Sandustry Guide and Wiki

troubleshooting

How to Saturate the Aura Field in Sandustry

A current Steam thread asks why producing Auralite does not advance the Saturate the Aura Field objective, while separate Reddit reports describe an Extractor that appears inactive. The official Aura Extractor, Auralite and Aurixite pages now close the core interaction: material is attracted to the field, crystallizes, and must be broken by the targeted nanobot swarm. This guide does not invent a saturation number, crystal timer, placement coordinate or guaranteed automatic layout.

Early Access v0.5.6 · mechanics checked 2026-09-06 · Checked 2026-09-06

Start with the complete confirmed chain

The current official pages document three separate states. A Synthesizer produces Aurixite, a Shaker processes Aurixite into Auralite, and the Aura Extractor converts Auralite into Auralite Crystals before those crystals become Aura. Seeing one stage animate does not prove the next stage has received the correct material.

Run a small manual batch and name each state as it appears. Aurixite is an unusually heavy solid that does not flow or heap normally, so an active Synthesizer can still leave the Shaker starved. Keep the transfer visible and accessible instead of burying it behind a large late-game build.

Put loose Auralite inside the active field

The official Aura Extractor page says an Extractor with available capacity attracts Auralite globally every few seconds toward the moving glow within its field. That means a loose Auralite supply and free Extractor capacity are the two conditions to verify before blaming the objective counter.

Place the first Shaker close enough that you can watch its output and the field at the same time. The Wiki recommends nearby Shakers because global attraction can otherwise make delivery slow. It does not publish one permanent best distance, so adjust only after confirming that the material is truly Auralite.

Click the Extractor and target the crystal

This is the interaction current players most often miss. Click the Aura Extractor, then move its nanobot swarm target onto the Auralite Crystal that forms in the field. The official page says the swarm breaks that crystal into Aura. Merely feeding Auralite into the field is therefore not the complete objective loop.

Follow one crystal from formation to swarm contact and disappearance. If the crystal remains while the swarm is elsewhere, correct the target before changing the production line. Steam replies identify this same missing action, but the official building page—not the community thread—is the evidence for the general mechanic.

Diagnose the first missing visible state

No Aurixite means the problem is upstream of the Aura system. Aurixite present but no Auralite points to Shaker contact or output clearance. Loose Auralite that never enters the field points to capacity, selection or delivery. A crystal that remains intact points to swarm targeting. Aura appearing without objective progress is the point to preserve evidence and check the current objective text.

Stop upstream production while diagnosing. Adding more Florinol or Aurixite can bury a small transfer fault and make the Extractor harder to move. Restart with one limited batch after clearing only the first blocked interface.

Check capacity before calling it bugged

The official Aura Extractor page describes attraction only while the building is not full. A full destination can therefore look like a failed source or an inactive field. Inspect the Extractor state and downstream use before feeding another batch.

This guide deliberately does not publish a numeric field-saturation threshold because the reviewed current official sources do not establish one for the objective. Use the visible objective and building state in your own build. If they conflict, record both rather than substituting a community estimate.

Move or remove the Extractor safely

The official page says an Aura Extractor cannot be moved while it contains crystals. Break the crystals with the swarm and clear the state before attempting relocation. Do not repeatedly drag a loaded Extractor and interpret the refusal as proof that the save is broken.

Official Update #3 adds a v0.5.6 recovery rule: an Extractor can be removed even after crystallization, and removed crystals are buffered and released as Auralite after the building is rebuilt. This is a recovery path for removal; it is not evidence that every no-progress report has the same bug.

Automate only after one manual crystal works

The official Wiki names Swarm Zoning as the later research that can automate crystal targeting. Before that upgrade, keep the Extractor selected and direct the swarm manually. After unlocking zoning, test one small area and confirm that the same crystal-to-Aura transition occurs without manual correction.

Do not copy a fixed room size or promise continuous throughput. Attraction timing, material travel and available capacity all affect observed output. A useful automated module must also stop cleanly when full and leave access to any crystal that fails to clear.

Escalate a reproducible current-build failure

If loose Auralite is visibly attracted, a crystal forms, the selected swarm touches it, capacity is available, and neither Aura nor objective progress appears, preserve the save before demolition. Record v0.5.6, the exact objective wording, screenshots of the selected Extractor and swarm target, and whether rebuilding triggers the documented buffered-Auralite release.

Community suggestions to save and restart are candidate workarounds, not a universal fix. Try reversible recovery only after recording the state. A report that identifies the first confirmed state and first missing state is far more useful than saying the Extractor does nothing.

Sources and evidence notes

Frequently Asked Questions