Find The Needle: How to Make Eco Bricks
Make eco bricks in Find The Needle: unlock the Hay Bricketizer, feed it loose hay, raise quality, and use bricks for Garden Centre orders and fabrication.
Eco bricks are the first crafted product that makes Find The Needle feel like a factory instead of a digging game. They are compressed hay, sold to The Garden Centre in Stage 2, and used later by the fabricator. The machine is the Hay Bricketizer, which older guides call the Pelletizer (renamed at launch).
Hay Bricketizer, loose hay in, eco bricks out.
The short version
- Unlock the Hay Bricketizer in the tech tree when eco bricks become available.
- Place it near your hay supply and connect power.
- Feed it loose hay, not finished bales.
- Send the bricks to storage, a selling stand, or the fabricator.
- Buy the eco brick quality upgrade as soon as it appears.
When do eco bricks unlock?
Eco bricks belong to Stage 2, the Garden Centre tier, alongside hay rods and gear sets. You will not need them in the opening bale-and-panel orders, so do not rush the tech tree before Stage 1 pays.
When the tier opens, the Hay Bricketizer appears in the tech tree. If you cannot find it, search the tree for the machine name rather than the product; the tree is organised by machine unlocks, and the community answer to "where are eco bricks" is consistently "search the tech tree for that name".
V14.1 added a timing detail worth knowing: belt level 5 unlocks with eco bricks. If your belts feel slow, the next speed tier is tied to this stage.
Feeding the Hay Bricketizer
The machine compresses loose hay. This mistake wastes the most time: players build a bale line, try to feed bales in, and conclude the machine is broken. Bales go to the panel press. Loose hay goes to the bricketizer.
A practical feed setup:
- Run a conveyor from the pile's loose hay output straight to the bricketizer.
- Keep the run short and straight; every metre costs money and adds a failure point.
- Add a buffer box between the pile and machine if your digging is intermittent.
- Put the output on a second belt toward storage or the selling stand.
The automation guide covers belts, arms and priorities, and the hay products guide maps every product to its machine.
Power and footprint
The bricketizer needs a generator and a connection. V15.4 made this cheaper: electricity costs $30 instead of $90, the first hay generator costs $60, and the second $80. Generator upgrades start at $15 for level 1 and reach 10–15 kW. A single generator plus the bricketizer and one or two belts is enough for the first line; add capacity when the fabricator arrives, not before.
Quality: the upgrade most players miss
Eco bricks have a quality level, and V15.4 changed when you can raise it: "Raise eco brick quality now unlocks alongside the hay bricketizer." It unlocks with the machine, not after a later order.
Buy it: higher-quality bricks are worth more per unit, and the upgrade is money-only under V15.4 rules. Most tech upgrades are purchasable with cash once the card is unlocked, so there is no reason to wait on an order.
What eco bricks are used for
Destinations:
- Garden Centre orders. V13 cut the order to 300 bricks (from 480). V15.4 cut later-order material requirements to 60% on small piles, and buyers now take three times as much at full price.
- The fabricator. It makes parts out of ingots and bricks, so every brick line eventually feeds parts rather than the shop.
- Unlocks. V15.4 lists the tube launcher, jump pad and underground belt pieces as unlocking with eco bricks.
Because bricks sit on the path to parts, do not tune the line purely for sale. Keep throughput for the fabricator once it exists.
Scaling the line
- Belt speed. Level 5 arrives with eco bricks; higher levels are money purchases after V15.4.
- Overclocking. The overclock slider pushes machines past 100%, and the needle socket extends it further. Watch power draw.
- Splitters. The T junction is the first splitter and costs $60. Use it to send bricks to orders and the fabricator without rebuilding.
- Priorities. Set order-critical machines to FIRST and the selling line to LAST.
One bricketizer carries the first Garden Centre orders. Add a second when the fabricator is starved, not when the order card first appears.
Common mistakes
- Feeding bales. Bales are for panels; the bricketizer takes loose hay.
- Waiting for the Pelletizer. The rename is why it looks missing.
- Skipping quality. The upgrade is cheap relative to the hay it saves.
- Ignoring buyer limits. V15.4 tripled full-price volume but did not remove the cap.
FAQ
What machine makes eco bricks?
The Hay Bricketizer, formerly the Pelletizer.
Do eco bricks need bales?
No. The bricketizer takes loose hay; bales go to the panel press.
Are eco bricks worth selling?
Yes, especially after the V13 price increase, but reserve throughput for the fabricator.
Sources
Official source: Steam announcements and appdetails for App ID 5160800, checked November 14, 2026.
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