Radiation

Radiation refers to the effects of radioactive items and objects in the game, which cause damage to the Engineer unless a Hazmat Suit is worn. While Radiation is in effect, the screen will become slightly distorted, Geiger Counter noises will be heard and a radiation level bar will appear in the upper part of the screen.

Radioactive items and objects

Currently there are 6 types of radioactive items in game, and their radioactivity (referred as ItemDecay in the following) are all different:

Item	ItemDecay
Uranium	15
Uranium Cell	7.5
Nuclear Fuel Rod	60
Nuclear Waste	20
Uranium Node	??
Uranium Deposit	??

Due to the different stack sizes (Uranium = 100, Uranium Cell = 200, Nuclear Fuel Rod = 50, Nuclear Waste = 500), 1 stack of Nuclear Waste is the most radioactive compared to the others.

All of the items listed above glow in the dark.

Radiation levels

The formula for calculating the radiation level (intensity) is: $\frac {ItemAmount\times ItemDecay} {4 \pi x ^ 2} e ^ {(-RadiationFallOffDistance \times x)}$

Where:

• $ItemAmount =$ Amount of items. So 2 stacks of Uranium counted as 200.
• $x =$ Distance between the player and the item, in meters
• $RadiationFallOffDistance =$ 0.0125
• $ItemDecay:$ Refer to the table above.

Radiation intensity for multiple radioactive sources, such as items in different containers, are summed scalar in 3D. After the summation, the intensity level is then capped between 0.2 (0% radiation damage) and 45 (100% radiation damage). Engineer will not receive any damage below 0.2 intensity. Beyond 45, the radiation damage is capped, which at this intensity, kills the Engineer in 5 seconds or consumes the Iodine Infused Filter at a maximum rate of 1 per 12 seconds. In-between, the filter lasts longer as the radiation level reduces. The radiation bar in the game screen is capped at 26.7% radiation damage.

Items closer than 0.5 meters or in the inventory are counted as x = 0.5 meters

The above formula can be applied to the following situations:

• Items on the ground
• Items in vehicles, including trains, and even if the vehicle has fell onto the bottom of the void.
• Items in Storage Container, Industrial Storage Container and Personal Storage Box including The HUB.
• Items in Miners or other Production buildings.
• Items on Conveyor Belts.
• Items in Engineer's Inventory/hand.
• Items carried by a Lizard Doggo.
• Items in Player Crate or Loot Box

Be careful when hand-mining Uranium ores, as uranium ores in the inventory can kill the engineer quickly, due to the short distance of x = 0.5 meter. Other creatures such as Stingers or Lizard Doggos do not take damage from Radiation.

In Tier 7, a Hazmat Suit can be unlocked alongside nuclear power. Having the suit on won't stop the noises, but will protect the Engineer from Radiation damage. As the suit requires Alclad Aluminum Sheets to craft, it is advised to complete the Bayer Process Milestone before Nuclear Power.

Tips

• Beware when disposing of radioactive items as it can currently cause a glitch, in which the area acts as if a dropped piece is still there.
• If keeping one or more Lizard Doggo, keep them in a containment pen, in case one brings you Nuclear Waste. If one does, have a system or spot dedicated to taking the waste to quickly.
• There is an online calculator to calculate radiation.
• An [alternative radiation calculator]. This one allows you to upload a save game and displays the radiation map.