Sandustry Beginner Guide: Early Access First Steps

Start by digging soft Dirt for Sand, dropping that Sand into Water, collecting the Wet Sand, and shaking it by hand. Put the Gold you recover into a Collector and move the Residue away. Next, build a Shaker to automate the same process, unlock Logistics through the current Objectives, and use Conveyor Belts and Launchers to keep solids moving. Add a Filter when Sand, Wet Sand, and Residue begin sharing or blocking one route.

Sandustry is a physics-based factory game in which terrain and loose materials are part of the simulation. This guide covers the current Early Access opening and focuses on the first production problems you can see and fix yourself.

Quick Start

1. Dig Sand from soft Dirt.
2. Add Water by placing the Sand into a Water pool.
3. Collect Wet Sand with the Grabber.
4. Recover Gold and Residue by shaking the Wet Sand manually.
5. Store Gold in a Collector so it can be used for Research.
6. Build a Shaker and place Wet Sand on its top surface.
7. Unlock Logistics by following the current Objectives.
8. Add Conveyors, Launchers, and Filters as movement and sorting problems appear.

The basic production relationship is:

Dig Sand → add Water → Wet Sand → Shaker → Gold + Residue

Gold falls through a working Shaker. Residue remains above it and must be given a clear exit. A Conveyor Belt moves solid pixels horizontally, a Launcher lifts or throws them, and a Filter separates selected solid materials. These parts solve different problems; adding one does not replace the others.

What Your First Sandustry Session Looks Like

Stage 1: Make Your First Gold

Dig into soft Dirt until you have Sand. Pick it up with the Grabber, drop it into Water, then collect the resulting Wet Sand. Shake that Wet Sand manually to separate Gold and Residue. Move the Gold onto Collector tiles; loose Gold elsewhere is not available as Research currency.

Water is an input, not scenery. The pool falls as Sand absorbs it, so watch the Water level while learning the process.

Stage 2: Automate Wet Sand

Follow the current tutorial Objectives to build a Shaker. Feed Wet Sand onto the top of the machine and watch one small batch before increasing the supply. Gold should fall through. Residue should leave across the top instead of sitting over the processing surface.

The first automation goal is not a perfect layout. It is a line that keeps all three results visible: incoming Wet Sand, collected Gold, and outgoing Residue.

Stage 3: Fix the First Residue Backlog

Residue is usually the first physical blockage. If it covers the Shaker or cannot move away, Wet Sand piles up and Gold production slows. Reduce the incoming Wet Sand, clear the Shaker surface, and create an unobstructed Residue exit before adding more processing area.

After Logistics is available, use Conveyor Belts for horizontal movement and Launchers where material must be lifted or thrown. If two materials share an exit, use a Filter to separate them rather than relying on pile shape.

Stage 4: Prepare for Water Shortages

Increasing the Sand feed also increases Water use. Check the source pool before expanding the line. If the starter supply is falling faster than you can support, slow the input and follow the current Objectives and official Water guidance toward another source.

The official Wiki lists surface lakes, underground deposits, melted Ice, and Rain formed when Steam reaches the sky as current Water sources. You do not need to force a larger factory before its Water supply is stable.

Why is Residue blocking the Shakers?

Residue stays above the Shaker and is pushed away more slowly than Gold falls through, so a blocked top exit can stop the entire line.

Check these points:

1. Reduce or pause the Wet Sand input.
2. Clear Residue from the Shaker surface and its immediate exit.
3. Make sure the Residue path does not run into a wall or another pile.
4. Use a Launcher if the exit must climb and a Filter if Residue shares a line with another solid.
5. Add Shaker area only after the existing machines are clear and still overloaded.

Why is Wet Sand not being processed?

Wet Sand must remain on the top surface of an unblocked Shaker long enough to be processed.

Check these points:

1. Remove Residue covering the Shaker or its exit.
2. Confirm Wet Sand reaches the top instead of falling past the machine.
3. Reduce the feed and test one small batch.
4. Remove Sand, Residue, or other non-Gold solids trapped inside the Shaker body.
5. Expand processing only if clean, active Shakers still cannot keep up.

Why is the factory running out of Water?

Sand consumes Water when it becomes Wet Sand. A faster Sand feed therefore drains the source faster.

Check these points:

1. Watch the Water level while a small batch is wetted.
2. Stop feeding extra Sand if the pool is close to empty.
3. Keep unwetted Sand out of the Shaker line so it does not waste transport capacity.
4. Follow the current Objectives and official Wiki information when establishing another Water source.

Do not rely on Water-duplication advice from old Demo guides. That behavior has not been revalidated for the current Early Access version.

When should the player unlock Filters?

Follow the current Objectives rather than an old fixed Research cost or permanent unlock order. A Filter becomes useful when a mixed-material problem is visibly blocking production.

Typical signs are:

1. Residue and Wet Sand compete for the same Shaker exit.
2. Wet Sand needs to loop back without carrying Residue with it.
3. Unwetted Sand has entered the processing line and must return to Water.
4. Gold must be separated from a mixed solid pile before storage.

A Filter sorts material. It does not create more Shaker throughput or Water, so clear those bottlenecks separately.

Early Access and Demo terminology

This guide uses the current Early Access names Residue and Seeds. Older Demo guides may call them Slag and Spores. Their old production chains, Research costs, Water tricks, map limits, and end goals should not be treated as current instructions.

Continue Learning

• Automation Guide
• Resources Guide
• Steam Guide