Marek's Dev Diary: May 8, 2025

What is this

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 This is my unfiltered dev journal, so please keep in mind that what I write here are my thoughts and will be outdated by the time you read this, as so many things change quickly.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 Algamest System

The heart of Space Engineers 2's gameplay is the new colonization system. We've divided the Algamest 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!