Early Game Guide: Boilers, Water, Biomass & Research Tips

Early game in FOUNDRY is about establishing stable basic utilities (heat, water, and power), securing reliable fuel and crafting materials, and setting up low-complexity production so your base can expand into mid-game research. This guide covers the core early-game systems you will use repeatedly: boilers and water supply, biomass handling, fuel use, and practical tips for keeping pipe complexity and resource flow manageable.

Boilers and water basics

• Boilers are your primary early-game heat and steam producers; each Boiler requires a continuous input of 20 L/s of water through a side port. Ports are bidirectional, so you can daisy-chain Boilers by piping water through one into the next.
• Connect Boilers with standard Pipes or place them adjacent; either arrangement supplies the required flow as long as the pipe network can deliver the volume.
• Pipe Intakes are how you obtain raw water: a submerged Pipe Intake provides 30,000 L/min (500 L/s). One intake can therefore support up to 25 Boilers at full input (25 × 20 L/s = 500 L/s).
• A single Pipe Network has a hard throughput cap of 36,000 L/min (600 L/s). To fully load a Pipe Network beyond one intake’s 500 L/s, add a second intake. Two intakes allow up to 30 Boilers (600 L/s / 20 L/s).
• Each Boiler contributes to Pipe Network complexity: under the Complexity system, every Boiler adds 5 complexity (equal to its width) to the pipe network it is attached to. Plan layouts to avoid exceeding complexity limits on a single network by splitting production across multiple networks or using separate intake groups.

Practical layout tips:

• Keep intake(s) near the water source and route a primary trunk pipe to Boiler arrays to minimize branches that add complexity.
• If you plan many Boilers, distribute them across multiple Pipe Networks rather than forcing one network over its complexity or throughput limits.
• Use daisy-chaining when space-constrained, but remember each Boiler still consumes 20 L/s from the network.

Biomass: fuel and crafting material

• Biomass is the primary, flexible resource early on. Its two main roles are:
  • Fuel for Biomass Burners and other early machinery until you unlock more advanced generators through Research Servers.
  • A crafting component for a variety of early items (office furniture, explosives, decorative blocks, and tools).
• Prioritize gathering and stockpiling biomass in the opening minutes: it smooths power and heating cycles and enables essential crafting without needing high-tier materials.
• When deciding between burning biomass for energy versus reserving it for crafting, consider upcoming research goals. If a Burner Generator or other efficient power source is near completion, conserve biomass for crafting; otherwise use it to avoid energy shortfalls.

Early power and research progression

• Your early-game power mix will typically be low-capacity, short-term solutions (Biomass Burners, small generators). Use them to run essential systems and to power Research Servers.
• Research progression unlocks higher-tier power and production options. Focus early research on power efficiency and the Burner Generator if your layout depends on long-term biomass burning; otherwise aim at unlocks that reduce resource strain or enable more efficient fuel sources.
• The "Science Tier 5 Expansion" indicates more late research content exists; in early game, aim to complete the research necessary to reach more reliable generators before committing to large-scale biomass consumption.

Practical early-game checklist

• Place at least one submerged Pipe Intake in a reliable water source and connect it with a Pipe to your base.
• Build Boilers in small, modular arrays sized to your intake capacity (one intake → up to 25 Boilers; two intakes → up to 30 Boilers per network capacity). Track both throughput and complexity limits.
• Start collecting biomass immediately and decide whether to allocate it primarily as fuel or crafting material based on your upcoming research targets.
• Monitor Pipe Network complexity as you add Boilers and other pipe-attached machinery; split networks when necessary.
• Invest early research into more efficient power generation to transition away from biomass burners and free biomass for crafting.

This setup gives a stable thermal and power foundation while keeping resource and pipe complexity manageable during the crucial early expansion phase.