Research Tiers and Unlock Requirements (v0.5.7)

Research Tiers and Unlock Requirements

You know the scene: the Shaker is wearing a hat made of Residue, the Water feed has quietly dried up, and Research still shows a gray node even though you have Gold. Do not build another Shaker yet. A gray node usually means the Factory Tier is too low, a named prerequisite is missing, or the required currency or progression counter is short.

Gold buys the main Research nodes. Fluxite buys upgrades for tools, weapons, and drones. Conservatory Tickets buy the separate critter and logic tree. Late Aura research opens through Auralite and Aura/Crystal progress. Artifacts are not spent as Research currency; recovering them advances the separate Augment system.

The main progression chain is Sand + Water → Wet Sand → Shaker → Gold + Residue. Later, it grows into Residue → Burnt Residue → Kinetic Press → Seed → Wet Seed → Flower → Amethelis → Florinol → Energy → Aurixite → Auralite → Aura. Each Factory Tier tests part of that chain. The sand pile is becoming an industrial life-form. We merely keep its organs unclogged.

How to Read the Research Tree

The Factory Tier or late-game progression gate is the prerequisite for every node in that group. When a row names another Research node, you need that node as well. Branch labels show where a node sits in the tree; they do not create an extra prerequisite by themselves.

The Gold-priced nodes total 92,450 Gold: Tier 1 costs 1,200, Tier 2 costs 5,550, Tier 3 costs 14,450, Tier 4 costs 15,250, Tier 5 costs 33,500, and the three Gold-priced Tier 6 nodes cost 22,500.

Tier 1 — Start the Gold Engine

Progression buy: Take Shaker first, then Logistics. Add the Filter when Gold and Residue share a route and the unwanted pile starts pushing back into the Shaker.

Tier 2 — Burn and Press the Waste

Progression buy: Flamethrower plus Kinetic Press. Burn Residue first, then give the surviving Burnt Residue a fall of at least 25 blocks. A shorter drop leaves it sitting on the Press like a tiny, highly specific paperweight.

Tier 3 — Seeds, Flowers, Fluids, and Better Digging

Progression buy: Planter Box. Wet each Seed with Water, deliver the Wet Seed to the box, and keep room for the Flower to form.

Tier 4 — Florinol and the Anomaly

Progression buy: Drying & Condensing. Run Amethelis → Steam Dryer + Steam → Dry Amethelis → heat → Florin gas → Condenser + Snow → Florinol. Florin rises, so seal its route before the purple cloud goes sightseeing.

Tier 5 — Power, Void Tech, and Hard-Material Tools

Progression buy: Florinol Battery, Steam Turbine, and Energy Connector. The 100,000-Energy goal checks actual Energy reached, not empty storage capacity.

Tier 6 — Synthesizer and Aura Research

Tier 6 is the current v0.5.7 endpoint. Filling the 10,000-Aura circle completes the visible objective, but it does not guarantee an unreleased tier or future technology.

Every Factory Level Gate

Conservatory Research

Buy the Corraller for 1,250 Gold at Tier 4, then capture new critter species. New discoveries award Conservatory Tickets; collecting more copies of a species does not replace a missing discovery.

The full Conservatory tree costs 59 Tickets.

Fluxite Upgrades With Exact Displayed Costs

No Fluxite upgrade is required to raise Factory Level. Fluxite improves tools and drones after their base items exist. These are the exact costs retained here:

Artifact Augments use their own progression. Recover Artifacts to advance that system, then choose or equip the unlocked Augments. An Artifact is a progression reward, not a coin fed into Research.

If the Next Tier or Machine Is Still Locked

1. Read the active objective. Gold cannot replace a missing production or exploration milestone.
2. Check the exact counter. The gates count processed Wet Sand, pressed Burnt Residue, grown Flowers, condensed Florinol, actual peak Energy, or Aura progress.
3. Trace one stage backward. Stop the feed, clear the machine input and output, then restart with a small batch.
4. Check the Tier 5 split gate. You need both 10,000 Florinol and the Anomaly investigation.
5. Check the Tier 6 sequence. Reach 100,000 peak Energy for the promotion, then secure the Stratacore before buying the Synthesizer.
6. Check named prerequisites. Drill needs Rocket Launcher and Florinol Battery. Copper Mold needs Smelter and Florinol Battery. Signal Controls and Logic Gates have ordered prerequisites.
7. Confirm the purchase. Reopen Research, check that the currency was deducted, and look in the matching building, tool, drone, or Conservatory tab.
8. Refresh a stale interface. Save and reload after the requirement and purchase are visibly complete. Stop unstable feeds first; loose material has never met a problem it could not make wider.