stationeers game sourced
Stationeers
A first-person space station survival game whose core is an atmospheric simulation of gas mixtures, pressure, temperature, and combustion that the player must engineer with pipes, power, and programmable logic.
core loop
land with a starter kit -> mine and smelt ore -> build an airtight frame -> pipe, filter, and heat a breathable atmosphere -> power and automate with logic chips -> expand while fixing pressure, fire, and temperature failures
design notes
The atmosphere is the main simulated system: each sealed volume and pipe network carries a mix of gases with temperature and pressure, so heating a room raises its pressure, mixing fuel and oxygen can burn or explode, and a pressure difference across a wall can blow it out. Survival needs are deliberately front-loaded; later play is building plant that keeps the atmosphere stable, then automating it with IC10 chips programmed in an assembly language. The game has been in early access since 2017.
relations
12 stored edgesFluid and gas simulation
Rooms and pipe networks hold mixtures of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, volatiles, pollutants, and water with pressure and temperature; gases mix, and combustion consumes fuel and oxygen and releases heat.
Fluid pipe networks
Pipes, pumps, filtration units, mixers, and regulators route gases between devices; pipes and tanks fail when pressure exceeds their rating.
Heat transfer
Gas temperature changes pressure and habitability; radiators, heat exchangers, heaters, and coolers move heat between pipes, rooms, and the planet's atmosphere.
Survival meters
Early survival requires breathable gas, food, water, and suit temperature; suits carry tanks and filters until a habitat is sealed.
Crop cultivation
Hydroponic plants need light, water, and suitable gases, and exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen.
Building placement
Frames, walls, pipes, and devices are placed on a grid piece by piece, and placement decides airtightness.
Player programming
IC10 chips run player-written assembly that reads and writes device logic values such as pressure and temperature.
Power grid
Solar panels, generators, and batteries feed cable networks; overloaded cables burn out.
Production chains
Furnaces and arc furnaces smelt ore into ingots, and autolathes and other fabricators turn ingots into kits.
Signal circuits
Logic readers, writers, memory, and sensors chain devices without code.
Structural integrity
Walls hold limited pressure differences; exceeding them causes fatigue and explosive decompression.