Efficiency · Speedrun & Scale
Reaching 100,000 Gold quickly unlocks high-tier research milestones, while expanding to 1,000,000 Gold tests the limits of factory logistics. This guide merges speedrunner optimizations (42-minute 100K Gold record) with late-game mega-factory design, specifically solving the notorious Clearing Frame backlog and item deletion jams.
Quick answer
Do not waste time building complex crafting machines early on. The 42-minute speedrun strategy relies exclusively on a vertical cascading Shaker line: automate Water pumps over an infinite sand dune to create Wet Sand, then drop it through 4 diagonal Mechanical Shakers. Gold drops straight down into vacuum bins while lightweight sand drifts away.
01
In standard gameplay, players spend hours building intermediate assemblers, flower farms, and complex wiring before scaling gold. Speedrunners bypass these entirely.
By focusing all initial resources on 8 Mechanical Shakers and 2 Water Pumps, you establish a direct Wet Sand separation pipeline. Wet Sand yields 3.2× more gold than dry sand, hitting the 100K mark before minute 45.
The speedrun layout uses downward diagonal cascading shakers directly fed by a high-output wet sand slurry injector.
| Time Window | Target Phase | Key Construction | Benchmark Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 - 05:00 | Dune Quarry & Water Setup | Excavate dunes, place 1st submersible Pump at aquifer | 100 Sand + 100 Water in buffer |
| 05:00 - 12:00 | Wet Sand Injection & Dual Shakers | Erect initial 2-shaker diagonal, flood sand with water chute | 1,000 Gold + basic wire tech |
| 12:00 - 24:00 | 8-Shaker Cascade Expansion | Expand to 2 parallel 4-stage banks with collection troughs | 25,000 Gold in bank |
| 24:00 - 35:00 | Anti-Jam Bypass & Continuous Slurry | Install dual-prong bypass filters to eliminate clearing frame clogs | 60,000 Gold milestone |
| 35:00 - 42:06 | Terminal 100K Gold Sprint | Max-rate hydraulic flooding onto cascading shakers | 100,000 Gold achieved (42:06) |
02
At 40+ hours when total production targets 1,000,000 Gold, the sheer volume of gold particles will overwhelm standard single-tile Clearing Frames.
When a Clearing Frame clogs, incoming gold stops moving and eventually despawns due to tile entity caps. The solution is a 'Dual-Prong Bypass': install an alternate conveyor lane equipped with an overflow sensor that reroutes surplus gold into secondary storage bins.
Under 1,000,000 Gold mega-factory throughput, single clearing frames jam and trigger entity despawn limits.
Questions answered
When item piles exceed tile entity density limits or get trapped against a saturated Clearing Frame, the game engine deletes clipped pixels. Install bypass filter conveyors to disperse density.
Yes. By installing a horizontal Shaker screen with a residue filter, light unburnt fuel bounces over the screen back into the feed hopper while dense slag drops through.
The 42-minute community route uses 8 cascading Shakers divided into two parallel 4-stage banks, fed by two high-output Wet Sand injectors.
Community discussions on Steam and Reddit (u/Lynxyen) confirm that the 1 Million Gold achievement trigger evaluates active, unspent Gold (ingots, liquid gold, or vault stockpiles) at the instant an autosave or manual save occurs. If you produced 1M Gold cumulatively but spent it down on upgrades or machines before a save trigger, the achievement counter will not trip. To resolve this, buffer >= 1,000,000 unspent Gold in storage silos or inventory and execute a manual save. In addition, solving subterranean artifact ruin puzzles provides large lump-sum Gold caches to help reach the milestone without relying entirely on raw panning.
Under extreme throughput (scaling toward 1M Gold), single-tile conveyor bottlenecks cause Gold and Residue pixels to stack and violate entity limits, triggering despawns. Placing a Clearing Frame inline ejects excess debris into an overflow loop or burner, while a parallel bypass lane keeps primary gold moving at uninhibited belt speed.
Evidence notes
These are useful player examples, not official specifications.
