Heat Generator

Warms the planet surface by producing heat. The best power setting shifts with the day’s weather, so a script reads the conditions and holds the heater at the right level.

Stats: Power in variable · Produces up to 0.252 heat/day at peak efficiency · Input buffer 4 · Tiers Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV · Buy from the Shop for 800 cr.

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

Methods

.outpost

The outpost where this building is deployed, as an OutpostRef.

.input

Fuel Rod magazine for the Mk IV tier. Connect a Lead Cask to keep spare rods staged here; the generator swallows one whole rod at a time and burns it down internally. Empty and unused below Mk IV, and a Mk IV with no rod stops producing rather than degrading.

Returns: InputSlot

.steam_in

Steam supply port installed by the Mk III pack. Call connect(...) with a compatible steam provider, then inspect level(), capacity(), flow_rate(), or connected_to(). Mk IV uses Fuel Rods instead, but the installed port remains available.

Returns: FluidPort

.set_power(watts) `SELF ONLY`

Set base heater power from 0-10; values outside that range are clamped. 0 turns heating off. The best positive setting depends on the current thermal_state(), so update it with self.set_power(value) as conditions change. Higher Mk tiers multiply grid draw without changing the best base setting. A poor setting wastes energy and reduces heat output.

Returns: ActionResult · Outcomes: "ok"

.thermal_state()

Current daily heater thermal state: one of "clear", "dust_storm", "heat_bleed", "dust_veil". Each state has its own optimal positive set_power() value. The state is stable throughout the current day and changes only on a new day, so read it at the start of each iteration and branch when the string changes. Your job is figuring out the four optimal values.

Returns: String

.efficiency()

Current heating efficiency (0-100%). Hits 100% only when set_power() exactly matches the current thermal_state()’s optimal, and falls off steeply around it (not linearly): about 31% one step away, then a 10% floor for any setting two or more steps off. Reads 0% only when power is 0. Scan positive power values and take the setting that reads 100% as each state’s optimal.

Returns: Number (0-100%)

.output()

Current heat-unit production rate per hour at the current settings. Heat accumulates to raise surface temperature over many days; the sensor rate display projects per-day totals. Reflects efficiency() × tier multiplier. Reads 0 if unpowered or no script running. Recomputed live on every read: a fresh set_power(...) is reflected immediately.

Returns: Number (heat units/h)

.tier()

Permanently installed Mk tier as an integer (1-4). Upgrade packs raise this value; temporary Mk III steam starvation does not. Compare with effective_tier() when diagnosing a supplied or degraded heater.

Returns: Integer (1-4)

.is_degraded()

True when a Mk III pack is starved of its required fluid input and the machine has fallen back to the previous tier multiplier for this tick. If True, your tier-3 heater is temporarily running as Mk II; look at self.steam_in.level() and the upstream Thermal Cap.

Returns: Boolean

.effective_tier()

The tier actually in effect this tick: tier() normally, previous tier while is_degraded() is True.

Returns: Integer

Command mailbox

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