Mafic Rock

Mafic Rock is a naturally occurring building material valued mainly for its relatively low Thermal Conductivity. In practice, it serves as a decent early- to mid-game insulator when better materials are scarce, especially for managing heat flow in base construction and industrial insulation.

Its main strength is that it performs well enough to stand in for higher-end insulating materials without requiring advanced processing. Mafic Rock is commonly used for Insulated Tiles and Insulated Gas Pipes, making it useful for sealing in temperature-sensitive rooms, protecting cold storage, or slowing heat transfer around hot machinery. If Insulation or Ceramic are not available in sufficient quantities, Mafic Rock is an effective substitute.

A key limitation is that Mafic Rock is not Plumbable, so it cannot be used to build Liquid Pipes. This means it cannot fill the same role in liquid transport systems that it can in gas and structural insulation. It is also described as iron-rich, but there is no way to extract Iron from it, so it should be treated as a construction resource rather than a metal source.

• Best used where thermal resistance matters more than material efficiency.
• Suitable for Insulated Tiles and Insulated Gas Pipes.
• Not usable for Liquid Pipes.
• A practical backup option when Insulation or Ceramic are in short supply.
• Its description does not translate into a usable Iron supply.

Because of its accessibility and insulating properties, Mafic Rock is especially helpful in colonies that need to expand temperature control before advanced materials are available. It is not the strongest insulator in the game, but it is one of the most convenient early substitutes for keeping heat where it belongs.