Hydroponics
Hydroponics
Hydroponics is the process of growing plants with added nutrients, inside of water instead of soil; some departments might still include rooms with soil mounds.
A Botanist performs this role.
While this department exist primarily to help give ingredients to the Chef and feed the whole station, it also occasionally communicates with Chemists, Cargo and the rest of Service.
Starting the shift
The Hydroponics department involves using special machines to grow plants; these are the Hydroponic Trays .
Most plants are readily available from the start of the shift, although you can obtain special seeds with the help of Cargo, Salvage Specialists or by exploring the maintenance hallways for leftovers, or hidden rooms.
The Chef will come visit the department often, as will Service Workers, but it's not rare for Chemists to come asking for medicinal plants.
Equipment
All of Botany's equipment has the single and only purpose to help the Botanist obtain plants as efficiently as possible. While some objects can have different uses, making sure that you get the desired outputs out of the seeds you plant is the main objective.
Machines and Tools
Image | Name | Usage |
---|---|---|
These oversized pots are where you plant seeds and grow plants into. They require some degree of maintenance given to them, which is signalled through the various LED lights that blink on it; you can find their meaning in the Tray section. They can receive water and food objects too, which will replenish the Water and Nutrient values respectively. It can receive any liquid solution, with some being more helpful to the plant's well-being than others; the tray absorbs 1 unit of solution every 1 second, even when there is no plant inside. | ||
Contains 5 of every common seed. | ||
Dispenses all of the tools found in the Tools section, save for the dropper. | ||
Insert a plant's produce into this machine to extract 1 to 3 seeds[1]. Note that on all plants, you can alternatively use Plant Clippers on the plant before it dies instead, which will not waste one piece of produce.
As of more recent versions, the seed extractor doesn't reset the seed's genetics. | ||
Contains a large quantity of liquid Water. Use a bucket or container on the tank and then on the tray that needs watering. Without water, plants will die. Normal Water Tanks contain 1500 units of water, while the High Capacity kind, which are found much more commonly in Hydroponics, contain 10000 units. | ||
Always found in the kitchen and/or Chemistry lab, although some Hydroponics departments are found with one. A max. amount of 4 materials can be put inside, then either a drinking glass or a beaker in; all plants can be ground up to extract their inner chemicals (such as Vitamins and Nutriment), but some can be juiced too, to obtain specific juices. | ||
Used for cooking, but also to dry out tobacco, cannabis, and aloe into more useful items. | ||
Contains Hydroponics marked clothes, such as aprons and gloves. You can find a list in the Wardrobe section | ||
Contains some useful items which aren't immediately found on the Botanist at the start of the shift.
(A list of these, which might lose relevancy to newer version, finds: an empty Apron, a Botanical Belt, Botanist's Leather Gloves, a Botany Bandana, a Hand Labeler, Overalls, a Plant Bag, a bottle of Robust Harvest and a Box of Sterile Swabs) |
Plants
Most seeds will be available either in the MegaSeed Vendor or through the station, but some exotic seeds will need to either be purchases from Cargo, or through exploration of the maintenance tunnels, or through mutation.
Crates
A Botanist can request Hydroponics oriented crates from a Cargo Technician:
- Seed Crate - An assortment of seeds available from a Megaseed Vendor. e.g. carrot, chilli, corn, eggplant, lemon, oat, onion, potato, sugarcane, tomato, wheat
- Exotic Seed Crate - An assortment of rare seeds. e.g. banana, cannabis, egg-plant, fly amanita, nettle, pineapple, tobacco, tower cap
- Hydroponics Equipment Crate - Crate with some tools and equipment you would usually find in Botanist Lockers
Seeds
You can Examine a Seed to see its Yield and Potency.
Potency starts at 5 out of the Seed Extractor / Vending Machine but can be increased to 50 via 15u of Robust Harvest. Max potency is 100 and can only currently be achieved via mutations (e.g. via Unstable Mutagen). Potency affects the size of the plant and amount of chemicals it provides in the Reagent Grinder. For example, highly potent medical herbs break down into more medicine and can be eaten for more pronounced effect and higher number of bites. A higher potency in wheat equates to higher amounts of flour produced.
Yield differs by plant and can only be modified by mutation (e.g. via Unstable Mutagen). Yield affects the number of plants that will be harvested when a planted seed has grown.
Plants treated with Unstable Mutagen will undergo random genetic mutations. The more unstable mutagen, the more mutations but the higher likelihood the plant will die before harvest. Since many genes are essential to a plant's survival, randomly mutating them has a high probability of killing the plant. However, mutation is the only way to get some genes.
Plants can also be cross-pollinated with one another for a chance to transfer traits and other desirable properties. To transfer pollen from one plant to another, use a sterile swab. Avoid pollen cross-contamination! Different species can be crossed to produce hybrids. Since cross-pollination is also probabilistic, it may take several tries for you to transfer the traits that you desire.
Image | Name | Usage |
---|---|---|
Removes weeds | ||
Removes plants from tray. Needed to remove any still living plant. Can be used as a rudimentary weapon. | ||
The Botanist's best friend. Takes samples from plants, giving you a seed; all of the plant's genetics at the time of clipping will be copied onto this seed. Overuse will decrease the health of the plant. Underuse can lead to a lack of seeds. Some plants are multi-harvest plants and so can be clipped at the final harvest. Other plants are single-harvest plants so should be clipped each time they are harvested, or as they just got planted. If you have power and a Seed Extractor, you can potentially use it instead however you will lose one piece of harvest. | ||
For cutting wood and tower caps. A territorial Botanist's best weapon. | ||
Sharp, a more showy but less damaging alternative to the hatchet. | ||
Used to transfer water. If dropped, spills contents on the floor. Holds 250u of liquid. | ||
Used to transfer water 5u at a time. Holds 30u. If dropped, shatters. | ||
For transporting plant materials. When holding the bag, left click the ground near you to store up multiple plants (and seeds) at a time, or left click on a plant / seed to put it in the bag. Left click on a table (not a counter or floor) in order to empty the bag onto it. Right click on the bag to get the option to dump the contents where you are standing. | ||
Used to transfer pollen from one plant to another for cross-breeding. They are found clean in boxes, or in the Nutrimax, and after one single swabbing they're considered used, and will have stored one single, random genetic trait from the starting plant; swabbing again, on a different plant, will transfer said trait and collect another from it. It is so far not possible to know which traits are being taken, or to properly transfer desired genes without using multiple swabs. | ||
Holds 15 units of liquid at a time. While holding it, press Z to switch 'Draw' and 'Inject' modes. Can draw from bottles, beakers and other containers, if you count people and animals 'containers' too. | ||
A smaller version of the syringe, holds up to 5 units of liquid and dispenses only 1 unit at a time. | ||
Adds nutrients to the tray. | ||
Increases plant potency (and size) up to 50 (i.e. half of max potency). Up to 15u to a Hydroponics Tray are needed to be completely sure to get to this value with most plants, although it can be made into a more precise measure by using the dropper. | ||
Not refillable spray bottle of Pest Killer, takes away any vermin that might be present in the tray, but poisons the plant. | ||
Not refillable spray bottle of Weed Killer, takes away any weeds that might have grown in the tray, but poisons the plant. | ||
Kills plants and weeds. | ||
Mutagenic, causes plant life to become highly unstable; to use along Unstable Mutagen to increase mutation probability. |
Plant Name | Description | Plant Image | Produce Image |
---|---|---|---|
Produces aloe, which can be used to make aloe cream. Aloe cream is useful for treating burns. | |||
Produces ambrosia vulgaris which is poisonous raw but can be used to make medicine. | |||
Produces apples, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces bananas, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Banana bread or pulped for medicine. Their peels are useful for making people slip. | |||
Produces cannabis leaves which can be dried and then crafted into a joint or blunt. Seeds come from Exotic Crates | |||
Produces carrots. Carrots are used in various cooking recipes. Carrot Juice be used in healing eye damage | |||
Produces chanterelle mushrooms, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Mushroom pizza. | |||
Produces chilis, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Bowls of chili, Enchiladas, and Queso. | |||
Produces corn, which can be eaten for light sustenance. When ground in a grinder, it becomes cornmeal. Corn is used to make Popcorn and Enchiladas. | |||
Produces eggplant, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Vegetable Pizza. | |||
Produces eggs slower than an animal can. Are used in Cooking. | |||
Are used in Cooking. | |||
Produces galaxy thistle which can eaten raw as medicine or ground to produce a liquid medical chemical. | |||
Produces gatfruit. Very illegal. | |||
Produces lemons. Lemons are used in various cooking recipes. They also help prevent scurvy. | |||
Produces lingzhi which can eaten raw as medicine or ground to produce a liquid medical chemical. | |||
Produces nettles which are poisonous raw but can be used to make medicine. | |||
Produces oat bushels. Oats are used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces onions, which can be eaten for light sustenance. A Chef can slice these with a knife to make onion slices which are used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces red onions, which can be eaten for light sustenance.. | |||
Produces pineapple, which can be eaten for light sustenance. Pineapples are used in various cooking recipes. Seeds come from Exotic Crates | |||
Produces poppies which can eaten raw as medicine or ground to produce a liquid medical chemical. | |||
Produces potatoes, which can be eaten for light sustenance. Potatoes are used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces space tobacco leaves. Unused? | |||
Produces sugarcane. Sugarcane can be ground into sugar and used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces tobacco leaves which can be dried and then crafted into a blunt. Seeds come from Exotic Crates | |||
Produces tomatoes, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make various Pizzas, Spaghetti, and Bowls of chili. Can also be thrown for fun. | |||
Produces tower caps. Tower caps are a source of logs. A hatchet is needed to chop these trees down. The resultant produce can be turned into wood planks via a hatchet. Wood planks are used in Construction | |||
Produces wheat bushels. Wheat can be used in a grinder to produce flour which can be mixed with water to make dough or used in various cooking recipes. |
mutations(WIP)
When useing Unstable Mutagen on certain plants, there's a chance for it to mutate in to a new species
minor mutations are mutations that can happen to any plant.
mutation | effect |
---|---|
screams when harvested | |
plant and produce glow | |
requires a hatchet to be harvested | |
produces more produce | |
requires less water to grow | |
longer life cycle | |
fruit cannot be made in to seeds | |
less likely to get weeds | |
less likely to get pests | |
requires less light to grow | |
toxins have less of an effect | |
less prone too heat deamage | |
resistant to low pressure | |
resistant to high pressure | |
makes you slip on the fruit | |
the plant becomes a sentient(a ghost role) | |
turns in to a rapidly spreading kudzu vine that will take over hydroponics if not killed with herbicide |
Chemicals
The raw plant can be eaten for a small medical effect or poison. This effect can be boosted if the plant was grown with Robust Harvest. Alternatively, the plant can be processed into a more powerful medicine.
Plant Name | Properties | Description |
---|---|---|
10 seconds: 10 Aloe cream. Aloe & Dermaline |
Dermaline can be ingested or injected to heal burn/shock damage. Aloe cream can be applied to the body to greatly heal burn/shock damage. Aloe can be eaten. | |
Kelotane & Desoxyphredrine |
Kelotane heals burns, but is less effective than Dermaline. Desoxyephedrine causes poison damage and stuttering, but makes you somewhat stun/knockdown resistant. | |
Pulped Banana Peel |
Effective against internal bleeding. | |
Capsaicin Oil |
Causes caustic damage. | |
Stellibinin |
An anti-toxin that heals against amatoxin damage. | |
Ultravasculine & Epinephrine |
Ultravasculine rapidly flushes toxins. Epinephrine brings back people from a critical state. Do not overdose. | |
Histamine |
A poison that can range from mildly annoying to lethal depending on the dosage. Used to mass produce Ultravasculine | |
Bicaridine |
Used for brute damage/stabilize someone who is badly beaten. | |
Siderlac & Dermaline |
Siderlac heals against caustic damage. |