Space Engineers 2 News

Space Engineers 2 Weekly Release: Small Window Set

Hello, Engineers!

This week’s release expands your creative options with a brand-new Small Window Set. Perfect for adding detail, variety, and style to your ships and stations, these windows come in multiple shapes and sizes to suit any design.

Included in this set:

Window Flat 1.25 m
Window Slope 1.25 m
Window Slope Half 2.5 m
Window Triangle Side 1.25 m
Window Triangle Slanted 1.25 m
Window Triangle Slanted Inverted 1.25 m

As always, all blocks are available now!

[h3]This is our last Weekly Release for a while - all hands are now on deck for Vertical Slice 2: Planets & Survival.[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We are ending or pausing weekly releases, which involve adding new blocks every Thursday, to minimize distractions and allow everyone to concentrate on VS2. This decision was also made because the weekly releases created complications in our branch merging process as we are finishing VS2. Artists and designers had to push each block twice – to both the public branch and the VS2 branch – leading to inconsistencies and requiring extra support time. We believe this time is better spent working directly on VS2.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Overhangs and boulders[/h3]
One significant improvement I’m excited about is the introduction of overhangs. In Space Engineers 1, terrain was largely restricted to pyramid-shaped hills and simple rock formations. This limitation stemmed from defining the planet surface with a planetary heightmap, allowing only one parameter per voxel: its height.

With our new VRAGE3 engine, we can now generate natural-looking overhangs, cliffs, and more complex landscapes. This makes the planets feel much more alive and believable.

While we still utilize a planetary heightmap (a cube projected onto the planet where the height of each voxel/location is defined; a voxel’s size is 1 meter, and the current heightmap resolution is one pixel per 8 voxels, though a “detail heightmap” ensures an effective resolution of one pixel per 1 voxel, resulting in 1-meter resolution), the game also spawns small voxel storages of overhangs and boulders throughout the environment.

The procedural generator ensures these are placed in natural locations, enhancing the shapes of mountains, hills, flat areas, and canyons. The end result is that the surface is no longer merely 2.5D (the maximum achievable with a heightmap) but fully 3D. Additionally, we have caves, as the game now also subtracts from the surface to generate them.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Material Transitions[/h3]
Artists are enhancing the visual quality of planetary voxel material transitions. In Space Engineers 1 (SE1), material blending between voxels occurred simply over the surface of a single voxel (one triangle).

In Space Engineers 2 (SE2), these transitions can extend across multiple voxels and triangles. Additionally, a transition mask with height information allows for significantly more natural-looking material transitions.

We’ve also been expanding the internal VRAGE3 Editor. Here you can see editing planetary rings directly inside the tool. This is one of many incremental improvements that help us create richer worlds faster and more efficiently.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Planetary rings are something I’ve wanted to try for a long time. They add scale and atmosphere to a system, and open up interesting design and gameplay questions.

Do you like the idea of planetary rings? Should they just be beautiful backdrops, or should they have resources and hazards hidden inside them?

Please join us for Space Engineers Developer Livestream!

🚀 Friday, August 22, 5 PM UTC
🛰️ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/keencommunitynetwork
🛰️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceEngineers

Image Credits: [C-67] - Cumulus - Dropship by Sheddyshiba

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Space Engineers 2 Weekly Release: Sink

Hello, Engineers!

In this week’s release, we’re introducing another stylish addition to your quarters!
The decorative Sink Block is a standard-issue wash station that brings a sleek, refined finish to your interior spaces.

As always, all blocks and improvements are available now!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Construction Stages & Construction Particles are coming together nicely for the VS2 Planets and Survival update. It’s one of those features that really makes the game feel alive – watching a block grow step by step, with sparks and dust flying as you weld it into existence.

It’s still work in progress, but I can already imagine how much more immersive survival will feel once this is in your hands.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Verdure’s landscape is also constantly improving. The version we have now is almost unrecognizable compared to what it looked like just six months ago. Terrain shapes, colors, vegetation density – all of it has been improved on again and again. Every time I load into Verdure, I notice something new: a ridge line that feels more natural, a valley that catches the morning light just right, or a forest that feels alive instead of just “placed.”

It’s amazing to watch a planet go from a rough concept to something that feels like a real place you could explore and call home.

And here is the planet Verdure, with its amazing cloud formations and the glowing sunset line as seen from space.

Reactor destruction particles are shaping up nicely:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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[h3]VS3 Water Update[/h3]
Most of the SE2 team is currently focused on VS2: Planets and Survival, but a smaller group – our Water team – is already deep into VS3: Water, which we aim to release a few months after VS2 launches. Fingers crossed.

I want to share a bit about how planning works in our team.

Before we start work on any update, we create a high-level vision document. This outlines:

The goals for the update
Key performance indicators (KPIs) – such as target retention, meaningful playtime, and session length
The audience we want to reach

For VS2, the focus is on players who enjoy real gameplay challenges and rewards, while also being clear internally whether we’re designing primarily for SE1 veterans or also bringing in new mainstream players.

For VS3: Water, our KPI is to introduce a completely new medium – water – that opens new gameplay possibilities in engineering, exploration, and mining, along with fresh challenges and rewards.

Once the vision is set, we break down the required tasks for each discipline:

Designers – Documentation, level design, gameplay tuning
Programmers – Gameplay features, engine changes
Art – New blocks, particles, animations, environment assets
Sound – New audio effects, underwater sound behavior

Each team lead estimates the man-days needed for their tasks. This often triggers back-and-forth discussions to clarify scope and cut low-value work, so we invest time in high-impact features – things that are fun, novel, essential, or improve performance. We then check if we have the manpower to meet the deadline and lock the plan.

The VS2 project plan has been locked for about nine months, with only small additions two months ago – such as the Colonization Map, Colonization Progress, Contracts, and Encounters – to extend meaningful gameplay beyond the first minutes and give players long-term goals.

The VS3 plan was recently updated and is now being finalized. Much of the Water team’s work was scoped long ago, but we’ve refined the details and adding tasks for the other teams:

Swimming animations
Submarines – fully sealed against water both visually and physically
Byblos – a new water-rich planet
Pressure simulation at certain depths
New blocks – pumps, ballast tanks, turbines, etc.
Water audio – splashes, underwater muffling, walking in water
Water-specific missions
Ore distribution in aquatic environments
Buoyancy and boat movement on the surface
Water system optimizations to ensure good performance

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We’re also adding non-water features to make VS3 even more exciting. While water itself is a huge addition – a completely new environment to interact with – we’re also working on:

Survival improvements (production system, oxygen, block wrappers, area welding)
New welder and grinder blocks
Weather effects
And more (I actually can’t share everything, because we are working on the plan as we speak)

Important disclaimer: The above is a snapshot of my current thinking, not a promise. Plans can change right up until release. I share this to keep communication open – not to “sell” you something in advance.

Full Blog Post: https://blog.marekrosa.org/2025/08/mareks-dev-diary-august-14-2025/

Please join us for Space Engineers 2 Developer Livestream!

🚀 Friday, August 15th, 5 PM UTC
🛰️ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/keencommunitynetwork
🛰️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceEngineers

Image Credits: UNM - Tharsis Class Frigate by BeeTV

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Space Engineers 2 Weekly Release: Toilet

Hello, Engineers!

This week’s release adds a new decorative block – the Toilet.
Enclosed vacuum toilet is compatible with any Space Engineers' suit. Works in both gravity and Zero-G. A fitting detail for ship interiors, stations, and planetary bases.

As always, all blocks and improvements are available now!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Today’s playtest was one of the most exciting in recent weeks. A few breakthroughs and surprises I want to share:

Safe Zone working in-game
We now have the safe zone system running. Once enabled, nothing inside can take damage. Simple and effective.
Safe Zone is still a work in progress - artists have to finalize the shader graphics, and it will come to play with future multiplayer release.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Camera glitch fixed (again)
A few weeks ago, I noticed a familiar annoyance: in first-person view, the camera had a subtle secondary motion – like it kept drifting a bit after stopping or turning. I personally dislike this in any game.
We had already solved this in VS1 and VS1.2, so it was strange to see it return. After some debugging, we found the culprit: inverse kinematics (IK) on the character’s feet, which caused slight camera movements.
Quick fix: we disabled IK in first-person mode – and it worked perfectly. Since nobody really checks their feet in first person, and the lack of IK isn’t noticeable, this was a win. The camera now feels solid again.

Creative Mode FTUE prototype
We’re prototyping a simple FTUE (First Time User Experience) in Creative Mode. It gives you a basic objective flow: expand a cave, add a thruster to a ship, fly it to a location, ram another ship, continue to a station, and so on.
While many players may ignore or disable this (we might add that option), I find it surprisingly helpful. Before, Creative mode felt aimless – should I build, destroy, explore? Now I don’t need to wonder. Even light guidance gives a sense of direction, and that feels good.

Survival Mode FTUE update
Work continues here too. We simplified the structure: objectives now guide you where to go and roughly what to do, but how you get there is up to you.
In my playthrough, I repaired the ship in the cave, flew to a station, fixed connectors, and then took a flying ship to the Orbital Station. It’s still early, but the core loop already works and is fun. We’ll keep expanding it.

Verdure Planet visual update
Verdure got another upgrade – and it looks 5x better than before. The new terrain, terraces, voxel materials, boulders, overhangs, trees, and flora bring it to life. It’s starting to feel like a real planet. Stunning work by the team.

We can now quickly drag the toolbar items away in our internal build – a small change, but one that makes further testing and iterations so much user friendly.

Water development is speeding ahead – here’s a look at our tests of water behavior on sloped terrain. We’re making steady incremental improvements, and it’s exciting to see how the system is starting to interact more naturally with the environment.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
We have really beautiful and useful concept art – but we’re always pushing for more and better. That means sometimes we literally go back to the drawing board with certain blocks and characters, refining them until they truly match our vision.

In the development process, we run into plenty of bugs every day – and they get fixed long before players ever see them. But every now and then, one comes along that’s just too funny not to share. 🙂

Full Dev Diary: https://blog.marekrosa.org/

Please join us for Space Engineers Developer Livestream!

🚀 Friday, August 8th, 5 PM UTC
🛰️ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/keencommunitynetwork
🛰️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceEngineers

Image Credits: LIM Gallant-Class by LadyLime

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Marek’s Dev Diary: July 31, 2025

Clouds are looking better and better:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Our graphics team is testing the new flora – and I have to say, they’re doing a fantastic job. I love how the planets are shaping up – it’s starting to feel like a real, living world.

And we have a surprise for you that I think many of you will love – Space Engineers 2 will have colorful icons!
I think they add a lot of clarity (and fun) to the UI, and I’m excited to hear what you think.

[h3]Space Engineers 2 Modding Livestream & Poll[/h3]
We had so much fun during the Space Engineers 2 Modding Showcase livestream. I’m constantly amazed by the creativity and ingenuity of the mods and game changes you all come up with. It’s always inspiring to see what the community builds.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Also – we’ve released a quick poll during the stream. If you have a minute, I’d really appreciate you filling it out: https://forms.gle/rSLUdb4qttWp91do8

Thank you!

Full Blog Post: https://blog.marekrosa.org/

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Space Engineers 2 solves power management frustration in the sandbox game sequel

Whether it's Satisfactory, Astroneer, Factorio, or No Man's Sky, managing power is one of the most important parts of sandbox games, and Space Engineers 2 is no exception. The sequel to the iconic, intergalactic Steam hit is currently in early access, and developer Keen Software reveals how its new-look batteries will allow you to much more quickly move power between your builds to ensure you've got the juice wherever you need it.

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