Sandustry Map and Minimap: Exploration Guide

The Sandustry Map and Minimap help you inspect the world beyond the current screen, follow objectives, and choose a workable factory location before building long production lines.

How to unlock the Map

The current official Research page lists Map in Tier 1 for 100 Gold. That unlock provides both the Map and Minimap.

Research is marked as work in progress, so the tier and price are dynamic values. They were checked on August 16, 2026; use the current in-game Research tab if a later update differs.

The available official pages do not reliably document the full Map key, zoom limits, dragging controls, or whether every explored area remains permanently recorded. This guide therefore does not invent those controls.

What the Minimap shows

The official Beginner's Guide describes the Minimap as a view of the world around you that extends beyond the main screen. Active objectives also display a yellow arrow on the Minimap to point toward their direction.

Use that arrow as directional guidance rather than a promise that the route is unobstructed. Terrain and tool restrictions may still block a direct path.

What to scout before building

A current Early Access beginner video recommends surveying the world early and checking for:

• a large Water source rather than a very small pool;
• a substantial Sand area for early Gold production;
• open space for machines and expanding production lines;
• hard terrain that may require a stronger digging tool;
• Artifacts and other valuable areas worth revisiting.

This is practical planning advice from a current gameplay guide, not a fixed world layout. Use the Map to compare nearby options before placing permanent transport routes.

A simple first survey

1. Unlock Map and Minimap when the current Research cost is affordable.
2. Check the yellow objective arrow so you know the general progression direction.
3. Identify Water and Sand close enough to connect with an early factory.
4. Reserve open space beside the production area instead of building directly against hard terrain.
5. Mark or remember blocked resource rooms and return with a suitable tool.
6. Investigate visible exploration targets when the factory can continue operating without you.

For artifact-specific limits and the later Locator tool, see the Artifacts guide.

Map versus Custom Maps

Search results for this topic often surface Demo-era Custom Maps, mod loaders, or community map files. Those are a different feature and version scope from the current built-in Map and Minimap.

Do not install an old map mod to obtain the normal navigation interface. This page covers only the current Early Access exploration tools confirmed by the official Research and Beginner's Guide pages.

Sources

• Research — Sandustry Official Wiki
• Beginner's Guide — Sandustry Official Wiki
• Current Early Access Beginner Guide — YouTube

The unlock, Minimap description, objective-arrow behavior, and current scouting advice were checked on August 16, 2026. Undocumented controls and exploration-record rules remain unclaimed.