Molecular Forge

The Molecular Forge is a late-game crafting building used to transmute rare materials into even rarer advanced resources. It is primarily associated with rocket-era progression, since several of its inputs are obtained from space missions, and it serves as one of the main sources of Thermium, Plastium, Visco-Gel Fluid, Insulation, Fullerene, and Super Coolant.

The Forge works with fixed material recipes and produces output at a minimum temperature of 40 °C. Its recipes are highly specialized rather than general-purpose, and most of them convert a rare ingredient into a larger mass of a more valuable material. The known recipes are:

• 5 kg Niobium + 95 kg Tungsten = 100 kg Thermium
• 35 kg Isoresin + 65 kg Petroleum = 100 kg Visco-Gel Fluid
• 1 kg Fullerene + 49.5 kg Gold + 49.5 kg Petroleum = 100 kg Super Coolant
• 15 kg Isoresin + 80 kg Abyssalite + 5 Reed Fiber = 100 kg Insulation
• 90 kg Graphite + 5 kg Sulfur + 5 kg Aluminum = 100 kg Fullerene
• 15 kg Thermium + 70 kg Plastic + 15 kg Brackwax = 100 kg Plastium

The building has no liquid input or output piping, so Petroleum for its recipes must be delivered manually, typically by using a Pitcher Pump or Bottle Filler and transporting the resulting bottles. This makes placement and logistics important, especially for recipes that consume large amounts of Petroleum or other bulky ingredients.

Because the Molecular Forge consumes substantial power, assigning a highly skilled operator improves its efficiency. Providing a nearby light source also helps reduce operating downtime. It is best to integrate the Forge into a well-supported industrial area rather than treat it as an isolated machine, since it is meant to process expensive endgame materials and is not a building for routine mass production.

Temperature control around the Forge matters as well. Isoresin has a melting point of 200 °C, so the room containing the Molecular Forge should be kept below that threshold if Isoresin is stored nearby for crafting. Otherwise, nearby Isoresin can melt irreversibly into Naphtha, which can disrupt production planning and waste valuable material.

In practice, the Molecular Forge is most useful when the colony has already reached advanced space exploration and can reliably gather rare inputs. It becomes especially important once a colony needs Thermium for extreme-temperature equipment, Super Coolant for advanced cooling systems, or Plastium for high-end construction.