Residence Sector

The Residence Sector is a high-capacity accommodation area within the GATE Cascade Research Facility, built for staff who needed to remain onsite for extended periods. It was constructed over pre-existing mining accommodations, then extensively refitted and reopened in late 1979. In practice, the sector serves as a home away from home for researchers and other personnel, with shared dormitories, executive housing, recreation facilities, and even a shopping district. It is often simply referred to as the Residences.

By the time the player reaches the area, the sector has been overtaken by an unnatural cold caused by a large perforation above it, creating an extreme thermic differential. The cold makes it impossible to approach safely without proper protection, and many GATE staff are found frozen in their final moments. The weather has also affected local fauna: Peccaries and Pests have adapted by growing fur with properties similar to the Yeti. The sector is also tied to the late-game conflict in the area, with the Gatekeepers making a final attempt to use the Dark Lens here, while pockets of Order elite forces remain isolated in different locations.

The Residence Sector contains several distinct areas:

• Residences, a dormitory-like building where many of Cascade’s researchers lived, usually two to a room, though some staff had private rooms.
• Executive Residences, connected by a large bridge and used as offices and luxury dormitories for higher-ranking personnel.
• Athletics, which includes a football field, a pool, and a hot tub.
• Fragments, broken pieces of locations displaced into space, including portions of the Shopping District and Botanical Wing.

Several named NPCs are associated with the area, including Hasta Tria, Abe Stern, Janet Ross, Albert Cahn, Moira Shepherd, Nibbles, and Ulrich Thule. The Fragments also contain additional characters such as Lenora Riggs, Elanor Newman, Jimmy Sanders, Sister of the Unlost, and Mage of the Unlost.

Hostile presence in and around the sector includes Gatekeepers, Order forces, and other dangers tied to the surrounding environment. The upper floors of the Residences are patrolled by Bigfoot and are inaccessible until the vortex has been subdued. The area can also contain unique enemy spawns and items even in dorms that appear completely locked.

A few practical notes stand out:

• The sector’s cold is severe enough that, with the area’s environmental penalties, +2 additional Cold Resistance is needed to survive there.
• Movement-based equipment such as the Jetpack cannot be used until the story has been completed.
• Some locked dorm rooms still contain unique loot and enemies; players can reach them by bridging along the exterior, breaking the grated windows, and clipping inside with either a Teleporter Pad or a Makeshift Toilet.
• During gameplay, the Executive Residences are blocked by an ice wall that must be melted to proceed.
• The pool in the Athletics area is drained on arrival and contains a large device that must be activated to subdue the vortex over Residential.