Sandustry v0.5.6 — Critter Boosts, Dense Lava, Thermal Buffer Rework

v0.5.6 — officially Update #3 — shipped on 3 September 2026 for Sandustry Early Access. This patch reshapes how lava interacts with terrain, gives Thermal Buffers a cold-mode that returns Cinder, upgrades Aura Extractors to preserve harvested crystals, and introduces the community’s most-requested feature: critter petting for temporary buffs. This page covers every factory-relevant change and what it means for your production lines.

Critter petting — Lumling buffs

The headline quality-of-life feature: critters can now be petted. Walk up to a captured Lumling in your Corraller and interact to receive a temporary buff.

Available buffs:

• Speed boost — 15% movement speed for 60 seconds. Useful when hauling materials across long distances or when fleeing a lava surge.
• Luck boost — increased gold-drop chance from Shakers for 45 seconds. Stack with refining upgrades for noticeable income gains.
• Gathering boost — critters produce Water and other resources slightly faster for 90 seconds.

Buffs do not stack — petting a critter refreshes the timer and may switch the active buff type. The buff icon appears in the HUD when active.

To pet a critter: approach the Corraller, stand within 2 tiles, and press the interact key (default E). A visual heart effect confirms the buff applied.

Pair with Critters and Corraller to set up a permanent buff rotation in your base.

Sandustry v0.5.6 Critter Petting and Lava Changes Gameplay

Lava physics rework — denser, more destructive

Lava is now denser in v0.5.6, meaning it destroys terrain more aggressively and spreads differently through gaps.

Key lava behavior changes:

• Lava erodes Sandsoil faster — vertical shafts that previously survived lava contact may now collapse. Check your existing lava containment walls.
• Lava flow rate through 1-tile gaps is reduced — it now pools rather than rushing through narrow openings. Use this to build safer lava brakes.
• Lava + Water interaction now produces more Cinder when lava is cooled rapidly. This pairs with the Thermal Buffer rework.

If you use lava for power (see Lava-Powered Factory), audit your containment after updating. The denser lava may breach designs that relied on the old flow speed.

Thermal Buffer cold mode — Cinder recycling

The Thermal Buffer gains a cold mode toggle in v0.5.6. When set to cold, the Thermal Buffer:

• Absorbs heat from adjacent lava flows, cooling them faster.
• Returns Cinder when processing lava-cooled materials — previously, cold materials passing through a hot Thermal Buffer produced nothing useful.
• Stabilises temperature in factories that run both lava power and water-cooling lines, reducing runaway heating.

Cold mode activation: select the Thermal Buffer and press C to toggle. A blue tint indicates cold mode is active.

This change makes Thermal Buffers significantly more valuable in mid-to-late factories. See How to Get Energy for updated power architecture using cold Thermal Buffers.

Aura Extractor — crystal preservation

Aura Extractors now preserve removed crystals when harvesting from terrain with crystal deposits.

Previously: harvesting crystals would remove them from the tile, leaving a depleted source. v0.5.6 keeps the crystal intact, allowing repeated harvesting from the same deposit.

This effectively makes Aura Extractors a renewable crystal source — pair with a conveyor system to auto-collect the dropped crystals.

Crystal types affected:

• Amethelis — harvested for Fluxite processing. Repeated harvest makes Fluxite farming significantly easier.
• Voidbloom — the processed form of Amethelis + RedSand. Easier Voidbloom collection improves Fluxite output.

For Fluxite farming walkthroughs, see How to Get Fluxite and Fluxite Upgrades.

Mods branch — v0.5.6 experimental

The Steam beta branch “mods” now runs v0.5.6 experimental builds. Features visible in the mods branch but not yet in stable:

• Extended modding API hooks for the new lava physics system.
• Crystal preservation callbacks for Aura Extractor add-ons.
• Critter buff API exposure so mods can add new buff types.

Only opt into the mods branch if you develop mods. Do not use experimental builds for main saves — they may corrupt if downgrading to stable.

What to check after updating

After patching to v0.5.6:

1. Audit lava containment — denser lava may breach walls. Test with a small lava amount before re-enabling full production.
2. Toggle Thermal Buffers to cold mode — review How to Get Energy for updated power setup.
3. Visit Aura Extractor sites — crystal deposits that were depleted may now be harvestable again.
4. Set up a critter buff rotation — see Critters and Corraller for permanent buff strategies.
5. Check mod compatibility — exit to main menu, apply the patch, then reload saves. Never update mods mid-session.

Related pages

• Critters and Corraller — Set up permanent buff rotations with petting.
• How to Get Energy — Updated power architecture with cold Thermal Buffers.
• How to Get Fluxite — Crystal preservation makes Aura Extractor farms more productive.
• Lava-Powered Factory — Audit lava containment for denser flow.
• Modding Update v0.5.5+ — Official modding API docs still compatible with v0.5.6.
• Updates Hub — Full patch history and roadmap signals.

Changelog summary

Change	Impact
Critter petting	Speed, luck, gathering buffs for 45–90 seconds
Lava density	Faster terrain erosion, slower 1-tile flow, more Cinder from cooling
Thermal Buffer cold mode	Cinder recycling, heat absorption, temperature stabilisation
Aura Extractor preservation	Renewable crystal harvests from the same deposit
Mods branch v0.5.6	Experimental API hooks for new systems

Bookmark this page if you run lava power or Aura Extractor farms. The denser lava and crystal preservation changes directly affect mid-game production layouts.