Synthetic labs: eight drugs, one workflow.
Labs are faction-tier infrastructure for cooking cocaine, heroin, meth, MDMA, LSD, DMT, fentanyl, and crack. Each lab has a level (1–3) that caps both the output quality ceiling and the grams produced per batch. Each drug runs through 2–4 cook stages with its own minigame. There's an hourly production cap per lab to keep cooks pacing.
How labs work
Three things define a lab
Type, general / meth / weed / cocaine / heroin / mdma. Determines the 3D objects placed in the room and which drug categories the lab can cook.
Level, 1, 2, or 3. Controls how good your output can be and how much you can make in one batch.
Equipment, each cook stage requires specific equipment (grow tent, chemical set, lab glassware, press, pill press). Equipment lives inside the lab and has condition that degrades with use.
| Lab level | Max quality | Grams / batch (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Bad | ~250g |
| Level 2 | Medium | ~500g |
| Level 3 | Good | ~750g |
Hourly production cap
Pace yourselfEach lab tracks producedThisHour in grams. Once it hits the cap (typically 10 units, though tuned per lab), no more cooks will succeed until the hour rolls over. Encourages spreading runs across the day instead of one massive marathon.
Minigame failure = lost inputs
Soft failIf you bomb the minigame, the input ingredients are still consumed but the stage produces nothing. The lab cools down, you re-stock, you try again. Skill matters.
Cocaine, 4 stages
Run /cookcocaine at each stage
Grow coca leaves
Input: 1× coca_seed. Equipment: grow tent. Output: 3× coca_leaf. No minigame, instant once the seed is in the tent.
Extract cocaine paste, Mix minigame
Input: 3× coca_leaf. Equipment: chemical set. Output: 1× cocaine_paste.
Refine to powder, Crystal minigame
Input: 1× cocaine_paste. Equipment: chemical set. Output: 1× cocaine_powder (grams scaled by lab level: ~250 / 500 / 750).
Package, Package minigame
Input: 2× cocaine_powder. Equipment: press. Output: 1× cocaine_packaged. Sellable form.
Crack, 1 stage
Cocaine + baking soda → crack rock
High addictionInput: 1× cocaine_packaged + 1× baking_soda. Heat minigame. Output: 1× crack_rock. Baseline price $60/g. Tolerance-per-dose +12. Lethal-dose baseline 3 doses (you OD fast). Severity 0.75, withdrawal kicks in at 6 hours.
Meth, 3 stages
Fast pipeline, the high-margin grind
Cook, Heat minigame
Input: 1× pseudoephedrine + 1× chemical_solvent. Output: 1× meth_raw.
Crystallise, Crystal minigame
Input: 1× meth_raw. Output: 1× meth_crystal.
Package, Package minigame
Input: 2× meth_crystal. Output: 1× meth_packaged. Baseline $100/g. Lethal-dose 4. Tolerance +14, severity 0.85, this kills people.
Heroin, 4 stages
Poppy → morphine → heroin → package
Severe addictionGrow, grow tent (no minigame)
Input: 1× opium_seed. Output: 2× opium_poppy.
Extract, Mix minigame
Input: 2× opium_poppy. Equipment: chemical set. Output: 1× morphine_base.
Refine, Heat minigame
Input: 1× morphine_base. Output: 1× heroin_powder.
Package, Package minigame
Input: 2× heroin_powder. Equipment: press. Output: 1× heroin_packaged. Baseline $150/g. Lethal-dose 2. Tolerance +18, severity 0.95, the worst withdrawal in the game.
MDMA, 3 stages
Synth, crystallise, press into pills
Synth, Mix minigame
Input: 1× safrole + 1× chemical_reagent. Equipment: lab glassware. Output: 1× mdma_raw.
Crystallise, Crystal minigame
Input: 1× mdma_raw. Output: 1× mdma_crystal.
Press, Press minigame
Input: 1× mdma_crystal. Equipment: pill press. Output: 5–10× mdma_pills. Baseline $90/g. Lethal-dose 6.
LSD, 2 stages
Highest per-gram value in the game
Synth, Mix minigame
Input: 1× ergotamine + 1× chemical_reagent. Output: 1× lsd_liquid.
Blot, Package minigame
Input: 1× lsd_liquid. Output: 25× lsd_blotter. Baseline $800/g, almost an order of magnitude above hash. The catch: tiny doses, so customer-base churn is slow.
DMT, 3 stages
Bark → extract → wash → crystal
Extract, Mix minigame
Input: 4× mimosa_bark + 1× chemical_solvent. Output: 1× dmt_extract.
Acetone wash, AcetoneWash minigame
Input: 1× dmt_extract + 1× chemical_reagent. Output: 1× dmt_crude.
Crystallise, Crystal minigame
Input: 1× dmt_crude. Output: 1× dmt_crystal. Baseline $600/g.
Fentanyl, 2 stages
Lethal at 1 dose
One-dose lethalSynth, Mix minigame
Input: 2× chemical_reagent + 1× chemical_solvent. Output: 1× fentanyl_raw.
Crystallise, Crystal minigame
Input: 1× fentanyl_raw. Output: 1× fentanyl_packaged. Baseline $250/g. Lethal dose baseline: 1. Tolerance +22, severity 1.0. A single dose to a non-tolerant character kills them, and only naloxone administered fast enough by a nearby player can reverse it.
Reminder: cutting heroin with fentanyl to stretch grams is a known dealer move. Buyers who don't burn a fentanyl_test_strip before injecting routinely die. If you're selling cut product, expect serious IC consequences if it leads to deaths.