Eggs of the non-selected type are also routed to this pit, where they will eventually hatch, triggering the critter detector and drowning the hatchlings before they can reach adulthood and jump out. Once there are no more critters in the pit, the mechanized door re-opens, resetting the trap. This unlocks the hatch’s final evolutionary form, better known as meat. Once inside, the critter detector closes the door above and the surface tension of the water floods the pit and drowns the hatch. This will cause the hatch to eventually path into pit B, colloquially known as an evolution chamber. If all of the stables are full, the two doors will be as shown in the screenshot instead. If any of the stables require a new breeder, the mechanized door above B will be closed and door C will be open, allowing the hatch to exit this room. Once adult hatches can jump out of A, they’ll be presented with one of two life-altering scenarios. They will be stuck until they reach adulthood and are able to jump up and out. Eggs deposited in A will incubate and eventually hatch, and the hatchlings will not be able to jump up out of the pit. The design behind this room is fairly standard. All other eggs, as well as any shells or meat, will be deposited in the chute marked B. The filter will separate out one type of egg of your choice (I use stone hatches) and deposit them in the chute marked A. I’ve labeled three points of interest A, B and C.Īny eggs, shells or meat produced in a stable will enter this chamber via conveyor and go directly to the solid filter straddling the two pits marked A and B. This is the core of the control room, where most of the action takes place. I like what I came up with, and I wanted to share my results in case it helps anyone else.Ĭhamber 2 – Hatchery and Resource Sorting I’m by no means the first to try this, and I’ve borrowed and built upon bits from several other designs. Even so, I thought it’d be fun to automate as much as possible about the ranching process, ideally everything but the grooming. I tend to have extra supplier/runner dupes in the main base, and my ranchers will chip in and haul goods once all the critters are groomed. In my colonies I’ve never had issues with dupe labor using that approach. Before I started experimenting on my own I generally used the ‘Francis John’ stable design: two feeders, a bin for storage, and limited to no automation. Right up front I’ll say that this whole guide might be a solution in search of a problem. I rely on it so much that I always take a ranching dupe as one of my first three to get running as fast as possible. Having an essentially infinite supply of coal (thus power) and barbecue (thus calories and morale) relatively early in the game seems too good to pass up. Ever since I discovered that you could ranch critters, hatches have become a core component of my ONI playstyle.