Turn collected Dust into a paid shipment
Collect Dust into your tool, pack portable capsules when needed, and deliver the material to the Depot; use the launch control when the shipment container is full and ready. To shorten that routine, unload at a nearby Packager connected to the Depot by Conveyor, which allows delivered belt cargo to generate payment automatically.
Packing a capsule handles the Dust you have collected; it does not complete a Depot deposit or launch a shipment. The portable capsule and the shipment container belong to different stages of the delivery process. Keep those stages separate when checking whether your latest load has been delivered, sold, or credited toward a launch achievement.
Repeat this short manual Depot route
Start close to the station while you are using the Toothbrush. Its limited storage makes a long return journey particularly disruptive. Choose nearby unfinished ground so you can repeat the delivery route without turning each load into an expedition.
- Clean a nearby patch while watching your tool's Dust container. This builds a load you can deliver without losing track of how much storage remains.
- Press Q when you need to pack collected Dust into a portable capsule. Packing lets you continue handling Dust outside the station before making your delivery.
- Bring your collected Dust and packed capsules back to the station. The material needs to reach the Depot's receiving system before collection becomes a sale.
- Use the Depot deposit interaction to transfer your Dust into its receiving system. Creating or carrying a capsule outside the station does not complete this deposit.
- Use the launch control once the shipment container is full and ready. Completing that launch is a separate action from depositing the Dust that supplied it.
- Return to the nearby unfinished area to begin the route again. Keeping a clear destination makes the next cleaning pass easier to resume.
Choose a closer drop-off for your work area
Choose the ground you want to clean before committing to a delivery setup. Then compare the walk to your current Depot with the walk to a collection point beside that ground. Time the route you actually repeat, including capsule handling, rather than judging convenience from the map alone.
| Option | When it helps |
|---|---|
| Manual delivery near the station | Keep using nearby dirty ground while your storage is small. This limits walking without requiring a transport network. |
| Packager beside the cleaning area | A $100 Packager accepts manually collected Dust and outputs capsules onto Conveyors, reducing the need to carry each load back to the Depot. |
| Robot Vacuum dock connected by Conveyor | Use this for collection around a fixed dock. Its capsules still need a connected route into the Depot before they produce automatic sales. |
| Vehicle unloading area with an outgoing belt | A collector pad unloads vehicle Dust into storage. Connect its outgoing Conveyor before relying on it to handle large returning loads. |
A wider brush improves cleaning coverage, while a larger container reduces interruptions from handling Dust. Neither automatically fixes a pile of capsules waiting for delivery. If transport is already holding you back, improve that route before buying more collection power.
Replace the station walk with a Packager route
- Place a Packager near your active cleaning area, with space for its outgoing belt. This gives your manual cleaning route a closer collection point.
- Connect the Packager's Conveyor output to the Depot's loading hatch, checking travel direction along the route. The belt needs a receiving destination, not an open end beside the building.
- Interact with the Packager using E to transfer Dust from your cleaning tool. The Packager sends that material out as capsules on the connected Conveyor.
- Follow a capsule into the Depot and watch for payment. A working belt route should deliver the material and increase your money when it reaches the intake.
- Repeat your cleaning trips to the Packager after the delivery test succeeds. You still gather and unload the Dust, while the belt handles its journey back to the Depot.
What the patch changes about automatic payment
Patch 1.0.3 fixes the Depot intake so Dust and stone arriving by Conveyor pay exactly the amount displayed on its screen as they arrive. Properly delivered belt cargo therefore does not need someone to remove and sell every capsule manually. While carrying a capsule, you can also place it onto a belt where you aim.
Automatic payment does not make deposit and launch achievements interchangeable. Check the activity named by the achievement, especially when moving from manual deliveries to an automated route. For a launch objective, check that the shipment completes rather than using belt income alone as your progress check.
Check the delivery route when money stops
- Capsules stop at the belt's end: extend or reconnect the Conveyor into the Depot receiving area. Capsules can accumulate at an unfinished endpoint without selling.
- Capsules travel away from the Depot: check the direction of each connected section. A belt that looks continuous can still send material the wrong way.
- The Packager releases capsules but income stalls: follow the route until you find where movement stops. Inspect that connection or destination before replacing the Packager.
- A vehicle unloads but sales do not follow: inspect the storage outlet and outgoing Conveyor. Temporary storage does not replace the route that carries Dust onward.
- A Robot Vacuum produces nothing immediately: allow it time to collect Dust and return to its dock. If its reachable ground is already clean, check a fresh location.
- A launch achievement does not appear after a deposit: check whether the launch itself completed. Depositing Dust and successfully launching its shipment are separate requirements.
Keep co-op collection connected to delivery
In co-op, give someone responsibility for checking that collected Dust reaches the transport and selling system. Other players can keep cleaning nearby ground while that receiving route is inspected. Before the crew spreads farther out, follow a complete delivery through to payment so extra collection does not simply create a larger backlog.