On Spec

Description

On Spec is a process-control game. You build a small chemical plant full of made-up substances, run it from the control room, and try to get every product within spec, without flooding the tank, freezing a pipe or lifting a safety valve.

It's not a factory where things simply go from A to B. Every batch has to meet a spec, and the analyzer checks it.

What you do

• Build on a P&ID drawing. Place feeds, mixers, heaters, coolers, reactors, filters, film evaporators, crystallisers and a distillation column, then connect them with pipes.
• Operate from the control room. Open a faceplate, switch between MAN and AUTO, set setpoints and tune PID controllers while you watch the trend.
• Deal with real process behaviour. Powder dissolves slowly in cold water. Some reactions eat heat, others run away. Evaporators work better under vacuum. Crystals grow best when you cool slowly. The column needs reflux before full power.
• Keep the utilities alive. You have a steam boiler, a cooling tower, a chiller and a hot-oil furnace. They all cost money, and they all fail on hot days.
• Handle breakdowns. Pumps trip, valves stick, transmitters freeze and heat waves hit. Acknowledge the alarm, find the cause and fix it.

Precision pays A batch that barely passes pays less than one sitting right in the middle of the spec. The tighter you control the process, the more you earn, up to ×1.5 per batch. Customers on the order board pay bonuses for tight-spec contracts, and a good reputation brings bigger orders.

Five products Blue Fizz, Fizzsalt, Firejelly, Glimcrystal and Dreamerine. They run from a simple mixing job to a distillation column that punishes a rushed cold start.

Ways to play

• Relaxed / Normal / Tight profiles set how wide the spec bands are, how high the fines are and how often things break.
• Sandbox: everything unlocked, money to spare. Build whatever you like.
• Scenario: The neglected plant. Take over an abandoned plant with a plugged line, a frozen transmitter, a stuck valve and a reactor full of half-reacted goo, and make it profitable again.
• An optional 10-minute tutorial walks you through your first build and start-up.

Good to know

• Plays in the browser on desktop and phone. Use the full-screen button for the best view on PC.
• Mouse or touch: scroll or pinch to zoom, drag to pan, tap an instrument to open its faceplate, Esc closes panels.
• Languages: English and Nederlands (choose on the title screen).
• Progress is saved in your browser. Clearing site data removes it, and you can export a backup code under Goals → Settings.
• No process-engineering background needed. The tutorial and the substance cards explain what you need, and knowing how a real plant works does help.

Early test build (v0.6) This is an early test version. Balance, visuals and content will change. We'd love to hear:

• where you got stuck or confused,
• what felt too easy or too punishing,
• anything that broke.

Leave a comment here or drop your feedback in our Discord.