Reactor `explosion' now replaces the reactor core with a corium source
node. Corium is a new liquid, which flows a bit like lava, but has
the additional feature of destroying nodes to which it is adjacent.
It also randomly turns into a solid form, chernobylite, which makes an
attractive building block. It thus gradually melts its way through the
reactor shielding layers; a meltdown gets worse over time if not cleaned
up promptly.
The mechanism for an active reactor core to damage nearby players is
generalised into a "radioactive" node group. Corium and chernobylite
are radioactive, to varying degrees. Players receive a varying amount of
damage from a radioactive node, depending on proximity. Staying outside
a reactor cube is sufficient to be safe from the active core, but not
sufficient to be safe from a melted core.
Hugo Locurcio
Zefram