In Stationeers a tablet is an empty housing with a battery. Only the cartridge inside turns it into a measuring device. This article shows which tablets and cartridges exist and what to watch when reading them. All values come from Stationeers 0.2.6428.
The two tablets
| Handheld Tablet | Advanced Tablet | |
|---|---|---|
| printer tier | 1 | 2 |
| battery slot | 1 | 1 |
| cartridge slots | 1 | 2 |
| chip slot | no | yes |
| power (switched on) | 10 J per tick | 20 J per tick, 22.5 J with a chip |
| a small cell lasts | 30 minutes | a little over 13 minutes with a chip |
| logic | Power, Error, On | plus Mode, Activate, Volume, SoundAlert |
According to the game code the power values are joules per tick of 0.5 s and run while the tablet is switched on – in your pocket too. On the Advanced Tablet, Mode selects which cartridge is shown: 0 the one from slot 1, 1 the one from slot 2.
Both come from the Electronics Printer. The simple tablet needs gold, copper and solder – so without a furnace that can make solder there is no tablet. The Advanced Tablet needs a lot more gold plus steel and electrum.
All cartridges
| Cartridge | printed in | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cartridge (Atmos Analyzer) | electronics printer | gas and air |
| Cartridge (Network Analyzer) | electronics printer | networks |
| Cartridge (Plant Analyser) | electronics printer | plants |
| Cartridge (Ore Scanner Color) | electronics printer | needs electrum, invar, constantan |
| Cartridge (Tracker) | electronics printer | |
| Cartridge (Configuration) | electronics printer | |
| Cartridge (Deep Miner) | electronics printer | for the deep miner |
| Cartridge (Access Controller) | security printer | access control |
| Ore Scanner (no colour) | no recipe | |
| GPS | no recipe |
All printable cartridges except the colour ore scanner cost the same: 1 iron, 5 gold and 5 copper, 5 seconds. Gold is the scarce resource here. You simply swap cartridges in the slot – a collection in your backpack turns one tablet into many measuring devices.
Measuring the atmosphere
What the Cartridge (Atmos Analyzer) measures depends on what you aim at, according to the game code:
| Target | measured | heading |
|---|---|---|
| nothing | the air around you | WORLD or ROOM with room number |
| pipe | the whole pipe network | PIPE NETWORK with number |
| device with its own gas space | that internal space | device name |
| gas tank storage | the canister inside | device name |
| another character | their suit air | name |
It shows the volume, pressure, temperature in °C and the amount of liquid in litres. For every gas present it then lists moles, volume and share in percent, plus symbols when it is freezing, condensing or evaporating. For gas pipes there is a value for pipe stress: it shows the liquid share in the pipe, where 2 % liquid equals 100 %. From 0.6 % liquid it turns orange, from 1.8 % red. If you aim at a part that exchanges heat, the cartridge also gives the heat it exchanges by convection and radiation.
When reading, it is almost always the partial pressure that counts: fraction times total pressure. An example: a room is at 80 kPa, with 70 % nitrogen, 20 % oxygen and 10 % carbon dioxide.
- Oxygen: 0.2 · 80 = 16 kPa – exactly the limit for full breathing efficiency.
- Carbon dioxide: 0.1 · 80 = 8 kPa – not a poison, but it takes up room that oxygen would need.
If the pressure drops to 60 kPa, only 12 kPa of oxygen is left, three quarters of full efficiency. For toxic gases: warning from 0.5 kPa, damage from 1 kPa. Even 1 % Pollutant at 100 kPa is right at the damage limit.
Checking networks
According to the game code the Cartridge (Network Analyzer) reads cable networks, and only when you aim directly at a cable – pointing at a device is not enough. It then shows the network number, three power values and the number of devices on the network:
| Value in the code | means |
|---|---|
CurrentLoad | what actually flows in the network |
PotentialLoad | what all generators and storage offer |
RequiredLoad | what all consumers request |
Below that is a list of all devices on the network with their state: on or off, own consumption or "unpowered", open or closed, and a note on error. That way you quickly find the one device that sits without power. These rules from the game code help when interpreting:
- A network only counts as supplied when supply exceeds demand. With exactly equal amounts, all normal consumers switch off.
- Normal cable carries 5,000 W, heavy cable 100,000 W, super-heavy cable 500,000 W. The weakest part of the network decides.
- What the game shows as "W" are, internally, joules per tick of 0.5 s.
Worked example: a network with two consumers at 2,000 W each and one at 1,500 W draws 5,500 W. For normal cable that is 500 W too much. Split the network or lay heavy cable. More in Power grid basics.
Checking plants
Every plant has fixed living conditions. The potato, for example, grows best around 25 °C and 75 kPa according to the game data, takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen, and needs 3,001 seconds to mature. Pollutant, volatiles and silanol harm it from 1 kPa, hydrochloric acid and hydrazine from just 0.1 kPa. The conditions of all plants are in the Plants overview.
According to the game code the Cartridge (Plant Analyser) shows how well a plant is meeting these conditions right now. You aim at a planter, a hydroponics station, or hold the plant itself. It shows:
- growth and breathing efficiency in percent, the gases it needs and the harmful ones,
- temperature and pressure: efficiency in percent, ideal range and current value,
- light: efficiency, light intensity and light stress in percent, plus a note each on whether light or darkness is lacking,
- water supply in percent.
If the plant is dead, "Dead" appears in front of its name. In the plant data, light and darkness per day carry the extra "Invert". That is about genetics: the values of a plant – water use, growth speed, the times until damage, light and darkness – lie between 75 % and 125 % of the base value depending on its genes. Normally a positive gene value raises the number; for light and darkness it lowers it. A potato with a light requirement of 300 s per day therefore needs between 225 and 375 s depending on its genes.
Tablet or fixed sensor?
The tablet is meant for spot checks. It provides no values to IC10. For anything that has to be monitored or controlled permanently there are fixed devices:
| Task | Fixed device | Key logic values |
|---|---|---|
| room air | Gas Sensor (1 W) | Pressure, Temperature, RatioOxygen … |
| pipe network | Pipe Analyzer | Pressure, Temperature, gas fractions |
| power network | Cable Analyzer | PowerPotential, PowerActual, PowerRequired |
The rule of thumb: with the tablet you find the fault, with the sensor you make sure it does not come back.
Next
- Tools at a glance: which one you need for what – all tools compared
- Atmosphere and pressure – partial pressure and limits in depth
- IC10: control a device by name – reading sensors with IC10
- Plan plant conditions: Greenhouse planner