Critter

Critters are the colony’s non-Duplicant creatures. They occupy a single tile, can crawl through narrow spaces, and are a major source of renewable resources, food, and other byproducts once domesticated. Critters appear in both the base game and Spaced Out, and most species share a core life cycle: they grow from babies to adults, lay eggs, and have a limited lifespan. Juveniles take 5 cycles to mature, while Morbs are unusual in that they do not have a normal life cycle, and Gassy Moos do not lay eggs.

Wild critters do not need food, but once domesticated they begin consuming calories and will starve if not fed after a number of cycles. Tamed critters lay tamed eggs, and babies do not starve. Happy and tamed critters provide the best resource output, while wild, glum, and glum tamed critters produce progressively less. In practical terms, critter ranching is a major mid- to late-game economy, since the same species can be used for meat, refined materials, fertilizer, power-related byproducts, or specialty resources depending on how it is raised.

A few general behaviors apply to most species:

• Most critters die when exposed to temperature extremes, although the exact survivable range depends on the species.
• Most can survive in any atmosphere, including vacuum, but they will drown in liquids; Pacus and Pokeshells are notable exceptions.
• Critters cannot pathfind on ladders, but they can pass through opened pneumatic doors and walk across horizontally placed open doors.
• If a tile is built on top of them, or they are left idle in a closing door, they can become confined.
• They may arrive as care packages from the Printing Pod, with exceptions such as Morbs and Gassy Moos.

Many critters also have species-specific movement and production quirks. Hatches burrow in soft ground during the day if possible. Shine Bugs float and provide light, decor, and radiation. Pips plant seeds and can interfere with storage bins, while Cuddle Pips help with incubation. Dreckos cling to surfaces and roam the perimeter of enclosed spaces. Pufts follow contaminated air and produce slime. Pacus require water and can only be caught with a Fish Trap. Slicksters follow carbon dioxide and produce crude oil or petroleum. Shove Voles burrow and eat regolith on land. Morbs can spawn from overfilled outhouses and emit polluted oxygen unless in high-pressure gas.

In Spaced Out, additional critters expand these roles further. Plug Slugs generate power when they hang from the ceiling at night, Divergents boost plant growth, Ionizing Bugs produce radiation, and Beetas harvest uranium ore and convert it into enriched uranium. Understanding a critter’s diet, output, and environmental needs is essential for turning wild wildlife into a stable ranching system.