Space Engineers 2 News

Space Engineers 2 Dev Diary: February 19, 2026

It’s honestly very cool that our VRAGE3 engine is at a point where you can create real, live optical illusions directly inside the game. No tricks, no fake overlays – the illusion exists in the world and holds up as you move around it.

That kind of thing still makes me smile.

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Our next update for SE2, VS2.2, has entered the feature freeze phase, which means we have finished all features, are not adding more, and are just polishing and fixing what is in game. This means we need to do a lot of testing, reviews, and improvements.

Some highlights:

Rifle gun and rocket launcher are already in the game, animations and particle effects are working. This is just the first version, and we will definitely polish them more in future updates.
Welder and grinder blocks are in, and so survival actually became more interesting, because you can drill ore, use production blocks to convert them to components, and then use your ship to weld. Together with projection building, it becomes much easier than before – you just weld the projection. Currently we are tweaking the constants – so that the HP, weight, and welding speed are well balanced.
The combat experience is in, but a few things are not working well yet – for example projectile trails were missing yesterday, or at least not rendered at larger distances. The team is investigating it, and I am sure we will fix it during the polish phase. It is very important that shooting gives you visual feedback – where your projectile is going, if it hits something (sparkles), and eventually destruction or explosion of the block you hit. But in general, it feels good to me -> the visuals in SE2 are really amazing. The detailed blocks, damage, destruction, explosion particles, lighting and everything visual, and flying there with a ship that I built, and can damage block-by-block my enemies – this is my dream-come-true again. Of course, there’s still a lot of work ahead of us to turn the combat experience into something great. We have to decide if we want quick combats or long-lasting combats, how to solve rock-paper-scissors situations, how to prevent the frustration where you spend hours building your ship but lose it in the first 5 seconds of a fight, etc. This will not be fully solved in VS2.2, but later yes. PS: we already discussed this in July 2025

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What is also good is that the team has split into sub-teams, and parallel development started. One team is continuing on the water – there are a few big challenges to overcome – like water visually leaking through submarine walls, and increasing the resolution from 1m to 25cm – so water can leak through our 25cm unified grid system. Also improving the performance so the water can run on multiple cores. And many other things. The other team started working on NPCs, which we will introduce in VS4, hopefully before the end of this year! This will be a big thing, because I think NPCs were always missing in SE. It’s a feature that will make the world feel more alive, but also more emergent, surprising, and interesting. I am really looking forward to seeing some progress here – even if it’s just an NPC patrolling around, spotting me, attacking me or running away, or intelligently deciding whether to use a jetpack or move on foot.

The art team got the Delfos Killing Field visuals into their hands and they are killing it too. You remember the WIP “programmer” art I shared before? Well – here is the effect when you get closer to Delfos.

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And if you see this, you’re probably not having a great time.

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The Killing Field will not only burn you, but your ships and grids too (The visuals are still heavily work in progress). So be careful after VS2.2 releases!

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We’ve been thinking about more ways to support decorative building, satisfy your urge to greeble – and make it super easy on top of everything!

We are thinking about modular deck panels and walls with built-in openings that you can actually do something with. We have early designs for panels with holes and cutouts, paired with interchangeable wall inserts. In the example below, you can see a vent insert, but that’s just the starting point.

Once this system exists, it opens the door to all kinds of details and uses – pipes, cables, maintenance access, visual noise, or just pure aesthetics. I really enjoy this kind of building freedom, where simple parts combine into something that feels custom and lived-in.

This is exactly the kind of detail work that doesn’t scream for attention, but quietly makes ships and stations feel more real.

And I love the progress from the art team on the passages block set:

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We’re also tweaking and testing different visuals for Palatine’s “atmosphere” and lighting. We’re testing how different lighting setups affect Palatine when viewed from a distance versus up close.

Question to you: Do decorative possibilities change how much time you spend refining your builds?

Full Blog Post: https://blog.marekrosa.org/2026/02/mareks-dev-diary-february-19-2026/

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Space Engineers 2 Dev Diary: February 12, 2026

Some of the results from our cloud experiments are honestly breathtaking. We’re testing multiple cloud layers, different textures, and atmospheric effects, and the combination is starting to create skies that feel deep, heavy, and alive.

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It’s fascinating to see how much presence a planet gains once the atmosphere stops feeling flat and starts behaving like a real volume.

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The first pieces of our new weather systems are starting to take shape. We’re testing rain and sandstorms, each appearing in their respective biomes based on biome humidity and local conditions.

We’ve also laid the first foundations of a working Speed Particles system. This is important to me because without a strong sense of motion, traveling long distances can start to feel strangely static. When your reference points are far away – a planet, a star, an orbital landmark – it’s easy to lose the feeling that you’re actually moving.

Speed particles give you that missing feedback. They help communicate velocity and direction, making travel feel active and intentional instead of quiet and disconnected.

Here are Speed Particles in space:

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And on a planet:

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This is work-in-progress, before artists have polished it, so it doesn’t have final visuals. We’re also working on wind as part of the broader weather system. Wind is not pushing grids around yet, but the particles are already reacting to it, giving the environment a stronger sense of motion and direction.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
And to wrap this up, here’s a small sneak peek at a few blocks the art team sent my way recently – the Trade Terminal, Sound Block, Sensor and Neon Tubes.

Question to you: What kinds of weather events would you like to see in Space Engineers 2?

Full Blog Post: https://blog.marekrosa.org/2026/02/mareks-dev-diary-february-12-2026/

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Space Engineers 2: Helionis Sector Released!

Hello, Engineers!

The Helionis Sector is now open for exploration in Space Engineers 2.

This sector is an early but important step - a space designed to test navigation, contracts, pacing, and how the universe feels when you move through it. Two new contracts are now available, and more will follow as we expand the underlying systems.

Right now, Helionis is intentionally focused. No NPCs or combat yet - this phase is about space travel, structure, and laying solid foundations. Behind the scenes, we’re building new VRAGE3 tools that will unlock much richer contract design and gameplay in the next iterations.

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Your feedback so far has been extremely valuable and is already shaping what we build next. If you notice friction, missing opportunities, or things that feel especially right or wrong, let us know via our support portal: https://support.keenswh.com/spaceengineers2/pc

Helionis is live now - explore it, stress it, and tell us what breaks or surprises you.

Thanks for being part of the journey. This is just the beginning!

Helionis Sector open for space travel
Added 2 new contracts in Helionis Sector

We’re deeply grateful for the passion and support of our players whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or just joined the journey.

To welcome new engineers and continue growing the community, we’re offering a 20% discount until February 17.

Jump in now and help shape the next chapter of Space Engineers 2!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1133870/Space_Engineers_2/

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Space Engineers 2 Dev Diary: February 5, 2026

This week’s playtest was quick, we looked at improvements on the turrets – now they have proper collision and placement shapes, and the projectile trails work correctly. Rocket launcher was implemented to our internal build – the aiming and reload animations are work in progress. But it’s fun to blast everything around – I always enjoy destroying stuff.

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Interior turret concept art (if you really like gaming concept art, check out our Pioneer Edition):

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3365540/Space_Engineers_2_Pioneer_Edition/
Area welding got improvements too – we added visualization of blocks that are within range and will be welded when you press the mouse button. I am thinking whether to show a consistent 25cm grid or adapt it per block size in the vicinity.

We are in the last finalization weeks of VS2.2 so everyone is converging, and trying to not diverge and delay the release. After the code freeze, we have some more weeks for bugfixing, and then release of VS2.2, and start working on VS2.3, which should bring new changes to colonization meta loop, contracts, new types of contracts, and more.

We also held a biweekly all-team presentation, so I could see the almost final version of our weather system. There’s rain, smoke particles, and grass is influenced by the wind, and what’s amazing, it is volumetric, in a sense that if you are inside, the weather doesn’t get to you – no rain indoors! I don’t know if this makes you happy, but my heart was happy from seeing it.

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I’ve been getting a lot of questions and pleas lately to show more progress on mechanical blocks and wheels. So here you have it. I had the chance to review our current work on wheel suspensions, and it’s really nice to see them coming together. You can see the latest progress in the footage below.

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And the Rotor block, first in the VRAGE3 editor: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m1P03L8XMiE

And first shots of rotor spinning in-game: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GGfamYk6sIY

I also want to share a first look at our planetary ring visuals. This is still very much “Programmer Art” – that’s what our art team calls all the prototypes that haven’t received their attention yet 🙂. What I enjoy about planetary rings is how they add scale and atmosphere without needing any explanation. You can see them directly from the surface, and they give planet Verdure a much more otherworldly feel.

From here, the rings are moving to the art team for a proper visual pass. I’m really curious to see how far they can push the look once they get their hands on them.

We also reviewed the game analytics and Steam reviews, to better understand what SE1 veterans and also new players say about SE2, but also what their behavior says. The positive is that people trust us and have high confidence in SE2’s future and direction. The negative, but fixable, is that the survival is still just basic, contracts are not much fun or replayable. These were expected results, and we will improve it in the next iterations, this is just temporary and not a surprise. We are simply releasing what we have, instead of waiting for the final product, so obviously we have to give you unfinished things from time to time.

Question to you: How do you feel about planetary rings as a visual feature in Space Engineers 2?

Full Blog Post: https://blog.marekrosa.org/2026/02/mareks-dev-diary-february-5-2026/

Please join us next week for Space Engineers 2 New Sector Release Livestream!

🚀 Monday, February 9th, 6 PM UTC
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Space Engineers 2 Dev Diary: January 29, 2026

This week on the regular playtest, we reviewed a bunch of smaller but important things.

We did some animation changes on weapons and tools. Right now the motion is a bit too pronounced when you look around – it feels like the weapon or tool is lagging behind the crosshair. So that’s something we’ll be addressing and tuning down.

Asteroid rings are already in our internal build of the game. From a distance, you see them as a kind of foggy ring. As you get closer, the fog disappears and you start seeing individual asteroids. There’s one big ring around Verdure, and it’s also visible directly from the planet’s surface, which adds a nice large-scale geographic element to the world.

The loot system is already in. During FTUE, contracts, or encounters, you’ll be able to find loot here and there. Datapads are in as well – you can find them and read short snippets of background lore.

The killing field around Delfos is in too. When you get too close, you start seeing dust and fire-like cloudy particles all around you – even inside interiors. This danger goes through obstacles, so if you don’t escape in time, it will kill you and destroy your ship. It’s meant to feel unavoidable and hostile.

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Speed particles are being improved. They look like a star field that fades in once you cross the safe speed (72 km/h), and they really help with the sense of speed and motion.

Customizable controls are in – you can rebind keys. I’m not 100% sure yet whether this covers absolutely all use cases players care about, or more like 90%, but we’ll ship it and then collect the feedback. We are also adding a separate Tools Volume settings – so you can make your mining experience as quiet (or as loud) as you wish.

Automated turrets are in. If you set them up correctly, they start shooting enemy grids, and suddenly it already feels much more like a real game. One thing that’s not done yet: the collision shape for the turret. Right now you can place them extremely close to each other, and it looks… funny. That will be fixed.

Trading blocks are in, so you can buy and sell items. Block actions via the toolbar are in progress. We already saw programmers demo it – pressing numeric keys to turn on lights, open doors, etc. Still being wired up properly, but it’s clearly coming together.

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We’re also improving mission scripting in the FTUE (first-time user experience, roughly the first 1–2 hours). The goal is to avoid situations where the game tells you to do something you can’t actually progress – for example, “bring 1000 iron to a cargo container” when the container already has it, but the mission logic doesn’t register it. These kinds of dead-ends should not happen anymore.

Mission scripting in a sandbox game with a fully destructible environment is… hard 😃

One last edge case we’re trying to avoid is when a player visits a mission area early, unknowingly messes it up, and later comes back when the mission actually needs it – but now it’s impossible to complete because key grids are missing. One possible solution is to spawn almost invisible safe zones around such areas, which you’d only notice when very close, and which would prevent changes. That’s our last-resort, nuclear option. We’ll try everything else first.

I’ve also been looking at our planned GPS expansion, which is a good example of how VS2 really served as a foundation. VS2 gave us the base systems, and now we’re going back and making each of them deeper and more feature complete. GPS is one of those systems that you don’t always notice at first, but once you rely on it, every small improvement matters.

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Right now, the team is working on new GPS features. I really like how practical these changes are. You can for example add a GPS marker directly from your current position, paste markers from the clipboard, and organize everything into GPS groups.

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We’re also working on a WIP indication for newly unlocked blocks. The idea is simple – when you get access to a new block, the game should clearly tell you that something new is available. I personally find this important for feedback and progression. You immediately know that your actions unlocked something, instead of discovering it much later by accident. The visuals for this are still work in progress, but the underlying logic is already there.

You might remember that some time ago I mentioned our early cloud experiments. Since then, we’ve been pushing this area further, especially while working on new planetary visuals. As we add more worlds to the game, it becomes clear that clouds are not just decoration – they are a powerful tool for shaping mood, scale, and overall atmosphere.

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Lately, we’ve been experimenting with a different approach to planet visuals, including the idea of permanent fog. I find this especially interesting for planets that are meant to feel hostile, mysterious, or oppressive. A constant layer of fog changes how you navigate, how far you can see, and how safe you feel at any given moment.

Our cloud system gives the team a lot of control. We can tweak cloud height, density, color, and layering, and combine them in ways that dramatically change the character of a planet. Subtle adjustments already make a big difference. A low, dense fog can make the surface feel claustrophobic and dangerous, while higher, broken cloud layers can emphasize scale and openness. I really enjoy seeing how the same terrain can feel completely different just by changing the atmosphere around it.

This is still very much an experimental area, but it’s exciting to see how far we can push planet identity using clouds and fog alone.

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Question to you: What visuals are most important to you for creating a strong planet atmosphere and mood?

Full Blog Post: https://blog.marekrosa.org/2026/01/mareks-dev-diary-january-29-2026/

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