It’s safe to say that Space Engineers 2 has fairly big magboots to fill. Its predecessor is one of the best sandbox building games around, and it’s looking to go even bigger and better. However, it won’t be rushed – it’s already allocating three years of time in early access and launched Space Engineers 2 in an alpha state back in January. Well, it’s just taken the first small step in its long journey towards a final version that eclipses its predecessor – its first big update since launch is here, and it brings Steam Workshop support to the game.
The freedom to craft, dismantle, or destroy massive space stations and ships in the original Space Engineers is what earned it such a high standing among building game fans. Its planets, moons, and asteroids were both goldmines of resources and enormous, adaptable canvases for your creations. But sharing content and modifying your experience was a core aspect of its longevity and overall success. Space Engineers 2, naturally, wants to replicate this, and update 1.1 to its Alpha Vertical Slice is going to help achieve just that with the addition of Steam Workshop support. This lets players share their creations with the community and pinch ideas that they can then modify to their own needs and tastes.
Right now, it won’t let you share and import mods – that’s arriving in update 1.5, according to developer Keen Software House – but the ability to pass around blueprints is still very welcome. As is highlighted in its announcement post for today’s update, the first Space Engineers game boasts the fourth-largest Steam Workshop community on Valve’s platform, so the importance of getting it into Space Engineers 2 can’t be understated. As well as sharing designs for buildings, ships, and vehicles, you’ll be able to share whole worlds through the Steam Workshop too.
This isn’t the only thing for those playing the alpha to get excited about though. Today’s update also makes enhancements to grid pasting. “When pasting, you’ll now see a projection of the grid in your clipboard, complete with a bounding box selection effect,” Keen says. “A new ‘Pasting’ banner will indicate when you’re in pasting mode,” the studio adds. Pivoting controls while copy and pasting have also been improved and should feel much more contextual – “the pivot point will automatically be set to the block you aimed at during the action,” the developer says.
Mouse sensitivity and inversion settings have also been added as part of the new update, and your world saves can now be viewed, renamed, and edited with more ease and freedom.
Space Engineers 2’s 1.1 update for its Alpha Vertical Slice is live right now. For the full breakdown of the update, head here.
If you still think it’s too early to dive into Space Engineers 2, here are some established and brilliant sandbox games and space games to try instead.
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