Tar

Tar is an industrial liquid used in advanced production and weapon systems. It functions as ammunition for liquid turrets and as an input for high-tier materials such as Plastanium and Coal. Units that touch Tar receive the Tarred status effect, which alters their movement and interactions while applied. Tar is visually dark (color #313131) and can float on water.

Tar is sourced from natural Tar floor deposits and is produced from basic resources like sand, water, and occasionally Spore Pod inputs in processing chains. It feeds into downstream recipes that include Plastanium and Coal, making it a mid-tier processing fluid in logistical networks. In technical terms it corresponds to the English liquid id "oil" (liquid id #2) and has the following physical parameters reported in in-game data: explosive rating 120%, flammability 120%, heat capacity 70%, viscosity 75%, temperature 50, and a relative boiling point value of 0.65.

Practical usage and interactions:

• Tar is the ammunition for several liquid-based turrets and weapons; pipe it directly into those turrets or store it in tanks for later distribution.
• Any unit that moves through Tar becomes Tarred; use this to slow enemy infantry or to apply status layering before follow-up attacks. Be aware that Tarred units may be more vulnerable to certain effects depending on loadout.
• Tar floats on water, so surface deposits and floating pipes can be used to collect or route it across aquatic maps without sinking infrastructure.
• Because Tar has high flammability and explosive ratings, store and transport it with caution near heat sources, reactors, or explosive materials to avoid accidental ignitions that could damage nearby structures.
• Use dedicated pumping and piping infrastructure sized for its viscosity (75) to maintain throughput; higher-viscosity fluids require larger pumps or slower flow to avoid bottlenecks.
• Process Tar into Plastanium and Coal as part of mid-to-late game manufacturing chains; integrating Tar into your refineries and alloying setups is necessary to unlock certain advanced buildings and units.
• Tar’s heat capacity and temperature values affect thermal interactions in boilers or heat-dependent production—plan heat management accordingly when Tar is present in reactors or thermal systems.

Do not confuse Tar with other similarly named fluids: in some locales the names for floor Tar deposits and the liquid known in data as "oil" differ; treat Tar as the distinct industrial fluid used in the above recipes and mechanics.