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About Sandustry
Sandustry is a factory automation game set on a vast, fully-destructible planet where every pixel is a physical resource. Players start by sifting gold from sand and expand into complex production chains built from conveyors, filters, drones, pipes, and pumps. The world offers diverse biomes, reactive materials, and artifacts left behind by an ancient civilization that grant powerful boons.
The game emphasizes open-ended growth: you can pursue advanced processing and logistics, take advantage of local wildlife, or prioritize the artifact hunt while managing the unruly behavior of sand, water, ice, and fire. Dedicated modding tools and Steam Workshop support let players create custom maps, visual tweaks, and entirely new structures.
01 / THE GUIDE
World and Resources
Every pixel in Sandustry behaves as a distinct resource with its own properties. Sand, ice, water, seeds, and other elements react physically—ice melts when heated, boiling water becomes rising steam that can fall back as rain, sand absorbs surrounding water, and watered seeds bloom into flowers. The planet’s biomes and landscapes shape where materials can be found, creating varied conditions for extraction and processing.
- Watch how heat and water transform materials before committing to large-scale factory designs.
- Exploit sand’s natural absorption of water to produce the wet sand needed for gold sifting.
02 / THE GUIDE
Factory Building
Construction begins with the trusty conveyor belt and expands to filters, drones, pipes, and pumps. Players can build pixel-perfect layouts that optimize every step, or embrace sprawling webs of belts as long as production goals are met. The fully-destructible world lets you reshape terrain to suit your factory. Processing chains grow from simple gold-sifting into complex chemical and physical reactions, rewarding careful optimization.
- Start with a compact conveyor loop to test new processing steps.
- Plan for future expansion by leaving space around key resource nodes.
03 / THE GUIDE
Automation Tools
Automation relies on a range of parts: filters sort materials, drones transport goods, and pumps move fluids. Heavier equipment such as rocket launchers and flamethrowers can speed up mining or punch through thick ice walls. Redirecting lava is another documented way to overcome environmental obstacles. Each tool interacts with the world’s physical simulation, so choosing the right approach for a given material adds strategic depth.
- Use drones for long-distance transport to reduce belt congestion.
- Consider redirecting lava as an alternative to buying equipment for clearing frozen barriers.
04 / THE GUIDE
Artifacts and Progression
Ancient artifacts are hidden across the planet, offering powerful boons once you spend valuable resources to unlock access to them. Vaults of knowledge and power lie deep underground, guarded by challenges left behind by the old civilization. Balancing the artifact hunt against factory expansion creates meaningful decisions about where to invest limited resources, and challenges grow as your industrial capabilities expand.
- Weigh the resource cost of artifact access against the production gains each boon offers.
- Explore beneath the surface systematically to uncover vaults of knowledge and power.
05 / THE GUIDE
Modding and Community
Sandustry was built with modding in mind, offering dedicated tools for visual tweaks, hand-crafted maps, and entirely new structures or processes that plug into your production chains. Steam Workshop integration makes sharing and installing mods straightforward. Modders can even overhaul the whole game, extending replayability well beyond the base experience.
- Browse popular workshop mods for fresh production ideas.
- Test small changes with the provided tools before large-scale integration.
COMMUNITY
Player discussion