Sandustry Crashes and Performance

Early Access week produced two truths at once: the factory loop is the game people wanted, and some clients crash. Lantto Games shipped v0.5.3 on August 14, 2026 as a diagnostics and memory hotfix, and said a larger crash patch is still coming. This page is the player-side checklist — where the log lives, which launch option to try, and which factory habits make the sim heavier. It is not a promise that every GPU is fixed.

Update first

Steam / GOG / Microsoft Store should show 0.5.3 or newer. The hotfix is the first EA news post after launch. If you are still on the August 13 build, you are missing:

• A real main.log
• Tutorial videos that unmount (decoder exhaustion fix)
• Cheaper steam-rain clouds
• Factory-tier text that explains a locked objective
• The --sandustry-no-overlay-gpu-flags launch option

PC Game Pass desktop users update through the Xbox/Microsoft app. There is still no Xbox console build and no Cloud Gaming (Launch Week).

Find the log (v0.5.3)

OS	Path
Windows	C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\sandustry\logs\main.log
macOS	/Users/<you>/Library/Logs/sandustry/main.log
Linux	/home/<you>/.config/sandustry/logs/main.log

Windows shortcut: Win+R → %AppData%\sandustry\logs\.

If the folder is empty, launch once after the hotfix, then crash again. Attach main.log to Steam discussions or Discord. A screenshot of a black window is not a substitute.

Steam launch option for overlay crashes

If the client dies when the Steam overlay opens (Shift+Tab, a screenshot, a friend list ping):

1. Steam Library → Sandustry → Properties → Launch Options.
2. Paste exactly:

--sandustry-no-overlay-gpu-flags

3. Start the game. The overlay will likely stop working. Achievements still unlock.

Remove the flag later if a bigger patch lands and you want the overlay back. GOG and Microsoft Store users do not have this Steam-specific switch; use the log and the memory habits below, and wait for the follow-up patch.

Tutorial video crashes

0.5.3 unmounts instructional videos so decoders do not pile up. If you crashed in the first hour while skipping or replaying tutorial clips, update and skip the movies once. You do not need the video to run a starter factory — How to Play on this wiki covers the same loop.

Memory: steam rain, belts, and lights

The hotfix already made steam-condensation clouds cheaper. You can still help the sim:

• Do not boil an ocean all session. Vent Steam, or run rain in pulses (Water Management).
• Cap belt spaghetti. Every moving pixel is a particle. A lake launcher plus a diagonal shaker bank is cheaper than three wrapping world-girdling belts.
• Lights are not free. Cave lamps help Dig Deeper; a sun-bright surface does not need a Light on every tile (Collectors and Lights).
• Close unused maps. Workshop / Fluxloader extras can be heavier than vanilla. Bisect mods after a crash.

Recommended specs still live on Release Date and Platforms. Large EA worlds (creators described ~15× the demo slice) want the recommended CPU/GPU, not the minimum.

Factory-tier UI vs “the game is broken”

After 0.5.3, a locked Factory Level should show why. If Research looks grey, read the new objective highlight before you assume a crash ate your gold. Translations for those strings were pending in the patch note — switch the game to English once if your locale shows a blank reason.

What to send in a report

1. Build number (0.5.3 or later).
2. main.log.
3. OS + GPU + whether the overlay flag is on.
4. Repro: tutorial video, steam rain, overlay, large belt, or random.
5. Store (Steam / GOG / Microsoft / Game Pass).

Lantto asked for Steam reviews too. A review is not a crash dump; send the log to the forum or Discord if you want a fix.

What this page will not tell you

We will not list unofficial “delete this shader cache” rituals that we have not seen in the official note. We will not claim 0.5.3 healed every report. When the larger patch posts, Hotfix 0.5.3 and this guide will gain a dated section. Until then: update, log, optional overlay flag, lighter rain.

Related

• Hotfix 0.5.3 — Full changelog in wiki language.
• Launch Week — Discount, Game Pass, Linux notes.
• Mods — Disable loaders when bisecting a crash.
• Should You Buy — Buyer context if instability is your deciding factor.

Play the lake. If it dies, send the file, not the vibe.