Water Extractor

The Water Extractor is a ground building that generates water by drawing moisture from the terrain beneath it. It exists to provide water in situations where surface water is unavailable or too distant, at the cost of lower efficiency compared to dedicated pumps. Water Extractors interact with floor types and weather: different tiles grant positive or negative production affinities, and rain, fog, and sandstorms alter output. They are commonly used as backup or emergency water sources rather than primary production in settled bases.

Water Extractors are relatively slow to construct and moderately power-hungry. In modern builds they require a noticeable power input (90 power units/sec) and have a build time around 1.85 seconds. Base per-tile output values vary by floor; a neutral tile yields a base output of 1.65 water/sec per tile and a neutral extractor has an aggregate maximum of 6.6 water/sec under the original per-extractor baseline. Weather modifies output: rain adds +0.33 water/sec per tile, fog adds +0.0825/sec per tile, and sandstorms subtract -0.165/sec per tile; per-extractor totals translate to +1.32, +0.33, and -0.66 water/sec respectively. The extractor uses an internal liquid buffer and will stop pumping when that buffer or the connected conduit downstream is full.

Water Extractors respond strongly to terrain affinities. Some notable terrain interactions: certain mud tiles can provide up to +100% output when fully covering the extractor; ice or frozen tiles provide smaller but meaningful bonuses (for example, full ice coverage gives roughly +40% in practical comparisons). Conversely, most Erekir floor tiles impose a -100% affinity and make extractors nonfunctional on those tiles; crystalline Erekir floors are neutral, with red ice as a specific exception. Extractors cannot extract from liquid tiles (actual surface water) and cannot be placed entirely inside tiles that are liquid or many Erekir floor types.

Because of their design trade-offs, Water Extractors are the least efficient water source on Serpulo compared with pumps. Practical comparisons:

• They consume more power than an Impulse Pump.
• They occupy as much footprint as a Rotary Pump but produce less water than a Mechanical Pump on neutral terrain.
• Even with favorable terrain bonuses, an extractor array often requires more extractors than an equivalent footprint of Mechanical or Rotary Pumps tapping surface water.

Practical usage and placement notes:

• Prefer surface water and pumps whenever possible. Use Water Extractors only when surface water is inaccessible or too far from the consumption area.
• Place extractors downstream of more efficient water sources or behind Liquid Containers/Tanks so they remain idle until additional water is required; they will automatically conserve power when their storage is full.
• Terrain planning matters: orient schematics to maximize positive floor coverage (mud or ice) and avoid placing extractors on tiles with negative affinity, especially on Erekir maps.
• Two Water Extractors with full ice coverage (~+40% each) can support one Steam Generator and one Cryofluid Mixer with a small surplus; three extractors are usually needed on neutral ground for the same load. A single extractor on full mud coverage (+100%) can support two Steam Generators or one Cryofluid Mixer by itself.
• Because extractors may be part of layered or backup supply designs, placing tanks upstream can prevent extractors from running unnecessarily to refill downstream storage.

History and build-cost notes: early versions had different floor affinities and higher base outputs; affinities and weather modifiers were changed in later updates. Build-cost adjustments over multiple updates added and shifted resources: Lead and Graphite costs were increased, Metaglass was introduced to the cost, and copper was later added to the build cost. Achievement interactions: the Steam achievement "Inefficiency" is obtained by placing a Water Extractor partially on a water tile.

• Do not rely on extractors on maps or tiles that prohibit their function; check tile affinities before committing to large extractor-based water schemes.