Unlock the scanner through your current delivery progression
A productive factory still needs a way to catch the needles it uncovers. This Find The Needle needle scanner guide explains the recorded unlock route, installation checks, and ways to keep scanning from becoming your slowest machine. Start by checking your delivery objective rather than looking only in the build catalog.
In the collected player experience, completing the first hay-bale delivery makes scanner plans available. The player then buys those plans before constructing the scanner. Unlocking access, buying research, and placing the machine are separate steps in that progression.
These are pre-release player recordings, not personal tests of the launch build. As checked November 3, 2026, the official Find The Needle Steam page lists the main game's Early Access release for November 6. Read your current objective for the required goods and quantity rather than assuming a historical order or cost is permanent.
Place the scanner on a suitable belt and connect power
The recorded setup places a haystack scanner directly on a conveyor. Give yourself enough clear belt and machine space to install it, and make sure the conveyor carries material toward the scanner rather than away from it.
A practical installation sequence is:
- Stop the incoming machines while changing the route.
- Arrange a clear conveyor section for the scanner.
- Place the scanner and reconnect the incoming and outgoing belt paths.
- Add a power connection that actually reaches the scanner.
- Restart a small flow of material and watch it pass through.
Player experience includes a scanner that holds up wrapped bales because electricity has not yet been connected. Another recording encounters a placement warning and rebuilds the belt arrangement before installing the machine. If placement fails, use the warning in your build to guide the adjustment; a universal required belt height is not established by these recordings.
Check processing speed before increasing hay intake
Once the scanner is operating, watch its input. A growing queue means material is reaching it faster than the current setup can clear it. Faster upstream arms or conveyors can make that queue larger without increasing scanning capacity.
The collected player experience identifies scan-cycle speed and scan-batch-size upgrades. Check both when the scanner is the bottleneck: one concerns processing pace, while the other concerns how much it handles together. Read the upgrade descriptions in your current build for the actual supported material and effect.
Also check the electricity supply before spending on throughput. A disconnected scanner and an underpowered factory need different corrections from an otherwise functioning scanner that simply receives too much hay.
The recordings describe scanner tiers differently in places, including differing comments about stopping the belt. They do not establish one current timing table or guaranteed tier behavior for every build. Avoid sizing an entire factory around a countdown quoted from an older recording.
Split the flow across scanners, then join the outputs
If upgrades still leave a persistent queue, a parallel layout is supported by the collected player experience. GrayStillPlays splits the incoming belt into two scanning routes and uses a U belt joiner to bring the outputs together again.
The basic route is incoming material, splitter, separate scanners, joiner, then the shared destination. Each scanning lane needs its own working power connection and a clear exit. Check that both sides receive material; adding a second scanner accomplishes little if the routing leaves it idle.
Scale gradually. Another recording eventually uses several scanners after expanding its intake, which shows why a fixed scanner count is not a universal solution. Your required capacity depends on how quickly your actual arms and machines feed the line.
Keep the outgoing belt in view too. If scanned material cannot leave, adding scanners will not clear the downstream blockage.
Collect detected needles and check every relevant route
The recordings describe scanners alerting the player when a needle is caught, followed by taking the needle from the scanner and placing it in the cabinet. Check the scanner itself when it signals; the cabinet does not replace that collection step in the recorded progression.
Trace where your extracted hay goes. A separate generator feed can bypass the scanners on a sales line. One player adds scanning to that fuel route after recognizing the gap. A scanner protects the material routed through it, so consider the whole factory rather than just the busiest conveyor.
FAQ
Why are scanner plans unavailable?
In the recorded progression, the first hay-bale delivery unlocks access to them. Check your current delivery task and research prerequisites; that historical sequence is not a guarantee of unchanged launch progression.
Why is my scanner stopping the line?
Check power first, then outgoing space and processing capacity. Player experience includes both an unpowered scanner and functioning scanners whose incoming material exceeds their throughput.
Can two scanners share one destination?
Yes, the collected player experience uses separate scanning lanes joined back into one conveyor with a U belt joiner. Both lanes still need power and working belt connections.
How many scanners should I build?
There is no supported universal number. Watch the queue after upgrades, then add parallel capacity if the current incoming flow still exceeds what your scanners can process.