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v1.2 is live and it targets exactly what you described. The late-game crawl is gone - I flattened the hardness curve in the deepest strata so active digging stays in a healthy m/s band all the way to THE CORE instead of grinding to a stop with the strongest drill. And the idle-to-win loop is closed: offline progress now runs at half efficiency, so leaving the game is a catch-up at best, never better than playing. Early-game pacing is untouched. You've reported across three versions now and the game's genuinely better for it - would love your verdict on the endgame this time.

Fixed in v1.2 (just shipped). You were right - the upper strata flew by too fast to ever roll their legendary. Two changes: legendary odds are up, and there's now a "last find of the stratum" safety - leave a layer you actually dug through and its missing legendary turns up on the way out. Every strata's set should be completable in one pass now, top to bottom. If you go for the full collection again I'd really like to hear whether the upper layers finally fill in. Thanks for the sharp catch.

v1.2 is live, and it's a direct result of your diagnosis - thank you. You were exactly right that hardness divided everything by depth until the affordable tools added nothing. I kept the early-game hardness (so the v1.1 economy fix stays) but flattened it in the deepest strata, so late-game auto-dig now sits in a steady ~2.5-5 m/s band instead of collapsing toward zero. Upgrades visibly move the needle at any depth again. You're credited in the devlog. Would love your read on whether the deep game feels right now.

Shipped in v1.2 (just went live). You were right that the upgrades weren't doing anything you could see - by_george341 pinned the cause exactly, so I reshaped the soil-hardness curve in the deeper strata. Buying an auto-dig tool now gives a real, visible m/s jump at every depth instead of fractions of a meter that round away. If you grab a fresh run (or reload your save), the rate should actually climb as you buy now. Would genuinely love to know if it feels right this time - and thanks again for flagging it.

This is exactly the follow-up I was hoping for - really glad the new pacing feels much more reasonable. And the late-game point is spot on: once you've got the strongest drill, active progress crawls, while the 8-hour offline cap lets you idle into a coin pile, bulk-buy top gear, then idle again and win by leaving. So the optimal move becomes "stop playing," which is the opposite of what I want the endgame to feel like. I'm reworking the late-game dig-power-vs-hardness curve so active play stays ahead of idling, and looking at how offline gains scale into the endgame wall. Thanks for sticking with it across versions and reporting this so precisely - genuinely valuable.

Thank you - and this is a sharp catch. You pick up everything up to legendary on the slow lower strata, but the fast upper strata fly by before a legendary can roll, so completing the upper-strata collection is basically impossible. The rarity roll isn't accounting for how little time you spend in the shallow layers. I want every strata to be collectable, so I'm looking at weighting rarity per-strata (or a per-layer pity roll) instead of a flat chance. Quick question so I tune it right: are you trying to complete a per-strata collection, or just chasing legendaries in general? Patch in the works.

This is a great diagnosis - thank you. You're exactly right: the v1.1 soil-hardness mechanic divides dig power by depth resistance, so at deeper strata each auto-dig tool only adds fractions of a meter and the purchases stop feeling meaningful (which is what w8gr was hitting). That's a side-effect of the rebalance I need to undo - hardness should still slow you down without making auto-dig upgrades feel inert. Reworking the curve so buying a tool gives a real, visible m/s increase at any depth. Really appreciate you pinpointing the actual mechanic - that saves me a lot of digging.

Thanks for flagging this - "bought multiple Steam Excavators and the rate is still 0.4 m/s" is exactly the kind of report I need. by_george341 nailed the cause right below you: the v1.1 soil-hardness change divides dig power by depth resistance, so each tool's contribution shrinks to fractions of a meter the deeper you are, and the upgrades stop feeling like they do anything. That's an unintended side-effect of the rebalance, not the design - auto-dig should give a visible bump at every depth. Fixing the curve now. One quick check: was the displayed rate flat-out not moving when you bought, or moving by a tiny amount? Patch coming shortly.

Added! There's now a gameplay screenshot in the post. Thanks for the heads up!

v1.1 is live - both of your points addressed! The economy got the full treatment (soil hardness per era, smaller artifact bursts, steeper costs - no more buying everything in ten seconds), and THE CORE now has a real ending screen with your expedition stats and a final-publish moment. Your "almost painful to recommend slowing down a clicker" line made it into the devlog. Would love your verdict on the new pacing.

v1.1 is live! Your diagnosis drove the fix: the structural problem was income multiplying x2.7 per era while costs grew 16% per level. Added soil hardness per era (raw dig power divided by depth resistance) plus steeper costs and smaller artifact bursts - in simulation the full run went from ~2 minutes to many hours across multiple prestiges. Also added a x1/x10/MAX buy toggle. Would genuinely appreciate a second run if you have a few minutes.

Update: v1.1 is live with the rebalance. Deeper strata now have real soil hardness (your dig power fights the earth), artifact finds are bonuses instead of jackpots, and tool costs actually bite. Full details in the devlog. You called it first - thanks for the push. Would love to hear if it feels like a game now.

"Almost painful to recommend slowing down a clicker" - best bug report I have ever gotten :) You are right on both counts. The economy explodes within seconds (era multipliers outrun the cost curve almost instantly) and I am rebalancing it now so progression actually takes effort. And noted on the ending - making sure reaching THE CORE feels like a real finale, not just a stop. Patch coming shortly, would genuinely love to hear if the pacing feels right after.

2 minutes to the end - ouch, that confirms it. You nailed the diagnosis: income per meter scales with the era multiplier way faster than the x1.15 cost curve, so a few meters in you can already afford everything. Rebalancing both curves now (slower coin growth, steeper tool costs) so the first prestige takes a proper session instead of two minutes. Thanks for the precise report - patch coming shortly, would love your take once it lands.

Fair call! Balancing is the thing I am actively tuning right now. What felt most off to you - upgrades scaling too slow, coins piling up with nothing to buy, or prestige at 800m coming too early/late? Genuinely helps to know where it broke for you. Patch coming this week.

Hi! Just launched STRATA: Dig Through Time and looking for feedback from experienced idle game players.

Play here (browser, free, ~3 min to first upgrade): https://tovplay.itch.io/strata-dig-through-time

Specific things I'd love feedback on:

1. Prestige timing — does 800m feel like the right unlock point? Too early / too late?
2. First 3 minutes — can you buy your first tool within ~20 seconds, and does the first era transition feel rewarding?
3. Artifact discovery rate — does finding artifacts feel exciting or just noise?
4. Museum retention — does the collection grid make you want to come back, or does it feel like a chore?

General notes: 11 eras total (Topsoil → Modern → Industrial → Medieval → Roman → Bronze → Stone → Ice Age → Dinosaurs → Primordial → THE CORE). Prestige keeps artifacts, resets everything else. Mobile-friendly single-file HTML with offline progress.

Any feedback appreciated — especially brutal honesty about the pacing!

Just released my first idle game!

STRATA: Dig Through Time is a browser idle game where you excavate an archaeological shaft through 11 historical eras — from Topsoil all the way down to THE CORE.

Play free (no login, no download): https://tovplay.itch.io/strata-dig-through-time

The loop:

• Tap to dig → earn coins per meter
• Hire shovel crews, steam excavators, diamond drills and tunnel borers
• Discover 33 buried artifacts (common / rare / legendary) — each gives +2% earnings forever
• Prestige at 800m ("Publish Expedition") → permanent Fame multiplier, new dig site
• 8-hour offline progress so it grows while you sleep

The game is a single HTML file with zero external requests. Works on mobile and desktop.

Made by TovPlay Studios — feedback welcome in the comments!

Just released my first idle game!

STRATA: Dig Through Time is a browser idle game where you excavate an archaeological shaft through 11 historical eras — from Topsoil all the way down to THE CORE.

Play free (no login, no download): https://tovplay.itch.io/strata-dig-through-time

The loop:

• Tap to dig → earn coins per meter
• Hire shovel crews, steam excavators, diamond drills and tunnel borers
• Discover 33 buried artifacts (common / rare / legendary) — each gives +2% earnings forever
• Prestige at 800m ("Publish Expedition") → permanent Fame multiplier, new dig site
• 8-hour offline progress so it grows while you sleep

The game is a single HTML file with zero external requests. Works on mobile and desktop.

Made by TovPlay Studios — feedback welcome in the comments!