Category:Set Up

How do I create a new game in Space Engineers, what options do I have, and how do I make backups?

This video still shows the user interface from 2023.

First time on the Main Screen?

1. Configure game-wide Options.
2. Choose what your character should look like.
3. Optionally, click Quick Start to open a showcase world.

How to create a New game

To create a new game, select a template:

1. On the Main screen, click New Game.
2. Select one of the following categories:
   • Sandbox
   • Story Scenarios
   • PvP Scenarios
   • Original Content
   • Community Content
3. Select one of the game templates.
4. Optionally, click Customize.
   This is, among other things, where you choose Survival Mode or Creative Mode, Multiplayer or Singleplayer, modded or "vanilla".
5. Click Start.

What should I choose?

• First time playing? Explore the Quick Start world to get an idea of the game.
• Story Scenarios are recommended for everyone and they make a great starting point for beginners. Here you explore storylines and achieve goals.
• Sandbox Games are recommended for intermediate and experienced players who set their own goals, or even set up custom worlds.
• PvP Scenarios let you quickly spin up competive multiplayer worlds ready to race cars, have a shoot-out, or have a spaceship battle.
• Original Content contains legacy worlds that still work but that don't use all the most recent blocks.
• Community Content (from the workshop is recommended for intermediate and experienced players because it can include mods.

Sandbox: Which planet should I start on?

When starting a sandbox game such as Star System, you get to choose the planet that your drop pod lands on.

• EarthLike Planet: Best (easiest) start for beginners: You don't have to worry about oxygen; both wind and solar power are available; and it's easy to find food and ores.
• Pertam and Triton - Medium difficulty because you have to maintain life support, work around thin atmospheres and no/little native food.
• Alien planet - Harder difficulty due to hostile weather and uneven terrain. Medium difficulty for oxygen and finding food.
• Mars - Hard difficulty due to having to manage your oxygen, and there's no native Food sources. Easiest place to find ores, good for driving rovers.
• Moons (Europa, Titan, Moon): The moons are hard difficulty as starting points, for various reasons, such as having no atmospheres, hardest food management, uneven terrain. The low gravity makes lift off and landing easier. End-game oress.
• Space Pod - Starting in space in a minimalist space ship with basic life support. Often chosen by intermediate or experienced players on public multiplayer servers.

Guided video tour by Splitsie

Splitsie's video shows you everything you need to know to get started!

Scenarios on consoles

On consoles, only three scenarios are supported: The First Jump, Learning to Survive, Never Surrender.

The official Lost Colony scenario does not work on consoles. Third-party scenarios from the Steam Workshops are not supported either on consoles.

Instead, console players can install the scenario on a dedicated server (EOS) and connect to the hosted PC game.

Gallery

• 

  The New Game screen with categories and world templates to select.
• 

  The Community Games screen lists senarios you have subscribed to on the Workshop.
• 

  The spawn point selection screen after starting a new sandbox game.
• 

  The pre-2014 world settings menu when creating a New Game off a Scenario template.

Are there world size limits?

On PC, the "infinite" world expands as the player explores it.

In the default templates available on Xbox and Playstation, there's only three planets at a time, and the world is limited in size—but practically, you will not notice any size limit during gameplay. Newer, faster consoles can handle more planets.

Can I add mods and planets and ALL the things?

Yes, you can customize sandbox games as you please. In all sandbox worlds in singleplayer, you can switch to Creative Mode and add planets, move planets, spawn in grids from Blueprints, and install mods.

After setting it up, you can switch back to Survival Mode any time, and also open up the custom game for Multiplayer.