Fluids

Fluids are a resource mined from Fluid Asteroids using Asteroid Pumps. They come in nine distinct fluid colors and are used directly by machines such as the Painter and the Crystal Generator. Fluids appear on the map only in a subset of colors from Fluid Asteroids; additional colors are produced by mixing two fluid colors together. The displayed appearance of a fluid depends on the currently selected Color Mode.

Fluids are transported by Pipes, Space Pipes, or by fluid wagons on Trains. The game treats fluid mixing inputs interchangeably, and many combinations yield predictable results according to the mixing tables used by the game. There are three useful views of mixing behavior: the Standard Mixing rules, the Additional Mixing rules (which cover interactions with white, black, and uncolored fluids), and the Full Mixing Table that shows every pairwise result among the nine colors.

The nine fluid colors are the canonical fluid palette used by the game. Standard Mixing produces the typical subtractive/combination outcomes: Red + Green = Yellow, Green + Blue = Cyan, and Blue + Red = Magenta. Mixing a primary with its adjacent secondary generally returns the primary (for example, mixing Red with Magenta or Yellow returns Red). Mixing two different secondary colors with overlapping primaries or mixing a secondary with appropriate primaries can produce White. The Additional Mixing rules specify interactions involving White, Black, and Uncolored: White mixed with White becomes Black; White mixed with Black becomes Uncolored; White mixed with any primary/secondary yields the non-white input color; Black mixed with any primary/secondary yields the non-black input color; Uncolored mixed with any color yields the other input color. The Full Mixing Table enumerates every pairwise result across the nine-color set, including the behavior of White, Black (K), and Uncolored (U).

• Mining and transport: Fluids are extracted with Asteroid Pumps and must be carried with Pipes, Space Pipes, or fluid wagons on Trains to reach consuming machines.
• Consumers: Painter and Crystal Generator are primary machines that use fluids directly.
• Mixing basics: Inputs are interchangeable; combining two colors follows the game’s mixing tables (Standard, Additional, and Full Mixing Table) rather than simple additive or subtractive color blending.
• White/Black/Uncolored behavior: White+White → Black; White+Black → Uncolored; Uncolored acts as a passthrough (Uncolored + Any → the other color). White mixed with a colored fluid yields that colored fluid; Black mixed with a colored fluid yields that colored fluid.
• Display note: The visible color depends on Color Mode; consult the Color Mode comparison when exact on-screen appearance matters.

Consult the in-game mixing reference or the full mixing table for precise pairwise results when planning production chains that rely on specific fluid colors.