Tools & Upgrades
Every piece of equipment we can actually verify, the four stages of an operation, and buying principles that survive a patch.
01Verified equipment
| Item | Role | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knife | Starting hand-peeling tool. | Steam description, reveal trailer | Verified |
| Peeler | Alternative / improved hand tool shown in early footage. | Press coverage of the trailer | Verified |
| Bucket / water | Delivery point for peeled potatoes. | Steam description | Verified |
| Sacks | Bulk collection of potatoes. | Steam: "collect potatoes in bulk"; achievement guide | Verified |
| Sack Cableway | Late-game automation that lifts and transports sacks automatically. | Destructoid achievement guide | Verified |
| Auto Peel Machine | Machine-based peeling; a community tip thread exists for it. | Steam community discussion | Verified |
| Bulk loader / vacuum unit | Red machine that draws large quantities of potatoes from the pile. | Reveal trailer, press description | Name unconfirmed |
| Crane | Late-stage handling equipment operated briefly before it too is automated. | Player reviews on Steam | Community |
02The four stages of an operation
A structural model derived from the store page's three-act description plus player reports. It describes what changes, not exact unlock times.
| Stage | Your job | What becomes the bottleneck | Related achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Manual | Peel one potato at a time and drop it in the water. | Blade technique and cutting speed. | First Cut, Warmed Up, Old School |
| 2. Hauling | Move potatoes in bulk between pile, station and water. | Travel distance and carrying capacity. | A Thousand Peels |
| 3. Mechanised | Load and tend machines that peel for you. | Feeding the machine consistently. | Industrial Revolution, Ten Thousand |
| 4. Automated | Keep a production line supplied and resolve jams. | Throughput of the whole system. | Fully Automated, The Quota |
03Buying principles, not fake prices
Fund the bottleneck
Identify the slowest step in the current loop — cutting, collecting or travelling — and spend there first. An upgrade that speeds up a step you are no longer waiting on produces no visible gain.
Budget for the upgrade after the purchase
A newly bought machine at base level can be slower than the manual method it replaces. Reserve enough currency to improve it before making it the centre of your loop.
Respect prerequisite chains
Late-game automation is gated. The Sack Cableway is explicitly described as expensive with several prerequisites, so plan the chain rather than saving for the final item alone.
Re-evaluate after every new mechanic
Player reviews describe a design where a new mechanic is introduced every dozen minutes and then repeated. Each introduction changes which resource is scarce.
04Spotlight: the Sack Cableway
The most concretely documented piece of late-game equipment is the Sack Cableway, because it is required for the hidden achievement "Unauthorized Passenger". According to the Destructoid walkthrough, it automatically picks up sacks of potatoes placed next to it. It is expensive, has several prerequisites, and is best left until the late game.
Its existence also tells you something about the automation design: the game eventually removes even the transport step, lifting sacks along a cable rather than asking you to carry them.
05What we still do not know
Not published
- Official item prices or a complete upgrade tree.
- Exact unlock thresholds for machines.
- Per-item throughput statistics.
- Whether upgrade order is freely choosable or quest-gated (player reviews report gating).
How we handle it
- No speculative numbers are published as fact.
- Community-sourced claims carry a Community badge.
- Every page carries the verification date so patches can be tracked.
- Corrections can be checked against the source index.