Make Missions Matter: Main Quests, Risk, and Reasons to Mine

Hi Keen team,

First of all, I’m really enjoying the foundations of Space Engineers 2. The building and iteration loop feels promising, but right now the mission gameplay can become a bit monotone because there’s very little risk and not much reason to explore, mine, or prepare for threats beyond basic tools.

I’d like to suggest an expanded mission structure with clear progression and more “purpose-driven” challenges.

A) Normal Contracts (always available)

These would work similarly to Space Engineers 1 and serve as repeatable “work” that supports progression:

• Delivery / hauling
• Repair contracts
• Salvage / sell / retrieve items
• Basic build requests
• Station support tasks

These contracts should be always accessible, rotating regularly, and help the player build reputation and resources.

B) Main Quests (rarer, bigger, story-like)

Main quests should feel like “major operations” with preparation, higher stakes, and unique outcomes. These are the missions that create memorable gameplay moments, not just routine tasks.

A few examples of what could be great:

Example Main Quest 1: “Build a full outpost projection”

• You receive a large projection blueprint that must be built on a specific asteroid location.
• The blueprint requires real resource gathering (not just welding/grinding loops).
• Once completed, a trigger event happens (e.g., rogue drones arrive to attack) and the player must defend the newly built base.
• Reward could be meaningful: rare components, unique blocks, reputation boost, access to new contract tiers, etc.

Example Main Quest 2: “Find and recover a crashed cargo ship”

• A cargo ship from another sector crashed on a random asteroid.
• You only get a last known position (a wide search area, not a pin-point marker).
• The player must scan/search/explore to locate the wreck.
• After arriving, pirates are already there, forcing a fight.
• After winning: recover key cargo + repair the ship enough to move, then deliver it back to a station.

That kind of mission creates: exploration → discovery → conflict → recovery → delivery, which is a very satisfying arc.

To keep progression natural and avoid giving huge missions too early:

• Main quests only appear after the player builds a certain relationship / reputation level through normal contracts.
• This also makes normal contracts feel meaningful (they’re not just filler; they unlock bigger content).

This is also great for balancing difficulty and pacing.

Right now, the lack of threats makes missions feel low-stakes. Many tasks can be done with just a welder and grinder, and there’s often no strong reason to mine, gear up, or build defensive systems.

Adding guns and drones (and making them relevant to missions) would immediately increase variety and decision-making:

• Defensive missions (protect outposts, defend a convoy, survive a raid)
• Hostile zones around high-value targets
• Pirate ambushes on salvage missions
• “Rogue drone” activity that escalates with reputation or region

This would give players real reasons to:

• mine and stock resources
• build armed ships and defensive bases
• scout and plan
• bring spare parts, ammo, repair capability

This structure would create:

• better long-term progression (contracts → reputation → main quests)
• more gameplay variety (exploration, combat, logistics, building under pressure)
• more reasons to use the engineering sandbox fully (not just tools)

Thanks for reading—hope these ideas help. I’m excited to see where SE2 goes and I’d love to have missions that create higher stakes and more memorable “operations”.