Nightwater GuideAutomation Basics: Farmers, Assemblers, and Pipes
Nightwater lets you automate every resource with 60+ buildings, from farmers to assemblers, linked by pipes. This guide answers the questions players ask most about setting up chains, moving machines, and why your milestones may not progress.
- How do I start automating?
- What do farmers and assemblers do?
- How do I connect machines with pipes?
- Can I upgrade existing buildings or pipes?
- Why aren't my harvesters progressing milestone goals?
- Do processed materials count toward milestones?
- Can I move or deconstruct machines without losing items?
- What is the best way to avoid piping frustration?
- Are there any known bugs with automation?
How do I start automating?
You begin by gathering sticks and stones by hand, but the game pushes you toward machines quickly. Once you unlock the Bronze Age, you can build farmers, assemblers, and storage units. Place them, link them with pipes, and they handle the work while you do something else.
The demo introduced the first biome, The Woods, covering every milestone item and unlock. The full game has 60+ buildings and 100+ crafts and buffs. There's no limit on machine construction, and you can relocate or dismantle them whenever you like, with no loss of items.
What do farmers and assemblers do?
Farmers collect raw resources from the world. Assemblers craft items from those resources. Storage units hold the output. You link them with pipes to create a production chain.
The Steam description says you can automate all resources and their crafts. The demo's first minigame, Dark Thicket, unlocks buildings and buffs you can use outside the minigame. The full release has 20+ resources across multiple biomes.
How do I connect machines with pipes?
Select a pipe from the build menu and connect the output of one machine to the input of another. The HUD shows the build controls: V opens the build menu, B opens blueprints, R rotates, and Left Shift builds multiple. You can place as many pipes as you need.
Players report that piping is annoying because you must travel repeatedly between the input and output points, and there is no drag-to-extend. You must place each pipe segment individually.
Can I upgrade existing buildings or pipes?
No. As of patch 1.0.10, there is no way to upgrade an existing building or pipe to a higher tier. You have to remove the old one, along with all its connections, and place the better version.
This was confirmed in player feedback on the Steam forums. The developer has not announced a fix or an upgrade system as of the latest patch notes.
Why aren't my harvesters progressing milestone goals?
Harvesters do count toward milestone progression, but only if you take the items out of the harvester. If you craft them in an assembler, they do not count. This was confirmed by the developer in a forum reply.
So if you feed raw ore directly into an assembler, the milestone for that ore will not increase. You need to collect the raw resource from the harvester first, then process it.
Do processed materials count toward milestones?
No. Harvesting milestones are not incremented by processed materials at the moment of pickup. Only the raw ore, sand, or other unprocessed resource is counted. This was reported by a player in the 1.0.10 feedback thread.
For example, the primitive ore crusher's output of copper ore does not add to the copper milestone, as a negative review stated. The developer has not addressed this in patch notes.
Can I move or deconstruct machines without losing items?
Yes. The Steam description states you can construct an unlimited number of devices and relocate or dismantle them whenever you like, with no loss of contents. This applies to all buildings, including farmers, assemblers, and storage units.
So you can experiment with layouts freely. Remove a machine and rebuild it elsewhere, and you keep everything that was inside.
What is the best way to avoid piping frustration?
Players find piping tedious because you must walk back and forth to connect inputs and outputs. There is no drag-to-extend, and no quick-select for buildings or pipes. One player suggested a QoL feature to assign objects for quick selection, but it is not implemented.
To minimize frustration, plan your layout before placing pipes. Keep machines close together so you do not need long runs. You can also use storage units as buffers to reduce the need for long pipe lines.
Are there any known bugs with automation?
Patch 1.0.10 fixed a bug where the Primary Only Upgrade still gave Stone. It also reworked the Gauntlet Data Rush part to make it easier. No other automation-specific bugs are listed in the patch notes.
Players have reported that the copper ore from the primitive ore crusher does not count toward milestones, and that harvesters only count when items are removed. These are not listed as bugs in the official notes, so they may be intentional or still unresolved.
Last updated: 2026-09-20. Game builds change; cross-check details with your installed version.