Dispenser

Salts the four orthogonally adjacent field cells (directly above, below, left, right) while powered, supplied, and enabled.

Stats: Type Biosphere · Power in variable (draws from grid) · Input buffer 50 units

How to obtain: The recipe unlocks with the Dispenser research (Plants 300,000). Fabricate a Dispenser Kit on a Fabricator: 1× Machine Frame, 1× Control Unit, 1× Circuit Panel. Deploy the kit on an empty field cell with a Harvester‘s deploy().

Access: self / get_component(id) · Like every component, exposes .id and .name.

Methods

.set_enabled(enabled) SELF ONLY

Command salting on or off. Power loss pauses the script but preserves this setpoint; stopping the machine script resets it to False.

Returns: ActionResult · Outcomes: "ok"

.is_enabled()

True when the running script has commanded salting on.

Returns: Boolean

.is_active()

True when commanded on with power and salt available.

Returns: Boolean

.is_supplied()

True when the dispenser is placed, commanded on, powered, and has salt in its buffer. When False, covered cells lose salted and their plants pause.

Returns: Boolean

.status()

Exact operating state: "not_placed", "disabled", "no_power", "no_salt", or "active".

Returns: String

.buffer()

Fraction of the onboard salt buffer filled (0-1). Drops while dosing; refills through self.input. 0 means empty (covered cells lose salted).

Returns: Number (0-1)

.tier()

Always 1. The Dispenser ships at Mk I and has no upgrade pack; salt providers don’t tier.

Returns: Number

.position()

Grid sector occupied by this dispenser, such as "E14".

Returns: String

.input

InputSlot for salt: self.input.connect("Salt Bin") then self.input.take("salt", 50). Salt is a Water Pump byproduct.

Command mailbox

peek_command() · next_command() · command_count() · clear_commands() (SELF ONLY): see Script Commands.

See also

• Sprinkler and Grow Lamp: the other two condition providers
• Biosphere Plants: which species need salted cells