# Oxygen Not Included *Game* · `oxygen-not-included` · status: **sourced** A side-view colony sim in which a few duplicants survive inside an asteroid where every tile holds an element with mass and temperature, so air, liquids, heat, and germs flow through the base. | field | value | |---|---| | aliases | ONI | | year | 2017 | | year full release | 2019 | | developer | Klei Entertainment | | platforms | PC | | subgenre | Colony sim | | subgenre secondary | Survival sim | | sim domain | Physical / mechanical, Biological / ecological, Industrial / logistics | | player role | Overseer | | agency model | Order queue, Zoning / placement, Indirect incentive, Programmatic | | time model | Real-time with pause | | sim scale | Settlement | | fidelity | Systemic | | perspective | Top-down / side 2D | | win structure | Open sandbox | | failure model | Cascading collapse | | narrative mode | Emergent | | multiplayer | Single-player | | modding | Scripting | | production tier | Indie | | agent count order | ~10 | | emergence | 4 | | influence | 3 | | influenced by | [Dwarf Fortress](../game/dwarf-fortress.md), [Prison Architect](../game/prison-architect.md), [The Sims](../game/the-sims.md) | | cluster *(computed)* | C02 | | core count *(computed)* | 6 | | mechanic count *(computed)* | 24 | ## Summary A side-view colony sim in which a few duplicants survive inside an asteroid where every tile holds an element with mass and temperature, so air, liquids, heat, and germs flow through the base. ## Core Loop dig into the asteroid -> lay out rooms, pipes, and wires -> duplicants perform prioritized errands -> oxygen, heat, germs, and waste redistribute tile by tile -> stress and shortfalls surface -> rebuild toward closed, sustainable loops ## Design Notes Each cell holds one element with a mass and a temperature, and heat moves between cells every 0.2 s tick by conduction, so insulation, phase changes, and overheating machines follow from one rule rather than from per-building scripts. Most machines emit byproducts (a natural gas generator makes 800 W plus polluted water and carbon dioxide), so the long game is closing loops so waste becomes input. Mood uses a morale-versus-expectation gap: learning skills raises a duplicant's expectation, so better-trained colonists need better food, rooms, and decor. Wikipedia names Dwarf Fortress, Prison Architect, and The Sims as design influences. ## Sources - src-wikipedia-oxygen-not-included - src-steam-2026-oxygen-not-included - src-oniwiki-2026-morale - src-oniwiki-2026-germs - src-oxygennotincludedwiki-2026-thermal-conductivity - src-oniwiki-2026-liquid-pipe - src-oniwiki-2026-natural-gas-generator ## Relations **influenced by** - [Dwarf Fortress](../game/dwarf-fortress.md) - [Prison Architect](../game/prison-architect.md) - [The Sims](../game/the-sims.md) **uses** - [Fluid and gas simulation](../mechanic/fluid-gas-simulation.md) (core): Every tile holds one gas, liquid, or solid with a mass; gases diffuse and equalize when a chamber is opened, and liquids drain under gravity, so breathable oxygen must be produced and carbon dioxide managed. - [Heat transfer](../mechanic/heat-transfer.md) (core): Cells exchange heat each 0.2 s tick with q = dT x dt x k x 1000, with multipliers for solid-gas and liquid-liquid contact; insulated tiles divide conductivity, and temperature thresholds melt, freeze, boil, or damage things. - [Byproducts and waste](../mechanic/byproducts-waste.md) (core): Machines and duplicants emit polluted water, polluted oxygen, carbon dioxide, and heat; a natural gas generator consumes 90 g/s of gas for 800 W and outputs 67.5 g/s polluted water and 22.5 g/s CO2. - [Fluid pipe networks](../mechanic/fluid-pipe-network.md) (core): Gas and liquid pipes carry packets between buildings; a liquid pipe segment holds 10 kg and moves packets once per second, capping a line at 10 kg/s, and pipe contents exchange heat with their tiles. - [Mood and breakdowns](../mechanic/mood-breakdown.md) (core): Morale is the sum of timed buffs (Mess Hall +3, Private Bedroom +3, food up to +16, decor up to +12) compared to an expectation that rises with skills learned; each point under adds 2.5% stress per cycle up to 25%, full stress triggers a stress response, and 8 or more points over can trigger overjoyed responses. - [Work priorities](../mechanic/work-priorities.md) (core): Every errand carries a priority, and each duplicant has per-errand-type priorities on the Priorities screen; duplicants pick the highest available errand and favor tasks they are good at. - [Designation orders](../mechanic/designation-orders.md) (supporting): Dig, build, mop, and deconstruct orders placed on tiles. - [Contagion](../mechanic/contagion.md) (supporting): Germs live on tiles, items, gases, and liquids; exposure past per-germ thresholds gives a contraction chance of 0.5 - 0.5 x tanh(resistance / 4). - [Power grid](../mechanic/power-grid.md) (supporting): Coal, hydrogen, natural gas, and manual generators on wires and batteries; overloaded circuits take damage. - [Signal circuits](../mechanic/signal-circuits.md) (supporting): Automation wires, sensors, and logic gates control doors, pumps, and generators; extended by the Automation Innovation update. - [Agent skills](../mechanic/agent-skills.md) (supporting): Skill points are spent on skills, which raise morale expectations. - [Personality traits](../mechanic/personality-traits.md) (supporting): Traits such as Germ Resistant or Allergies change resistances and stress reactions. - [Room recognition](../mechanic/room-recognition.md) (supporting): Enclosed rooms that meet requirements become Mess Halls, Bedrooms, and similar rooms that grant morale buffs. - [Decoration and beauty](../mechanic/decoration-beauty.md) (supporting): Decor around a duplicant is compared to its recent average and feeds morale. - [Crop cultivation](../mechanic/crop-cultivation.md) (supporting): Plants need specific temperatures, atmospheres, and irrigation. - [Animal husbandry](../mechanic/animal-husbandry.md) (supporting): Critters are ranched for food and for their conversion of inputs into useful outputs. - [Spoilage](../mechanic/spoilage.md) (supporting): Food rots unless refrigerated or kept in a sterile atmosphere. - [Data overlays](../mechanic/data-overlays.md) (supporting): Oxygen, temperature, power, plumbing, and germ overlays show hidden cell state. - [Tech tree](../mechanic/tech-tree.md) (supporting): Research unlocks buildings. - [Procedural terrain](../mechanic/procedural-terrain.md) (supporting): Asteroids are procedurally generated. - [Pause and speed control](../mechanic/variable-speed.md) (supporting) - [Building placement](../mechanic/free-placement.md) (supporting) - [Storage and buffers](../mechanic/storage-capacity.md) (supporting) - [Modding API](../mechanic/modding-api.md) (supporting): Steam Workshop mods are C# assemblies patched in with Harmony. ## Backlinks (computed) **influenced:** [Space Haven](../game/space-haven.md) **precedent for:** [Bottleneck explainer for production networks](../opportunity/bottleneck-explainer.md), [Intent-level orders](../opportunity/intent-level-orders.md), [Learned material surrogates at world scale](../opportunity/learned-material-surrogates.md), [Factories with a living workforce](../opportunity/living-workforce-factories.md) ## Sources - [Oxygen Not Included](../source/src-wikipedia-oxygen-not-included.md) - [Oxygen Not Included on Steam](../source/src-steam-2026-oxygen-not-included.md) - [Morale](../source/src-oniwiki-2026-morale.md) - [Germs](../source/src-oniwiki-2026-germs.md) - [Thermal Conductivity](../source/src-oxygennotincludedwiki-2026-thermal-conductivity.md) - [Liquid Pipe](../source/src-oniwiki-2026-liquid-pipe.md) - [Natural Gas Generator](../source/src-oniwiki-2026-natural-gas-generator.md) --- Provenance: created in run `2026-10-24-catalog-gb`; reviewed in `2026-10-24-review-fixes`, `2026-10-25-contributor-readiness`.