How To Build Every Scientist Building In Steamworld Build

You’re almost to the end now! The Scientists are the final above-ground Steambot type in Steamworld Build, and once you overcome their challenges, you’re set to beat the game.

That doesn’t mean it’ll be any walk in the dusty, cactus-filled park. These Steambots are even more picky and expensive than the Aristobots. You’re going to need tons of resources and even more money to build these complicated constructions. Here’s everything you need to know.

Maglev Road

The third and final road option is the Maglev Road. This road option will increase the range that Service buildings can reach up to 42 tiles.

This is also the fastest option for delivery bots. So, given its relatively expensive resource cost, this option is best saved for industrial zones with many deliveries.

It doesn’t use one Plastic and Sheet Metal per tile. Instead, it requires one additional Plastic for every eight tiles you build and one additional Sheet Metal for every 12.

Scientist Residential

If you thought the Aristobots were picky, then buckle up. Scientists are the last type of Steambot in the game, and their high cost, complicated needs, and large tax contribution make that clear.

Like all Residential buildings, the Scientist Residential works differently from other building types. Instead of being built outright, you have to upgrade an existing Aristobot building while at 100 percent Satisfaction. Instead of costing money or steambots, they provide more money and steambots.

They also come with an upgrading system of needs. With each new milestone, those needs become more complicated. Satisfying those needs, however, will reward you with more taxes and Scientists. This table organizes these upgrades accordingly.

It’s important to note that some of these requirements are consumed resources. This means that some of that resource is depleted every cycle, and a steady supply is required to keep them happy.

This table outlines each resource, how much is consumed, what makes more, and how many Residentials a single fully operational refinery building can support.

Due to the imprecise nature of how Steamworld Build presents its information, these numbers are estimates. You might find slightly different rates in your own game, especially at higher populations.

Retrofit Shop

Every tier of Steambot has its own resource they’re associated with. For Scientists, it’s the Vectron Part. Most Scientist building requires at least a few of them to be built.

Vectron Scrap can only be found in the Crackling Depths, though it can be found in abundance. Even so, you’ll want to establish a Vectron Scrap Extractor as soon as you can.

University

The first Service building for Scientists, the University does what all service buildings do: provide Scientist Satisfaction.

They also give you a taste of how expensive the rest of the buildings will be.

Lab Equipment Manufacturer

This one one of a handful of Refinery buildings based around keeping Scientists happy.

While the recipe calls for Plastishrooms and Glassware, the in-game building description says it asks for Glass Wool instead. This is a typo.

Lab Equipment is a consumed resource, with 0.08 of them being consumed for every Scientist Residential every cycle. With that in mind, one fully running building can support up to 25 Residentials.

Sparkling Diesel Manufacturer

Scientists won’t settle for normal Diesel that Aristobots drink. They need more. This Refinery building combines it with Gas to make Sparkling Diesel, a Scientist Satisfaction resource.

This isn’t so bad if you have extra Diesel from your Aristobot resources. If you don’t, however, you’ll be stuck making a second Diesel production line, which is long and demanding.

Scientist Residentials consume 0.07 Sparkling Diesel for every building every cycle. So one Sparkling Diesel Manufacturer can support up to 14 Residentials.

Large Stuff Collider

A play on the Large Hadron Collider, this Service building simply provides more Scientist Satisfaction. Be sure to keep it near your housing district.

Oil Paint Factory

This Refinery building exists purely to supply a specific resource to another Refinery building: the Art Studio. Build one to accompany your Art Studio and forget about it.

Art Studio

The Art Studio produces the last consumed resource for Scientists. Art is an inconvenient and somewhat expensive resource to produce. But it’s necessary for achieving 100 percent Satisfaction.

If you need to save time and resources, consider buying a handful for Art from the Train Station instead.

You need at least 80 Scientists to support both this and the Oil Paint Factory. If you have Items that reduce workforce demand, this is a good one to use them on.

Observatory

The Observatory does you the disservice of requiring the most Vectron Parts of any building. It is a Service building, though, requiring no input after it’s been built.

It also provides a rather sizable boost to the Scientist population, increasing the number by eight for every Residential it reaches. This makes it a valuable building to build as soon as you can.

Rocket Fuel Processing Plant

There are a few ways this Refinery building differs from all other buildings in the game. The first is that the resulting product is only ever used for the Rocket, a narrative component.

It’s also the only building to require Jetshrooms. This farmed material is grown in the mines on Fertile Soil, just like Plastishrooms. You’ll unlock both construction options at the same time: Milestone 19.

The Rocket Fuel Processing Plant has one additional requirement: It only operates when all Scientists have 100 percent Satisfaction.

Due to the high cost and lack of non-story importance, we recommend waiting until after you’re scientists are fully satisfied and you have a good stockpile of Jetshrooms before building this one.