Groundwork Simulator Beginner Guide: Your First Gold

Start With a Working Claim and Comfortable Controls

One unattended pump can turn your digging area into a pond. This Groundwork Simulator beginner guide walks you through water, machinery, and cleanup so your work reaches the gold jar. Follow this Groundwork Simulator beginner guide through a complete processing cycle before expanding your operation.

Groundwork Simulator combines gold prospecting, heavy equipment, deformable terrain, and flowing water. These tips cover the October 22, 2026 Early Access launch, with an emphasis on the opening tutorial.

1. Keep the tutorial enabled

Start on Normal if you want the guided introduction. The harder difficulty disables the tutorial, which makes learning the water connections and processing sequence more demanding.

Enter the starting truck, hitch the caravan, and follow the marked route to the family claim. Park and unhitch where instructed, then press Enter to read the letter. Its practical message carries through the opening: get water running, sample promising ground, and test your operation before moving large quantities of dirt.

2. Fix your keyboard layout before excavating

Check the keyboard layout in Settings before learning the excavator. The launch settings include QWERTY, while excavation controls support ISO and SAE patterns and individual rebinding.

Practice each movement separately:

• Raise and lower the boom.
• Extend and retract the arm.
• Curl and open the bucket.
• Swing left and right.
• Check the switch between driving and digging.

Use the machine’s control display while practicing. Several vehicles reuse keys for different actions, so check the active machine before pressing anything. This Groundwork Simulator beginner guide follows the tutorial sequence; use your configured bindings for each movement.

Official page: Groundwork Simulator (store.steampowered.com)

Groundwork Simulator Beginner Guide to Water and Power

Image: Steam / XYZ STUDIO

3. Connect the two pumps in sequence

The opening wash setup uses a holding pond between the river and the trommel. Pump one supplies that pond; pump two draws from it to supply the washing equipment.

Component	Input or placement	Output or function
Pump one	Intake hose in the river	Discharges into the holding pond
Holding pond	Receives river water	Supplies pump two
Pump two	Intake hose in the pond	Connects to the trommel
Generator trailer	Positioned near the trommel	Provides power for the washing setup

At pump one, connect the lower intake fitting to the river and route the upper discharge fitting to the pond. Follow the highlighted connection prompts, then operate the pump switch.

Next, unfold the mobile trommel using its setup prompt. Position the small conveyor so its discharge reaches the trommel’s receiving area. Connect pump two between the pond and the trommel, then switch it on.

Finish by acquiring the generator trailer through the Machine Dealer. Use the machine transport tool to place it near the wash equipment, then start it at its controls.

4. Watch the pond instead of leaving the intake running

Pump one continues adding water while you work elsewhere. Left running long enough, it can overflow the pond and flood the claim.

Check the water level between tasks, particularly before driving away or speeding up time for cleanup. Shut off the river supply when the pond is full, and monitor the remaining supply as washing continues.

Keep the pumps’ jobs straight: the river pump fills storage, while the second pump feeds the trommel. Turning off the wrong one interrupts the washing supply while water continues entering the pond.

Keep your initial setup compact. Leave room to reach pump switches, generator controls, and conveyor controls without squeezing between machines.

Move Pay Dirt Without Wrecking Your Access

Image: Steam / XYZ STUDIO

5. Give each machine a clear job

The opening workflow moves material through several machines. Follow that chain while learning rather than rearranging everything immediately.

Machine	Opening task	Handling tip
Excavator	Dig promising material and load the truck	Take controlled cuts and adjust the bucket angle
Dump truck	Carry excavated material to the stockpile	Use the load display to track remaining capacity
Wheel loader	Transfer stockpiled dirt into the conveyor hopper	Approach the pile with the bucket positioned to scoop
Small conveyor	Feed material into the trommel	Start it after the wash plant is running

Position the truck within comfortable excavator reach. Leave enough clearance to swing the bucket over the bed without clipping the vehicle.

For each scoop, lower the bucket into the cut, draw material in while curling, lift clear, and swing toward the truck. Open the bucket over the bed. If the bucket struggles in the ground, take a shallower cut or change its angle.

The excavation physics include hydraulic resistance, so repeatedly forcing the same deep bite can leave you fighting the machine.

6. Read the load display before adding another bucket

Use the truck’s capacity indicator instead of judging by the visible pile. Stop loading when it reaches capacity.

Drive to the marked stockpile area and raise the bed to unload. If material remains crowded against the discharge, move forward carefully to create room. Lower the bed before returning to the digging area.

Next, use the wheel loader to scoop the loose stockpile and carry it to the conveyor hopper. Align the bucket before tipping so material lands inside.

7. Protect the route you will use again

Every scoop changes the worksite. A careless loader pass can disturb your gravel access, and a growing excavation can leave awkward slopes beside the loading position.

Keep stockpiles away from turning areas. Lower the loader bucket deliberately when approaching loose dirt, and watch its edge near ground you want to preserve.

For this part of the Groundwork Simulator beginner guide, aim for one repeatable route between the cut, stockpile, and hopper. Improve rough access before sending another loaded truck across it.

Groundwork Simulator Beginner Guide to Your First Cleanup

Image: Steam / XYZ STUDIO

8. Start the wash plant before feeding dirt

Once water and power are ready, start the trommel’s drum and spray bar. Then start the small conveyor.

That order matters: the receiving equipment needs to be operating before the belt delivers material.

Stage	Action	What to watch
Prepare	Establish water and start the generator	Pond supply and equipment readiness
Start washing	Start the trommel	Drum and spray bar operation
Feed material	Start the conveyor	Material entering the receiving hopper
Finish feeding	Stop the conveyor once its feed is finished	Remaining material in the plant
Begin cleanup	Stop the wash plant after processing finishes	Concentrate ready in the sluice boxes

Watch both ends of the conveyor. Increasing belt speed moves material faster, but the receiving hopper can accumulate dirt while the trommel processes it.

Feed at a pace you can monitor. Finish a small batch before committing another truckload.

9. Empty the sluice boxes after stopping the plant

Once feeding is finished, shut down the conveyor. Let the remaining material finish processing, then stop the wash plant.

Interact with the sluice boxes to empty the concentrate. Pick up the cleanup pallet, carry it to the table’s drop zone, and place it down.

Start the cleanup table to separate the remaining dirt from the gold. The opening tutorial gives the table a processing rate of 125 grams per hour. That rate describes processing speed; your recovered gold depends on the material you washed.

The tutorial directs you to increase time speed to 120× during cleanup. Check the pond and stop unnecessary river pumping before accelerating time. After cleanup, check that time has returned to normal.

10. Store the gold before opening the sale menu

Collect the finished gold jar, then interact again to put it into storage. Open Gold Prices and sell the stored gold through that menu.

Complete that storage step before looking for the sale. The opening workflow records the cleaned gold before it becomes available to sell.

Run another modest batch afterward. This Groundwork Simulator beginner guide uses a full cycle—digging, hauling, washing, cleanup, storage, and sale—as the checkpoint before expanding. Repeating it gives you a chance to correct awkward parking or misplaced equipment.

Prospect Before Expanding and Avoid Costly Detours

11. Separate surface scanning from deeper sampling

Darker gravel and low spots are starting clues in the opening claim. Use the material detector to scan shallow ground, then use the drill truck to investigate deeper layers.

Hold the tool dial, select the material detector, and scan the target ground until you get a reading.

Prospecting tool	Information it provides	Next action
Material detector	Shallow-ground readings	Compare nearby spots
Drill truck	Layers and deeper sample information	Examine material beneath the surface
Gold Map	Filed boreholes, depths, and gold-bearing bands	Compare completed holes before digging

Follow the tutorial’s drill objectives in order. Position the rear of the truck over the target, deploy the supports and mast as prompted, start drilling, and add rods when required. Retract the drill after completing the hole, then follow the preparation prompts before moving.

Check the Gold Map after filing the required holes. Compare the gold-bearing bands and their depths rather than choosing a digging area solely from its surface appearance.

12. Return hired equipment after completing its objectives

The tutorial introduces a hired DR64 drill truck. Rental charges continue until you return it, so finish the required sampling before getting distracted by exploration.

Exit the hired vehicle, open the company fleet menu, and return it after the tutorial directs you to do so. Check that the sampling stage has advanced before moving on.

Carry these Groundwork Simulator beginner guide habits into your next site:

• Check the route before hauling machinery on a trailer.
• Watch traction on mud, slopes, and rough ground.
• Keep water supply in the plan when relocating washing equipment.
• In online co-op, divide excavation, transport, and plant work.
• Follow the cabin clue after completing the opening claim tutorial.

FAQ

What should I do first in this Groundwork Simulator beginner guide?

Complete the caravan introduction and read the letter, then establish the water supply. Connect the river pump to the holding pond, connect the second pump to the trommel, and prepare the generator before washing dirt.

Why is my claim flooding?

The river pump keeps supplying the holding pond while it runs. Shut it off when the pond is full, then monitor the stored water as the washing setup uses it. Check the pond before accelerating time.

How do I sell my first gold?

Finish washing, stop the equipment, empty the sluice concentrate, and process it at the cleanup table. Collect the finished jar and place it in storage. Then open Gold Prices to sell the stored gold.

Can I play Groundwork Simulator with friends?

Yes. Groundwork Simulator supports online co-op as well as solo play. Split the work so one person excavates while another transports material or handles the washing operation, and coordinate movement around the shared worksite.