Having a steady and renewable source of water in Oxygen Not Included is absolutely vital to colony survival. Knowing how to find and produce water is an essential element of this complex colony sim, and one of the best ways to keep a steady supply is by filtering polluted water.
In Oxygen Not Included, water is a crucial resource that is needed for food production, oxygen production, farming, sanitation, and much more. While it may move from pools to pipes as the colony progresses, it remains the lifeblood of the colony from early game through the entire lifespan of the colony.
As the first three duplicants are printed into existence in any game of Oxygen Not Included, they will have access to at least one small pool of freshwater. In most asteroid types, this is plenty of water to begin the game using a simple pitcher pump. This will allow dupes to transport water to the microbe musher for early food production, and to algae terrariums or oxygen diffusers for early oxygen production. One of the best ways to start water production off right is to start planning while this starting water is still an available resource.
Before the first pools of water run out in Oxygen Not Included, the player should have both plumbing and sanitation researched. This will give the player access to liquid pipes, pumps, bridges, and vents, as well as the lavatory, shower, and sink. These are essential tools in water renewal.
In Oxygen Not Included, both the lavatory and the shower expel more liquid than they take in. Each lavatory takes in 5g of water per use, but it expels 11.7g, while showers use less than 1g per second for a 16-second wash, and expel approximately 16g per use. This essentially makes them polluted water machines that will always produce more volume than they consume. Since polluted water is filtered to fresh water at a 1:1 ratio, this polluted water can be filtered using a water sieve to become fresh, new water to be pumped throughout the base.
Rather than keeping a separate tank of freshwater, simply keep one polluted water tank, with the water sieve outputting directly to utilities that require fresh water. This means one pump, one large tank, and less to less liquid that needs to be cooled. In addition, once the player begins to use natural gas generators, they can be placed directly above the tank. A large tank of polluted water can be kept and continually filtered in Oxygen Not Included, and building it under a cool slush geyser ensures that new, cool polluted water is being added to the tank. This method easily supplies water to an entire base as it grows.
Oxygen Not Included is available now on PC and Macintosh OS
