To start things off, I'd like to explain my gameplay goals. When game worlds in Space Engineers were infinite in size but empty beyond a field of asteroids clustered around the center of the map, my only goal was simply to survive. Outside of that, I let my imagination guide me toward projects such as building particular kinds of ships, or working on the creation of massive space stations as a more permanent home base. With the addition of the Exploration update, I have a much more defined goal set for myself: exploration itself.
Worlds can now be set to a near-infinite size and with procedurally-generated asteroids throughout its entirety. Not only that, but the developers of Space Engineers put out a call, asking the community to submit ship and station designs through the Steam Workshop, a number of which have become a part of the game itself. These creations can be randomly found in worlds with particular game settings, abandoned and waiting to be collected.
I still may set up a somewhat more permanent home in the form of a space station, but the major goal for my gameplay is exploration. I'll be visiting asteroids, but most importantly, I'll be seeking out the abandoned ships and stations of my game world. I've seen a few screenshots that the community has taken of what they've come across out amongst the vast emptiness of space, and I'm excited to see just what I can find for myself. And each time I find something new, I'll be sure to record it here as part of my Exploration series.
The Game Settings
- "Asteroids" Scenario: When I first started playing Space Engineers, I had chosen the "Crashed Red Ship" scenario. I loved that I had a great deal of basic resources like steel plates, but that other things - displays and computers, for instance - were much more rare. When the developers updated their ship designs to include new blocks they had added such as the connector and collector blocks as well as conveyer tubes, it felt like this start became too easy. Playing in the "Asteroids" scenario brings back that sense of a meager beginning, keeping me on my toes for the first few hours, and ensuring that I conserve everything I have.
- Offline Survival: Although I might open the game up to allow friends to look at what I've built - after safely backing up my save, of course - I play to play the game entirely in single player, and with the rules put in place by survival mode. Everything will take time to build, the components themselves requiring resources gained either from salvage or mining, and the ever-present threat of suit energy or oxygen running out keeping me even more careful about what I do and where.
- Safe Environment: Sort of an oxymoron considering I'm to be free-floating in the empty void of space. Instead, this means that there won't be any meteor showers coming at semi-regular intervals. Although it would be another source of danger to contend with, experience has taught me that meteor showers mostly just make me do all of my work on the dark side of the asteroids, and that tends to make for terrible screenshots. This setting may change in the future.
- Infinite Asteroids, Low Density: Procedurally generated asteroids in an infinite map is what's gotten me so excited to play Space Engineers again. I decided to go with "low density" because I want to make sure that every asteroid I find is important, at least so far as resources go. From any one point, I should be able to see four or five asteroids at the edge of my view distance. This may come back to bite me in the rear later on, if I can't find a good supply of uranium or ice, but I'll have to deal with that when the time comes.
- Realistic x1 Speeds: Playing on the standard settings, so far as inventory sizing and speeds go, helps keep things.. well, realistic. Even in space an engineer can't hold a huge amount of components or tools. This setting will ensure that I think about building welding, grinding and mining ships for any project that will be of a decent size or that might take a long time.
- Auto-Healing - Disabled: Although I can understand the idea of a space suit being able to do some light work in helping to heal its occupant, I don't think it's very realistic to be able to heal from all damage. This setting ensures that I'll remember where my nearest medical room is located.
- Cargo Ships - Enabled: There are currently nine different kinds of abandoned cargo ships that will occasionally spawn into the world and drift through space. They can be a quick source of salvaged components for anyone brave enough to try and capture one, as they all have some manner of defensive weaponry in place. It might take a while for me to feel confident enough in my designs and tactics to try and do so myself, but it will happen sometime.
- Weapons - Enabled: This goes hand-in-hand with the above setting. Without weapons being enabled, the cargo ships would be far too easy to snatch up and repurpose for my own ends. Plus, if I ever decide to turn the meteor showers on, I'll need functional turrets to help defend against them.
- Oxygen - Enabled: One of the more recent updates to Space Engineers was the inclusion of oxygen as another factor to deal with in survival mode. Much like having to find and collect uranium to power my ships and supply my suit with energy, I'll need to collect ice to turn into oxygen.
- Tools Shake - Disabled: The main reason I have almost exclusively stuck to mining with the hand-drill in Space Engineers was due to the way that rotating drills would cause any ship I was piloting to shudder and twist all over the place. Doing so in the confines of an asteroid can cause important parts of the ship to simply be distroyed after taking enough impact damage. When the developers added this option to the game, they also caused ship grinders to shake when in use. For both of those reasons, I'm going to start the game with this setting disabled. Like some other choices, it may change in the future.
- Thruster Damage - Enabled: This makes sure that any ships I build will realistically have to deal with the damage that comes from thruster exhaust, helping shape the designs I make. Also, any ship that I upload to the Steam Workshop will be sure to work in other worlds, whether they have the thruster damage setting on or not.
- Spectator Mode - Enabled: This time around I plan to try and use only first-person mode whether inside of a ship or not. The only time I'll be taking advantage of spectator mode is when I want to take an interesting screenshot for this blog. Otherwise, if I want to see how my ship is oriented or whether it's got clearance to fly around a structure, I'll have to install a camera.
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