Thrusters ignore occlusion (internal thrusters exploit)

In Space Engineers, internal thrusters are widely considered broken because the game’s physics doesn’t properly handle thrust obstruction. Normally, a thruster should require an unobstructed exhaust path to function—if a block is placed directly behind it, the thrust should be blocked or at least reduced. However, the game currently allows thrusters to work at full efficiency even when their exhaust is clipped into armor, conveyors, or other blocks.

This creates a few major issues:

1. Unrealistic Physics – Thrusters are supposed to generate force by expelling exhaust, but in SE, exhaust simply phases through other blocks. This breaks immersion and removes the engineering challenge of designing functional exhaust paths.
2. Exploits in Ship Design – Players can hide thrusters deep inside the hull, making ships look cleaner and more compact while still producing full thrust. This removes the balance between aesthetics and functionality, leading to “thruster-spam bricks” that ignore design constraints.
3. Performance/Balance Problems – Since internal thrusters don’t need space for exhaust, designers can cram far more thrust into small ships, making them disproportionately fast and agile compared to “realistic” designs. This unbalances multiplayer combat, as heavily armored ships with hidden thrusters have no weaknesses.
4. Inconsistent Mechanics – Some blocks (like wheels and drills) do respect collision and placement restrictions, but thrusters don’t. This inconsistency makes the mechanic feel unfinished or bugged rather than intentional.

In short, internal thrusters are broken because they bypass the intended limitations of thrust mechanics, undermine balance, and reduce the engineering aspect of the game. Many players have suggested fixes, such as making thrusters cause damage to nearby blocks, requiring clear exhaust paths, or reducing efficiency when obstructed—but until that happens, internal thrusters remain an immersion-breaking exploit.