How to make a custom Rust map in RustEdit

Making a custom Rust map follows a clear pipeline: generate the terrain, bring it into RustEdit (the community map editor for Rust), then build the world on top. This guide walks the whole workflow, with the RustEdit heightmap import at its core.

The full custom map workflow

1. Generate terrain in Crucible Heightmap and shape it with the sliders. See generate your first island.
2. Export a 16-bit RAW at your chosen map size. See export RAW and PNG.
3. Import it into RustEdit at the matching map size and resolution (detailed below).
4. Run RustEdit’s procedural generation for cliffs, splats and biomes.
5. Place monuments, roads and prefabs, by hand or procedurally.
6. Test on a local server and walk the map in game. See test your map on a local server.

Set the right size before you start: see Rust map sizes and resolutions.

Import your heightmap into RustEdit, step by step

1. In Crucible, export your terrain as RAW at your chosen map size.
2. Open RustEdit and create a new map at the same map size. In the Create New Map dialog, set the heightmap resolution to match, then pick your RAW file under Heightmap.
3. Import the heightmap and choose your RAW file. RustEdit remembers your folder location, so the first time you navigate to your RAW files, future imports open there by default.
4. Crucible automatically handles the height range, so you don’t need to adjust anything else besides the map size.
5. Apply smoothing passes if you want softer terrain. Crucible terrain is already smooth, so try 3 to 8 passes. The 3D preview already shows what you’ll get, so you rarely need heavy smoothing.

Once imported, your Crucible terrain comes in as raw elevation, ready for the rest of the map:

After the import

Once the terrain is in, build the rest of your map. Place monuments, roads, rivers and biomes by hand, or use RustEdit’s proc gen to populate them on top of your terrain. Find proc gen in the Tools menu (top toolbar). Then test it on a local server.

After running RustEdit’s procedural generation for cliffs, splats and biomes, the same terrain becomes a finished-looking map:

Exact ranges and smoothing are personal taste and depend on your terrain, so experiment and re-import until it feels right. Save files with different version names before each big change so you can compare and revert if needed. If you’re new to RustEdit’s proc gen tool, try adding one or two settings at a time to understand how each works before mixing many options together.