Genetic Ooze

Genetic Ooze is an element in Oxygen Not Included whose internal element identifier in the game's data files (solid.yaml) is listed as Creature. Objects composed of Genetic Ooze behave unusually with respect to temperature when they are first created or when they are placed into storage containers: their temperature is reset to 20 °C, the game's canonical "ideal drinking" temperature for living mass. This temperature reset applies to items and entities formed from Genetic Ooze and is observed particularly when those objects are spawned inside or stored by Duplicants and Critters.

This behavior can be used and encountered in several practical ways. Because newly created or container-stored Genetic Ooze objects initialize at 20 °C, they can act as short-term thermal buffers at that temperature whenever they are generated or moved into containers. The reset occurs immediately on spawn or on insertion into storage, not gradually over time, so moving an object into and out of a container can be used to produce items at the reset temperature. The effect is most noticeable with living-mass items and critter-related goods due to frequent spawning and containerization of those entities.

• The elementId for Genetic Ooze in the game's configuration is Creature, which is relevant when inspecting raw data files or mods that reference element identifiers.
• The temperature reset to 20 °C happens on initial spawn and when an object is placed in a container; it is not a passive ambient heat exchange with surrounding tiles.
• This mechanic has been observed and summarized from community testing and discussion and is reproducible by spawning or storing Genetic Ooze objects and checking their temperature immediately after creation or container insertion.
• Because the reset is discrete and immediate, it can be exploited for small-scale temperature control or for creating items at a predictable temperature when thermal state matters for subsequent processing.

Do not assume ongoing thermal regulation beyond the reset event: once an object leaves the spawn/container event that produced the reset, normal heat transfer rules apply and the object will subsequently exchange heat with its environment as usual.