Big Dig · Contracts & resets

Transferred away

• All artifacts
• All money
• All upgrades purchased with money
• All district entry permits

Retained

• All research points
• All non-money upgrades
• Any endowments
• Any artifact sets

A reset with specific retained progress

The first agreement grants the Midwest key; the later judgement grants the East key. Their transfer and retention lists are shown below using the game's contract terms. Do not treat them as a simple free region unlock or assume the current museum collection will remain.

Before agreeing

Finish an almost-complete artifact set and spend time on useful research if the benefit is close. Spending cash on a temporary upgrade just before signing does not protect that investment: money-bought upgrades are transferred too. Avoid a long grind for a shiny item purely to carry it through the reset.

Rebuild after the agreement

Use retained research to collect and level familiar artifacts again, restore exhibits and earn permit money. Rebuy only the access you need for the next objective. The budget tool deliberately does not carry pre-contract cash or permit assumptions into a new calculation automatically.

Keep the currencies separate

Cash pays for permits and many short-term improvements. Research and endowments are different resources with different upgrade choices. The contract explicitly preserves research points, non-money upgrades, endowments and artifact sets; it does not promise that every other property is retained.

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