Sandustry v0.5.6 Update #3: Complete Patch Guide

Install the patch and confirm the active branch

Update #3 identifies the release as v0.5.6. Before diagnosing a changed factory, open Steam, allow the game to finish updating, and check whether the installation is using the normal branch or the separate mods branch. The announcement says that the mods branch also moved to 0.5.6. A subscribed Workshop item can still have its own compatibility limits, so the game version and the mod version are two different checks.

Make a recoverable copy of an important world before testing the changed Lava and Aura interactions. Record the version, branch, and active mod list with the copy. That small note makes it possible to distinguish a patch regression from a layout problem later. If Steam has not completed its download, avoid repeatedly opening and closing the same save while files are changing.

• Official release label: v0.5.6 — Update #3.
• Announcement date: September 3, 2026.
• Normal and mods branches should be checked separately.
• Major Update #1 was still in development when Update #3 shipped.

Pet critters and reassess Voltblub power

Players can now pet critters by moving over a creature. The interaction makes the critter happy and temporarily boosts its capabilities. This is a timed effect rather than a permanent research upgrade, so judge a critter-assisted process across both boosted and ordinary periods. If a layout depends on the boost to avoid a backlog, it is operating with a maintenance requirement that should be documented.

Voltblub energy output received a general boost as well. The announcement does not publish a new exact rate, so this guide does not invent one. Measure the output in the current build before resizing batteries or removing another energy source. Watch peak energy and the reserve over a repeatable interval; a rising reserve shows surplus under those test conditions, while a falling reserve shows that the factory still consumes more than it receives.

Rebuild Lava containment around density 200

Lava now has density 200 and destroys Fluxite, Redsoil, and Strataform terrain. Both changes matter to older routes. A channel that relied on one of those materials as a boundary can fail, and a junction that sorted materials by settling order can behave differently after the density change. Inspect every place where Lava touches terrain or shares a chamber before leaving the factory unattended.

A cold Thermal Buffer, meaning one with a negative temperature, now receives less heat from Lava and converts that Lava back into Cinder instead of fully consuming it. This creates a recoverable material loop, but it also changes calculations based on total consumption. Keep returned Cinder clear of the input, measure whether the buffer remains negative, and provide overflow space before scaling the interaction.

• Do not use Fluxite, Redsoil, or Strataform as trusted Lava containment in v0.5.6.
• Retest density-based separators that share space with Lava.
• Route returned Cinder away from the Thermal Buffer input.
• Treat heat balance and material throughput as separate limits.

Move Aura Extractors without losing crystallized progress

The Aura Extractor can now be removed after crystallization has started. When removed, its Auralite Crystals are held in a buffer and released as Auralite after the extractor is rebuilt. This makes relocation safer, but the released material still needs a controlled landing area. Clear nearby conveyors and launch paths before rebuilding so the restored Auralite does not enter an unintended line.

Aura tree rendering received a crash fix because refreshing the full Tech Tree could trigger renderer failures. The patch reduces that specific risk; it does not prove that every crash near late-game progression has the same cause. If a crash persists, reproduce it with the current version, capture the official log location, note whether mods are active, and report the smallest repeatable sequence.

Check flower, portal, artifact-room, and laser fixes

The Flower calamity is easier to recover from. Shooting or digging seedlings can return Wet Seeds, stuck seedlings eventually give up and produce Wet Seeds, and one Wet Seed now becomes exactly one Flower. A Flower may appear to spread indefinitely because it consumes nearby Wet Seeds; it is not creating Flowers without input. Separate seed storage from the growth chamber if you want predictable inventory.

Update #3 also fixes Conveyor Portals that became stuck, red-block behavior, and Thermal Buffers that consumed Lava inside artifact rooms where terrain could self-heal. Lasers now melt Ice. Revisit any workaround built around those older failures. Remove one workaround at a time, then save, reload, and observe the repaired route long enough to confirm that the original trigger no longer returns.

Use the new mod hooks with a versioned test world

The release adds hooks, events, and methods for mod authors, including building removal, fire-terrain burn, and melt-at-cell behavior, and points authors to Sandkit documentation. These interfaces widen what a mod can observe or change. They also increase the number of interactions that should be tested when several mods touch the same materials or buildings.

Update mods in a disposable copy before opening a long-lived factory. Confirm that every dependency supports the active branch, enable a small group at a time, and keep the last known-good list. If a failure appears only with mods enabled, reduce the set until one repeatable combination remains. That evidence is more useful to authors than a large unfiltered list.

Run a ten-minute post-update factory audit

Start with destructive and irreversible-looking areas: Lava channels, artifact rooms, late-game Aura production, and any portal that crosses a production line. Continue with power reserves, Flower growth, Ice near Lasers, and modded buildings. For each area, identify the expected input, expected output, and a safe overflow path. A visual inspection alone will miss slow accumulation, so compare inventories at the beginning and end.

Keep the first clean v0.5.6 save after the audit. If everything remains stable, label that copy as a recovery point and then resume expansion. If a line fails, use the relevant mechanic guide linked below rather than rebuilding the entire factory. The patch changes several unrelated systems; isolating one boundary at a time prevents a Lava change from being confused with a mod or power problem.

Field facts

Troubleshooting

• An old Lava channel leaks or changes its settling order.

  Pause the feed, inspect Fluxite, Redsoil, and Strataform boundaries, then rebuild containment with material verified in the current version.

• Aura material appears after rebuilding an extractor.

  The patch returns buffered crystallization progress as Auralite. Provide a clear collection area before rebuilding.

• A modded save fails after updating.

  Confirm the mods branch and each dependency, restore a copy, then enable mods in small groups until the failing combination is reproducible.