The Space Engineers 2 alpha – how to join in the fun over the three-year long Early Access period

The original Space Engineers is one of the best games you have likely never played, especially if you have arrived into gaming in within the last decade.

The original emerged from Early Access back in 2019 so we have had almost six years to home our stellar engineering skins before finally getting our hands on the sequel – which itself, developers Keen Software House say will probably last until 2028. By then, who knows, maybe we will already be on our way to Mars, providing Elon and Donald don’t fall out with each other.

The release says, “Space Engineers 2 takes everything the studio has learned over the past 10 years working with Space Engineers, a beloved sandbox game with over 5 million copies sold, and reimagines it with more depth, creative freedom and intuitiveness. Powered by the next-gen proprietary VRAGE3 engine, the game’s creation and destruction feel and look better than ever before.”

Space Engineers 2 will begin its journey in Early Access with the Alpha stage on January 27th, inviting players to dive into Creative Mode, one of the most loved features with plenty of space to build and experiment. For the first time, engineers can explore the revolutionary 25cm unified grid system, allowing them to build anything with great precision. The game now also offers new blueprint tools like snap-to-grid, partial copy/paste, toolbar assignments, and powerful building tools such as the voxel hand, symmetry tools, line/plane building, a flexible paint tool and grid undo/redo, all providing players with freedom to bring their most intricate ideas to life.

Keen Software House has laid out a roadmap for the sequel that looks like this:

• Roadmap:
  VS 1.1: UGC Workshop (Mod.io): Players will be able to share their creations with other players.
• VS 1.2: Improved mechanics and interface refinements.
• VS 1.5: Modding: VRAGE HUB, VRAGE Editor.
• VS 2: Planets and Survival: Explorable planets and the new Almagest System. Engineers will get access to new tools like backpack building and projection building, while experiencing improved progression and engaging challenges.
• VS 3: Water: Planetary-scale volumetric water will transform gameplay. Players will be able to engineer across oceans, rivers, and lakes, as well as construct boats and submarines for underwater exploration.
• More to Come: The studio plans for additional Vertical Slices that will expand upon core mechanics, introduce new features, and ultimately build towards a complete Space Engineers 2 experience. On the horizon: Multiplayer, NPCs, Story Campaign and more.

Space Engineers 2 releases on Steam today (27th January) priced at $29.99 / £24.99

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