So. Vending machines are here. They can be found in several places, usually hidden away a bit around the map. I don't know everything about them yet as I've only found 4 of them, but the general idea seems to be that you can deposit resources, be it wood, brick or metal, and get a weapon, shield potions or meds in return. So far I've used the one in Anarchy Acres to get myself 3 shield potions for 200 brick and the one n Fatal Fields to get a blue rpg for 300 wood. The amount seems to be varying. As do the weapons, sometimes it will offer you the same items for different resources. When I found the one in Fatal Fields it would give me a blue rpg for either 300 wood or 300 metal. Below is a 3 hour long stream by Vikkstar with locations of all of them. He also talks about other changes with the update.