TerraBite Resources Guide: Energy, Water, Materials, Biomass & Data

Every decision in TerraBite flows through five resources: Energy, Water, Materials, Biomass, and Data. Buildings consume some to produce others; scanning spends Energy; research spends Data. This guide explains how the economy fits together in Phase 1 prototype — verified numbers from the live balance config.

Play TerraBite with the Guides hub open, or start with the Beginner guide if you have not finished your first session.

Starting amounts

New worlds begin with fixed stockpiles:

Biomass and Data start at zero — you unlock those economies through Bio-Reclaimer production and Data Relay extraction. Nothing in the starting crate covers research or advanced restoration buildings.

Energy also has a storage cap. New games cap at 100 Energy — the same as your starting amount. You cannot hoard scan budget beyond the cap without building Battery Nodes (+50 cap each, stackable with upgrades and research).

The five resources at a glance

Energy — action currency

Energy pays for scans (10 per sector at base rate), building placement costs, and ongoing consumption from structures like Water Extractors and Data Relays. It is produced mainly by Solar Arrays and, after research, Geothermal Taps.

Because Energy is capped, production that exceeds your cap is wasted. Watch the resource bar: if Energy sits at max while Solar Arrays run, either spend on scans and construction or build Battery Nodes to raise the ceiling. Full detail: Energy guide.

Water — life support for restoration

Water fuels Bio-Reclaimers, Water Reservoirs, and research-gated Eco Seeders. It is extracted from wetland and forest tiles with aquifer deposits via Water Extractors, supplemented by Water Reservoirs on compatible terrain.

Running dry on Water stalls biomass production and blocks high-tier restoration. Prioritize scanning wetland basins early. Full detail: Water guide.

Materials — construction backbone

Materials pay for every structure's build cost and upgrade tiers. Salvage Stations on ruins with material deposits are the highest yield; Material Depots provide slower passive production on rock and wasteland.

Expansion across a 21×21 map consumes Materials quickly — budget for scans *and* builds. Full detail: Materials guide.

Biomass — restoration fuel

Biomass is produced by Bio-Reclaimers, which consume Water and Energy while reducing contamination on their tile. It is required to build Eco Seeders (40 Materials, 30 Energy, 15 Water, 10 Biomass build cost) after unlocking Ecological Seeding research.

Biomass is not optional for late restoration — treat Bio-Reclaimers as both cleanup and production. Full detail: Biomass guide.

Data — research currency

Data comes from Data Relays placed on ruins or rock with data deposits. The Research panel spends Data to unlock technologies — Efficient Photovoltaics (100 Data), Biological Optimization (120 Data), Efficient Scanning (100 Data), and deeper tiers up to 400 Data.

Without Data, you cannot unlock Geothermal Tap, Eco Seeder, scan range bonuses, or production multipliers. Full detail: Data guide.

Production chain mental model

Think in layers:

1. Energy layer — Solar Arrays (and later Geothermal Taps) fund scans and power consumers. 2. Extraction layer — Salvage Stations, Water Extractors, and Data Relays pull resources from deposits on revealed tiles. 3. Processing layer — Bio-Reclaimers convert Water + Energy into Biomass while cleaning tiles. 4. Research layer — Data unlocks efficiency and new buildings. 5. Restoration layer — Eco Seeders and contamination-aware placement heal the map.

A broken link anywhere stalls the chain. Common failure mode: plenty of Energy but no Water for Bio-Reclaimers, or plenty of Materials but no Data for research.

Reading the resource bar

The top HUD shows all five resources with net rates per minute. Click any resource to expand its detail line — useful for spotting whether Solar output is wasted at cap or whether Salvage consumption is eating your Energy margin.

Rates update every simulation tick (one second intervals in the current build). Offline progress is applied when you reload a save, so returning after a break may show resource jumps.

Spending priorities by game phase

Opening (first 10 minutes): spend Energy on scans and Materials on a Solar Array. Do not hoard starting Water — you need 25 for flexible builds, but Bio-Reclaimers cost 10 Water to place.

Mid-game: balance Salvage or Material Depot output against scan costs. Start Data Relay production before Materials become comfortable — research unlocks pay compound returns.

Late-game: Biomass stockpiles fund Eco Seeders; Data funds Long Range Protocol and Geothermal Analysis. Energy cap management matters more as building counts rise.

For genre parallels on scarcity design, see resource management games after civilization.

Resource-related buildings

Quick reference — see the Buildings guide for the full table:

Contamination trade-offs

Some producers add contamination over time — Salvage Stations (+2/s on tile), Water Extractors (+1/s), Geothermal Taps (minor positive rate). Bio-Reclaimers reduce contamination (−0.5/s). Factor cleanup into your resource plan; high contamination does not stop production but signals ecological debt. See Contamination guide.

Save and session notes

Resource totals persist through localStorage autosaves every 30 seconds. There is no cloud backup — resource stockpiles exist only in your browser profile. Single-player only; no trading or shared economies.

This guide reflects Phase 1 prototype balance. Return to the Guides hub or play TerraBite to test these chains on your map.