Cave Digger PC

Cave Digger PC

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Tools, Buildings, Upgrades and Endings
By Monkey
Details on what I've observed or discovered throughout the game so may not be 100% accurate
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Tools

(Item 1) Pickaxe - Starting form of mining.



(Item 2) Circular Saw - Used to extract relics out of the diggable walls.



(Item 3) Drill - Used to drill holes for oil and collect with the bucket for instant money.



(Item 4) Explosives - Use to blow up an area instead of mining. Upgrading this increases the size of the explosion. Can only use 1 dynamite at a time.



(Item 5) Chaos Gauntlet - Useless at first but very useful once you have Vacuum power, need to find Chaos Gems in the mining elevator to give it abilities. When in the elevator, these Chaos Gems have an glow seen coming out of the wall.



(Item 6) Magnetic Gun - Pulls loot out of the walls without needing to dig it out.
Only given after feeding all 3 golden statues enough loot and heading back to town to trigger the 'End: Annunaki' ending.
Items

Keys - Used to unlock the mystery vault in the mining elevator. Requires all 4 Keys to open.



Amulet - Unlocks a portal to a hidden world in the last area.



Plunger - Used to detonate the Nuke.



Nuke - Used to obtain certain endings.
Buildings

Saloon - Starting area with the mining elevator, tool upgrades and reset progress machine.
This is the ONLY building you can enter.



General Store - Purchase building/other upgrades here.



Sheriff Office - Earn rewards for completing small tasks.
Tasks:
Loot 15 toilet paper
Break 10 bottles
Loot 20 silver ore

Upgrade #1 Tasks
Loot 20 gold ore
Feed Chompy 10 rubies
Feed Chompy for $10,000



Post Office - (When built) Gives a hint.



Bank - (When built) Passively adds bonus money to the amount earnt in the mining elevator and earnt on the train journey.



Well - (When built) Improves Well and gives cactus/trees colour.



Teleporter - Once you travel far enough by train to discover another Teleporter, you can now teleport to that location.
Tool Upgrades

Upgrades the Pickaxe performance
$350 (Faster mining)



Circular Saw (Item 2)
$64 (Unlocks)
$350 (Can use longer before overheats)



Driller (Item 3)
$59 (Unlocks)
$350 (Said it has a laser but don't see it?)



Explosives (Item 4)
$50 (Unlocks)
$60 (Improves area of explosion)
$70 (Can destroy entire diggable wall)



Chaos Gauntlet (Item 5)
$400 (Unlocks)



Upgrades Scanner
$350 (Adds a selfie camera (VR feature?))



Plunger - Used to detonate Nuke
$300



Nuke - For certain endings
$300



VR - Unlocks one of the endings
$400
Train/Building/Progression Upgrades
Train

Unlocks the train and can now use it.
$50



Upgrades the speed of the train.
$2,500 (1.5x speed)?
$8,000 (2x speed)?
$29,000 (2.5x speed)?



Adds a cannon to your train and can now blow up vault doors in the tunnel. Can also use on Crates and diggable walls.
$80,000


Train Cosmetics

Improves train sound system.
$500 (Adds side speakers)
$5,000 (Add centre speaker)



Adds a whistle to the train.
$6,500


Buildings

Bank: Passively adds extra money to what you earned.
$5,000 (+10%-15%)
$25,000 (+25%-30% and improved look)



Post Office: Gives you a hint.
$5,000 (Hint machine now active)
$20,000 (Improved look)



Sheriff Office: Unlocked at the start, gives you small tasks for rewards.
$5,000 (Gives more quests)
$13,000 (Improved look)



General Store: Unlocked at the start, buy building/other upgrades here.
$7,000 (Unlocks more upgrades)
$25,000 (Improved look)


Building Cosmetics

Saloon: Starting area
$5,000 (Adds a display case of loot you've collected)
$18,000 (Improved look)



Well: Improves Well and gives cactus/trees colour.
$5,000 (Cactus and trees have flowers and no longer appear dead)
$19,000 (Gives the Well a golden bucket and golden ring)


Progression Upgrades

Repair rail tracks to progress further in the train tunnel.
$19,999



Gas mask used to progress even further past the poison in the train tunnel.
$29,000



Gives the train levitation to progress even further in the train tunnel.
$59,999


Achievement

Appears after ALL the upgrades are bought and buying it unlocks an achievement.
$99,999
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why Can't I Enter Buildings Besides The Saloon?
You can only enter the Saloon, the rest of the buildings are for show no matter how much you upgrade them.


How Do I Claim The Sheriff Quests?
Go towards the Sheriff Office and you should see a jail cell on the left side. Once you are close enough, a flying chest should appear that spits out objects and it moves around.
It can be delayed by things like the loot being counted from the train journey, once the counting has stopped, then the flying chest appeared.


What Happens If You Fall Off The Train While Moving?
The train instantly stops and don't need to run after it or run around. This trick is handy for when you want to stop to investigate an area, pick up a chest or do some mining.


What Is The Purpose of Mimi (aka Chompy)?
It makes it easier to deposit loot rather then running back to the train with your haul.


Why Does Mimi/Chompy Turn Red Sometimes?
It could be a way to show you that there is unclaimed loot on the ground somewhere near.


How Do I Collect Relics?
First buy the Circular Saw ($64), then using the Scanner, find an object in a white dotted square. Equip the Circular Saw (if not already done) and you should see the white dotted square in front of you without the Scanner.
Use the Circular Saw along the white dots and with enough of the dots done, the relic should be free.
You can tell if you got the dots because they turn yellow before disappearing.



How Do I Collect Oil / What's The Oil Drop Symbol When Scanning?
First buy the Drill ($59) then using the Scanner, find an Oil Spot icon in the diggable wall. Use the Drill on the oil spot and an animation of an oil stream starts. Now use the bucket to catch this oil by positioning yourself, you'll know when you are in the correct position because your money should start to increase.
Be aware that the stream moves around slowly so need to constantly adjust the bucket if you are far away from the wall.



Why Does The Scanner Keep Beeping?
It means there's a chest nearby and still beeps even if the chest is empty.


How Does The Chaos Gauntlet Work?
You need to find Chaos Gems in the mining elevator to give it abilities. While on your run, you might see a glow coming from behind the rocks indicating a Chaos Gem is there. Simply mine it out and an animation happens where you absorb it. Look at the tips for what abilities you have unlocked.



What Are The Gold Statues For In The Train Tunnel?
Once you feed all 3 golden statues with enough loot (feels like almost all the loot in that area), head back to town to get 'End: Annunaki' ending and also unlock Item 6.
It's easier if you can open the vault doors as you might struggle to get enough loot. The eyes go greener the closer you are to full and they stop accepting loot when full.



How Do I Get Back Missing Bought Items / Keys?
Sometimes things can fall down the mining shaft where the elevator is when the game loads, or even if you misplaced it.
Easiest fix is just to quit the game, reload the game and continue the save file if you needed a certain item.
Example is having all 4 Keys to open the mystery vault, but at least one is missing on load.


Where Do I Find The Keys?

-One key eventually shows up in the tools upgrade area (when buy enough) for $1,000.


-Another key is hidden inside the radio in the Saloon, near the mining elevator behind the bar, next to the reset machine. Break the radio to get it.


-Another key is obtained when you touch one of the green mushrooms in the mining elevator, you grab the key in the air when hallucinating.


-Last key is typical found in the lava section of the mining elevator hidden behind the rocks, but it may appear in other sections. Use the Scannerto make it easier to find.


How Do I Open The Mystery Vault In The Mining Elevator?
You need to collect all 4 Keys and place them into the locks (Keys automatically attaches to the locks when close enough) and then turn the handle.
If you exit the game while any keys are in the locks, you'll need to put them back in when you start playing again.



How Do You Open The Vault Doors?
You need to buy the train cannon upgrade ($80,000) so you can shoot a beam at the door to open. If it doesn't appear in the General Store, you'll need to upgrade the store for $7,000 to unlock more upgrades.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) continued
How Does The Teleporter Work?
Once you've progressed far enough by train, you'll unlock a Teleporter where now you can teleport to instead of drive the train there.
The train appears where ever you teleport to and each location has it's own symbol. The teleport locations are the areas where you need to buy an upgrade to progress further in the tunnel.


How Do I Progress Further In The Train Tunnel?
Each area requires a certain upgrade from the General Store to progress into the next area.

#1 Repair the rails ($19,999)


#2 Go past the poison by buying the gas mask ($29,000)


#3 Fly over the chasm by train levitation upgrade ($59,999)


Where do you find all the upgrades? / Missing upgrades
You'll need to upgrade the General Store to unlock more upgrades. There is also a limit of 8 displayed so may need to buy some to have the one you are interested in to show up.


Any Tips On How To Make Money?
-Start Of Game: On the first run you only have the Pickaxe and I try to target the coloured ores (not greys unless no coloured) in the Scanner for more money.
I buy the Circular Saw and work to get the maximum level of Explosives. Relatively cheap and I save up to buy the Chaos Glove. Once you get the Chaos Gem that gives vacuum power for the Chaos Glove, mining becomes ALOT easier. I don't bother with harvesting oil.

I like to place the Explosives on a wall with no Relics then while I'm waiting for it to explode, I cut the Relics free and simply place the Explosives on any walls that are now free of Relics.
Use the vacuum ability on the Chaos Gloves to simply pick up the loot (may require more then one vacuum as there's a limit on the number of loot held to the glove).


-Early Game: Buy the train level for $50 from the General Store to be able to use the train, this is when you start to make alot of money.
As you drive into the tunnel, have the scanner open so it can start beeping for the hidden chests. Find it easier to jump off the train causing it to stop instantly, while I go off to find the chest in the dark.

Do all the mining areas and same strategy as the mining elevator, free relics before blowing up the walls. I don't bother with the crates, sometimes you can get a relic worth something though.
Try to save up money to get the Bank upgrades as they give you extra money on each run.
One strategy I used was to do a train run, teleport back to town then Save and Quit. Start the game and continue to refresh chests and areas.


-Mid Game: Save up money to get the progression items (Repair rail, gas mask) but aim to get the train cannon (after upgrading General Store) so you can open vaults in the mining areas of the tunnel.


-End Game: Simply do the train run from the start all the way through, or just teleport to favourite areas and finish that off before saving and quitting, then reloading the game to refresh all areas and chests.
Endings

End: Apocalypse
Detonate the Nuke by using the Plunger while you are in the Saloon with it.



End: Space Elevator
Drop the Nuke down next to the mining elevator shaft then bring the Plunger with you in the elevator before heading down. Use the Plunger when at the first level to start a custscene.



End: Nuke the overworld
Leave the Nuke in the Saloon and bring the Plunger with you down the mining elevator. Once you arrive at the first level, use the Plunger and the cutscene should activate once you head back up.



End: Dimensional War
Bring the Nuke and Plunger with you down the mining elevator and throw the Nuke off the side at any point in the elevator trip.
Once you head back up, do another mining trip down the elevator. When you come up for the 2nd time, use the Plunger. Head back down the elevator to receive the cutscene.




End: Unlock the Mystery Vault
Collect all 4 Keys and open the mystery vault down the mining elevator shaft.



End: Useless Tech
Buy the VR tool and use it.



End: Annunaki
Need to feed all 3 golden statues enough loot (that they don't accept anymore) in the beginning section of the train tunnel. Once finished, arrive back at town to receive a cutscene.



End: Chaos Gauntlet
Collect all the Chaos Gems in the mining elevator shaft and be sure to collect the last one that doesn't automatically absorb.




End: Groovy Ending
Unlocked in the last section of the train tunnel (requires the train upgrade of levitation to access). Pick up the Amulet (that should spawn near the train) and look around for a ring of small stones in a circle near a wall.
A portal should open and enter it. Progress to the end and you should get the achievement after the cutscene.
TIP: If you start heading back from the last Teleporter, you should see the stone tablet on the left and it's near that.
13 Comments
Noctir 11 Mar, 2022 @ 5:52am 
Very useful :petbotSmile:
Take my points
lactoral 2 Jan, 2022 @ 5:46pm 
I also found this grotto and it took a very long time to go there. I suspect it is a mystery egg TreeRex11.
TreeRex11 31 Dec, 2021 @ 11:43am 
For the oil, I actually just hold the bucket up to the hole and put the hole right up in the space between the handle and the rim of the bucket. It actually gets all of it, so I don't have to move around - just gotta make sure it's pressed all the way up against the hole.
TreeRex11 31 Dec, 2021 @ 11:09am 
So, when you first get on the train, before you find the FIRST stop (where you get Mimi) you'll find a small cave with a wrecked train, right? Well, if you go to the right of your train, you'll find a cart, but behind that cart is a huge tunnel. It seems like it's just for show, but I went down there (it's pretty long) and I actually found a little grave for "Starchie Anton"? Does that name mean anything to you guys?
TreeRex11 31 Dec, 2021 @ 11:03am 
I actually found the black key in a normal room so maybe not just lava rooms?
deanon 27 Dec, 2021 @ 1:20pm 
thanks for the help
lactoral 10 Dec, 2021 @ 4:44pm 
Thank you very much for your help.
Monkey  [author] 8 Dec, 2021 @ 10:49pm 
Near the beginning, it's in the first room where you can start mining
lactoral 8 Dec, 2021 @ 7:19pm 
But that's at the very beginning at the first cave or along the entire trail. Thank you for your help
Monkey  [author] 8 Dec, 2021 @ 6:46pm 
Once you unlock the train and head into the tunnel, make sure you open any treasure chests you see to lure Mimi out of hiding...