machines
Sandustry Shaker Troubleshooting Checklist
A Shaker can appear slow when the actual restriction is before or after it. This checklist treats the machine as one module in a physical chain and orders checks so valuable material and the failed state are not destroyed before they can explain the problem.
Early Access · machine diagnostic · Checked 2026-08-22
Freeze the symptom
Stop new feed while leaving the surrounding state visible. Note whether material waits above, inside, below, or beside the machine. Take a local screenshot for your own comparison if useful. Do not excavate immediately; clearing the scene can remove the evidence that distinguishes wrong input, blocked output, burial, and missing supply.
Verify accepted input in the current build
Use current official references and a tiny isolated test to confirm the material state the machine accepts. Demo-era footage can illustrate the broad loop but not guarantee current recipes. If a clean sample is rejected, record the build and input context before assuming a bug. If it succeeds, the main-line problem is likely delivery, geometry, or downstream capacity.
Clear desired-output capacity
Inspect the final collector and the entire route leading to it. A full destination can propagate blockage backward to the machine. Create empty capacity without mixing the output into raw feed. If output resumes after clearance, measure how long the destination takes to fill and redesign collection or overflow rather than adding processing machines.
Clear the byproduct route
A valuable output may remain open while another output accumulates across the interface. Give byproduct its own visible buffer and full-line marker. Preserve a sample if later uses are uncertain. If the byproduct route was shared, quarantine the mixture and recommission both exits with a small batch before reconnecting storage.
Inspect interface geometry
Check for material resting on the inlet, covering the output, or falling outside the intended capture area. The machine's documented function does not guarantee that every surrounding shape feeds it evenly. Stop supply and provide empty space below before removing a support. Change one wall, slope, or opening at a time and repeat the same input batch.
Test starvation and overfeed separately
Run a tiny batch with plenty of downstream space, then a longer controlled feed. If the tiny batch succeeds but continuous flow fails, watch the input and output buffers until the first one crosses its normal line. That point identifies the capacity or geometry boundary. Avoid increasing water, feed, and machine count together because the test would no longer isolate a cause.
Verify restart and reload
Stop the machine through normal controls if available, pause supply, save, reload, and restart at reduced input. Observe whether stored material settles into a different position or blocks an interface. A line that needs manual clearing after reload requires a startup drain, smaller operating buffer, or improved access before it can be considered reliable automation.
Report a reproducible defect
If a clean isolated module fails with confirmed input and open outputs, record build, platform, layout, material source, exact steps, expected result, actual result, and whether reload changes it. Use official support channels and attach files only when requested. A minimal reproduction is more useful than a claim that every Shaker is broken.
Close the diagnostic with a commissioning record
After the Shaker resumes, do not immediately restore maximum feed. Run a clean measured batch with empty destinations, then another with normal buffer levels. Record accepted input, usable output, byproduct destination, time to first output, sustained interval, and restart result. If the second run degrades, inspect fill-sensitive geometry rather than declaring the repair complete. Preserve the failed symptom and the single change that corrected it. This record distinguishes a cleared blockage from a durable fix and gives future patch testing a repeatable baseline. Only add another Shaker when the current one passes both runs and processing remains constrained while verified input and open outputs are continuously available.
Sources and evidence notes
- Sandustry on Steam ↗
Tier 1 · Early Access retail store listing. Official identity, release state, features, platforms, and requirements
- Official Sandustry Wiki ↗
Tier 1 · Current official community wiki. Named materials, buildings, and documented game systems
- r/SandustryGame community ↗
Tier 4 · Mixed Early Access community reports. Player language, complaints, and candidate workarounds only