Mechanoid creation
 | This article relates to content added by Biotech (DLC). Please note that it will not be present without the DLC enabled. |
 | This page is suggested to be moved. Destination: Friendly Mechanoids. Reason: Since this article is currently more of an overview of friendly mechs and not just their gestation, the page should be renamed. |
For the enemy structure that creates mechanoids in the Royalty DLC, see Mech assembler.
With the release of the Biotech DLC, mechanoids may be built, gestated, and controlled by a colony - specifically, by a mechanitor.
Acquisition
Mechanitors are required to build, gestate, and control your own mechanoids. Research must be done with a valid mechaniator in the colony, and only the mechanitor may initiate any of the mech creation processes. First, creating your own mechs requires the Basic Mechtech research, which in turn requires the Electricity research to be completed first.
- Mechanitors must have enough bandwidth for the mechanoid in question. The larger and more complex the mechanoid is, the more bandwidth is required.
- All mechanoids require a subcore to create, along with other materials like steel. Simple mechs use a basic subcore (from a subcore encoder), while more complex ones require a standard subcore (from a subcore softscanner) or high subcore (from a subcore ripscanner). The ripscanner in particular requires killing a human pawn to create.
- After being "built" for a tiny amount of a mechanitor's work, mechs must gestate at a mech gestator or large mech gestator. Gestation types are measured in cycles, where larger mechs require more cycles. A mech gestation processor can be installed into a mechanitor to increase the speed. When cycling is done, the mechanitor must take the mech out.
More complex mechanoids require more research. Mechanoid research in particular requires killing one of three mechanoid commanders - the Diabolus, War queen, and Apocriton, in order of progression - and studying their specific item before it is possible.
Hostile mechanoids cannot be tamed or converted in any way, even if once part of your colony. You can create every mechanoid in the game, except for the Termite and Apocriton.
Summary
Mechanitors are required to control mechanoids. A mechanitor has a limited amount of bandwidth, which controls the amount mechanoids they can command. Larger and more complex mechanoids take up more space for this purpose.
In general, mechanoids are immune to fire, toxicity, and temperature extremes, despite having a Comfortable Temperature. They are vulnerable to EMP attacks, being stunned by them. The market value of mechs, and of any weapons they carry, do count as wealth for raid point calculations, but unlike humans and animals, mechs do not provide "pawn points" in addition to their wealth. Mechanoids do not need to eat, sleep, and have no mood. However, they require power, and cause pollution in the process.
Mechs considered "light" use a regular mech recharger and mech gestator. Mechs considered "medium" or heavier use the large mech recharger and large mech gestator.
Power
Player mechanoids use a variable amount of power, depending on their state.
- They use 10% power / day when active: labor mechs doing work, or combat mechs being awake at all.
- Labor mechs use 3% power / day while idle, or not doing work.
- Mechanoids can be commanded to enter a state of dormancy, preventing power drain, instead recharging at a very slow rate of 1% power / day. Mechs that run out of power will also enter this state.
They can instead be recharged at a mech recharger or large mech recharger, which quickly recharges them - +50% power / day. This leads to a theoretical uptime of 83.3% - 5 days working, 1 day charging. The mech recharger itself creates waster. Once its waste meter is filled, toxic wastepacks are created. The amount of waste is directly correlated to the mech's bandwidth, where 1 bandwidth = 5 wastepacks.
Mechanoids can be repaired at the cost of their power, the rate dependent on which mech it is. This will restore otherwise permanent injuries. If killed, mechanoids can be ressurected at the cost of some size-dependent steel and 1 gestation cycle, so long as some part of their corpse is intact
Behavior
Mech are fully autonomous. Mechanoids assigned to work tasks have an effective Skill of 10, though most have a 50% Global Work Speed, and some of them work even slower. You cannot order mechanoid work in any direct way, though you can indirectly control it through setting zones. Specifically, mechs are put into control groups, which can then be assigned to one of four orders:
- Work: Do available work tasks. Start charging after reaching a configurable % of power left.
- Escort: Follow the mechanitor around and fight enemies. Start charging after reaching a configurable % of power left.
- Recharge: Look for available recharging stations and use them. Enter dormant self-charging if full or no available charging stations.
- Dormant self-charging: Turns off the mechs. While dormant, mechs recharge a very small amount of power (+1% power / day) without a charger or any pollution.
Control groups and orders may be changed, though the mechanitor must be controllable (not downed and not under a mental break), and their mechs must be in the same map. If they are separated, mechs will continue to do their tasks without a problem, and won't become hostile. However, control groups and their orders cannot be changed.
Mechs can also be drafted for combat, where they are controlled like any colonist. However, the mechanoid can only be ordered to move to spaces within a 25-tile radius from their master, and they can only be ordered to do other commands while in said radius. Mechs can be drafted outside of this range (but not if the mechanitor is downed), where they can defend themselves, carry out previous combat commands, or be commanded to go near the mechanitor.
Mechanoids in a caravan contribute towards its carrying capacity. They do not use power as long as they are on the world map.
If the mechanitor dies or runs out of bandwidth, mechanoids will go into the Uncontrolled state. They will not be uncontrolled if the mechanitor is downed, in a caravan, etc. After 1 game-day, or 60,000 ticks (16.67 mins) uncontrolled, they may go feral, joining the enemy mech hive. There is a MTB of 10 in-game days, with a cascade radius of 25 tiles.[Verify]
Work Speed
Most mechanoids have a natural Global Work Speed of 50%. Tunnelers have a Global Work Speed of 150%, and the agrihand and constructoid have special modifiers to work speed.
Being in range of a mech booster boosts workspeed by 50%, multiplicative. Each control sublink installed into the mechanitor increases work speed by +6%, after the mech booster. Up to 3 standard and 3 high control sublinks can be installed at a time, for a +36% boost. Work speed can be further modified by regular factors, such as light and the Manipulation stat.
For example, with a work speed of 50%:
| Control Sublinks | Work Speed | Mech Boosted |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 50% | 75% |
| 1 | 56% | 81% |
| 2 | 62% | 87% |
| 3 | 68% | 93% |
| 4 | 74% | 99% |
| 5 | 80% | 105% |
| 6 | 86% | 111% |
Bandwidth
| Mechanoid Type | Bandwidth | Wastepacks Per Recharge |
|---|---|---|
| Agrihand, Cleansweeper, Constructoid, Fabricor, Lifter, Militor, Paramedic, Scorcher | 1 | 5 |
| Legionary, Pikeman, Scyther | 2 | 10 |
| Lancer, Tesseron, Tunneler | 3 | 15 |
| Centipede blaster, Centipede burner, Centipede gunner | 4 | 20 |
| Centurion, Diabolus, War queen | 5 | 25 |
Controllable mechanoids
| Name | Class | Bandwidth | Research | Cost | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Militor | Light | 1 | Basic Mechtech | 50 Steel + Basic Subcore | 1800 |
| Lifter | Light | 1 | Basic Mechtech | 50 Steel + Basic Subcore | 800 |
| Constructoid | Light | 1 | Basic Mechtech | 50 Steel + Basic Subcore | 1800 |
| Fabricor | Light | 1 | High Mechtech | 100 Steel + High Subcore | 1800 |
| Agrihand | Light | 1 | Basic Mechtech | 50 Steel + Basic Subcore | 800 |
| Cleansweeper | Light | 1 | Basic Mechtech | 100 Steel + Basic Subcore | 800 |
| Paramedic | Light | 1 | High Mechtech | 100 Steel + High Subcore | 1800 |
| War urchin | Light | N/A | N/A | 25 Steel | 1300 |
| Scyther | Medium | 2 | Standard Mechtech | 75 Steel + 75 Plasteel + 4 Components + 1 Standard Subcore | 1200 |
| Pikeman | Medium | 2 | Standard Mechtech | 100 Steel + 40 Plasteel + 4 Components + 1 Standard Subcore | 2600 |
| Scorcher | Medium | 2 | Standard Mechtech | 80 Steel + 32 Plasteel + 3 Components + 1 Standard Subcore | 2200 |
| Lancer | Medium | 2 | High Mechtech | 75 Steel + 75 Plasteel + 4 Components + 1 Standard Subcore | 1200 |
| Legionary | Medium | 2 | High Mechtech | 100 Plasteel + 6 Components + 1 High Subcore | 2600 |
| Tesseron | Medium | 3 | High Mechtech | 110 Plasteel + 7 Components + 1 High Subcore | 1200 |
| Tunneler | Heavy | 3 | Standard Mechtech | 150 Steel + 75 Plasteel + 4 Components + 1 Standard Subcore | 1200 |
| Centipede (Gunner) | Heavy | 4 | High Mechtech | 255 Steel + 255 Plasteel + 8 Components + 1 High Subcore | 1200 |
| Centipede (Burner) | Heavy | 4 | High Mechtech | 255 Steel + 255 Plasteel + 8 Components + 1 High Subcore | 1200 |
| Centipede (Blaster) | Heavy | 4 | Ultra Mechtech | 255 Steel + 355 Plasteel + 8 Components + 1 High Subcore | 1200 |
| Centurion | Superheavy | 5 | Ultra Mechtech | 300 Steel + 200 Plasteel + 2 Advanced Components + 1 Powerfocus Chip + 1 High Subcore | 1600 |
| Diabolus | Superheavy | 5 | High Mechtech | 300 Steel + 300 Plasteel + 2 Signal Chip + 1 High Subcore | 3000 |
| War queen | Superheavy | 5 | Ultra Mechtech | 600 Steel + 300 Plasteel + 3 Advanced Components + 1 Nanostructuring Chip + 1 High Subcore | 1600 |