Scrap Mechanic 1.0 & Drilling Thunder — What's New
The July 24, 2026 full release, Chapter 2 story, underground mining, schematic gating, save rules, and launch-week patches.
What Drilling Thunder is
Drilling Thunder is the free story chapter shipped with Scrap Mechanic 1.0 on July 24, 2026. Axolot Games treated it as the capstone of ten years in Early Access — not a paid DLC. Existing Steam owners received the update at no extra cost; the base price on Steam rose to $29.99 for new buyers only.
The chapter name refers to the collapsed mine elevator on Mining Island and the plasma-powered drilling loop that replaces surface-only metal farming. Marketing sometimes says Excavation Island; in-game signs, quests and the compass all read Mining Island.
If you have not played since 2024–2025, Drilling Thunder is the reason to reinstall: voiced NPCs, a complete Survival ending, and an underground layer deeper than any Early Access build.
Story and world changes
Chapter 2 replaces silent hint pop-ups with a voiced questline tracked in the Logbook:
- Yellow markers — main story toward Mining Island, Grow Labs, and the underground boss.
- Blue markers — optional builder side quests beside the Builder Guide hologram at your crash site.
- Green markers — Farmer trade chain and Spud Gun economy.
New landmarks include Grow Labs (multi-storey research hub), reworked ruins and rewards with schematic crates, and Scrap City with the blueprint-import Garage. Dynamic weather — rain, storms, desert tornadoes — now affects travel and visibility.
The narrative ends with Builder Quest 8 and the underground final boss. Epilogue dialogue with Dr. Elena Voss hints at post-1.0 content.
Building and progression changes
1.0 added 400+ new parts and moved dozens of Craftbot recipes behind Schematics. You unlock mid- and late-game recipes by scanning items at roadside Schematicbot kiosks (blue glowing bulb near Farmer Shacks) or feeding schematic boxes — not by placing a bench at base.
Headline building additions:
- Baby Craftbot (Mini-Craftbot) — mobile crafting on vehicles.
- Plasma Drill and Plasma Saw — 3×3 bedrock mining.
- Ore Crusher, Ore Prospector, Battery Generator — automation chain.
- UV Grow Beds, Turret Seat, Sawbot — farm defence and combat mounts.
- Sticky wheels, 360° pilot seats, digital clocks, boomboxes — QoL and aesthetics.
Wedge blocks arrived in a December 2024 Early Access patch — they are not new to 1.0. Do not expect a tutorial for wedges in Drilling Thunder; they remain Creative and advanced-building staples.
Large-chest loot vacuum, force placement, and an extra engine speed notch (Shift while driving) shipped with the launch QoL batch.
Combat and enemy changes
The surface roster roughly doubled:
- Cablebots and Minerbots patrol underground veins.
- Trash Bot boss arenas sit on every warehouse roof.
- Farmbot charge attacks and rebalanced Haybot projectiles raise early combat stakes.
Food now restores HP directly; Cookbot tiers and Revival Burgers matter for boss prep. Weapons expanded beyond the Spud Gun to Cornades, Spud Launcher variants, and plasma mounts.
Save compatibility — read this first
Axolot’s official stance: most pre-1.0 Survival saves do not load in the 1.0 client. World generation, quest state, enemy tables and schematic gating assume a world created after July 24, 2026.
Symptoms of forcing an old save:
- Infinite loading or crash on world select.
- Missing yellow quest markers and silent NPCs.
- Empty underground — no cavern layer under Early Access terrain rules.
Recommended: start a new Survival world on Easy and follow how to start fresh in 1.0. Legacy access: roll back via Steam Betas → previous version — see how to keep legacy saves and the returning player guide.
Creative worlds often load, but test physics-heavy machines on a copy before trusting years of work.
Patch status through 1.0.5
The live build as of August 3, 2026 is 1.0.5. Launch week was dense:
| Patch | Date | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | July 24 | Full release, Drilling Thunder chapter, $29.99 base price for new buyers |
| 1.0.1 | July 27 | Multiplayer desync, Trash Bot softlock, Schematicbot scan fixes, mod crash class |
| 1.0.2 | July 27 | Mods button restored, Challenge chest rewards, quest progression fixes |
| 1.0.3 | July 29 | Creative weather commands, raid trigger fix, vault quest progression, Turret Seat bearing fix |
| 1.0.4 | August 1 | Creative parts restored, Glowbug NPC pickup fix, Growlab 5 redesign, warehouse beacon cleanup |
| 1.0.5 | August 3 | Welding onto bearings, suspensions and pistons restored (1.0.4 regression fix), bug-reporting guidance |
Full notes: updates and patch notes. Verify Steam has pulled 1.0.5 before judging launch-week bugs.
System requirements (2026)
Axolot published updated specs with 1.0:
Minimum
- Windows 10 64-bit
- Intel Core i5-1235U or equivalent
- 8 GB RAM
- Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- DirectX 11
- 30 GB storage
Recommended
- Windows 11
- 16 GB RAM
- Intel Core i5-12500 or AMD Ryzen 5 5600
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
Underground caverns with 200+ dynamic lights stress integrated GPUs. Patch 1.0.1 added physics batching, but dedicated graphics still matter for co-op warehouse clears.
Where to start
- Getting started — first 30 minutes.
- Mining Island — Grow Labs and elevator arc.
- Schematics — recipe gating reference.
- Returning player guide — blueprint migration and Steam rollback.
Related pages
- Updates — full patch timeline
- Start fresh in 1.0 — new world checklist
- Quests and NPCs — Builder Quest chain
Watch the community walkthrough for this guide:
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
Is Drilling Thunder paid DLC?
No. It is the free Chapter 2 story included in the base 1.0 update for all existing Steam owners.
Do I need a new world for Drilling Thunder?
Yes for the full story in most cases. Pre-1.0 Survival saves usually fail to load; create a fresh world or use Steam betas for legacy play.
Are wedge blocks new in 1.0?
No. Wedges shipped in a December 2024 Early Access update. They are not part of the Drilling Thunder tutorial arc.