Space Engineers is Keen Software House's block and voxel sandbox, on Steam Early Access from 23 October 2013 and fully released on 28 February 2019. You build ships, stations and rovers from large grid blocks 2.5 metres per edge or small grid blocks at 0.5 metres, and anything you build can be ground down, shot apart or flown into a mountain. The vanilla Star System holds eight bodies, and their ore rules set the whole progression: platinum appears only on moons and asteroids, uranium only on asteroids.
Starting Space Engineers can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Space Engineers is a sandbox game built around Large and small grid building and Ore refining and assembly. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Atmospheric mining ship | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Hydrogen launch vehicle | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Refining station | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Survival rover | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Combat gunship | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Hydrogen launch vehicle. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Combat gunship as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Large and small grid building
Large grid blocks measure 2.5 metres per edge and small grid blocks 0.5 metres, so a small block holds one one hundred and twenty fifth of the volume. Choosing the wrong grid is why most first rovers cannot be powered or moved.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Large and small grid building works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to EarthLike
120 km across at 1.0 g, with breathable air at 1 atm reaching 14.4 km up and 3.5 percent ore coverage. Silicon, magnesium, iron, cobalt, nickel, gold, silver and ice are all here; platinum and uranium are not.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Grinder: it's the most accessible early upgrade. Breaks blocks back down into their components. It is your salvage tool, your demolition tool and the only way to recover material from a wreck or a mistake.
Step 4: Understand Ore refining and assembly
The Refinery converts ore to ingots at fixed yields, 70 percent for iron, 40 percent nickel, 10 percent silver, 1 percent gold and uranium and 0.5 percent platinum. The Basic Refinery cannot process silver, gold, uranium or platinum at all, and the Survival Kit only handles stone.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Moon
19 km across at 0.25 g with no atmosphere whatsoever, so atmospheric thrusters and wind turbines are dead weight. Ore coverage is only 1.4 percent, but it carries platinum, which no planet does.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Large and small grid building
Large grid blocks measure 2.5 metres per edge and small grid blocks 0.5 metres, so a small block holds one one hundred and twenty fifth of the volume. Choosing the wrong grid is why most first rovers cannot be powered or moved.
Ore refining and assembly
The Refinery converts ore to ingots at fixed yields, 70 percent for iron, 40 percent nickel, 10 percent silver, 1 percent gold and uranium and 0.5 percent platinum. The Basic Refinery cannot process silver, gold, uranium or platinum at all, and the Survival Kit only handles stone.
Thruster and gravity flight
Atmospheric Thrusters do nothing in vacuum, Ion Thrusters do almost nothing in atmosphere, and Hydrogen Thrusters work everywhere at the worst fuel cost. Any ship that leaves a planet needs at least two of the three, staged by altitude.
Oxygen, hydrogen and life support
The O2 H2 Generator melts ice into gas, producing 250 litres of oxygen or 500 litres of hydrogen per five second cycle on large grid. Your suit holds 125 litres of hydrogen, a Hydrogen Bottle holds 400, and bottles in inventory refill the jetpack automatically.
Block damage and repair
Every block carries its own integrity value. The Grinder strips blocks back into components and the Welder rebuilds them, and pairing a Welder with a Projector holding the original blueprint is the entire ship repair loop.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Mining platinum ore while only owning a Basic Refinery, which cannot process it at all
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
2. Building a large grid rover where small grid at 0
5 metre blocks would have been powerable and mobile
3. Fitting only Atmospheric Thrusters, then stalling out a few kilometres up, or far lower on Titan and Pertam
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
4. Planting Wind Turbines on the Moon, which has no atmosphere for them to work in
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
5. Prospecting planets for uranium, which has not spawned there since version 1
189
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Large and small grid building and Ore refining and assembly
- Choose Hydrogen launch vehicle as starting build
- Clear EarthLike main content
- Acquire Grinder or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Moon
- Uranium has not spawned on planets or moons since version 1.189. Nuclear reactors, railgun sabots, artillery shells and rockets all depend on it, so a planet locked base is permanently on solar, wind and hydrogen.
- Platinum appears on moons and asteroids but never on planets, and Thruster Components need it. Ion Thrusters and Jump Drives are therefore gated behind leaving the surface, so plan the Moon run before designing anything for deep space.
Tips for New Players
- Uranium has not spawned on planets or moons since version 1.189. Nuclear reactors, railgun sabots, artillery shells and rockets all depend on it, so a planet locked base is permanently on solar, wind and hydrogen.
- Platinum appears on moons and asteroids but never on planets, and Thruster Components need it. Ion Thrusters and Jump Drives are therefore gated behind leaving the surface, so plan the Moon run before designing anything for deep space.
- The Basic Refinery cannot process silver, gold, uranium or platinum. Hauling those ores home while you still only own a Basic Refinery is the most common wasted expedition in survival saves.
- Atmospheric thickness matters far more than density. Every atmospheric body sits near 1 atm at sea level, but the shell is 14.4 km on EarthLike and Mars, 3.9 km on Triton, 1.6 km on Pertam, 1.15 km on Europa and 0.6 km on Titan.
- Reactor fuel maths is blunt: 1 kg of uranium ingot yields 1 MWh. A Large Reactor at its full 300 MW output burns a kilogram every twelve seconds, which is why nobody leaves them idling.
- Batteries limit throughput as well as capacity. A large grid Battery stores 3 MWh but moves only 12 MW in or out, so a hydrogen heavy ship can still brown out on spin up with a full bank.
- Wind Turbines need atmosphere, clearance and a static grid. They produce nothing in space, nothing on the airless Moon and nothing on a moving vehicle, and ground level placement gives 150 to 200 kW against 200 to 400 kW when elevated.
- Ice is the real fuel supply. Roughly 1,000 kg of ice becomes about 20,000 litres of hydrogen, so scout an ice source before committing to a hydrogen design. On Pertam the ice is underground, beneath oases and discoloured sand patches.
- Carry a spare Hydrogen Bottle at all times. The suit reservoir holds 125 litres against the bottle's 400, and bottles in inventory refill the jetpack automatically once the suit drops to roughly a quarter.
- Turn autorespawn off at world creation if friends might join later. That setting cannot be changed once the world exists, and discovering it forty hours in means starting over or living with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find uranium?
Asteroids only. Uranium was removed from planet generation in version 1.189, so nuclear reactors and every ammunition type built on uranium ingots require reaching an asteroid field first.
Why can I not build Ion Thrusters?
Thruster Components need platinum, and platinum spawns on moons and asteroids but never on planets. A Moon or asteroid trip is a hard prerequisite before efficient vacuum propulsion or a Jump Drive is possible.
Which planet is the best place to settle?
Triton on most counts. It is 80 km across at 1.0 g, has breathable air in the valleys, 3.5 percent ore coverage, surface ice lakes and every ore except platinum and uranium, neither of which any planet carries.
How big is a block?
Large grid blocks are 2.5 metres per edge and small grid blocks 0.5 metres, which puts a small block at one one hundred and twenty fifth the volume. Grid choice changes mass, power draw and material cost by two orders of magnitude.
Is Space Engineers still supported, and what about Space Engineers 2?
The first game left Early Access on 28 February 2019 and still receives major updates, with Apex Survival adding food, farming and radiation on 9 August 2025. Space Engineers 2 entered Early Access on 27 January 2025 on the VRAGE3 engine, opening with Creative Mode only.
More Space Engineers Guides
- Space Engineers Space Engineers Overview
- Space Engineers Best Builds
- Space Engineers Tier List
- Space Engineers Walkthrough
- Space Engineers Tips & Tricks
- Space Engineers Weapons Guide
- Space Engineers Combat Guide
- Space Engineers Boss Guide
- Space Engineers Maps & Locations
- Space Engineers Crafting Guide
- Space Engineers Classes & Characters
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