Life support, food and water
Life support is the set of supplies and machines that keep a crew alive, which means air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat.
26 numbers, 6 with an outside source
- A0 numbers at grade A
- B1 numbers at grade B
- C0 numbers at grade C
- D5 numbers at grade D
- E20 numbers at grade E
Functionality
3 topics
Food and water
- Each person aboard uses 2 kg of food and 4 kg of water a day.
- The Supply department and Life Support modules cut that, by up to 60% together.
- SHIPYARD > RESUPPLY fills both for a fee, the same way REFUEL does.
- Run either dry in transit and each hand loses 6 morale a day without food, or 10 without water.
- Health suffers after 3 dry days of water, or 21 of food.
- Low morale feeds the same desertion risk that unpaid wages do.
- Under the Gentle setting both last twice as long, and going without wounds people but never kills them.
Life support
- Neither side aims at LIFE SUPPORT. A round that gets through the plate gets inside instead.
- There it can wreck cargo, kill a crewmate, hole the reactor plant or vent a compartment.
- Otherwise it takes 8 off life support.
- At 40 or less life support fails.
- Every 20 s it stays down, bad air can kill a hand at 15%, unless GENERAL QUARTERS has the crew suited.
- While it is down or its air plant is cut, your guns lay wider and every hand loses morale every 20 s.
- Life support is mended before every fight.
Morale and readiness
- Each crew member has morale, and the crew as a whole has readiness. Both change how well they work.
- Set STANDING ORDERS in the Captain's Quarters to manage them.
- GENERAL QUARTERS | the crew stands at battle stations in suits, so nobody suffocates if a round holes life support.
- It costs each hand 3 morale and adds 3 fatigue on every travel day it stands.
- A burn of 1 g or less clears 5 fatigue a day, so GENERAL QUARTERS alone never exhausts a hand.
- Add a hard burn and a hand is EXHAUSTED at 60 fatigue. Suits still cannot save a hand a round actually reaches.
Values
26 numbers: 1 B, 5 D, 20 E
Each value is read from the game code. Sort by any column heading, or filter by grade or by a word.
| Quantity | Value | Grade | Source | Why this value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food one person eats in a day | 0.002 tonnes | DAnalogy | Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Food (USS Wyoming figures) | The mirror gives about 2.3 kg of food per person per day from the USS Wyoming, and 0.62 kg of dry food from NASA. The game rounds the Wyoming figure. |
| Water one person uses in a day | 0.004 tonnes | DAnalogy | Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Eeking Out | The mirror gives 2.72 kg of water a person a day as a bare minimum and 3.56 kg for drinking and food. The game keeps water at twice the food mass, with no hygiene water. |
| Supply department cut to the daily burn, per competence point | 0.005 fraction of the burn | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose this cut for the Supply department, modeled on the Medical department's reductions. No source sets a rate for crew thrift. |
| Most the Supply department can cut alone | 0.4 fraction of the burn | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose a cap so crew skill alone never brings consumption near zero, and so modules stay worth fitting. |
| Life Support module cut to the burn, per rating point | 0.02 fraction of the burn | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose how much each rating point of a Life Support module saves. The mirror gives no module ratings. |
| Most the crew and the modules can cut together | 0.6 fraction of the burn | EAuthored | Atomic Rockets, celss, Controlled Ecological Life Support System (opening) | The mirror says a recycling system under 100 percent is still useful and over 75 percent is a huge help. The game chose a lower ceiling for play. |
| Rating of the largest Life Support module (LS-6) | 10 rating points | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose a ladder of ratings for the six Life Support modules, priced a little above radiation shielding. No source rates a recycler. |
| Burn multiplier under the Gentle setting | 0.5 times the burn | EAuthored | No source recorded | coldweld chose this difficulty option on 2026-09-24 so food and water run out slower. It has no source. |
| Morale each hand loses per day with no food | 6 morale | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose a morale loss for a hungry crew. The mirror and shelf give no morale cost for a short ration. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Morale each hand loses per day with no water | 10 morale | EAuthored | Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Eeking Out | The game chose a morale loss steeper than hunger's, because the mirror ranks thirst as dangerous faster than hunger. The size is authored. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Dry days of water before harm starts | 3 days | BSecondary | Survival without water and food: the rule of threes, Wikipedia, Rule of threes (survival), the rule and the Water section | The rule of threes says one can survive three days without drinkable water, and the game uses 3 days. Wikipedia cites a BBC Future article for the water section (not opened). Wikipedia also says the figure likely comes from a 1944 test that stopped at 3 and 4 days. So 3 days is a cautious start of harm, not a time of death. |
| Dry days of food before harm starts | 21 days | DAnalogy | Survival without water and food: the rule of threes, Scientific American, survival without food; Wikipedia, Rule of threes | Scientific American reports 21 days of total starvation with sips of water, and hunger strikers who survived 28 to 40 days. The game uses 21 days, the low end of documented survival. Wikipedia states three weeks but gives no source for it. The sources give survival times, not the day harm starts, so the game applies the survival figure as the harm line. |
| Health the captain loses per day past the water limit | 12 health points | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose a daily health loss for the captain, who has no crew roster, so thirst turns dangerous in about a week. No source gives a rate. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Health the captain loses per day past the food limit | 4 health points | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose a daily health loss for the captain, smaller than thirst's. No source gives a rate. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Fatigue each hand gains per travel day at GENERAL QUARTERS | 3 fatigue | EAuthored | US Navy training manual, "Damage Control" (chapter 12), What it says (General quarters, 12-8) | The game chose a daily strain so a long run at general quarters exhausts a hand in weeks. The mirror and the Navy manual give no suit fatigue rate. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Life support integrity at which the air fails | 40 integrity points | EAuthored | Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, carbon dioxide in the air (percent list) | The game tracks air as an integrity score, so no source gives a threshold. The mirror gives only carbon dioxide effects: drowsiness at 1 percent, unconsciousness at 8 percent. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Life support integrity at which the warning shows | 60 integrity points | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose where the warning shows, so the captain sees the air failing before it fails. No source gives a threshold. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Integrity a round that gets inside takes off life support | 8 integrity points | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose the same hit size as the radiators, so both tracks wear at one rate. |
| Aim penalty from bad air, crew not suited | 15 accuracy points | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose an aim penalty lighter than the overheat penalty, because bad air panics a crew and does not cook its guns. No source gives a figure. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Aim penalty from bad air, crew suited | 7 accuracy points | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose a smaller penalty for a suited crew, because a sealed suit keeps breathing while the hull air fails. No source gives a figure. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Morale each hand loses per round while the air is out | 4 morale | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose a morale drain for each combat step with the air out. No source gives a figure. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Chance per round that bad air catches a hand, crew not suited | 0.15 probability | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose the chance that bad air catches a hand in one combat step. The mirror gives no casualty rate for a failing air plant. The sources are silent on this figure. |
| Length of one combat round | 20 seconds | EAuthored | No source recorded | The game chose one combat step length, shared by both fights. No source sets a step. |
| Food one hull hand eats in a day (the hull sizing) | 0.002 tonnes | DAnalogy | Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Food (USS Wyoming figures) | The mirror gives about 2.3 kg of food per person per day from the USS Wyoming, and 0.62 kg of dry food from NASA. The game rounds the Wyoming figure and sizes the tanks with it. |
| Water one hull hand uses in a day (the hull sizing) | 0.004 tonnes | DAnalogy | Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Eeking Out | The mirror gives 2.72 kg of water a person a day as a bare minimum and 3.56 kg for drinking and food. The game keeps water at twice the food mass, with no hygiene water. |
| Fatigue at which a crew is crippled | 60 fatigue points | EAuthored | No source recorded | Chosen as one threshold shared by travel, where fatigue accrues, and combat, where a gassed crew starts a fight. No source gives a fatigue scale. |
Real-world basis
6 points
- A crew uses supplies by the person and by the day, so a store is counted in person-days.
- A person needs food, water and oxygen every day, and the water is the largest share by mass.
- A ship that recycles part of its water and air carries less for the same trip.
- No ship recycles all of it, so a small top-up of water is still needed.
- Air is the fast killer: too much carbon dioxide or too little oxygen disables a person in minutes.
- A pressure suit and a sealed compartment give a crew time when the air plant fails.
Game and reality differences
6 points
- The game keeps one number for water, 4 kg a hand a day against 2 kg of food. The source figures differ: about 2.72 to 3.09 kg of drinking water, and 26 kg more for hygiene. The game's travel notes ('water and food') keep that ratio so raw kilograms do not enter the economy.
- Hygiene water is not built. The game's design notes list it as a mirror finding the game does not yet use.
- Air is not a store. The game treats it as per-fight equipment because air fails in minutes, so the game tracks an integrity score and not oxygen mass.
- Bad air is rolled once per 20 second round as a chance to lose a hand, and GENERAL QUARTERS shuts that roll off whole. The real harm depends on the leak and the volume, which the game does not model.
- Life support is mended before every fight (index line). This is a choice for pacing, and the game gives no source for it.
- The Gentle setting halves the burn and removes death from thirst and hunger. This is a difficulty option and has no source.
Source absences
9 points
- Atomic Rockets does not provide values for the following:
- Days a person lives without water or food. Other sources supply both values.
- Morale cost of a short ration. 6 morale a day is authored.
- Morale cost of a dry tank. 10 morale a day is authored.
- Effect of suits on morale and fatigue. 3 fatigue a day at general quarters is authored.
- No source on the shelf provides values for the following:
- Life support integrity at which the air fails. 40 is authored.
- Life support integrity at which the warning shows. 60 is authored.
- Chance that bad air harms a hand. 15% a round is authored.
- The Navy damage control manual does not provide values for the following:
- Time or price of a repair.
- Air supply of a suited crew, beyond the hood and apparatus times.
Sources
9 documents
- Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Introduction (person-day accounting): Consumables are counted in person-days, so a store of 30 person-days feeds 30 people for one day or one person for 30 days. "A useful accounting device for consumables is the "man-day" or "person-day"." (all uses)
- Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Eeking Out: A bare-minimum cruise needs about 0.98 kg of water, 2.3 kg of food and 0.0576 kg of air per person per day. The food holds another 1.72 kg of water, so a person needs about 2.72 kg of water in all. (all uses)
- Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Food (USS Wyoming figures): A navy crew of 150 on a 90 day cruise carries food at about 2.3 kg per person per day. The page says NASA recommends 3.09 liters of water per person per day. (all uses)
- Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, alternate figures from the NC State document: Daily need per person: 0.83 kg oxygen, 0.62 kg freeze-dried food (2.48 kg with water added), 3.56 kg of water for drinking and food, and 26.0 kg of water for hygiene. (all uses)
- Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Breathing Mix: NASA gives about 0.835 kg of oxygen used and 0.998 kg of carbon dioxide breathed out per astronaut per day. A person in vacuum is unconscious in about 10 seconds, and lung damage is fatal in about 90. (all uses)
- Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, carbon dioxide in the air (percent list): Carbon dioxide at 1 percent causes drowsiness and at 8 percent causes unconsciousness. Above 8 percent it kills. (all uses)
- Atomic Rockets, celss, Controlled Ecological Life Support System (opening): A closed system recycles air, water and food. A system under 100 percent is still useful, and the page calls over 75 percent a huge help. (all uses)
- Atomic Rockets, lifesupport, Water: Two authors figured each person needs 0.1 to 0.25 liters of water a day to make up for reclamation losses. NASA assumes 3.909 kg of potable water and 26 kg of hygiene water a person a day. (all uses)
- US Navy training manual, "Damage Control" (chapter 12), What it says (General quarters, 12-8) and Life support and fire (12-14 to 12-24): General quarters is the highest state of readiness and an all-hands duty. The chapter lists an escape hood with 15 minutes of air and breathing apparatus rated for about 30 to 45 minutes. (all uses)