For me at least, I beat the game in about 2 minutes. I'm not sure if the costs are too low, or the coins given are too much, but basically it just exploded to where I had infinite money and could buy as many of the auto-dig tools as I wanted.
Viewing post in STRATA: Dig Through Time comments
2 minutes to the end - ouch, that confirms it. You nailed the diagnosis: income per meter scales with the era multiplier way faster than the x1.15 cost curve, so a few meters in you can already afford everything. Rebalancing both curves now (slower coin growth, steeper tool costs) so the first prestige takes a proper session instead of two minutes. Thanks for the precise report - patch coming shortly, would love your take once it lands.
v1.1 is live! Your diagnosis drove the fix: the structural problem was income multiplying x2.7 per era while costs grew 16% per level. Added soil hardness per era (raw dig power divided by depth resistance) plus steeper costs and smaller artifact bursts - in simulation the full run went from ~2 minutes to many hours across multiple prestiges. Also added a x1/x10/MAX buy toggle. Would genuinely appreciate a second run if you have a few minutes.