Perishable Resources Guide

What Actually Spoils

The core perishables commonly tracked in runs are:

• rawMeat
• rawFish
• berries
• food

These resources are tracked in timed batches (spoilsAt, removesAt). You are not managing one big stack; you are managing many mini-stacks with different spoil timers.

Important scope note:

• The live perishable system is driven by COOKING_DATA / perishable definitions, so additional food-type entries can also be perishable depending on current data tables

Spoilage Rhythm and Temperature Rules

Spoilage and rotten cleanup are processed through active time/tick systems (hourly gameplay flow), with periodic cleanup paths for expired batches and rotten item removal.

Baseline spoil speed differs by category:

• raw meat: fastest decay pressure
• raw fish: very fast decay pressure
• berries: medium decay pressure
• cooked food: slowest of the listed perishables, but still finite

Temperature then shifts those rates:

• hot conditions above 25C accelerate spoilage
• cold conditions below 5C slow spoilage

If a powered fridge is active, spoilage protection applies only in the relevant powered/local context checked by game logic (not as a universal global freeze across all storage everywhere).

Rotten Stage and Hard Losses

After spoilage, food can remain as rotten for a short window, then is purged. The cleanup window is short (default fallback around 36 in-game hours), so rotten stock is not long-term backup.

Practical meaning:

• “I will use it later” usually fails unless “later” is very soon
• salvage-first thinking is better than hoarding-first thinking

Safe Usage Rules for Players

1. Convert raw into cooked quickly unless it is for immediate use
2. Keep expedition food lightweight and short-horizon
3. Keep deep reserves in powered storage at base
4. Rotate oldest batches first after every return trip
5. Before a long route, do a perishables audit before ammo/tool checks

Why Eating Spoiled Food Is Usually a Bad Bet

Spoiled consumption has high poison risk, especially for unsafe/raw states. In practice, this is emergency-only behavior, not normal sustain.

If you must risk it:

• do it near shelter
• keep treatment ready
• never chain multiple spoiled consumptions

Expedition Food Architecture (Recommended)

• Layer 1 (always carry): stable foods with predictable effects
• Layer 2 (route carry): 1-2 meal equivalents for mission length
• Layer 3 (base reserve): bulk perishables in power-backed storage
• Layer 4 (processing queue): raw intake waiting for cooking/preservation

This four-layer model reduces both waste and panic-foraging.

Common Fail Patterns

• bringing all fresh meat on a multi-day route
• harvesting big and processing late
• treating fridge power as optional during harvest season
• using backpack inventory as long-term pantry

Quick Checklist Before Leaving Base

• oldest perishables consumed or processed first
• raw stocks either cooked now or intentionally sacrificed
• powered storage online
• return-date plan matches your food freshness window