Sandstone Biome

The Sandstone Biome is the standard starting biome in Oxygen Not Included. It is the first safe area most colonies spawn in, and it contains the basic early-game resources needed to establish food, oxygen, and power before branching out into harsher biomes.

At default settings, the biome stays at room temperature, around 19.85 to 24.85 °C. It commonly contains clean water, dirt, sandstone, sand, coal, algae, and copper ore. Naturally growing Muckroot, Mealwood, and Bristle Blossom can provide early food, while shine bugs and hatches may also be present. Players are also guaranteed access to at least five reachable tiles of Oxylite, which helps keep the starting duplicants alive long enough to research proper oxygen production. The algae in the biome is usually enough to support early oxygen generation for roughly 20 cycles or more after startup.

The Sandstone Biome is designed to be forgiving rather than rich. It gives a colony enough room to get established, but it does not provide a long-term solution on its own. Once the initial stockpile of water, algae, and nearby edible plants runs out, the colony must expand into other biomes for better industrial resources, renewable food, and more sustainable oxygen systems.

A few practical points make the biome especially important in the early game:

• Sandstone and sand are available immediately, making it easy to begin early digging and construction.
• Coal gives an early path to power through coal generators.
• Copper ore provides a small decor boost and supports basic electrical infrastructure.
• Algae and Oxylite buy time before the colony needs a permanent oxygen setup.
• Early crops such as Mealwood and Bristle Blossom make food research and ranching less urgent.
• Because it is a starting biome, it is usually the safest place to plan the colony layout before moving outward.

On many maps, the Sandstone Biome sits at the center of the starting area and is bordered by harder rock layers such as granite and igneous rock. It is not especially dangerous, but its simplicity is also its limit: it is meant to be a launch point, not a complete ecosystem. A successful colony will usually outgrow it and rely on surrounding biomes for specialized materials and renewable systems.