Drill Core
FAQ
What is Drill Core? Drill Core is a strategic management simulation game where you lead a team of workers on hazardous missions to drill to the core of planets. Your goal is to extract valuable resources while defending your drill platform from nightly alien attacks. You must strategically manage your team to ensure the success and survival of your mining operations.
What platforms is the game available on? Currently, Drill Core is only available on PC (Steam).
Where can I find the game's roadmap? It’s available in the main menu of the game and on the official Drill Core Discord.
Are Steam Cloud Saves implemented? Yes, Steam Cloud Saves were implemented in Patch 0.65.
Can I save during the session/contract? If I exit from it, can I continue where I’ve left? Yes, saving during contracts was added in Patch 0.73. Progress now saves after each drilling (not every day).
Can I play the game on Steam Deck? Yes, Drill Core is now Steam Deck Verified.
I want to know what block does what? We are working on implementation of the official glossary through Steam guides. Right now we can highlight this player guide - it’s pretty spot-on in describing the blocks and main tactics. We also have an official Wiki which contains details of all the blocks.
Is there a playtest or demo available? Yes! In addition to the main game, we have the demo and plan to keep it around at least for now. You can access it here.
What are the system requirements? Minimum:
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 or AMD FX-8350
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 710, 1 GB or AMD Radeon R7 240, 1 GB
- Storage: 600 MB available space
How do I manage my team? You manage your team by assigning tasks to miners, carriers, and guards.
Left-click on blocks of earth to have miners start drilling, or, in the case of the Dwarf Platform, click on the empty space near the block in order to place a bomb. Carriers will collect resources automatically, but can be directed by left-clicking a mineral. Guards patrol the drilling zone during the day. Left-click to send them to a specific area.
Double-clicking makes a task a higher priority, and right-clicking cancels an order.
How do I defend against alien attacks? To defend against alien attacks, you need to strategically place turrets and other defensive structures around your drill platform.
Can I upgrade my team and defenses? Yes, you can upgrade both! By mining resources and completing missions, you earn the necessary materials and currency to improve your drilling capabilities and defenses.
How does the research system work? To unlock new technologies, you need to mine and collect Green Ore. Once a carrier retrieves the Green Ore, it unlocks a random technology (such as new buildings, turrets, or active abilities) for that specific run.
Use your resources to purchase these upgrades and adapt your strategy as needed.
Is there multiplayer or co-op mode in Drill Core? No.
How do procedurally generated planets work? Each planet contains a totally different mine, opponents and other features. In the future, there will also be planet modifiers and more events.
Are there different difficulty levels? There are currently 10 difficulty levels in Drill Core.
How long does a typical run last? 30 - 60 min to complete the contract. You can stay on the level and work towards extra goals and get to the maximum depth of 1000m. It might take you 2-3 hours to complete.
Where can I provide my feedback on the game? You have a few options to do so. First, you can always use the official Steam Forums for that. Please note that while we may not address every post here, we closely monitor discussions and pass your feedback to the developers.
Second, you can join the official Drill Core Discord Server
Game is lagging
It’s likely that your system isn’t using the dedicated graphics card while running Drill Core.
To fix this, try the following:
- Go to Settings -> System -> Display.
- Scroll down and select Graphics settings.
- Add DrillCore.exe as a "desktop application" from the default installation directory within Steam.
- Once added, set the options to use your dedicated GPU.