Biobot Builder

The Biobot Builder is a story trait building that appears in a recovered Gravitas-style room. When first discovered, it is inactive and must be manually activated by a Duplicant through the building interface before it can begin production. Once running, it can manufacture Biobots for a steady supply of basic labor, provided it receives the required inputs.

The building is 5 by 4 tiles and has gas input and output ports, plus an Automation input. It can store up to 1800 kg of Steel. To create the first Biobot, it must be fed 300 kg of Steel and 9,850,000 Zombie Spores in gas form. Half of the required spores are already present when the building is restored, so only the remaining amount needs to be supplied. Gas can be piped in through the input; the builder filters out Zombie Spores at up to 10,000 germs/s and vents the remaining gas from its output without consuming the gas itself. Steel and spore delivery are independent, so both can be supplied at the same time.

A Duplicant with Advanced Medical Care is required to remove the finished Biobot from the builder and complete the first construction. After that, the building remains active and can be used to produce additional Biobots, each time consuming the same amount of spores and Steel.

Biobots are basic robots similar to Rovers, but with Steel bodies that let them function in hostile environments. They can traverse ladders, jump up two tiles, and cross one-tile gaps. They are able to seek out errands, but only a limited set of tasks. Unlike Duplicants, their attributes never improve, so they usually work more slowly. Their main advantage is that they do not have outside needs and can keep working uninterrupted until their battery runs out. They are also unaffected by environments that are dangerous to Duplicants, including underwater areas, Vacuum, Magma Biomes, and high-radiation zones.

Biobots can:

• dig soft materials
• construct any building unlocked with Novice Research
• collect from a Pitcher Pump and supply a Bottle Emptier
• perform Supply and Storing errands

Biobots cannot:

• dig anything requiring Hard Digging or higher
• construct anything requiring Advanced Research or higher
• operate buildings
• mop fluids
• disinfect or repair
• attack critters
• uproot plants

Each Biobot has 10 cycles of energy. When that energy is depleted, it dies and drops its pod, which is automatically marked for deconstruction. Deconstructing the pod returns the full 300 kg of Steel used to make it. This makes the builder effectively recyclable, though ongoing operation still requires power for gas handling and occasional Duplicant labor. One reported method of reducing operating cost is to loop the gas exhaust back into the intake until the gas is stripped of its Zombie Spores, then replace it with fresh spore-bearing gas.

A Biobot’s pilot is a variant of the Morb, and there is a small chance that a newly built Biobot will gain the “Watched Bot Never Boils” status effect. When this happens, it only moves and functions while not being observed; if selected, it will show as idle, but it keeps any materials it is carrying and resumes its previous task once out of sight. There are also known quirks where Biobots can operate with an empty battery, can be picked up by Sweepy, and may keep carried materials if their current errand is cancelled. If a Biobot dies while carrying liquids, the liquids spill onto the floor.