition Winners!

Dang that base siege by Sieo looks insane, I had a similar idea but with a fight for the airdrop.

Also, Do only the winners get the screenshot cosmetics? cause I noticed my name isnt on the list but I still got the top and camera vest. Is this a mistake?

You likely participated in someone else’s winning submissions.

I didnt work with anyone tho. I don’t think I was supposed to get the items.

You received free items and literally complain that you want to lose them. Such an honest man

You probably didn’t have to participate. Let me give you an example, your friend took part and indicated in the screenshot that you were in the screenshot, he could not tell you anything, but if he wins, you and he will get a prize.

Also if you don’t need these items you can simply delete them in game

I said it once, and I’ll say it again. Workstations range is too big. You can access them even if there are three walls between you and the workstation. This means you can just stand next to someone’s base, who has them, and use them like this. You can’t make different progressions locked behind certain workstations, because people will just use someone else’s crafting, skipping the whole grind for it.


3 Likes

@biedaktokox Aye maybe shrink the range so it is guaranteed close-by, and any farther and the workbench needs LOS on you? Idk if that would be hard to add a LOS check, I’m not a coder.

Range is hardcoded by Nelson and you can’t change it. Nelson has to either add ability to control the range or just make range for all workstations smaller

i hate this update so much u make everything good?? NO!!! u don’t and i feel bad for unturned it’s dying so so so bad because this update THIS IS UNTURNED NOT RUSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

1 Like

They just experiment with the game, anyway all players will still adapt

A like of sight check would be nice

Nelson responds that having a controlled range would be too much of a performance loss

For me, best solution would be custom unity colliders for checking if player is in range, but apparently it’s too expensive performance-wise.
Yet we can control the size of the heat buff emitted from campfire via unity. Afaik, there was no issues with the heat lagging game.

No way that there are no solutions to this problem, even you suggested one of the solutions

I love how there is minimal resistance here in this echo chamber and how vividly the Steam Forums are righteously flaming about the update. (I wonder if this is because everyone who used to complain or show resistance in here either left or got banned…)

Imma be fr i think switching it to where shift clicking brings up the side menu for crafting and normal clicking bypasses the side menu would be an improvement to the new crafting ui (its not that big of a problem i lowkey just dont wanna shift click to craft one item)