World Settings

The World Settings are the set of game options that apply to each created world separately.

How to edit a world's settings

Choose game rules, world generation rules, random events, and so on. There are two ways how to access this screen:

• On the Main screen, click New Game and then select a category, such as Sandbox, then click Customise.
  This is the only time you can set the Scenario template and Asteroid amount options.
• On the Main screen, click Load Game, select an existing game from the list, and then click Edit Settings.
  Scenario template and Asteroid amount cannot be changed anymore.

FAQ

Q: Why can't I find some settings?
A: Certain settings, such as the Scenario template and "Asteroid amount", cannot be changed after the game was created. If other settings are missing, you likely need to enable Experimental mode as well. Note that the Xbox and PlayStation do not have access to some features that PC has under Experimental mode.

Q: How do I edit the World Settings of a save that is not a Sandbox Game?
A: When creating a new game, you've used the tabs to choose among various templates. To edit a pre-configured Scenario or workshop world, first create the game as usual and save and close it. Then click Load Game, open its folder, and select a game save inside, and then click Edit. You can technically edit a pre-configured scenario, but it comes at the risk of breaking its intended gameplay.

Standard Settings

The Standard Settings are the minimum choices that you need to make to create a new game with otherwise default settings.

Name and Description

The name of the world is what will display in the Load World and Join World screens. The description will be displayed when hovering the cursor over the world's name when joining a world. Choosing a meaningful name and description is important for attracting players to an online world, and for yourself to distinguish between several offline saves.

Game Mode

The game mode determines how gameplay will function in the world. The player has two options: Creative or Survival.

• In Creative Mode, the player can place fully-constructed blocks without using resources. Inventory size is unlimited for both the player and blocks with inventories. Reactors and thrusters need but do not consume fuel, players do not take damage and do not consume suit energy, and so on.
• In Survival Mode, the player must manage resources such as power, materials, and fuel, in order to survive and build. The player can take damage from the environment and must be mindful of its dangers.

Online mode

This option determines who, if anyone, can join the world while the player has it loaded. There are four options to choose from:

• Offline: Singleplayer. The game is run offline and "max players" option is disabled.
  Note: Steam still requires an online connection for your Steam client to let you use mods and DLCs.
• Private: Multiplayer. No one can see and join the game unless you invite them.
• Friends: Multiplayer. Only the host's Steam friends can see and join the game.
• Public: Multiplayer. Anyone on Steam can see and join the game. Likely attracts griefers.

(TODO: Console players, please add what you know about the conditions on Consoles, how to join?)

Max players

This option is only enabled when not playing in offline mode. It lets you set the maximum number of players allowed to be in the world at once. The host can choose to allow any number of players between 4 and practically 32, and theoretically 1024. Actual performance depends on the host’s hardware, internet bandwidth, and complexity of the loaded world.

Auto-save

If enabled, the world will be periodically saved. To open a backup from the load screen, double-click the game save as if it were a directory, and select an auto-save.

Optional: Mods

Opens an optional screen where you enable or disable Mods for this world.

Tip: If you’re a beginner, don’t worry about Mods yet and skip this button. Better learn the “vanilla” game first. You can always add Mods later after you have an idea of the base gameplay.

• The left side lists available mods. If there are no mods listed, subscribe to some on any of the Workshops.
• The right side lists Mods that are currently active in this world.
• Use the arrow buttons in the middle to add or remove selected Mods.

Read the mods’ descriptions to understand their compatibilities!

Optional: Advanced Settings

If your game performance is fine and you want to play by the default game rules, just leave the advanced settings as is.

• If your game has low FPS, you can try to improve performance by limiting some features.
• If you find the default game to grindy or too easy, you can change rules regarding the speed of progression here.
• Admins and creative builders come here to enable Spectator mode and multiplayer options.
• Experienced players give themselves an extra challenge by disabling third-person view or jetpacks, or by enabling permadeath, or in-game scripting.

Characters inventory size / Blocks inventory size

This option determines the capacity of the player's own inventory and of blocks with inventories, but not the capacity of gas in tanks. There are three options to choose from:

• Realistic: The player can hold up to 400 L of items. The inventory capacity of blocks is the same as listed in their respective articles on this wiki.
• x3 / x5 / x10: Player and block inventories are three / five / ten times their realistic size, respectively.

Note that if you retroactively decrease these values for an existing world, excess content of inventories will be truncated and lost.

Assembler efficiency

This option determines both the production speed of Assemblers in the world and the amount of resources they take to produce items. There are three options to choose from:

• Realistic: Assemblers work at the normal speed and take the amount of resources listed on this wiki.
• x3 / x10: Assemblers work at three/ten times the normal speed and use one third/tenth of the normal resources.

Refinery speed

This option determines the production speed of Refineries in the world. There are three options to choose from:

• Realistic: Refineries work at the normal speed listed on this wiki.
• x3 / x10: Refineries work at three/ten times the normal speed.

Welding speed

This option determines the speed at which blocks are built using welding tools. There are four options:

• Realistic: The normal speed setting.
• x0.5: Welding reduced to half speed.
• x2 / x5: Welding increased by a factor of two/five.

Grinding speed

This option determines the speed at which blocks are salvaged using grinding tools. There are four options:

• Realistic: The normal speed setting.
• x0.5: Grinding reduced to half speed.
• x2 / x5: Grinding increased by a factor of two/five.

Environment hostility

This option determines whether or not meteor strikes are enabled and how frequently they occur. Choose from Safe, Normal, Cataclysm, or Armageddon -- see Meteor for more details.

Asteroid amount

This option determines the density how many asteroids are generated in space when the world is created. The asteroid amount option is not available for the Empty World scenario. Because it affects world generation, this option cannot be changed retroactively after loading an existing world.

Sound Mode

You can choose between Arcade and Realistic sounds. Arcade sounds are how sound is often depicted in science fiction (audible explosions in space), whereas Realistic sound is more muffled in vacuum and with the helmet closed.

Limit World Size

By default, the Star System size is unlimited (1,000,000,000 km in diameter) and grows as far as the players fly. For challenge scenarios, you can choose to limit the world size to a cube with a side length of 10, 20, 50, or 100 km. All objects that leave this area will be deleted from the game, and characters that leave will die.

View Distance

Larger view distances can cause performance issues depending on how many objects are in the world. Large view distances are also not recommended in worlds with high asteroid density. The performance-friendly recommendation for low-end machines is 5-10 km, whereas 30-50km is only recommended for high-end machines. The default distance is 15 km.

Respawn ship cooldown

The game has a cooldown time how quickly a player can respawn in a new Drop Pod after dying or after pressing BACKSPACE key. Originally, a cooldown of 5-15 mins was intended to discourage players to call in numerous drop pods as a cheap source of materials, but this is no longer needed since the previous drop pod now despawns when you get a new one. Hence the cooldown is disabled by default. Here you could enable the cooldown again and set it to a fraction or a multiple of the default value.

Enable sun rotation

In Space Engineers (as opposed to the real world), the sun orbits around the planets to create the appearance of day and night on planets in the Star System. Sun rotation can be switched on or off. For example, switch it on during normal survival gameplay, and switch it off during creative building or when taking screenshots or recording video. See also "Day duration".

Day duration

If „sun rotation” is enabled, you can choose an in-game day duration between 1 min and 1 day in real-life time. Day length is the same for all planets. Default is 2 hours.

Max objects

This option determines how many items are allowed to float freely in space or lie on the ground. Objects include space ship debris, dropped items like components and ingots, and mined rocks and ores.

Having extremely large number of objects floating freely can slow down the game significantly. If the chosen maximum value is exceeded, the oldest objects (those that have been loose the longest) are automatically deleted from the world. The host can set the maximum number of floating objects between 16 and 1024, but nothing higher then 64 is recommended. Default is 56.

Note: The automatic deletion of debris is colloquially called garbage collection or trash clean-up and its behaviour can be configured or suspended on the Admin Screen in a running game.

Animal NPC Limits

The host can choose any number of active NPCs between 16 and 512, but nothing higher then 64 is recommended. Default is 32. This setting was added with Update 1.200 (Warfare 2) as part of the process of improving the Animal NPC API. Currently the only animals are sabiroids and cyberhounds.

Block limits

The game will limit building new blocks to a recommended number in this world to ensure performance. If too many players build too big, they'll get a warning with a remaining-block counter, and if their allocation reaches zero, they are prevented from building additional blocks. Please disable this option only for experimental purposes. If enabled, the defaults are:

• Max ship size
  You can limit the maximum number of blocks that players can use per grid (that is, per ship / rover / station) to a value between 100 and 50,000 blocks. If your players build “too big”, enable this option to preserve performance on multiplayer servers. By default, this limit is not enforced.
• Max blocks per player
  You can limit the maximum number of blocks that each player can use in total in this world to a value between 300 and 100,000. Destroyed or grinded blocks are refunded. Enable this option to preserve performance on multiplayer servers. By default, this limit is not enforced.
• Total PCU
  Each block has a performance-impact cost, measured in PCU. You can limit the global PCU available in this world to preserve performance. Default is 100,000 PCU.

Max backup saves

If automatic backups (see: Auto-Save) are enabled, this setting controls how many backups will be kept in the save game folder. When you set this to zero, existing backups will be deleted.

Optimal spawn distance

(Only relevant for multiplayer games:) When new players spawn in, you can choose whether you want their drop pods to come in close to existing players (minimum 1km), or further away (up to 25km). This value is measured in metres, the default is 16000 (16 km). Closer makes more sense for PvE, further away makes more sense for PvP.

Max Offline Broadcast Distance

The maximim distance the Broadcast Controller transmits messages when its owner is offline. Values between 0m and 20 km. Default: 200m.

Auto-healing

If enabled, engineers will automatically heal damage in pressurized environments at a slow rate. If disabled, they will need Survival Kits, Medical Rooms, or Medkits to heal. Enabled by default.

Delete respawn ship

Whether the respawn ship will be deleted when the player leaves the server or spawns in another one. Enable this to discourage players from calling in multiple Drop Pods to salvage them for cheap materials. Disabled by default. Enabled on public Keen servers.

Enable Spectator

Spectator Mode lets players (in Survival, typically multiplayer admins) go through walls/ground and teleport. Disabled by default.

Enable copy/paste

This allows players to copy a grid (ship, rover, station) and paste the copy into the world, or turn the clipboard into a blueprint. If the copied blueprint contains modded blocks that you don't have installed, you cannot paste it. The copy can be given momentum as it is pasted into the world, drifting through space if unpowered. Enabled by default in Creative mode, disabled in Survival mode.

Show player names

If enabled, nearby players will have their names displayed as text above their heads. This looks similar to a powered Beacon, except that distance to the player is not shown. Enabled by default. See also the O command.

Reset ownership

Reset Ownership of all blocks to "nobody". Disabled by default.

Thruster damage

If enabled, thrusters will deal damage to players and blocks that are behind them when they fire. Enabled by default.

Permanent Death

If enabled, the engineer cannot respawn in this game save anymore after they die. Permadeath is disabled by default.

Weapons enabled

If enabled, weapons and explosives will function normally. If disabled, however, attempting to fire a weapon will instead display a warning message indicating that they do not work. Enabled by default. See also Damage Mechanics.

Cargo ships

If enabled, Pre-Built Ships will occasionally spawn at the edge of the Star System and drift through the sector. These computer-controlled (NPC) ships can be captured and salvaged. Some of these ships are unarmed, but those with turrets will fire at hostile players and ships that come close. Enabled by default.

Destructible blocks

Controls whether blocks are destructable by crashes, collisions, or weapons. Typically enabled for Survival games, and disabled for adventure maps or showcases. Enabled by default. See also Damage Mechanics.

In-game scripts

Enable this to run scripts in Programmable Blocks. Disabled by default.

Enable Space Suit Respawn

Typically, you respawn at a Medical Room, Survival Kit, or Cryo Chamber. Enabling this adds the option of respawning floating in space, which offers a special (piracy centered) survival challenge.

Enable tool shake

Choose whether grinders and welders shake the player's camera and throw blocks in the air. Enabled by default.

Adaptive simulation quality

Enable reduction of quality of deformation and explosions affecting voxels if the CPU is on fire. Enabled by default.

Enable voxel hand

The Voxel Hands tool is a Creative tool in the Toolbar Configuration that lets you shape the voxels of planets and asteroids. Enabled in Creative mode, disabled by default in Survival mode.

Random encounters

Sometimes, you will encounter abandoned ships and stations when exploring the world. Enabled by default.

Enable 3rd person view

Controls whether pressing V key toggles the camera between 1st and 3rd person view. 3rd person view is advantageous when exploring and when controlling ships and rovers; enforcing 1st person view makes the game more challenging. Being able to switch is enabled by default.

Enable oxygen

Oxygen is used as a survival mechanic by the Engineer's space suits and by engineers in cockpits and pressurised rooms. This game mechanic is enabled by default.

Enable airtightness

Oxygen is used as a survival mechanic when building airtight rooms. Airtightness is enabled by default.

Enable "Convert to Station"

This adds a button to a grid's Info Screen to covert grids between a mobile ship and a static station. If you convert a station that still intersects with voxels, the resulting mobile grid will likely explode.

Unsupported stations

If disabled, when you disconnect the supports of a static grid from a planet or asteroid, it will turn into mobile grid (this is the default behaviour). If enabled, the static grid will remain static even if unsupported. Currently it, in fact, always remains static, see also bug report.

Enable jetpack

Enabled by default. If disabled, pressing X key does not allow engineers to fly with their jetpacks, which presents the player with an extra challenge, and can end up getting you stuck in zero gravity.

Spawn with tools

By default, characters always respawn with a low-level handheld grinder, welder, and drill. Disabling this option presents the player with an extra challenge, for example in a scenario.

Enable voxel destruction

Controls whether voxels (that is, the ground and asteroids) are destructable by drills, collisions, or explosives. Typically enabled for Survival games, and disabled for adventure maps or showcases. Enabled by default. See also Damage Mechanics.

Enable drones

If you approach or attack certain NPC stations, they will defend themselves by sending armed drones after you. Enabled by default.

Enable wolves

If enabled, Cyberhounds spawn on the Earthlike planet and attack players and buildings. Disabled by default because they are buggy.

Enable spiders

If enabled, Saberoids spawn on the Alien planet and attack players and buildings. Disabled by default because they are buggy.

Remote block removal

Allows players to free up their PCU limits by remotely removing their own abandoned grids through the Info Screen of their player Terminal. Enabled by default.

Enable Sub-Grid damage

If enabled, then subgrids connected by hinges/rotors/pistons can damage each other when moving. Disabled by default for more stable behaviour.

Enable friendly rocket damage

Disabled by default. If enabled, Rocket explosions can damage the grids of their own faction.

Enable unknown signals

If you start the game via Steam, a few times per day, lootboxes on parachutes will be dropped from the sky while you play. They contain tradeable Steam skins, space credits, and components. Enabled by default in Survival mode. Not available in Creative mode nor on consoles.

Enable respawn ships

Enabled by default so engineers can respawn in a ship or in their suit after they get killed. If disabled, it becomes practically a permadeath game.

Enable progression

Progression means that engineers have to unlock blocks by building specific blocks from the progression tree first. Enabled by default. Progression can help new players focus on essentials; advanced players can choose to disable it.

Enable Autorespawn

By default, dead players automatically respawn at your (faction's) nearest available Medical Room or Survival Kit. All other possible respawn points are listed on the respawn screen as "not ready". To be able to spawn at a different point, players would have to temporarily switch off the closest respawn points. The official multiplayer servers enforce Autorespawn.

If you disable this setting, respawning players can choose a respawn point from the list -- which is practically a means of "fast-travel without inventory".

Enable supergridding

An outdated exploit that allowed mixing small and large grid blocks that is rarely still used in old workshop items. Disabled by default.

Enable Economy

In multiplayer as well as singleplayer, you will sometimes encounter Trading Outposts: These are initially neutral space stations and planetary bases owned by NPC factions that offer Stores and Contracts. The same NPC factions also own the passing cargo ships. Disabled by default.

Enable Bounty Contracts

A PvP gameplay option for Multiplayer: If Economy Trading Outposts are enabled, the NPCs are allowed to offer Bounty Contracts to reward players for killing players that have low standing with their NPC faction (due to unfulfilled contracts or piracy). Enabled by default.

Enable Weather system

Adds different atmospheric conditions to planets with atmospheres, which may limit visibility, or affect the power effectivity of wind mills and solar panels. Enabled by default.

Enable aim assist

Off by default for PC. You can enable this adjustment if you are using a gamepad controller.

Enable Lightning Damage

Whether atmospheric lightning strikes can damage grids and players. Off by default (which is recommended for beginners). Enable lightning damage if you want an extra challenge on planets with weather.

Enable Scrap Drops

Allow recyclable Scrap Metal to be dropped from damaged blocks. Disable this to improve performance of battle fields or crash sites.

Enable Temporary Containers

Combines multiple floating items, such as the contents of a destroyed cargo container, into one item called Temporary Container. Enable this to improve performance in world with lots of debris, e.g. on battle fields.