Skip to content
terraform.wiki

Tier 3 Progression

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Tier 3 introduces input-gated upgrades. A supplied Mk III Oxygen or Pressure Generator runs at 200x Mk I output, while a supplied Mk III Heat Generator runs at 208x. Starved machines fall back to their Mk II base output, 5x for Oxygen and Pressure or 4.7x for Heat.

The gate is enforced per tick: every frame the machine checks its input buffer. If the required fluid is unavailable, is_degraded() reads True and effective_tier() falls back to the previous tier for that tick. The installed tier reported by tier() itself never changes.

The three Mk III packs

Section titled “The three Mk III packs”

Each pack adds a required fluid port and consumption rate:

PackPortRequired rate
Oxygen Mk IIIwater_in8 t/h
Heat Mk IIIsteam_in12 t/h (direct steam, not water)
Pressure Mk IIIwater_in5 t/h

After applying a pack, the machine gains the corresponding port:

oxy = get_component("o2gen_1")
oxy.water_in.connect("liquid_tank_1")
print(oxy.water_in.level(), "/", oxy.water_in.capacity())

Degradation signals

Section titled “Degradation signals”
  • machine.is_degraded() returns True.
  • machine.effective_tier() returns one less than machine.tier(): the tier actually in effect right now.
  • machine.tier() itself never changes: the pack is permanent; degradation is runtime.

When the input buffer refills, all of the above flip back on the next tick.

Contention

Section titled “Contention”

Early water comes from Water Pumps on wells (a well yields 10 / 20 / 30 t/h by tier). Your downstream consumers at full Mk III:

  • 1 Oxygen Mk III at full rate consumes 8 t/h of water.
  • 1 Pressure Mk III consumes 5 t/h of water.
  • Combined at full rate: 13 t/h of water.

A single standard well (10 t/h) can’t feed both at once. Your options:

  1. Tap a richer well (rich / pure yield 20 / 30 t/h) or add a second well with its own pump.
  2. Buffer with a Liquid Tank so short demand spikes draw from storage.
  3. Allocate via script: prioritize whichever Mk III matters more right now, let the other degrade to Mk II temporarily.
  4. After Steam Condensation unlocks at 1,000,000 Plants, route stored vent steam through a Steam Condenser for another 250 t/h Water at full throttle.

Allocation script

Section titled “Allocation script”

A water allocator runs forever and decides which Mk III gets fresh water based on terraforming progress:

o2_tank = get_component("liquid_tank_1")
oxy = get_component("o2gen_1")
pres = get_component("pressure_1")
atmo = get_component("atmosphere")


while True:
  # Prioritize whichever pillar has the larger gap to next phase
  oxy_gap = ...  # compute from atmo.oxygen and next phase threshold
  pres_gap = ...
  if oxy_gap > pres_gap:
    # Favor oxygen, route the current water supply to its tank first
    ...

Choose the allocation rule that matches your current terraforming goal. Add sleep() only if you intentionally want a slower allocator cadence.

Heat is different

Section titled “Heat is different”

Heat Mk III takes steam directly, not water. Captured steam can feed any combination of three sinks:

One vent may supply several connected sinks when its average output and stored reserve can cover them. Reachable consumers share available flow; their throttle, demand, and buffer headroom determine what they accept. Gas Tanks are the practical way to bank active-phase steam and carry every branch through dormancy. Condenser-fed Oxygen and Pressure therefore compete indirectly with turbines and Heat for the same captured steam.

Graceful fallback

Section titled “Graceful fallback”

Degradation is a normal running state. The machine doesn’t stop; output continues at the previous tier until the input buffer refills. Scripts can observe is_degraded(), inspect the input port, and correct the supply chain.

Cross-references

Section titled “Cross-references”