Bulk deliveries are a boring grind - not fun

For my sins, I have nearly 900 hours in SE2. I have re-started from scratch many times, I have built ships small and large, and a small fleet of ships to tackle the various progression phases of the game on a few of the run throughs. I can attest that bulk mining delivery contracts to obtain the right to build another block type are awful. Calling the contract a delivery is the first failure, the pittance of reward for the amount of effort is the 2nd. If sub grids were reliable I might say that engineering was a thing worth the time, as yet the game can not handle complex sub grids consistently. Building larger ships becomes more of an investment over the iterations, especially when not all blocks are available. Once block progression is near complete, building big can make more sense. The idea of taking a huge delivery of materials from A to B is OK, mining for profit is OK, but the current bulk delivery contracts are punishing, not motivational, the rewards are mean to the point of wanting to join the renegades.

"the rewards are mean to the point of wanting to join the renegades."

:D would be fine to have this option.

i think the reward are one point to know that everyone want become! Wacky Steps

I agree with Deon. However, I think the problem goes beyond the contracts themselves and their poor rewards.

I have around 1,400 hours in Space Engineers 1, and one thing I would really like to see in SE2 is a more diversified progression system. Building larger mining and hauling ships should certainly be part of the experience, but it shouldn't be the only meaningful way to progress or unlock new technologies.

The problem, in my opinion, is that the game currently relies too heavily on repetitive activities to unlock new building possibilities. Completing increasingly demanding bulk delivery contracts just to obtain a license for another block type doesn't necessarily create meaningful progression. It can easily turn into a tedious grind rather than an incentive to build better ships.

I'd much rather see different ways of acquiring technologies: research and experimentation, exploring abandoned facilities, recovering technology and components from wrecks, or even developing industrial infrastructure to unlock more advanced production capabilities.

I'd also like to see more varied gameplay scenarios and progression paths. For example, starting with ground vehicles, developing mining and transportation infrastructure, completing missions that require different types of vehicles, and eventually progressing towards atmospheric and space engineering. Not as a mandatory path, but as an alternative way to experience the game.

I believe building should be more than just a response to increasingly demanding contracts. It should be a means of overcoming challenges, expanding capabilities, solving problems, and creating new opportunities.

After all, the real potential of Space Engineers isn't simply about building bigger ships. It's about giving players meaningful reasons to build, and making the things they create useful within a broader gameplay experience.

Rant mode engaged.(sorry)

If this was just a mining problem then may be. Piggy backing a small vessel on to a larger one has issues too. The time taking to process material is considerable, the way in which a smelter supports an assembler makes estimating the process time difficult to assess. So, the quantities of required raw materials needed for processing, is something that you have to work out somewhere.

If you can work all of this out, then you can assess the storage needs for transporting, and then in turn the size of vessel required for the task, and then go through the whole process again with the next bulk delivery contract.

All of this on a computer that does not do this calculation for you unless you decide to make your own app.

Alternatively, I could build massif grid, stock up on fuel and hope I can make planet fall the next time its required, then there is fleet management and logistical transfers, all for the sake of earning the license to make a passage block and get a few lumps of ore or a couple of components that have 0.01% value of the task that is required, not even an attempt to buy me of with a medal. 'Well done engineer' does not hack it.