Find The Needle Guide

Conveyors and Splitters in Find The Needle (Demo V8)

Demo V8 rebuilt the conveyor system. Belts now snap far more easily and path themselves, and there are new U-Splitters and U-Joiners. This page covers the controls, how to lay a line, and what to check when hay stops moving.

Checked against Demo V8 (September 11, 2026) · Updated September 28, 2026

What changed for conveyors in V8

If you played an earlier demo build, old conveyor advice is probably out of date. According to the Demo V8 patch notes on Steam, the update brought these conveyor-related changes:

  • Conveyors were completely reworked. They snap much more easily and use automatic pathfinding.
  • Conveyors can now snap to the Hay Sell Stand.
  • A No Snap Mode was added for free placement.
  • New U-Splitter and U-Joiner pieces were added.
  • Pressing E on a power pole shuts down the whole electricity network, and a warning effect shows when power drops below what your machines need.
  • The Vacuum Yard costs 80% less than before.
  • Loose hay now turns into hay tufts to improve FPS, and the Pellet Disc Machine shows "BRICKS" and "HAY" resource indicators.
A conveyor belt carrying hay bales to the Sell Hay stand
A conveyor running into the Sell Hay stand. The price on the sign may be from an older build. Image: Find The Needle Steam page.

Conveyor controls

These are the only conveyor-related keys named in the V8 notes. Other controls are not listed here until they are confirmed.

Demo V8 conveyor and power keys
KeyWhat it does
FToggle No Snap Mode
E on a power poleShut down the power network

Laying a conveyor line

  1. Start from the machine or stand you want to feed. In V8 the belt snaps to it and finds its own path.
  2. If the automatic path goes somewhere you don't want, press F for No Snap Mode and place that piece by hand.
  3. Press F again to go back to snapping for the next connection.
  4. Before moving or rebuilding a powered section, press E on a power pole to turn the network off.
  5. End the line at the Hay Sell Stand, which conveyors can now snap to.

Tip

Watch for the power warning effect after adding machines. It appears when the network has less power than it needs, which can stop the machines your belt feeds.

Splitters and joiners

V8 adds U-Splitters and U-Joiners alongside the existing splitter and joiner types. The patch notes only say they are new; they don't explain how they differ, so this guide doesn't describe their behaviour yet.

On the Steam store screenshots, conveyor pieces sit in the Hay Lines branch of Yard Research.

Hay Lines research branch with Conveyor Plans, Alternating Splitter, Priority Arm, Belt Joiner and Tube Launcher Plans
The Hay Lines research branch as shown on the Steam page. Node names and prices may differ in the current demo. Image: Find The Needle Steam page.

Not yet verified: splitter only sends to one side

Players on the Steam discussions report that choosing a left or right priority on a splitter needs its upgrade unlocked first, and that without it the splitter keeps sending hay one way. We haven't verified this in Demo V8 yet.

Belt backing up? Check these first

  1. Did you just load a save? Several players report that conveyors can disconnect from silos after loading and stop moving. There is no official fix yet. Try snapping the affected pieces again or rebuilding the connected section.
  2. Are you still in No Snap Mode? A belt placed freely may not be attached. Press F to switch back to snapping and reconnect it.
  3. Is a splitter sending everything one way? See the unverified player report above about priority upgrades.
  4. Did the machines lose power? Look for the low-power warning effect. If you shut the network off with E while rebuilding, turn it back on.

If the whole game crashes or freezes while loading, see the crash and black screen checks.