Water, Heating and Piping
Basics
Heating, Water, Steam and Piping all make a challenging mix of infrastructure that you will need to provide to your Whisker colony to be able to succeed in the long run.
Your first challenge will be to make sure your Whiskers can stay warm up in the winter using heaters. Early on, you will only be able to use the Campfire and Bonfire, but you will be able to research more technology as the game progresses.
Your next challenge will be to bring water to your Whiskers. They do not need it to drink, but it provides opportunities to refine materials at the Sifting Tower, cook foods at the Soup Kitchen, or provide bathing facilities like the Showers. Water will introduce the concept of piping which you must run throughout your colony, spanning from sources like the Water Pump all the way to where it is needed. You will have to get creative in placing piping, especially if you had not planned for it before. Try building your piping underground to avoid tangled overhead pipes and a lot of supports.
Finally, your Whiskers will discover the power of steam which will allow you to efficiently heat your colony with Steam Radiators, give your Whiskers luxurious baths at the Bathhouse, and speed up your factories with the Steam Engine. All of this will require you to run an additional set of pipes throughout your colony to carry steam from Steam Boilers to wherever it may be needed. In combination with your water pipe infrastructure, it can become a real infrastructure challenge.
Heating
Heating is needed in your colony whenever temperatures reach 10° C or below. The colder it gets, the harder it will be for you to keep your colony heated. You have 4 heating sources you can use that will provide warmth in a radius around them. When placing a heating source, it will display various colors around itself that will show you to what degree it will warm the surrounding area. Below is a chart showing what each color means and the effects, if any, it will have on nearby buildings.
| Color | Warmth | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Red | Very Warm | High resistance to increasing cold |
| Red | Warm | Normal Operations/Safe for Whiskers |
| Yellow | Warm | Temps lowering will next effect this area but otherwise safe |
| Blue | Chilly | Slower Production/Possible chilled paws for Whiskers |
| Purple | Very Cold | Slower Production/Possible Illnesses/Machinery Degrades Faster |
There are currently 4 heating options for your Whiskers. Additionally, some factories like the Ore Furnace and Blast Furnace heat themselves and a small area around them while in operation. Factory heat sources should not be relied upon to heat your colony as they only produce heat while operating and only during the day (unless you're using overtime). For the most part, you will be using the following heating options.
| Heating Source | Total Radius | Dark Red1 | Red | Yellow | Fuel Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campfire | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 (Click to Refill) |
| Bonfire | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 6 (Fuel Tender) |
| Heating Stove | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 8 (Fuel Tender) |
| Steam Radiator | 9 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 (Piped Steam) |
1 The "dark red" radius is just part of the overall red radius and does not extend it. It represents extra warmth and more resilience to increasing cold. The extra heat may penetrate rock ground in the case of a Steam Radiator.
- Temperature ranges of the first 3 heating sources when Underground at -10° C
-
The range for the Campfire at 0 C -
The range for the Bonfire at 0 C -
The range for the Heating Stove at 0° C
1 This will change depending on the amount of space you are heating, these images were in a 70ish tile space for the test.
As temperatures continue to plummet, the overall radii provided above will shrink by approximately 1, starting at 0° C and continuing as the weather gets colder (Note: More information is needed to determine how temperature is applied to buildings and Whiskers in relation to the temperature overlay screen). This means that placing heating elements throughout your city cannot be planned just at 10° C temperature because buildings that were safe from chilly conditions may no longer be in late winter. Make sure to give yourself some "cushion" by overlapping heating sources. An example of the effects on a campfire from -30° C to 0° C is provided in the image below.
If you find yourself in a pinch, you can place heating sources in "overdrive" on an individual basis via a toggle switch. This will double their fuel consumption but effectively increase their heating radius by 2. This can help stay off the extra cold days if you can sustain the extra fuel consumption. Campfires cannot be put in overdrive.
Farms can continue to function during the winter if they are heated properly, but you may not want to waste the additional fuel. If you choose not to heat Farms, be sure to unassign the associated farmers. They will go to their place of work every day and sit in the snow after harvesting any salvageable crops. This can expose your Whiskers to unnecessary cold while they idle. You will not get an "idle camp" warning when farmers are sitting around during winter.
Water
Water is required at a number of different buildings in your colony. Buildings like Showers, Bathhouse, the Sifting Tower, Chemist, Steam Boiler, and Soup Kitchen all require piped water.
Water systems in the game consist of a simple mix of Water Pumps, Water Pipe, and Water Tanks at a minimum.
You need at least one Water Pump that is pumping water from the sea to create a long-term viable water system. While Water Tanks with unobstructed tanks can technically catch rain water, this only provides a slow, supplemental source of water. A single Water Pump will provide sufficient water for a good number of facilities, so do not worry about constructing multiple trying to get a few Showers online.
The key to a well functioning water system is having a few Water Tanks connected to your water system via Water Pipe. These tanks store water in greater quantities than the small reservoir each facility has within it. This allows your colony to consume water even when your Water Pump isn't working (like at night). You will want a couple of Water Tanks to start and likely will not need too many to create a sufficient "buffer" against water usage spikes.
Outside of these basic component parts, your real challenge will be running Water Pipe throughout your colony. If this is your first colony, you may not have left adequate space for this infrastructure so you may have to make difficult decisions in rearranging your colony or digging underground pipelines. Just be prepared for the fact that bringing water to your Whiskers will take some time and cost you a good chunk of Copper Bars.
Steam
Steam is used at a smaller number of buildings, but its main importance is keeping your colony warmer during the winter. Steam piped from Steam Boilers to Steam Radiators provides a continuous supply of heat that will not drown your Whiskers in smoke. It can also be used to provide luxurious baths at the Bathhouse which is the only bathing facility that can reach 4-star quality when provided with soap. Finally, steam can be used to improve the efficiency of your colony. Rail Boosters speed up your rail carts with a burst of steam and Steam Engines increase factory production rates and elevator speeds.
Whatever you intend to do with steam in your base, you will need, at the very least, a Steam Boiler, Fire Tender, Steam Pipe, and Steam Tanks.
While you can get away with one Steam Boiler for awhile, it is recommended you build 2-3 due to how they provide steam (in bursts as they consume fuel) and because fuel is manually provided by a Fire Tender. You do not want your only boiler to run out of fuel and have to wait on a Fire Tender to bring some fuel over. Unlike the Water Pump, Steam Boilers operate on their own as long as they have piped water and fuel inside.
Much like your water system, you will want some Steam Tanks to buffer any demand spikes or shortages. Steam Tanks are a little trickier to deal with than Water Tanks, so you may want to develop some new placement strategies.
Finally, the most challenging part will be running another set of piping throughout your colony. Unfortunately, Steam Pipe cannot occupy the same space as Water Pipe, so you will have to work around your existing infrastructure. Even more frustrating is the steam input on the Steam Radiator may make replacing other heating sources in dense building clusters difficult.
Don't forget to retire your old Fire Tenders once you have replaced all of your Bonfires and Heating Stoves with Steam Radiators!
Also, keep an eye on your water supply because your steam system is an extra consumer on that system as well. Every Steam Boiler producing steam is drawing water and you may have to revisit your water systems as you power your Whiskers' future with steam.
