Why do players quit building?

The Future of Space Engineers Isn't More Blocks

TL;DR - Space Engineers has some of the best engineering and building systems ever made.

The thing I believe it still needs is a world that continuously gives players reasons to use those systems.

I don't think the long-term challenge for Space Engineers (1 or 2) is adding more blocks.

I think it's creating meaningful problems with meaningful consequences.

The future of Space Engineers isn't more blocks.

It's creating a world that continuously gives players reasons to use those blocks.

Why do so many players build an amazing ship, base, rover, carrier, fighter, or mobile factory...

...and then eventually stop playing?

I've been thinking about that question while playing both SE1 (thousands of hours) and the SE2 Vertical Slices.

I don't think the answer is a lack of content.

I think the answer is that eventually the player runs out of problems worth solving.

Space Engineers is at its absolute best when it presents an engineering problem and allows the player to solve it however they want.

The magic isn't building blocks.

The magic is solving problems.

Examples:

• I need a better mining ship.
• I need more range.
• I need better defenses.
• I need to transport more resources or resources farther.
• I need to survive somewhere hostile. **
• I need to protect something valuable.

Those situations create innovation.

The player designs.

The player experiments.

The player fails.

The player redesigns.

The player succeeds.

That loop is where Space Engineers shines.

• Go here.
• Repair this.
• Collect this.
• Leave.

The mechanics work.

But often I don't know:

• Who benefits?
• What changes if I succeed?
• What happens if I fail?

The task exists.

The consequence does not.

The difference between an errand and an engineering challenge is context.

"Repair this antenna."

versus

"Three settlements have lost communication and supply ships are no longer arriving."

The gameplay is similar.

The meaning is completely different.

One of the biggest opportunities for SE2 is making exploration reveal challenges rather than simply reveal places.

When I discover a location, I should potentially discover:

• A colony that needs help.
• A failing logistics network.
• A pirate-controlled shipping lane.
• A settlement requesting evacuation.
• A defense network that needs expansion.
• A faction conflict.
• A resource crisis.

Exploration should reveal opportunities for engineering.

Not just coordinates.

I think colonization has the potential to become one of the most powerful systems in the game.

Not because of story.

Because of pressure.

Colonies should consume resources.

Colonies should create needs.

Needs should create engineering problems.

Examples:

• Supplies aren't reaching the colony.
• Raiders are intercepting transports.
• Communications are failing.
• Defenses are inadequate.
• Production is insufficient.
• Evacuation is required.

Now the player has a reason to build.

The beauty of Space Engineers is that there is never one correct answer.

A pirate threat could be solved by:

• A heavily armed warship.
• Automated defenses.
• Drone fleets.
• Escort fighters.
• A stealth transport route.
• Better logistics infrastructure.

All of those should be valid.

The game creates the problem.

The players create the solution.

One issue both SE1 and eventually SE2 will face (if it doesn't change course) is that many players eventually build a ship that can solve every problem.

Once that happens, innovation stops.

I don't think the solution is simply spawning larger enemies.

I think the solution is creating multiple simultaneous challenges that reward different designs and different engineering approaches.

A battleship should be useful.

It should not automatically be the answer to everything.

The best engineering games create new constraints instead of only creating bigger targets.

Imagine a colony requests help.

Raiders attack every week.

Their fighters are outdated.

Their transports are being destroyed.

The colony asks for a new interceptor design.

The player designs one.

The game validates that it meets the requirements.

The colony purchases it.

Later the player receives a report:

"Your interceptor design successfully defended three supply convoys."

At that point I am no longer just building ships.

I am solving problems.

I am contributing to a living world.

My engineering matters.

SE2 is already becoming an incredible building game.

My hope is that over time it also becomes a living engineering game.

One that continuously creates meaningful problems, meaningful consequences, and meaningful reasons to innovate.

Because I believe the thing that keeps players engaged for thousands of hours isn't the ability to build.

It's having a reason to keep building.

**There should be a sector that is a hub for the poop faction that hates everyone (like the factorum) that's always good to attack where you can go pick a fight and fight for as long as your ship holds out. New spawns will keep coming to attack you with the intent to take down the pilot/engineer who is griefing them. Encounters get bigger and bigger until you need multiple players with a fleet of ships to take out the heavy waves. If you start getting overwhelmed, you either die or you jump your grid to safety, repair, rearm, and go back at it!