When the crane recounts the pile and when the speaker calls it out

Choose the timer for your equipment

Start your comparison after the relevant purchase. Before the crane, the developer does not describe a scheduled recount. With the crane alone, allow a full six-minute interval. If you have added autopilot, use two minutes and thirty seconds instead. Comparing a pre-upgrade count with a post-upgrade sound can make a healthy setup appear late.

Open the Automation list and check the purchased levels. The Claw Crane and Crane Autopilot have separate rows. A maxed Claw Crane with no Autopilot purchase still uses the six-minute interval. With Autopilot installed, leave the cab and watch whether the claw picks up and drops a load. The loading animation can continue between scheduled counts.

Developer notes • Hotfix 1.0.2 ↗

Read the loudspeaker as a second signal

Every other recount gets an announcement. At a steady cadence this works out to about twelve minutes between calls with the ordinary crane and five with autopilot. These are derived intervals, not promises about the time of the first announcement after loading. Check the pile and equipment as well as the speaker; a muted or missed line does not tell you if the claw actually carried a load.

To time the announcement, note your displayed quantity and the time of the first audible call. Remain in the same active shift with the same equipment until the next call. Write down any completed deliveries in that interval. The call confirms a recount; use the Journal quota to check actual deliveries. The developer's illustrated patch sheet lists the two rules separately under Pile & Machines.

Official patch sheet • 1.0.2 timer, saves and handling rules ↗

Why an older guide gives three minutes

The 1.0.1 note described an out-of-view restack to correct arches after autopilot started. The later 1.0.2 note specifies the recount schedule and changes announcement frequency. Those notes use two different terms. Use the newer numbers for counting, and avoid using the older three-minute figure as proof that a claw cycle, a quota update or an announcement has failed.

A player reached 59,759/60,000 with an empty-looking yard. Repile did not solve that case; entering the already automated crane reportedly triggered completion. If you have that exact symptom, record the quota, enter the cab once and see whether the count or objective changes. Preserve the save and report it if neither does. This one report does not establish a repeatable way to create missing stock.

Player report • 241 potatoes short of quota ↗

Developer notes • Hotfix 1.0.1 ↗

Related field notes

• Why a full sack will not empty into the peeling machine
• What stays in your machine, vacuum or bucket after loading