When the fully automated shift grinds to a halt

Make a repeatable before-and-after test

Quit and copy the saves folder plus profile.json before starting another shift. Reopen the congested save and record the same short walk at the same graphics preset. Repeat in a quiet manual slot you already own, with recording either on for both or off for both. A slowdown confined to one save gives support a much more useful lead than two clips with different settings.

Potato Please player and developer discussion: Massive frame rate drop ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: How to Report a Bug (please read before posting) ↗

Record the load as well as your PC specs

The developer specifically asked how many machines and upgrades were running when the drop began, along with both game logs and PC specifications. Note the last machine you bought, whether outlets still clear, and whether the drop starts immediately after loading or builds over several minutes. Photograph the blockage before trying to clear it and keep the affected save.

Potato Please player and developer discussion: Massive frame rate drop ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: How to Report a Bug (please read before posting) ↗

Preserve the state that reproduces the freeze

If the controls barely respond, stop repeated cleanup attempts. Close the game, preserve the affected slot outside the active save folder and copy both logs. Tell support whether the latest save starts already blocked or becomes unplayable after a particular action. Offer the affected copy on request. An earlier manual slot can let you keep playing while the broken state remains available to investigate.

Potato Please player and developer discussion: Massive frame rate drop ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: How to Report a Bug (please read before posting) ↗

Enable the Steam performance display

In the desktop Steam client open Settings, then In Game. Find the Performance Monitor controls, choose a visible detail level and screen position, then return to the same depot floor. Start with FPS only if the numbers cover the peeling board. For a report, note the value in the quiet yard and beside the jam, using the same resolution and cap.

Valve: reading the in-game performance monitor ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: Massive frame rate drop ↗

Capture the dip rather than the average

Select a monitor detail level that shows the FPS graph. Repeat the short action that causes a hitch, then look at the recent history instead of watching one instant number while peeling. Save a screenshot of the dip and describe whether it aligned with tipping a sack, entering a crowded room or loading the shift. A graph records the timing; it does not identify the cause by itself.

Valve: reading the in-game performance monitor ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: Massive frame rate drop ↗

Record the active graphics device

Expand the performance display enough to show GPU information. On a laptop, distinguish an integrated device from the discrete graphics chip and note which one is rendering during the affected shift. Capture its utilization with the graphics preset and resolution. Merely owning a listed graphics model does not show that it handled this particular run.

Valve: reading the in-game performance monitor ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: Massive frame rate drop ↗

Separate resource pressure from save integrity

Record system memory use and graphics memory use while the affected save is open. Compare with a fresh or quiet manual slot at the same settings. High usage can help explain why the machine slows under load, but does not prove the .sav file is damaged. Preserve the save and report the working comparison rather than deleting it to free memory.

Valve: reading the in-game performance monitor ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: Massive frame rate drop ↗

Control for loose cargo before blaming the extra machines

Count the operating drums and record visible loose sacks, spilled potatoes and vacuum use in both scenes. The pictured three-drum shift has substantial cargo on the floor, so comparing it with one empty drum changes several things at once. Test the same three-drum save after the loose cargo has cleared, at the same view, before attributing the difference to drum count.

Potato Please player and developer discussion: How to Report a Bug (please read before posting) ↗

Record the empty-room performance case separately

One player saw frame rate fall from about 120 to below ten after roughly ninety minutes even though the floor was empty and no machines were running. Keep that save, note the current objective and compare the same scene immediately after relaunch. Check an independent quiet slot with the same graphics settings. If only the first save stays slow, send it with the before-and-after readings instead of assuming the usual channel jam.

Steam player review: conditions observed during a retail shift ↗

Potato Please player and developer discussion: How to Report a Bug (please read before posting) ↗

Document two symptoms on the same shift

In the empty-room slowdown report, the Ministry note was also absent from the desk. Photograph the desk and pinned objective, record whether menus still open, then capture the frame-rate reading at that same moment. Back up the save before testing either symptom. Report them together with timing but do not claim the missing notice caused the slowdown without reproducing the link.

Steam player review: conditions observed during a retail shift ↗

Golden Horn Studios on Steam ↗

Compare pixel counts before attributing a slowdown to extra drums

The wide-format menu capture uses 5120 × 1440, or 7,372,800 pixels per frame. A 2560 × 1440 frame contains 3,686,400. That doubles pixel count at the same height. For a useful comparison on your own setup, revisit the same loaded room with matching preset, camera direction and frame cap, and record the frame time. The extra pixels can matter if drawing the frame is the bottleneck; they do not guarantee half the frame rate in a scene limited by physics or CPU work.

PCGamingWiki: contributor inspection of settings, controls, save files and Steam Input ↗

Related field notes

• Peeled potatoes piling up at the water-channel bend
• Measure drum throughput and predict when a hopper will fill
• Where to find Potato Please save files on Windows