General Guide by Noeh

This is a guide containing basics of the gameplay and some advanced stuff for seasoned players. Spoilers and hidden for those who want to enjoy the mysteries of the game by themselves.

What's in the ground?

List of things you can encounter in the game while digging

Image	Name	Info
	Dirt below ground level	sample dirt - no special drill needed
	Dirt below Aplha	sample dirt - lvl 1 drill needed - obtainable in shop
	Dirt below Beta	sample dirt - lvl 2 drill needed - obtainable via "beacon quest"
	Dirt below Delta	sample dirt - lvl 3 drill needed - obtainable via "hammer and sickle quest"
	Ironium	$30
	Brozium	$60
	Silverium	$100
	Goldium	$250
	Platinum	$500
	Stone	not for sale (drillable only with special drill)
	Emerald	$2,000
	Ruby	$5,000
	Diamond	$10,000
	Amazonite	$20,000
	Electronium	$40,000
	Explodium	$1 (used for creating bombs via combos)
	Concealed Magma	Explodes and damages hull when drilled
	Magma	Explodes and damages hull when drilled
	TNT	player gets a TNT explosive
	C4	player gets a C4 explosive
	T-bomb	player gets a T-bomb explosive
	Shaft Bomb	player gets a Shaft bomb explosive
	Arm Bones	instant +$500
	Leg Bones	instant +$500
	Rib Bones	instant +$1,000
	Mutant Skull	instant +$2,500
	Hip Bones	instant +$1,000
	Metal Plate	not for sale (drillable only with special drill)
	Danger Plate	Cannot be destroyed?
	Beacon	Quest Item / instant +$1,000
	Hammer	Quest Item / instant +$5,000
	Sickle	Quest Item / instant +$2,500
	Unobtainium	Quest Item / sell for $100k
	Repair Perk	Partly repairs your hull
	Fuel Refill Perk	Partly fills your fuel tank (I believe 100% of the unpgraded fuel tank - needs confirmation)

Upgrades

Recommended first upgrades:

• 1) Smelter - basically gives you extra money for the combos you make. Even if you don't plan the combos they are inevitable and every combo gives extra $ and saves cargo space.
  
• 2) Cargo - just to carry more stuff around
  
• 3) Fuel Tank - to stay productive longer (on Hardcore this is a matter of life and death and some people get this one first just to be safe)

Thease are my preferences which make sense to me in the way I play. Feel free to experiment

Item	Icon	Level 0	Level 1 price	Level 2 price	Level 3 price	Level 4 price	Level 5 price	Level 6 price
Drill		(drills soil below ground base)	$4000 (drills soil below base Alpha)	Quest (find 2 probes)	Quest (find 3 hammers and 2 sickles)	n/a	n/a	n/a
Fuel Tank			$2,500	$9,000	$37,500	$150,000	$500,000	$1,500,000
Cargo Size		(7 minerals)	$1,500 (10 minerals)	$6,000 (15 minerals)	$25,000 (20 minerals	$100,000 (25 minerals)	$350,000	$1,000,000 (50 minerals)
Hull Strenght			$1500	$6,000	$25,000	$100,000	$350,000	$1,000,000
Smelter			$1,200	$5,000	$20,000	$75,000		Unlocks for the character when you reach the boss room or can be bought for $1M for certain characters that have the slot unlocked by default.
Radar		radar off	$750	$2,500	$10,000	$75,000	$250,000	$1,000,000

Speed Upgrades

Item	Icon	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5	Level 6
Drill Speed		$1,500	$6,000	$25,000	$100,00	$350,000	$1,000,000
Rotor Speed		$750	$3,000	$12,500	$50,000	$150,000	$500,000
Tread Speed		$750	$3,000	$12,500	$50,000	$150,000	$500,000

Bombs

Template	Icon	Item	Price	Destroys
		TNT	$1,500	Destroys stone, dirt and minerals
		C4	$3,000	Destroys everything except for metal and danger plates
		T-Bomb	$5,000	Destroys everything except for metal and danger plates
		Shaft Bomb	$10,000	Destroys everything except for metal and danger plates
		Electron Bomb	$30,000	Turns metal plates into concealed magma squares
Cannot be shown on one screen as the explosion goes off visible area. This is a rectangular explosion area and the dimentions are 11 squares above, 9 squares to the right, 6 quares below and 10 squares to the left, creating a rectangular explosion of 20 quares wide and 18 squares high.		Nuke	$500,000 in secret shop	Blows up the visible area. Does not destroy danger plates. Useful against boss and with Smart Bomb special upgrade.

Items

Icon	Item	Price	Description
	Reserve Fuel	$100,000	Refuels to 100%
	Repair Kit	$75,000	Repairs to 100% hull
	Teleporter	$150,000	Teleport to the base that was last actively used

Special Upgrades

Icon	Item	Price	Description
	Hull converter	$500,000	Converts any bronzium collected into hull repair
	Air bombs	$5,000,000	Detonate bombs in mid-air
	Alchemy	$100,00	Converts less valuable minerals into Platinum
	Fuel Converter	$500,000	Converts any Ironium collected into fuel
	Smart Bombs	$4,000,000	Bombs don't destroy valuables
	Rubber Hull	$250,000	Bouncy! Does not reduce collision damage.
	Rock Drill	$2,000,000	Drills through rock
	Metal Drill	$25,000,000	Drills through metal plates
	Oil Extractor	Chose not to get a fuel tank upgrade when asked by Mr. Fix-it. You will get the Oill Extractor after reaching a certain depth close to the core (about 13k deep)	Extracts oil from dirt. Converting it to $$$.
	Force Field	$2,000,000	Prevents all collision damage.
	Hull Regen	$2,000,000	Tiny nanobots repair hull damage over time.
	Magma Money	$500,000	Converts magma into $$$, Magma still causes damage
	Radiator	$500,000	Reduces magma damage by 50%
	Double Cargo	$2,000,000	Doubles the number of minerals that can be carried at once

Base Depth

Icon	Base	Location	Description
n/a	Ground Base	0 ft	Fuel, Mineral Deposit, Repair Shop, Upgrade Shop
	Alpha	-1,836 ft	Fuel, Mineral Deposit, Repair Shop, Upgrade Shop
	Beta	-4,338 ft	Fuel, Mineral Deposit, Repair Shop, Upgrade Shop
	Gamma	-5,789 ft	Free Fuel
	Delta	-7,463 ft	Fuel, Mineral Deposit, Repair Shop, Upgrade Shop
n/a	Secret Shop	3,737 ft	Upgrade Shop - fly up to the sky and reach the limit, go far left/up and enter the secret room. Go far right and press "confirm" to enter shop.

Combos

This section shows possible combos using different smelter levels. The "direct combo bonus" is calculated based on the price of the combo-mineral compared to individual mineral prices. Some of the combos require a chain of 3 certain minerals. I am not taking the price of the transition mineral into account to calculate the "direct combo bonus". The additional benefit of combos is that a combo-mineral take just one space in your cargo (instead of 2 or 3 based on the combo formula) and the bombs created using a combo don't take up any space in your cargo and go straight into your inventory.

Obtaining smelter lvl 6: Smelter lvl 6 is obtained by reaching the core planet. Mr. Fix-it will teach you how to make nukesout of Explodium and Unobtainium

Icon	Item	Ingredient 1	Ingredient 2	Smelter Level	Price (direct combo bonus)
	Sterling Silver	Bronzium	Silverium	1	$192 (+$32)
	Rare Earth Magnet	Ironium	Platinum	1	$2,500 (+$1,970)
	Katana Gold	Bronzium	Goldium	1	$372 (+$62)
	White Gold	Sterling Silver	Goldium	1	$420 (+$10)
	TNT Bomb	Explodium	Explodium	2	TNT bomb + 1
	Green Diamond	Diamond	Emerald	2	$15,000 (+$3,000)
	Red Diamond	Diamond	Ruby	2	$18,000 (+$3,000)
	Blue Diamond	Diamond	Amazonite	2	$36,000 (+$6,000)
	C4 Bomb	Explodium	Goldium	3	C4 Bomb + 1
	Forest Stone	Emerald	Amazonite	3	$27,000 (+$5,000)
	Fire Stone	Ruby	Amazonite	3	$30,000 (+$5,000)
	Lightning Stone	Electronium	Amazonite	3	$72,000 (+$12,000)
	Aether Stone	Lightning Stone	Unobtainium	3	$206,400 (+$46,400)
	T-Bomb	Explodium	Emerald	4	T-bomb + 1
	Shaft Bomb	Explodium	Ruby	4	Shaft Bomb + 1
	Electron Bomb	Explodium	Electronium	5	Electron Bomb + 3
	Nuke	Explodium	Unobtainium	6	Nuke + 1

Alternate table external link - https://imgur.com/a/khADLsb

Characters

Portrait	Name	Type	Desription
	Karl Redden	standard 55 upgrades	available from start YELLOW DIGGER
	Tom Core Keeling	standard 55 upgrades	available from start BLUE DIGGER
	Daisy Kane	standard 55 upgrades	available from start GREEN DIGGER
	Ivana Korlov	standard 55 upgrades	available from start RED DIGGER
	Demitri Ubekov	Unlockable 48 upgrades	Survive the "boss fight" and when asked to select a world to destroy select neither Earth nor Mars and let the timer run out. This will also grant you the "Destoyer of the Worlds" achievement as selecting neither planet will destroy both. PINK DIGGER
	Ana Banketik	Unlockable 57 upgrades	Choose to help Tiberius and then destroy Mars when asked to destroy a planet GOLD DIGGER (hehe, no pun intended)
	Laika (1954 - 1957)	Unlockable 38 upgrades	Choose to help Abbadon and then destroy Mars when asked to destroy a planet TRANSPARENT (Ghost) DIGGER Special skill: no hull damage from falling, drilling magma, touching lava or getting hit by the boss.
	Prototype M	Unlockable 56 upgrades	Start the game and let it wait on the "Super Montherload" screen till the character is unlocked PURPLE DIGGER
	Simulacrum	Unlockable 55 upgrades	Choose to help Tiberius and then destroy Earth when asked to destroy a planet DARK GREY DIGGER Special Skill: unlimited teleports
	Abbadon	Unlockable 62 upgrades	Choose to help Abbadon and then destroy Earth when asked to destroy a planet BROWN DIGGER Special skill: not so special, can have extra upgades. Fuel Tank ($5M), Cargo Size ($3M), Hull Strength ($3M), Smelter ($1M), Drill Speed ($3M), Rotor Speed ($1.5M), Tread Speed($1.5M

Achievements

Achievement	Description
	Move Along -- Nothing to see here Reach Outpost Alpha
	Something Amiss Amidst the Abyss Reach Outpost Beta
	Alien Hand Syndrome Reach Outpost Delta
	Super Motherload Get a 50 mineral chain
	Alchemical Pioneer Use the Smelter to create an Aether Stone
	Destroyer of Worlds Destroy Mars and Earth simultaneously by your cowardly inaction
	Bloodied Hands Exterminate an entire planet
	Cheat Death Complete the game in Hardcore Mode
	Efficiency Expert Complete the game in under an hour

Game Files

• To listen to any music / sounds from the game go to:
  " C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Super Motherload\assets\sound " (or your alternative folder)
  You can find the files in *.ogg format there. Easily my favorite is ivana_MineralFind01.ogg
  
• To delete your Standard Game character progress and unlocked characters delete the following file:
  " C:\Users\YOURUSERID\AppData\Roaming\XGen Studios, Inc\Super Motherload\savedata\common\normal_characters "
  This way you can even share your characters with others
  
• in case you would like to learn to mod game maps visit the Mod Guide by Cermarey

Boss Fight (spoilers)

Hints and tips for the boss fight

• Try the boss fight in standard game mode first.
  
• Teleporters are disabled during the boss!
  
• For easiest win make sure you have full Hull Strenght (to sustain damage, duh!), max Rotor Speed (to avoid lava and even overtake the boss while racing to the ground base) and max Tread Speed ( This is relatively useless for gameplay, but very useful for boss fights when you try to run from the boss to prevent a hit)
  
• If you have your Hull Strenght maxed out the only 2 things you need in your inventory are:
  
  
  • 60-70 C4 bombs (I usually carry 99 just to be sure)
    
  • Repair Kits (The max I used so far was 3 during the whole fight, I carry 10 just to be sure)
  
  
• After completing all the gathering quests ( 2 beacons, 3 hammer + 2 sickle, 6 unobtainium) you will be allowed to dig down and look for the "boss".
  
• After 12,000 ft your depth counter will stop working and there is still a pretty long way to go down.
  
• Unless you have a metal drill it does not make much sense to waste $$$ and electronium to get Electron bombs and drill a straight shaft to the "boss room". Just make sure you have your Rotor Speed maxed out for comfortable flight
  
• Before the boss room there is a huge magma field. Make sure you don't enter the boss room by drilling a shaft on the far right/left of the map. Spend some bombs to dig through the magma - there is a load of Unobtainium below it and if you drill the shafts to the boss room you will no longer have the possibility to collect it.
  
• Boss fight phases and hints:
  
  
  • You enter the boss room with a huge digging machine in the middle. There is no need to do anything yet. Just don't touch the machine - it deals damage. Just make sure you stand next to the boss.
    
  • Once the machine starts it will start drilling upwards and move left and right. You need to keep this in mind: touching the machine deals damage, touching the flames coming from the machine deals damage and not flying fast enough and having the lava from below catching up with you also deals damage. Your goal is to follow (or overtake) the machine and wait for it at the next base. What works for me best is either following the machine through the shaft it digs (you need to keep close enough to react to the direction changes. Or if possible, just get to your straight shaft you dug out and fly upwards. With max Rotor Speed you are faster than the boss machine and you'll just wait for it at the next base. Please note that in the space between base Aplha and the ground level the boss machine makes much sharper turns than before and it is relatively hard to keep up with the machine behind it. I highly suggest you have a straight shaft on both right and left side ready for a simpler route to the top.
    
  • You will be fighting the boss at bases Delta, Beta and Alpha. Not at the ground Base.
    
  • If you have your Hull at max you really don't need to worry about the damage dealt during the fights at the bases. You can repair using either your repair kit or just by using the repair building at the base.
    
  • The easies way to deal damage for me is to run around the base and blow up C4 bombs close to the boss. The boss moves around as well so if the boss moves from left to right you need to do the same thing keeping close contact. You can easily deal damage by having the boss fly into the explosion. I usually just take on the boss man-to-man ignoring the damage which I can easily fix using a repair kit or the repair house at the base.

Exploits

So far these, are the exploits I have been able to find:

• Side-jump detonation: I have been able to replicate this with max tread speed upgrade. This basically involves tricking the game into thinking your digger is standing in a different position. Otherwise you would need the special upgrade that lets you detonate bombs mid-air. Have a look at the picture provided. The target square is yellow and you can detonate it easily by moving fast to right and exploding a T-bomb just as you are about to fall. Takes a bit of practice, but is very helpful with some of the puzzles or if you accidentaly dig in a way that prevents you reaching something.

[Tychon Love]

With conveluted set up, planet core becomes the bigest cash influx. Once your character has:
-Magma money special upgrade
-Radiator special upgrade
-HP upgrades maxed out
-Considerate amount of fixing up items
-a handfull of electron bombs to get to the place

I was able to get 12'000'000$ (not counting for fixing up items) from mining out magma (about 18.5/k$ for one block at at this depth) and selling around 12-chained unobtaniums.

It is more potent on Abbadon, who has more health, gaining more value from repairing items, and Laika, who does not care about health whatsoever.

[Coincident]

Another important bug related to mineral chains:
- When making chains longer than 50, sometimes drilling magma resets the chain back to zero. So if you have Magma Money, don't fall for the temptation.

[Coincident]

Another update to the guide:
- Air Bombs now costs $6M and not $5M (probably a game update)

[Coincident]

Just tested & confirmed 2 more exploits:

- Buy the Fuel Converter, then grab an Ironium (fuel), followed by a Platinium to smelt into a Rare Earth Magnet. Sell the Rare Earth Magnet. Your max cargo capacity is now increased by 1. Repeat as many times as you want to keep increasing your max cargo.

- Same happens with the Hull Converter: grab a Bronzium (repair), followed by a Silverium or Goldium.

Reason:
When you smelt the game reduces your current_cargo by 1. But the Ironium was converted to fuel, only the Platinium occupied space. So your current_cargo="0" with a Magnet in your inventory. Sell it, and current_cargo="-1". Repeat this 30 times and current_cargo="-30". If have cargo upgraded to lvl 6 for max_cargo="50", so you can now carry 80 items total! This is great for very long chains.

If you exit and reload your game your current_cargo will be reset back to zero. Also, you'll start the game session with an inventory full with 254 Ironiums; probably an underflow bug.

[Coincident]

Some missing info:
A) Double Cargo costs $5M and not $2M (probably a recent update to the game)

B) Missing information in the "Upgrades" table:
- Cargo lvl 5 capacity: 35 minerals
- Smelter lvl 5 price: $250K

D) The lvl 7 upgrades listed under "Abbadon" also benefit a few other characters; it would be nice to have those levels listed in the "Upgrades" table:
- Fuel Tank lvl 7 price: $5M
- Cargo lvl 7 price: $3M
- Cargo lvl 7 capacity: 77 minerals
- Hull lvl 7 price: $3M
- Drill lvl 7 price: $3M
- Rotor lvl 7 price: $1.5M
- Tread lvl 7 price: $1.5M

(There's also 2 well know exploits with the Hull Converter / Fuel Converter that can increase your max cargo in certain strange conditions, but I'm still testing these to be sure of their trigger conditions. I'll probably post here again when I'm sure of my findings.)

@Noeh23 if you're still around, it would be awesome if you could update the guide with this! Thx in advance!

[ChaoByte]

ah alright thank you so much!!!

[Noeh23]

ChaoByte - I haven't played this game for a while but I am quite sure that the special upgrades are (were) random and you had to go through multiple games to get them all.
I can try to reload the game and check (maybe they changed something).

[ChaoByte]

I can't find the converters, regen, and force field upgrades

[ChaoByte]

Delta
-Air bombs

[ChaoByte]

secret shop
-rubber hull
-metal drill