Resource distribution and block recipes need better progression balance

For those who don't want to read everything, my proposal for a solution is at the end.

English is not my first language, and I have multiple learning disabilities, so I write everything in approximate English and use AI to correct my grammar.

Sorry in advance if there are still any mistakes.

The goal is to allow players to spawn on any planet and have a fully playable experience, similar to Space Engineers 1. However, with the current recipes, almost every ore would need to be available on every planet, which greatly reduces the challenge and uniqueness of each world.

You mentioned that rarer ores will be distributed across different planets. If that's the case, players spawning on certain planets will lose access to a significant number of blocks and features because the required materials won't be available.

The ores that should be available on every planet are the basic ones: Ice/Water, Iron, Copper, Nickel, Silicon, and Cobalt. Those make sense, and there are still plenty of other ores that can be distributed to give each planet its own identity.

However, this is where the problems begin.

Let's start with combat, which is a much more important part of Space Engineers 2 than it was in SE1. Since the game is designed to challenge players in combat, they should always have a way to defend themselves.

Currently, Magnesium is required to craft any type of ammunition. The only weapon that only requires Magnesium in addition to the basic resources is the Static Machine Gun, which isn't even a weapon players can use to defend themselves on foot.

We'll probably get pistols and other handheld weapons in future updates, but players should already have access to at least one basic personal weapon without needing Magnesium.

On top of that, the Rifle requires Pressure Pipes, which in turn require Lead and Gold because of the Assembler recipe. That means two additional ores become mandatory just to craft a basic firearm.

In terms of movement, I think the progression is in a pretty good place.

Players can build almost any small vehicle or ship using only the basic resources. For space travel, only Gold is additionally required. More advanced or larger grids naturally require rarer resources, which feels appropriate.

While I think some medium and large thrusters could be a bit cheaper, the overall progression is already heading in the right direction.

One of my biggest disappointments is the current tool block progression.

The Drill requires Gold, and I don't really understand why. Drills are not just a quality-of-life feature—they're a core part of the gameplay loop. While it is technically possible to play without one, one of the first goals in Space Engineers is usually to build a drill ship or rover to gather resources more efficiently. That's a fundamental part of the game.

Players should be able to craft the small drill using only the basic resources, without requiring Gold. The large drill, on the other hand, could reasonably require Gold since it's larger, more efficient, and more powerful. This makes even more sense in SE2 with the unified grid system, where large blocks are essentially upgraded versions of their small counterparts: harder to craft, but significantly more effective.

I don't think it's quite as critical, but the same issue also applies to Grinders and Welders.

Now, my biggest disappointment (which almost made me close the game when I saw this after VS2-3): Mechanical Blocks.

These blocks are extremely important in Space Engineers. You can see that just from how many players came back with the latest update, even though the game is still in Alpha.

Currently, we cannot build any of the Mechanical Blocks early in the game. They all require components made in Refineries, which themselves require Chromium and Gold. On top of that, Chromium cannot even be found on Verdure.

Honestly, seeing this progression almost made me close the game. At the very least, we should be able to build the small versions of these blocks using only basic resources.

For example, I wanted to build a rover miner, but with the current progression, I can only do that after going to space, changing sectors, and reaching another planet. By that point, I would already have needed to build a ship miner.

Rover miners should be available at roughly the same stage as basic ship miners. They are less efficient, but they are also cheaper, safer, and much more power-efficient. They should be a valid early-game alternative rather than something locked behind advanced progression.

To summarize, there are 14 ores in total, if I'm not mistaken. Verdure already has 8 of them, and even with these resources, we still cannot build Mechanical Blocks or craft any weapons because Magnesium is unavailable.

That leaves only 6 ores to distribute across all the remaining sectors, or 5 if we also want Magnesium to be available on Verdure.

My proposal for a solution

Keep the basic resources available everywhere: Ice/Water, Iron, Copper, Nickel, Silicon, and Cobalt.

With only these resources, players should be able to build:

- H2/O2 Generators

- Respawn Points

- Small and Medium Batteries

- Small ships with small atmospheric thrusters and small hydrogen thrusters

- Small Drills only

- Sensors and Event Controllers (please keep these available early)

- Small Mechanical Blocks

Currently, the larger versions of blocks are mostly just bigger versions that require the same types of resources (except for things like the Large Battery). However, with the unified grid system in SE2, large blocks are not just "blocks for larger grids" anymore — they should be considered upgrades.

These upgraded versions should require more advanced resources, not only larger quantities of the same materials. They should be harder to build but provide better efficiency and performance.

With this approach, I think Verdure should only contain the basic resources. It would become the ideal beginner planet, especially with its oxygen-rich atmosphere.

Magnesium, Gold, and Lead should be relatively easy to find in space and on most planets and moons (but not necessarily all of them).

For the remaining resources, I think they could be used to unlock different progression paths. For example:

Titanium could unlock advanced mechanical blocks.

Chromium could unlock Refineries and advanced processing, as it currently does.

Other rare resources could each unlock specific categories of upgrades or advanced technology.

These are just examples, but there are many possible ways to make each resource feel meaningful and give planets their own identity.