Home > Tips and Tricks > Strategy > Sand Clearing Strategy
Under Development
Sand levels[]
The upper floors of Calyx are covered in
Sesamite Sand and require pumping to remove it. At the same time additional sand is pouring into the level from the ceiling to try and keep the sand level at the maximum for the level. To clear the sand the rate of sand pumping must exceed the inflow and reach down deep into the level.
Sand Pumps[]
Description[]
A
Sand Pump is a device that is found in the Sierra sand levels (L12-L16). It is used to extract the
Sesamite Sand sand found loose on those levels, draining down the level to provide access to deeper areas. They are essential to find aspects of the story and to complete the game as well as for extracting
Sesamite Sand for use in some of the advanced recipes associated with
Sesamite Ingots.
Information[]
Each pump has information, in the hover-over information box, that describes the operation of the pump.
- Dig Speed (Pump) - the amount of
Sesamite Sand being pumped by the pump under the cursor.
- Total Sand (Pump) - the amount of sand reachable by the pump under the cursor.
- Dig Speed (Level) - the total amount of sand being pumped by all pumps on the level.
- Total Sand (Level) - the total amount of sand available to be pumped by all the pumps on the level.
- Refill Rate (Level) - the inflow rate at which the
Sesamite Sand is replenished.
Placement[]
The
Sand Pump is unique in its placement, requiring a two step process. Firstly the horizontal placement is set with the build button and then the vertical position can be adjusted and the pump will extend down into the
Sesamite Sand until it contacts with bedrock. This allows multiple pumps to be aligned in height even though the surface of the sand is not necessarily level.
When you place a pump the hover-over information will display the total sand available for pumping by the pump and on the level. Often these are not the same and this indicates that the pump cannot reach to the bottom of the level from its current position. When this occurs the pumps will only be able to reduce the sand on the level down to the depth of the pump that reaches furthest. Once this level is reached the pumps will only remove the inflowing
Sesamite Sand. This is important, not only because it prevents draining the sand down to the point where key technology or information is found, but also because it reduces the amount of sand produced and consumed by other machines which can result in them stalling.
In levels where the power is entirely produced from
Crushers processing
Sesamite Sand this can cause the
Electrical Power generation to drop below the consumption rate and lock-up the entire processing system on that level and cause the sand to stop being pumped.
It is often worth spending a little time when you first arrive on these levels to try and identify at least one location where a pump can reach the entire depth of the cavern.
Sand Level Information[]
Information[]
| Level | L12 | L13 | L14 | L15 | L16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dig Speed (Pump) kL/min | 2,000 | 500 | 350 | 500 | 750 |
| Refill Rate (Level) kL/min | 1,000 | 1,250 | 8,200 | 5,850 | 100 |
| Total Sand (Level) ML | 106,000 | 170,000 | |||
| Min Fuel Energy kJ | 11,375 | 34,125 | 273,000 | 136,500 | 11,375 |
| Min #Pumps | 1 | 3 | 24 | 12 | 1 |
| Min #Crushers | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 |