Guide to Xenobiology
Xenobiologists are in charge of the creation, care, and eventual culling and harvesting of slimes, which are dangerous to handle without the right equipment. Slimes yield slime plorts (also called extracts) when processed; injecting reagents into a plort triggers reactions. The in-game book Slime plorts and reactions lists all plort reactions and links to this guide.
Familiarize Yourself
You and your slimes are typically located in a remote area referred to as Xenobiology.
- The Lab: Located behind the main airlock. Contains multiple containment cells.
- Containment Cells: Each cell usually has a disposals chute to safely give food to slimes and a lockdown button to shutter the glass.
- Layout Tip: Use main cells when possible; isolation cells often lack the disposals/lockdown infrastructure.
- Slime compresser: Machinery that processes slimes (alive or dead) into plorts. Insert a slime via grab (neck grip) or MouseDrop. After a short delay, the slime is destroyed and one plort is produced per core the slime had (default 1, up to 3 if given a slime steroid). This is the primary way to harvest plorts.
Get Equipped
Essential Tools
| Item | Purpose | Pro-Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Xenobio baton (Vesalius-Andra xenobio baton) | Primary Culling Tool | Highly Recommended. A stun baton designed against slimes. When switched on and used on a slime, it triggers instant death (no damage ticks), leaving the body intact. Process the corpse in the slime compresser to obtain plorts. Uses charge (125 per hit); no cell included by default—bring a small cell. |
| Core Stopper Gun ("Ranch" core stopper gun) | Ranged Culling | Superior Control. Fires a beam that is harmless to non-slimes. On hit, a slime dies instantly with no body destruction. Process the corpse in the slime compresser for plorts. Uses 20 charge per shot; accepts small cells. Research design: Combat tech. |
| Fire extinguisher | Emergency Kill | Last Resort Only. Water is a slime weakness but is highly ineffective for culling: slow damage, slipping hazards, and often multiple refills. Use only in emergencies when specialized tools are unavailable. |
| Syringe / Dropper | Reagent Injection | Used to trigger reactions in slime plorts (typically 1u per reaction unless noted). |
| Welder & Mask | Maintenance | Essential for mending cracks in cell windows. |
Optional Gear
- Medibot: (Robotics) Healing if the lab is far from Medical.
- Temperature gun: (R&D) Cold setting damages slimes; slower than xenobio tools and can affect the environment.
- Slime steroid (Purple plort + Plasma): Apply to a baby slime to raise its core count to 3. Each such slime then yields up to 3 plorts when processed in the compresser.
- Extract enhancer (Slime steroid jar): Apply to an unused plort to give it 3 uses instead of 1. Cannot be used on already-enhanced or already-used plorts.
Slime Biology (Mechanics)
Life Stages
- Baby slime: Default state. maxHealth = 80, max nutrition = 1000. Can evolve into an adult when growth conditions are met.
- Adult slime: Evolved from baby. maxHealth = 150, max nutrition = 1200. Can reproduce by splitting into four baby slimes.
Death and Harvesting
- Baby slime death: When a baby slime is killed (e.g. xenobio baton or Core Stopper), it leaves a corpse. It does not drop plorts on the ground; you must place the corpse (or a live slime) into the slime compresser to produce plorts. The compresser yields one plort per core (1 by default, 3 if the slime was given a slime steroid).
- Adult slime "death": If an adult slime is killed without being gibbed, it does not die normally. Instead it regresses to a baby slime (same colour) and is revived, often in a rabid state. No plorts are produced. To harvest plorts from adults, use the slime compresser (grab and insert) so they are processed into plorts directly.
Cores (Plorts per Slime)
- Each slime has a cores value (default 1). Slime steroid (baby only) sets it to 3.
- The slime compresser creates one plort of the slime’s colour per core, then deletes the slime.
- Surgical core extraction exists: on a dead slime, perform the slime core extraction surgery steps (cut flesh → cut innards → saw core) to remove one core at a time as a plort; the slime can be left with 0 cores (dead, no plorts left).
Nutrition and Growth
Slimes have four nutrition thresholds. Values below are for baby / adult.
- Max nutrition: 1000 / 1200 — cap; slimes cannot store more.
- Grow nutrition: 800 / 1000 — above this, the slime can grow (baby → adult) or reproduce (adult → split).
- Hunger nutrition: 500 / 600 — below this, the slime is considered hungry and more likely to hunt/feed.
- Starve nutrition: 200 / 300 — below this, the slime is starving; it will prioritise feeding and may lose Friends.
Growth and Reproduction
- Every life tick there is a 15% chance the slime loses 1 + (1 if adult) nutrition.
- When nutrition ≥ get_grow_nutrition() and amount_grown < 10, the slime spends 20 nutrition to gain 1 amount_grown (up to 10).
- When amount_grown >= 10 and the slime is not chasing a target:
** Baby: Can Evolve (verb) to become an adult. Resets amount_grown to 0. ** Adult: Can Reproduce (verb). Splits into 4 baby slimes; colour is the same or a mutation (see Mutation table). The original is replaced by one of the four (mind/key transfer if player). New slimes inherit Friends; nutrition and powerlevel are divided.
Feeding on Victims
- Slimes can latch onto a living victim (Feedon) and drain life. They must be adjacent and the victim must be valid (e.g. not already being fed on by another slime, not dead, not overly burned).
- While feeding: victim takes fire and clone damage every ~3 seconds; slime gains ~20–25 nutrition per tick, heals, and stays anchored. Feeding continues until the victim is invalid or the slime is stopped.
- Wrestling the slime off (attack_hand) has a chance to apply Discipline and break the feed. Disciplining a slime that is feeding on someone is “justified” and helps obedience.
Discipline, Obedience, and Friends
Discipline
- Discipline is a numeric value. While Discipline > 0, the slime is less likely to attack and may stop chasing.
- Each tick there is a 10% chance Discipline decreases by 1.
- Gaining Discipline: Hitting the slime with a weapon (e.g. baton) while it is attacking or feeding often increases Discipline (e.g. +1 with high probability when wrestled off someone, or when hit with force ≥ 3). Unjustified hits (e.g. attacking a calm slime) can reduce Discipline (e.g. 50% chance to set to 0 if already disciplined).
- High Discipline (e.g. ≥ 5) can help clear rabid (60% chance per tick to set rabid = 0).
Friends and Obedience
- Slimes maintain a Friends list (mob → number). Friends are not considered valid feeding targets.
- Feeding until the victim dies can add the victim’s attacker (LAssailant) as a Friend (50% if not rabid/attacked). Obedience with that person increases (e.g. “stop” and “follow” commands require sufficient Friend level).
- Starving slimes (nutrition < starve) may slowly lose Friends (1% chance per tick to reduce a random Friend’s value; remove if ≤ 0).
Voice Commands
Slimes listen for phrases containing their number or “slimes”. Requirements are Friend-based (roughly: follow > 2, stop chasing > 3, stop feeding > 4, stay > 2). If a slime is following a Leader, “follow” from someone with higher Friend value can switch Leader.
- “Slimes follow” / “follow” — slime may set you as Leader (needs Friends[you] > 2 if no current Leader).
- “Slimes stop” — stop feeding, stop chasing, or stop following (depending on state; may reduce Friends slightly if they comply reluctantly).
- “Slimes attack [Target]” — not present in code; only follow/stop/stay-style commands are implemented.
Slime Psychology and AI =
- attacked: Raised when the slime is harmed; increases hunting and can override some calm behaviour. Capped at 50; decays by 1 per tick.
- rabid: If set (e.g. Red plort + Blood, or after adult regression), the slime attacks almost anything. Cleared with high Discipline over time.
- Target / Leader: AI chooses a target to chase or a leader to follow. target_patience (e.g. 5–7 + 3 if adult) ticks down while chasing; when it hits 0 or the slime is disciplined/stunned, the target is dropped.
- holding_still: When set (e.g. “stay” command), the slime does not move for a duration (e.g. Friends[who] * 10 ticks).
- Mood: Shown on the slime’s face (e.g. angry when rabid/attacked, mischievous when chasing, pout when disciplined, sad/:3 at random).
Environment and Weaknesses =
- Cold: Body temperature is tracked. Below hurt_temperature (T0C - 40) the slime takes toxin damage (e.g. 30 per tick); at or below die_temperature (50 K) it takes massive toxin damage (200). Cold areas and cold weapons (e.g. temperature gun) can kill slimes.
- Fire: Slimes heal from fire (adjustFireLoss is negated). Do not use fire to cull.
- Movement: Slimes slow down when cold (bodytemperature < 183.222), when low health, when on hyperzine or frost oil, and when injured. They speed up at high temperature (e.g. bodytemperature ≥ 330.23).
- Power level: 0–10; affects chance to attack objects (e.g. windows) when hungry and bumping, and influences AI and dialogue. Increases with nutrition gain (prob(amount*2) per gain).
Mutation and Colours =
When a slime reproduces, each offspring has a mutation_chance (25–35%) to mutate to a different colour. The possible outcomes are given by a mutation table per colour (four options per colour). Tier structure (simplified):
- Tier 1: Grey → Orange, Metal, Blue, Purple.
- Tier 2: Purple → Dark Purple, Dark Blue, Green; Metal → Silver, Yellow, Gold; Orange → Dark Purple, Yellow, Red; Blue → Dark Blue, Silver, Pink.
- Tier 3: Dark Blue, Dark Purple, Yellow, Silver → various (e.g. back to Purple, Blue, Metal, Orange).
- Tier 4: Pink → Pink, Light Pink; Red → Red, Oil; Gold → Gold, Adamantine; Green → Green, Black.
- Tier 5: Black, Oil, Light Pink, Adamantine, etc. → often same or special (e.g. Black + Mutagen 1u → random baby slime from a weighted colour list).
Black plort + 1u Mutagen spawns a random baby slime (weighted: grey common; purple, metal, orange, blue; then dark blue, dark purple, yellow, silver; then pink, red, gold, green).
Slime Plort Reactions
Reactions occur when the listed reagent(s) are added to the plort (e.g. via syringe). Standard amount is 1u unless stated. Each reaction consumes one plort use; enhanced plorts have 3 uses.
| Colour | Plasma | Blood | Water | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey | Baby Grey Slime (spawn) | 3× Monkey Cubes | — | Blattedin → 3× Roach Cubes; Pararein → 3× Spiderlings |
| Green | 10u Mutagen | — | Genetics Purger (slime purger item) | — |
| Metal | 15 Steel + 5 Plasteel | — | 15 Plastic | Radium 5u → 3 Uranium (+ radiation in range) |
| Gold | 15 Gold bars | — | — | Nutriment 5u → 20u Honey |
| Silver | Flash + 4–6 random snacks (Bork) | — | — | Nutriment 5u → 5u Enzyme; Uranium 5u → 15 Silver + 5 Tritium |
| Blue | 15 Glass + 5 Plasma Glass | — | 10u Frost Oil | — |
| Dark Blue | Delayed Cold Snap (50 ticks, then −140 temp in 7-tile range) | — | — | Honey 5u → 1u Pure Slime Jelly |
| Orange | Mass Fire (Danger! Plasma release + hotspot) | 10u Pepper Spray | Fire/Pressure Resist Jar | — |
| Yellow | Shock Resist Jar | EMP (Danger! 3–7 range) | Slime Lights | — |
| Purple | Slime Steroid Jar | — | — | Sugar → 10u Slime Jelly |
| Dark Purple | 10 Plasma sheets | — | — | Au+Ag+U 1u each → Random tool upgrade (randomizer) |
| Red | 8u Glycerol | Enrage slimes in view (rabid) | Speed Jar | Frost Oil → 15 Osmium + 5 Metallic Hydrogen |
| Pink | — | — | — | Nutriment 5u → Docility Jar (baby); Honey 5u → Advanced Docility Jar (adult) |
| Black | — | — | — | Mutagen 1u → Random Baby Slime (weighted colours) |
| Oil | Explosion (Danger! 1–3–6) | — | Thermal Vision Mod (gun sight) | Space Lube 5u → Non-slip module |
| Light Pink | — | — | — | Plasticide 5u → Slaught-o-matic (pink); Wood Pulp 10u → Baseball bat |
| Adamantine | Golem Rune (ghost-claimable) | — | — | Pure Slime Jelly 1u → 5 Diamond + 5 Biomatter; Au+Ag+U 1u each → 5 Platinum |
Slime Protection
Match your gear to the slime and reagents:
- Bio Suits: Reduce damage from glomping and block chemical injections.
- Fire Suits: For Orange slimes or when Dark Purple reactions ignite plasma.
- Bomb Suits: When handling Oil slimes or Oil plort + Plasma.
- Radiation Suits: For Green slimes and Metal + Radium (uranium) processing.
Quick Reference
- Harvest: Use xenobio baton or Core Stopper to kill slimes (baby leaves corpse; adult regresses to baby). Put slimes (live or dead) in the slime compresser to get plorts (1 per core; steroid gives 3 cores).
- Primary goals: Maintain Grey (monkey cubes, spawns) and work toward Dark Purple (plasma sheets, tool upgrades) and other high-value colours.
- Safety: One colour per cell; use baton or Core Stopper for control; extinguisher only in emergencies.
- Plorts: Inject reagents (usually 1u) into plorts to trigger reactions; use extract enhancer for 3 uses per plort. Steroid on baby slimes gives 3 plorts per slime in the compresser.