Hello, Engineers!
This week’s release brings a new decorative addition to your hangars and bases – the
Small Storage Crate! While cosmetic for now, it’s designed to become a small standalone storage container when Survival mode is introduced. It’s perfect for detailing interiors, outposts, or scattered loot areas.
As always, all blocks and improvements are available now!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
First of all - thank you for the 130+ comments on the combat system in
last week's dev diary. I really appreciate it. You’re a great community. I love you for it.
And the same thanks goes for all the FTUE feedback
the week before.
[h3]This week in our internal playtest:[/h3]
Asteroid Clusters - Asteroids are now grouped into clusters - soon they’ll be organized into proper asteroid belts and rings. This is part of a bigger plan to add structure to space using the Star Map (we’re now calling it the Colonization Map).
Multi-Character Emotes - These can be triggered from the debug screen (not available to players). We’ll use them in trailers and cutscenes. For example: two characters shake hands in a synchronized animation. Animators are also working on the facial rig now - for emotions and lip sync in cinematics.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Hand Drill Animations - I've always wanted the hand drill to feel heavy and dynamic. When you push it into rocks, it should bounce and fight back. We realized we need three clear states:
- Idle (just holding it)
- Drill on, no contact (drilling into air)
- Drill on, in contact (drilling into rock, bounces, etc.)
This should feel instantly gratifying - like hitting something with a crowbar in Half-Life. That same feedback loop. We’ll apply this to the grinder and probably the welder too.
Acceleration-Based Camera Shake - When piloting a grid or jetpack-boosting, the camera shakes slightly during acceleration and deceleration. It gives you that visceral sense of momentum - like engines pushing. It only triggers during velocity changes, not while cruising. We tuned it down a lot to avoid being annoying, but I think we still need to reduce it by 40%. I expect some veterans will hate it - so maybe we’ll add an option to turn it off.
Story and Sandbox Merge - We’ve decided to merge Campaign into Sandbox. Originally they were separate: Sandbox was colonization only, no story, no main characters - just systems and generic NPCs.
But now we realize that having a story outside of Sandbox would be a waste. It complicates production and splits our focus. So: no separate Campaign mode anymore. We’re putting the story into Sandbox.
[h3]So how will story work inside Sandbox? (SPOILERS!)[/h3]
- It starts with a cutscene: who you are, what the Bering Project is, what Almagest is, who your brother is
- FTUE begins - you repair your ship, build a small spaceship, and reach the Orbital Station
- From there, you take contracts and missions that progress colonization of Almagest
- Some missions push the story forward (not just colonization meta)
- Cutscenes play at the beginning or end of key missions - but they will avoid anything that the player could have influenced (e.g., ship builds, destroyed stuff, character skins), because the cutscenes are pre-rendered
- There will be datapads and hidden locations to reveal more of the world and its mysteries
I'm really looking forward to telling the story of Almagest. It’s deep, has a big twist, and is quite personal - shaped by how I see the world.
Complete Roadmap, Player Experience - Besides that, I’m looking forward to getting a full day just to dig deep into our "Complete Roadmap" - to lock in everything that needs to be in the final version of SE2, the version that leaves Early Access. The goal is to deliver a complete and well-balanced experience - and then keep expanding through updates, like always.
I'm also working on the Player Experience document - it’s a short doc (just a few pages), but it outlines how players should experience SE2, from the very first moment all the way to 50+ hours of gameplay.
Let me know what you think about any of this. I read all your comments - it’s one of the best parts of my life.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
🛠️ Feedback & Support -
https://support.keenswh.com/🗺️ Roadmap:
https://2.spaceengineersgame.com/roadmap-2/#current🛰️ Discord:
https://discord.gg/keenswh📫 Newsletter:
https://www.keenswh.com/newsletter➡️ Connect and find us on your platform of choice:
https://www.keenswh.com/connect/
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1133870/announcements/detail/512962085601153399 https://steamcommunity.com/games/1133870/announcements/detail/512962085601152445 https://steamcommunity.com/games/1133870/announcements/detail/822583385779083263
