Steam power
Spoilers Ahead
This page contains spoilers for the Boiler Room. View at your own discretion.
Steam power is a gameplay mechanic and component of the Boiler Room that provides both a drafting effect and a mechanical effect. Steam power generated in the Boiler Room may be conveyed from room to room via power ducts in the ceilings of certain rooms. Several of those rooms have uses for steam power, either by providing a new effect to the room or by enhancing an existing effect.
Ducts
All rooms that have some interaction with steam power have steam ducts running through the ceiling, connecting all of the room's doorways, and sometimes connecting to mechanical components in those rooms as well. These rooms may be divided into three categories:
- Power sources, i.e., the Boiler Room itself
- Connector rooms, which convey steam power but have no particular use for it
- Powerable rooms, which have some special function when powered
Any powerable or connector room that shares a doorway with a powered room becomes powered itself, gaining a glowing blue power line on its ducts. This power may come from a power source itself, or another powered room. Players may convey steam power from the Boiler Room through several other rooms by stringing together rooms with ducts.
Steam power that is supplied to a room other than the Boiler Room is conveyed to all of its doorways, meaning that connector rooms with three or four doors can split steam power multiple ways. While most powerable rooms are Dead Ends, some have two doors, making use of steam power while also conveying it further if needed. There is no requirement that rooms be drafted from a powered room in order to become powered themselves, though adjacent rooms must be connected by a doorway to convey steam power.
Drafting effect
Drafting from a currently powered doorway will display a unique blue power line on the drafting interface. This line will connect to any drawn floorplan with ducts, indicating that steam power will be conveyed to it if it is drafted.
Drafting from a room with ducts increases the chances of drawing floorplans with ducts, regardless of whether that room is powered. This chance is increased if there is an activated Boiler Room anywhere in the estate.
- While drafting from a connector room, there is an increased chance to draw any floorplan with ducts.
- While drafting from the Boiler Room or a powerable room, there is only an increased chance to draw connector floorplans.
This means that when trying to power a powerable room, it is more common and more straightforward to draft one or more connector rooms between the Boiler Room and the target powerable room than it is to draft those two rooms directly adjoined.
[Datamined Information] For more detailed information, see Drafting/Advanced#Duct Draws.
Ducts running through the Laboratory
The same Laboratory ducts when receiving steam power
A powered draft from the Boiler Room featuring two connector rooms, the Weight Room and the Passageway
Power sources
The Boiler Room is considered a power source as it is capable of supplying steam power to other rooms. An initial power source is always required before any other rooms can be powered.
Before the Boiler Room can convey steam power, it must be activated by interacting with the main console while it is receiving steam from each of the three tanks. Once this has been done, the Boiler Room will supply steam power to one of its three doors, defaulting to the central door. The control panel can then be used to dynamically control which of the Boiler Room's doors is powered. Only rooms adjoined to the chosen door will be powered. The sealed door does not need to be open for its associated duct to convey steam power.
The Boiler Room has three separate ducts each connected to the main boiler; only the duct connected to the powered door glows, even if the steam power is redirected back to a different Boiler Room door.
Spoilers Within
This section contains spoilers for other power sources.
If the Aquarium is upgraded to the Electric Eel Aquarium, it becomes an additional power source and gains ducts. Unlike the Boiler Room, the Electric Eel Aquarium provides power to all three of its doors automatically and simultaneously, with no need to solve any puzzles or interact with any components.
The Electric Eel Aquarium floorplan is drawn less frequently than other rooms with ducts from the drafting effect, and the effect is never applied while drafting in the Electric Eel Aquarium itself. It still has the same visual effects while drafting that all powered rooms do. It will also not passively increase the existing chance of drawing floorplans with ducts in the same way that an activated Boiler Room does.
[Upgrade Spoiler: Guest Bedroom] The Guess Bedroom may also choose to mimic the Electric Eel Aquarium, making it act like a power source to the room it is connected to if it has ducts. The Guess Bedroom appears to be entirely unaffected by the drafting effect of ducts, and does not appear visually as a room with ducts while drafting.
Connector rooms
Connector rooms may be powered, but have no special effects when powered other than to convey steam power to other rooms.
Spoilers Within
This section contains spoilers for all connector rooms.
- The Locker Room is the only connector room with only two doors, although some powerable rooms also have two doors.
- Half of the connector rooms are Red Rooms, which frequently causes difficulty while attempting to convey steam power. However, the drafting effect slightly mitigates the harmful effects of the Darkroom and Archives since it is still visible even when floorplans are hidden.
- Although the Darkroom has lights that may be turned on or off, it has no special interaction when receiving steam power other than the drafting effect.
Powerable rooms
Powerable rooms have unique effects when receiving steam power.
Spoilers Within
This section contains spoilers for all powerable rooms.
Garage
The ducts connect the Garage's standard door to the Garage door. Entering the Garage while it is powered will cause the Garage door to automatically open, providing access to the West Path. It does not need to be powered when it is drafted, as long as steam power is directed towards the Garage at the time it is entered. Unlike the other method of opening the Garage door, opening it this way does not cause Westwardly Winds to play.
Once the Garage door is open, it remains open for the rest of the day even if the steam power is directed away from the Garage. Attempting to open the Garage door again, either by first opening the Garage door via its alternate method or by toggling the steam power away from the Garage and back towards it again, will cause the door-opening sound effect to play again with no other effect.
Pump Room
While the Pump Room is receiving steam power, an additional panel lights up that displays the current water level of the Reserve Tank. It is accompanied by two buttons labelled "TANK 1 DRAIN" and "TANK 1 FILL" which allow water to be transferred between the Reserve Tank and Tank 1. Although the controls are different from other pumps, they will still pump as much water as they can with each action and cannot be interrupted. While this may be used to add an extra unit of water to the main water supply, it is usually more useful for the five units of additional storage space it provides; in particular, powering the Reserve Tank is required to fully drain the Reservoir.
The panel and buttons will appear and disappear whenever steam power is directed towards or away from the Pump Room, though doing so more than once may cause the light status of the buttons to visually desync. If the Pump Room is unpowered when a water pumping animation finishes, the buttons will no longer work once it is powered again.
Appearance of the Reserve Tank's pump when receiving steam power
The control panel for the Reserve Tank, plus the two buttons that only exist while the Pump Room is powered
Laboratory
As mentioned in the Laboratory's blue memo, the first step in activating its machine requires it to be powered. Once the room is receiving steam power, the machine's power light will glow and a power meter appears on the left that indicates how many of the numbered levers are currently down. Pushing a lever will lower the power level by one stage, and pulling a lever will raise the power level by one stage. The marked level, which lies in between stages, can only be attained by inputting a particular sequence.
Spoilers Within
This section contains spoilers for finding the correct sequence.
The sequence is given by the periodic table instructions, which results in the message Push three up after nine.
- [Mail Room Experiment Spoiler] It can also be found in Randolph's third letter sent to the Mail Room. This letter discusses the Laboratory machine and how it requires steam power from the Boiler Room, and it has a 9↑3↑ written in red in the corner.
Spoilers Within
This section contains spoilers for the result.
By pushing the lever labeled 9, and then the lever 3 in sequence, the machine should activate. Both levers must be in their default state for this to work.
If done correctly, a cutscene will play showing the Laboratory sending power outside to the house to the Blackbridge Grotto, permanently unlocking it. In addition to being a newly accessible location, the Blackbridge Grotto passively grants the ability to connect to one offline terminal each day, which may be done immediately through the Laboratory terminal if desired. Activating the machine causes an altered version of Synka to play, interrupting other tracks if necessary.
If steam power is diverted away from the Laboratory, the levers will have no effect. It is possible to still enter the correct sequence by pulling lever #9, then depowering the Laboratory and pulling other levers, then repowering the Laboratory and pulling lever #3.
The machine cannot be interacted with for the rest of the day after unlocking the Blackbridge Grotto, even after depowering and repowering the Laboratory. On subsequent days, the machine can be powered and interacted with again, though it will no longer serve any known function. Entering the correct sequence a second time will still activate the machine and cause Synka to play, though there won't be any cutscene or effect and the levers can be still be used afterwards. The machine cannot be activated more than once per day.
Laundry Room
While the Laundry Room is receiving steam power, an additional machine becomes available on the left side of the room. This machine offers three additional "Specialty Services" which exchange resources like the main services but with one or more new resources in each exchange:
| Name | Cost | Resource #1 | Resource #2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoe Shine | 5 |
 |
|
| Star Treatment | 5 |
 |
|
| Die Cleaning | 5 |
 |
|
The Star Treatment exchanges the two permanent resources, allowance and stars. More exchanges can be made in future days by powering a Laundry Room again if switching back is desired.
The machine is only available while powered, and diverting steam power away from the Laundry Room will disable it again until the steam power is returned.
Shoe Shine
Star Treatment
Die Cleaning
Furnace
While the Furnace is powered by steam power, entering it will cause it to forge and produce a normal key from a tray that appears in the back.
If steam power is diverted away from the Furnace and then redirected back to it, then entering again will cause an additional key to appear in the tray. This can be done any number of times, though the Furnace must be re-entered each time. The keys will stack in the exact same position if they are not collected.
Additional information
[Studio Addition: Dormitory] Drafting Strategy: Architectural Digest Vol. 2 has an entire page dedicated to the Boiler Room, steam power, and ducts within its section on Mechanical Rooms.
Spoilers Within
This section contains spoilers for Mail Room experiments.
Steam power is touched upon in Randolph's third letter to the Mail Room, in which he reveals that power from the Boiler Room is required to power the machine in the Laboratory.
- [Later letter] Randolph's fourth letter elaborates further on steam power and the Boiler Room, and explains the duct system. A simple diagram suggests uses for steam power in the Garage, Pump Room and Laundry Room in addition to the Laboratory.