"Need to create" - Builder, accelerationist, and Founder/CEO at KeenSWH.com and GoodAI.com - Working on AI People and LTM, Space Engineers 2, VRAGE3 engine and Resilient Civilization
Every Thursday, I will share a dev diary about what we've been working on over the past few weeks. I'll focus on the interesting challenges and solutions that I encountered. I won't be able to cover everything, but I'll share what caught my interest.
Why am I doing it
I want to bring our community along on this journey, and I simply love writing about things I'm passionate about! This is my unfiltered dev journal, so please keep in mind that what I write here are my thoughts and will be outdated by the time you read this, as so many things change quickly. Any plans I mention aren't set in stone and everything is subject to change. Also, if you don't like spoilers, then don't read this.
Space Engineers 2
The team is almost finished with VS 1.5 Modding (should be completed this week, and then a few weeks of testing will begin). With this milestone approaching, everyone is now shifting focus towards VS 2 - Planets and Survival, which I'm personally very excited about.
Some of the basic loops in the game are already working well during our internal playtests: the ore detector now elegantly displays ore locations on your HUD, you can drill ore, and the inventory screen allows smooth movement of items between inventories and grids. During yesterday's playtest, we focused on refining the grid roll function (Q/E keys) which many of you noticed wasn't fully implemented. I'm pleased to report it's now working as intended.
The art team is polishing voxel materials for planets - cliff materials, grass, soil, sand, and more. I'm genuinely impressed with how planets look from orbit and from 1-2 km distances - the view is breathtaking. However, we still have work to do in the middle distance range (200-2000m), where some material detail patterns don't quite match the scale. This is the kind of subtle polish that will make a huge difference in the final experience.
Turning SE2 into a Game: Core/Meta Loops & Progression
This topic has become my personal priority. Many systems in SE2 are already solid and polished, so now it's time to "turn it into a game" with meaningful, satisfying loops.
Core loops in SE2 encompass exploration, engineering, combat, and various combinations of these activities. A key design principle we're implementing is accessibility - ensuring the first experience with engineering isn't overwhelmingly complex, which might discourage new players. We're designing a progression from simpler engineering tasks to more complex challenges as players gain experience, but importantly, players are free to progress in any direction they want. The game will gradually introduce more complexity and challenges, but you'll never be forced down a specific path.
Let me walk you through a concrete example: Imagine spawning on a planet where your HUD objectives guide you to a ship projection. The interface intelligently directs you to nearby resource locations. You mine ore and then use backpack building (which automatically converts raw ore to components for basic blocks) to weld the projection block by block. Within minutes, you've constructed your first ship, and your HUD guides you to the next objective. Of course, this is just one optional path - you're always free to ignore these suggestions and forge your own way through the universe.
This engineering core loop creates satisfying and rewarding moments every few minutes. It's something players will repeat regularly, so we're meticulously fine-tuning it to ensure it remains engaging. This is just one example - we have numerous core loops designed with the same care.
Meta loops provide longer-term goals. You might accept a mission, travel to a specific location, solve various challenges (exploration, combat, engineering), receive rewards, and then progress to the next mission. Through this journey, you'll unlock new areas and advance your colonization index - a visual map showing which regions of Almagest you've already colonized. This provides intuitive, visual progression feedback without resorting to arbitrary gates.
Progression in SE2 isn't about arbitrary skill trees or artificial restrictions. Our philosophy is to gradually introduce complexity, allowing players to learn the game's systems organically while providing clear visual indicators of progress. We respect player intelligence while ensuring the learning curve doesn't become a learning cliff.
What I've described is just a glimpse into the ongoing design discussions we're having. Another major topic we're currently brainstorming is the combat meta and core loops - examining why players would attack or defend, what challenges they'll face, what rewards they'll receive, optimal combat frequency and distance, and whether combat should be automated or manual. These decisions will fundamentally shape the SE2 experience.
What aspects of SE2's core loops are you most excited to experience? What other topics are you interested in? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Personal: Safari in Botswana
We recently took a quick three-night extended weekend trip to Botswana (an easy choice when you're staying in Cape Town). I've always wanted to visit, but since we didn't have time for a car journey, we opted for this shorter trip.
Botswana is a vast country with fewer than 3 million citizens. They have quality education, good governance, and generally, people seem content in their country (there's relatively little emigration). Our focus, however, was purely on nature - we stayed at a camp in the Okavango Delta and enjoyed the classic safari experience: morning game drives and evening boat rides to observe wildlife.
We were fortunate on the first day to encounter two lion brothers, whom we followed for almost an hour. We witnessed them attempt two hunts - first on a warthog and then on giraffes. Both were unsuccessful. It was fascinating to observe how lions rely on the element of surprise and abandon pursuit if not successful in the first few seconds. It was quite the experience sitting in an open vehicle just 5 meters from these magnificent predators with nothing between us.
To summarize: Botswana is beautiful, safe, has incredible wildlife, excellent food, lush greenery, and friendly, happy people. We plan to return in the future, but next time as a road trip to experience the country more intimately.
Every Thursday, I will share a dev diary about what we've been working on over the past few weeks. I'll focus on the interesting challenges and solutions that I encountered. I won't be able to cover everything, but I'll share what caught my interest.
Why am I doing it
I want to bring our community along on this journey, and I simply love writing about things I'm passionate about! This is my unfiltered dev journal, so please keep in mind that what I write here are my thoughts and will be outdated by the time you read this, as so many things change quickly. Any plans I mention aren't set in stone and everything is subject to change. Also, if you don't like spoilers, then don't read this.
Space Engineers 1
The recent Fieldwork update for SE1 has brought many players back, and we're now seeing increased activity in SE1. This is wonderful to see, especially since we still have plans for SE1, and because SE1 and SE2 cannibalize each other's player bases in interesting ways:
Some new players purchase SE2 (simply because it's newer), only to discover there isn't much content for them yet, leading them to leave. Had they bought SE1 instead, they would likely have had a higher chance of remaining engaged with the game.
SE2 currently shows lower retention rates and player numbers compared to SE1, largely because creative mode appeals only to a smaller segment of players.
Nonetheless, we're committed to this as a long-term journey, so these are merely temporary challenges we'll overcome.
Personal
I want to share a personal experience with you. About a year ago, after a minor slip-up during BJJ, I started noticing spasms and stiffness in my upper and lower back. At first, I brushed it off, thinking it was just part of getting older. I turned to the usual remedies—massage, stretching, mobility exercises—but none of them made a dent. Frustrated, I consulted a sports doctor who referred me to a biokineticist with a fresh perspective.
Using movement tests, the biokineticist uncovered the real culprit: some of my muscles were over-active—doing more than their proper share of work—while others weren't pulling their weight. This overactivity led to muscle fatigue, which eventually triggered protective spasms when my body and brain decided to protect those overworked areas by stiffening them.
His solution was straightforward yet spot-on: massage the tense muscles to ease their burden and strengthen the weaker ones to bring my body back into balance. It worked wonders. We even discovered that in certain positions, some muscles were malfunctioning - for example, when I turned my head to the right, my abdominal muscles would completely disengage instead of maintaining proper support.
The best part was that we precisely debugged the issue with no uncertainty, targeting and discovering exactly three muscles that needed fixing. This precision meant I knew exactly where to be careful and how to address each problem area. With this approach, the pain faded, and now I'm back to long coding sessions, discomfort-free.
The takeaway? Whether you're debugging code or resolving issues in your body, don't stop at the surface—dig deeper to find the root cause.
Space Engineers 2
VS 1.5 Modding
Next big update is VS 1.5 Modding
Here are some use cases that I was recently testing:
Replace the default skybox in the game - can be done in few clicks
Replace the texture on the default Medbay block with a chrome one
Add a new Medbay block to the game - so it shows as a new block in the G-screen
During this testing we discovered some bugs and some weird UX issues, which are getting fixed, so it was pretty useful. Here are few examples of Modding in action:
Space Engineers 1 Couch Model imported and material adjusted.
Gizmo control of dummies.
Thruster with a light and gyroscope built in - you are not restricted by entity type anymore!
And a view of terminal with both light and thrust override.
The reason why we decided to add modding so early was that SE was always about our community and our modders and we want to support them as soon as possible, and also we hope that it will add extra value to the game, and help grow SE2 faster. But it’s hard to say, maybe starting with Survival would be a better growth strategy. Hard to say.
Gameplay: Colonizing the Almagest System
The heart of Space Engineers 2's gameplay is the new colonization system. We've divided the Almagest solar system into distinct regions, each offering unique resources, challenges, and opportunities. As you complete missions and establish infrastructure in these areas, you'll increase your "colonization index" – a measure of humanity's foothold in this distant star system. This creates a clear, visible progression path while maintaining the sandbox freedom that defines Space Engineers.
Every engineering project, exploration mission, and combat encounter contributes to your colonization efforts. Complete a power station? Your colonization index rises. Establish a mining outpost? The index grows further. Defend against threats? Your settlement becomes more secure. This system gives purpose to your engineering projects within the broader narrative of humanity's expansion.
We're framing this experience as "The New Space Race" – where players collaborate and compete to establish humanity's presence across Algamest. This creates natural objectives that are always visible and clearly communicated through mission markers, HUD indicators, and detailed objective panels. You'll always know what your current mission is, where to find essential resources, and what rewards await completion – all through intuitive visual guidance.
While Space Engineers 1 excelled at engineering, physics, and sandbox elements, SE2 will enhance these foundations with stronger gameplay loops and progression systems. We've designed the game to provide a satisfying rhythm of challenges and rewards – you'll experience meaningful accomplishments every few minutes rather than hours, keeping engagement high while building toward larger achievements.
We're implementing several accessibility features to support this vision:
Backpack building for direct ore-to-component conversion during construction
Enhanced projection building with our improved ghost block system
New build planner interface streamlining the engineering process
Redesigned blueprint system facilitating knowledge sharing between engineers
Block unlocking will be tied to both your colonization progress and your building achievements – construct basic components to unlock advanced ones, with region-specific resources enabling specialized technology.
We're also considering role-based specialization paths (Explorer, Engineer, Pilot, Industrialist) that would complement the colonization system while preserving the sandbox freedom SE is known for.
Throughout all these changes, we're improving accessibility without compromising depth. Space Engineers 2 will be easier to learn but just as challenging to master – maintaining the engineering complexity our community values while welcoming newcomers to the universe we're building together.
Please let me know your thoughts - suggestions, questions. It’s time to start discussing the gameplay with you!
Every Thursday, I will share a dev diary about what we've been working on over the past few weeks. I'll focus on the interesting challenges and solutions that I encountered. I won't be able to cover everything, but I'll share what caught my interest.
Why am I doing it
I want to bring our community along on this journey, and I simply love writing about things I'm passionate about! This is my unfiltered dev journal, so please keep in mind that what I write here are my thoughts and will be outdated by the time you read this, as so many things change quickly. Any plans I mention aren't set in stone and everything is subject to change. Also, if you don't like spoilers, then don't read this.
Space Engineers 1
This Monday we released a huge Fieldwork update for Space Engineers 1
I missed last week's dev diary because I took a vacation to a remote offline place without internet access. But I want to share with you some things that excited me:
I spent 3 days staying on a remote sheep farm in the Karoo (South Africa), with no signal, no electricity, and the nearest neighbor about 30 km away
The forced deep-focus was incredible - with no internet or email notifications, I could only think, sketch, and draft ideas the old-fashioned way
It was strangely liberating not being able to "just ask the AI" or to google or open some documents - every question had to go in my notebook, which helped me see which problems are truly worth pursuing later
I finally completed a reading sprint, finishing "Designing Games" by RimWorld's Tynan Sylvester - got lots of great mental models on player motivation, pacing, and emergent story arcs that I'm bringing back into SE2 and AI People
Explored the farm's canyon system and discovered a century-old settler dam that's now partially breached, plus an ancient camel-thorn tree that I named the "Tree of Life"
Had an amazing "Palaeo day" where I:
Toured the Gansfontein palaeosurface with Marinda Oberholzer in Fraserburg - hundreds of 255 million-year-old proto-mammal trackways preserved in mudstone
Visited Jaco Groenewald's personal museum in Sutherland to see dicynodont skulls and amphibian swim-trails - his DIY exhibit at Sterland shows how the Karoo records the Permian-Triassic extinction
Both amazing people who love their work and passion!
Space Engineers 2
Our water team is optimizing the simulation and making it more stable across various test cases (water dam, underwater base, aqueduct, submarine, etc.)
The water rendering looks much better now and more flat - making spherical water for a spherical planet was a very challenging task, but it's working well now
We'll soon need to start adding sound effects for water, which I think will be substantial work - we need to detect where water falls and splashes without over-spamming the audio system, plus create muffled sounds for underwater (though this part should be easier, just needing an "if" condition and a dynamic effect in FMOD)
We've improved camera shake for both character and ship:
It feels great during jetpack flight - shaking during the initial charge-up period and during boost flight
It works for ship acceleration too, but it's currently too strong - we'll reduce it and implement a cooldown so after about 2 seconds it will gradually stop shaking or shake very little
We also plan to implement this for deceleration
The ship drill now causes rock debris to fly off when drilling asteroids
Our main focus is now on:
VS 1.5 Modding update - this will be amazing for modders and players, providing new tools to mod the game. We've done several playtests and the workflow is becoming more intuitive and simpler while maintaining freedom and flexibility
VS 2 - focusing on survival, planets, and real gameplay (at least the first stages). We're transitioning from polishing small creative mode details to the bigger picture of actual gameplay - turning SE2 into a game about space colonization with exploration, combat, and engineering. For me, this is the most important part and one of the main reasons for making SE2 - to reimagine the SE experience without constraints
Animations continue to see incremental improvements:
The debug gun now has better positioning and distance
We still plan to improve jump animation, uphill and downhill walk/run animations, tool usage (drill, welder, etc.), stopping animations, and more
First-person camera and animations are already very good, about 90% of our target quality
AI People
I've started working on my own AI NPCs experiments and my own LTM (Long-Term Memory) system
It's incredibly fun to be back programming after 10 years of CEO-ing - being in those fast iteration loops (idea → experiment → feedback)
AI-assisted coding makes you tremendously productive these days
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