14 Oct 2024Developer postOriginal post (opens in a new tab)

Space Engineers: Contact

Hello, Engineers!

Prepare to engage like never before - our latest “Contact” Update is here!
With this release, we’re taking Space Engineers to new frontiers of challenge and discovery. For those of you craving thrilling PvE encounters and seeking to push the limits of your engineering prowess, this update is packed with everything you need.

"Contact" brings an array of PvE encounters designed to test your skills and strategies in high-stakes scenarios. But that’s not all! We’re introducing exclusive Prototech blocks - advanced technology you can only obtain through these intense encounters.

These blocks will add new dimensions to your endgame builds, giving you tools and capabilities that enhance your creativity and gameplay strategies. As always, we’re excited to see how you’ll use these new features to push the boundaries of what’s possible in Space Engineers.

We’re bringing you all the important gameplay changes for free. In the Contact DLC you can find additional cosmetic blocks and bring some love to your Small Grid builds.

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FREE UPDATE

We’re bringing you all the important gameplay changes for free in our Contact Update.

PvE Encounters

To experience all new PvE Encounters as intended, you’ll need to start a new world. They are enabled by default for any new world you create. You can also customize their density and the global encounter cap - or disable them entirely in the world settings.

Encounter Modding Guide

Planetary Encounters

Planetary Encounters bring new life to the planets of Space Engineers! These range from small research outposts to formidable pirate strongholds, each offering a wide variety of loot. Players can discover everything from story elements hidden in datapads to valuable Prototech components.

Global Encounters

Global Encounters introduce a new type of space-based PvE content. When one spawns, all players in the session will receive a GPS point labeled “Unidentified Signal”.

These aren’t your typical encounters - expect challenging end-game NPCs, unique environments, and high-end loot. They are the primary source for acquiring Prototech. Stay vigilant, as hostile players might be waiting to swoop in and steal the prize!

Prototech

In this update we’re adding a new type of Block - Prototech. These are powerful, “end-game” blocks, found in new “Global Encounters”. Prototech is a powerful technology created by the secretive Factorum faction. They have gone to great lengths to ensure components cannot be reverse engineered!

This means you cannot simply grind these blocks down and take their components, like you can with ordinary blocks. Instead, you’ll need to extract them intact and then add them to existing grids using merge blocks.

Prototech Components

Lucky explorers can find Prototech components in the cargo storages in the various new NPC encounters. Collect enough of these, and you may be able to construct a new Prototech block without an Assembler.

Alternatively, if you’ve acquired a Prototech Assembler, you can manufacture new components from Prototech scrap. But keep in mind: the Prototech Frame component, which is essential for every Prototech block, cannot be manufactured!

Toolbar Actions

All Action Blocks now support multiple toolbars, enabling more complex sequences to be activated using a single block. Separate On and Off actions have been added to several blocks that previously lacked these options.

Additionally, a new "Set Value" action has been introduced for Pistons, Rotors, and Hinges, allowing for precise control and manipulation.

New “Set Value and Execute” actions

We’ve introduced new actions for Pistons, Rotors, and Hinges, allowing for easier and more precise control.

For example, with the new "Set and Move" action for Pistons, you can now create an action that extends the piston to a customizable length at a customizable velocity. Similar toolbar actions have been added for Rotors and Hinges as well.

These new actions simplify the engineering of complex mechanical contraptions, making them more intuitive and flexible!

Keen Newsletter & Flush Cockpit

Stay updated with the latest news, updates, and exclusive content from Keen Software House, and enjoy this special in-game reward as a thank you for joining us!

Q: I am already subscribed - how do I get the Flush Cockpit?
A: Simply enter your email again in the in-game subscription window to receive the free block!

Q: Does the Flush Cockpit disappear if I unsubscribe from the newsletter later on?
A: No.

What’s next

We have so much more to explore, and the journey is far from over!

With the foundation laid by Automatons, Signal, and Contact, we've established a strong PvE base that we're excited to expand upon in future updates. These updates will continue to build on the groundwork we've set, bringing new dimensions and challenges to your gameplay.

But that's not all - we're excited to see how the improved Grid AI and the new Encounter system will open up new possibilities for everyone. While we've designed these features to enhance gameplay, we know our community’s creativity will take them even further.
Alongside these additions, we’re committed to ongoing bug hunting, optimizations, and quality of life improvements to ensure the best possible experience for our players.

Stay tuned for what’s to come - there’s a lot on the horizon!

Changelog

Features

PvE Encounters
- Global Encounters - A new feature designed to bring players together on a server to engage large NPC encounters cooperatively or competitively. These encounters offer challenging, end-game content to enhance standard survival gameplay.
- Planetary Encounters - Encounters now spawn on planets too! Derelict ships, outposts and more!
Faction Changes
- The Factorum - A hostile Faction. The creators of Prototech. They’ve returned from the edge of known space to seek their revenge.
- Unknown - A perpetually neutral Faction. Space is vast. As humans push into the void of space, sometimes the void pushes back. Danger, mystery, or reward may lie ahead.
- Faction filters show only discovered factions by default
Toolbar Actions
- All Action Blocks now have multiple Toolbars
- Added separate On and Off actions to multiple Action Blocks
- Added new "Set Value and Execute" actions for Pistons, Rotors and Hinges

Added new Components - Base Game

Prototech Frame
Prototech Panel
Prototech Capacitor
Prototech Propulsion Unit
Prototech Machinery
Prototech Circuitry
Prototech Cooling Unit
Prototech Scrap

Added new Blocks - Base Game

Prototech Assembler (1 block, L grid)
Prototech Drill (1 block, L grid)
Prototech Refinery (1 blocks, L + S grid)
Prototech Jump Drive (1 block, L + S grid)
Prototech Thruster (1 block, L + S grid)
Prototech Gyroscope (1 block, L + S grid)
Prototech Battery (1 block, L + S grid)
Inset Connector (1 block, L grid + 2 block, S grid)

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Flush Cockpit (1 block, S grid)

QoL Changes and Improvements

Added Small Grid Temporary Container
Ownership Changes
- Can now transfer ownership to any other player
- Ownership transfer must be accepted in new transfer screen
- Removed transfer to "nobody" by non-admins
Improved NPC Loot Tables
Added option for loot pair groups (e.g.: Gun + Ammo)
Re-arranged G-Screen Menu, added PCU info
Changed Color of Strong Unknown Signals
Grid AI - AI Basic - set home at grid position
Claim Timer Improvements
Reputation System Rework
Improved Door Highlights / Tooltips
Help Screen Improvements
Slightly reduced PCU cost of some blocks
Light Blocks Graphical Improvements
"New Game" screen now saves your previous selection
Custom label for the Programmable Block "Run" Action
Added Unified Block Limits for block variants
Added Railgun Charge Efficiency indicator
Greatly reduced Laser Antenna power requirements
Revised sounds for the Sound Block

Added Content to Signal Pack:

Additional Truss pieces (2 blocks, L grid)
Additional Bay Windows (4 blocks, L grid + 2 blocks, S grid)

Contact Pack

Gatling Turret Type II (1 block, L + S grid)
Rocket Turret Type II (1 block, L + S grid)
Small Gate Tall (1 block, L grid)
Small Gate Wide (1 block, L grid)
Modular Bridge Set (11 blocks, L grid)
Captain's Desk (1 block, L grid)
Square Piston (1 block, L + S grid)
Flood Light Set (4 blocks, L grid + 6 blocks, S grid)
Parabolic Antenna (1 block, L + S grid)
Kitchen set (5 blocks, S grid)
First Aid Cabinet (1 block, S grid)
Bunk (1 block, S grid)
Modular Cargo Container (1 block, S grid)
Media Player (1 block, S grid)

Official Servers

Official Steam servers upgraded with more RAM and more powerful CPUs
Canada: Added 1 more server (now 3 servers total)
Australia: Added 1 more server (now 3 servers total)
United States: Added a new location with 3 servers based in New York, providing a great meeting point for US and European players
North America (NA) servers renamed to United States (US) to align with EOS servers

Official Blueprints

Fixes & Improvements

Broadcast Controller message text is green when set to Faction target setting
Safezone settings are saved when copy/pasting the Safezone
Safezones no longer consume Safezone Chips in Creative Mode
Reputation with spiders & wolves can't be changed
Improved the particle effects when a wheel is driven over a voxel surface to be continuous and not just puffs of smoke
Fixed a crash when accessing a claimable grid through a remote connection
Fixed a crash when clicking Customize on a multi-mission Custom Community campaign in the New Game screen
Fixed a set of issues with the construction stages and textures of the Gate block
Fixed a set of issues with the construction stages of a Large Industrial Cargo Container
Fixed a set of issues with the models of the Antenna
Fixed a set of issues with Safe Zones; as a result, only contained blocks are protected, not whole grids, and the Enter/Left notification was removed
Fixed a set of issues with the LCDs of the Industrial cockpit not showing content when viewed from the outside
Fixed a set of issues with the Oxygen Tank LoDs
Fixed an issue where "Some components will be lost if removed" was still displayed after switching away from the Grinder
Fixed an issue where a lobby Host could force through an authorship transfer to Clients without consent
Fixed an issue where a strut was missing from the Beam Block End model, making it inconsistent with other blocks in the set
Fixed an issue where AI blocks would aim at the character's feet instead of the head, missing the target
Fixed an issue where changing the LCD App would not preserve the color settings
Fixed an issue where modded connectors had no way to specify which way is the connection side; added a ConnectDirection definition
Fixed an issue where other blocks were not able to trigger "Set Grid Position" on the AI Basic Task blocks
Fixed an issue where painting a block with RotatingSubpartComponent stopped the animation
Fixed an issue where RotatingSubpartComponent would prevent proper painting and skin application
Fixed an issue where shadows were cast incorrectly after changing the FoV
Fixed an issue where the Action Relay could be triggered with an Antenna that was turned off
Fixed an issue where the Air Vent played a sound whenever triggering an action
Fixed an issue where the alignment of Window blocks left gaps between models
Fixed an issue where the Aquarium block had a see-through gap
Fixed an issue where the Claim button would count the total grid PCU and not only the portion authored by NPCs
Fixed an issue where the damage particles of Colorable Solar Panels would be offset
Fixed an issue where the Event Controller would keep invisible references to blocks that did not exist in the world at the time; added a UI helper for the player so it can be managed in-game rather than through SBC editing
Fixed an issue where the flow of joining a friend's session would be interrupted when reaching the Main menu
Fixed an issue where the Frostbite scenario would be started as an Online lobby by default
Fixed an issue where the interact dummy of a Large grid Holo LCD was too large
Fixed an issue where the interact dummy of a Small Grid Holo LCD was too large
Fixed an issue where the Large grid Small Warfare reactor model would clip through other models outside its bounds
Fixed an issue where the LoDs of Window blocks were appearing invisible at relatively short distances
Fixed an issue where the Minimum world size [km] setting did not have limit checks
Fixed an issue where the now-stacking O2 or H2 bottles would be displayed as a single spare on the HUD
Fixed an issue where the Sci-fi armor skin could be applied to Blast door blocks
Fixed an issue where the Small grid Antenna required a different type of final components to fully weld than its large counterpart
Fixed an issue where the Spotlight was using an outdated icon
Fixed an issue where the SPRT could not participate in the economy as they had no funds to do so
Fixed an issue where the Start button tooltip would obscure the Customize button in the New Game screen; tooltip removed
Fixed an issue where the Target lead indicator would be too big on 4K resolution
Fixed an issue where the texture appeared black on the underside of blocks with grated parts, stairs, and catwalks
Fixed an issue where the Utility resource group was not defined for Corner Lights
Fixed an issue where the Utility resource group was not defined for Heat Vents
Fixed an issue where too many particles were produced when driving on the Moon's surface
Fixed an issue with a missing cargo port on lower LoDs of the Large grid Small Hydrogen Tank
Fixed an issue with an infinite loading screen after waking from Sleep/Rest Mode
Fixed an issue with blinking distant shadows on PS4 Pro
Fixed an issue with controller button mapping for Spectator speed and rotation
Fixed an issue with Half Bed Open collisions not allowing players to go/shoot through the gap
Fixed an issue with inconsistencies across the LoDs of the Large grid Large Reactor
Fixed an issue with Industrial Refinery textures
Fixed an issue with the alignment of the DLC icons list in the blueprint screen
Fixed an issue with the collisions of conveyor tubes being too large
Fixed an issue with the collisions of the Small grid Medium Conveyor sorter being too large
Fixed an issue with the collisions of the Small grid Small Conveyor Sorter being too large
Fixed an issue with the color of the texture of a Small grid Light Round Armor Panel Face
Fixed an issue with the consistency of the position of the status bar across LoDs on a Large grid Small Hydrogen Tank
Fixed an issue with the construction stage of an Interior Wall
Fixed an issue with the French localization of a loading screen Wikipedia entry
Fixed an issue with the incorrect tooltip of the "Keep original ownership on paste" Admin toggle
Fixed an issue with the low-resolution left/right navigation arrows in the New Game screen
Fixed an issue with the mount points on the Grated Half Stairs Mirrored block
Fixed an issue with the scaling of the world Customization screen on 5:4 and 4:3 ratio resolutions
Fixed an issue with the shading on the Construction Component floating object model
Fixed an issue with the shading on the Industrial Cockpit
Fixed an issue with the shading on the Large grid Rocket Turret
Fixed an issue with the shading on the Solar Panel
Fixed an issue with the transparency and clarity of the inside view of the Small grid Cryo Chamber
Fixed an issue with the UV texture on the Beam block
Fixed an issue with the UV texture on the Conveyor Pipe T Junction
Fixed an issue with the UV texture on the Corridor narrow stowage
Fixed an issue with the UV texture on the Corridor X Intersection
Fixed an issue with the UV texture on the Exhaust Pipe
Fixed an issue with the UV textures on Warfare Reactors
Fixed an issue with the Willis Duct collisions forcing the character's head through the ceiling when walking in 1st person

Support Site Fixes

Fixed a crash when deleting a grid with an AI Offensive block actively engaged in combat
Fixed a crash when renaming a blueprint item containing a dot in the name
Fixed a set of issues with the Large grid Solar Panel, including a misaligned model and loss of colorable material on lower LoDs
Fixed a set of issues with turret models not being centered, having holes in the geometry, and misaligned UVs
Fixed an issue when selecting block sizes in the Radial Menu
Fixed an issue where a block/grid without ownership would be detected as an Enemy by a Sensor; now detected as Neutral
Fixed an issue where a character would be sliding around after jumping without a Jetpack being allowed in the world
Fixed an issue where a NaN value would propagate from the wheel steering logic through the grid to the physics constraints, causing Clang
Fixed an issue where a Sensor would not be buildable near a voxel
Fixed an issue where accessing the Terminal through an attached Piston Top Part would not select the associated piston
Fixed an issue where Action Relay Set Channel and Send Signal actions were not working in multiplayer
Fixed an issue where an empty tree would still be rendered, causing the leaves in the wind to be spawned as a mysterious pulsating grey ball
Fixed an issue where an inaccurate message was displayed in Creative when trying to paste a grid in a world where copy/paste is disabled
Fixed an issue where connecting to a lobby or starting the game in a scenario through an argument would result in a black screen
Fixed an issue where Fireworks would not explode on planets as gravity would overcome their velocity too early, not reaching the trigger height; lowered the trigger height
Fixed an issue where highlighting text using a mouse drag and drop input in the Terminal could result in clicking on other UI elements
Fixed an issue where Hydrogen Thrusters did not require a connection to tanks to function
Fixed an issue where it was not possible to claim NPC grids when Block limit was disabled
Fixed an issue where overridden propulsion on wheels would not consume any power
Fixed an issue where Saberoids and Wolves could not be removed through the Entity list
Fixed an issue where the "Reloading..." text and circular indicator were desynchronized
Fixed an issue where the Action Relay would use the antenna range of an antenna that was turned off for its range checks
Fixed an issue where the actual percentage to which Auto Heal heals the character in a pressurised environment was missing
Fixed an issue where the AI Defensive block Flee behavior would happen at the end of an AI Recorder path regardless of the continual presence of danger
Fixed an issue where the AI Flight block behavior for Follow Player would happen only once and then stop because of other incompatible AI Flight blocks being present
Fixed an issue where the AI Offensive block would continue shooting at characters that were already dead
Fixed an issue where the AI Offensive block would lose reference to set-up weapons after being printed and split
Fixed an issue where the alignment of Large grid Connector models left gaps between the models
Fixed an issue where the Assembler production queue would report an incorrect count of remaining components
Fixed an issue where the available weapon ammo would not be displayed on the toolbar until the weapon was equipped
Fixed an issue where the Broadcast controller did not send messages through the grid itself when located on a subgrid with no antenna
Fixed an issue where the Camera consumed power while turned off
Fixed an issue where the Camera overlay would partially stay visible after accessing and leaving a turret control view
Fixed an issue where the Cargo Crate and other blocks with animated panels would not keep the same panels open through save/reload
Fixed an issue where the character health stat would get shown as 0 when the value was between 0 and 1
Fixed an issue where the character mass was not accounted for in total grid mass; introduced dry mass (no inventories + base character mass) and total mass (grid inventories + base character mass)
Fixed an issue where the Cockpit LCD contents were not persistent through save/reload
Fixed an issue where the Comms tab message history window would not scroll down to the latest message automatically
Fixed an issue where the Conveyor Junction blocks had different PCU values for each size
Fixed an issue where the Corner Light Double mount points were inconsistent with the Corner Light
Fixed an issue where the Curved and Sloped LCD collisions would revert to a simple box
Fixed an issue where the Custom Turret Controller AI was not able to handle a case where the rotor had its base on the turret subgrid and top part on the main grid
Fixed an issue where the Custom Turret Controller would keep repeating the last rotation input when the player stopped controlling it
Fixed an issue where the Custom Turret Controller would not recognize a Camera reference being changed
Fixed an issue where the Custom Turret Controller would stop functioning when welded from projection
Fixed an issue where the decimal part of a Timer block's setting would get discarded on copy paste; the timer only accepts whole numbers now
Fixed an issue where the Direct Connect option in the Server browser failed to resolve a domain name
Fixed an issue where the displayed mass of the occupied grid was hard to read; added thousands separators
Fixed an issue where the Emotion Controller LCD text content would not be synchronized through DS
Fixed an issue where the Enable Scrap Drops world option functionality was inverted
Fixed an issue where the Event Controller lost reference to blocks that were split/merged to/from a subgrid but remained physically connected; the level of separation matters, tracked blocks at the ends of chains of subgrids may still exhibit the behavior before the fix
Fixed an issue where the Event Controller retained the last output when one of the watched blocks was damaged
Fixed an issue where the Event Controllers kept a reference of and acted upon changes on blocks that were no longer physically connected
Fixed an issue where the final Merge Block constraint would not be released on detach in advanced contraptions with multiple attachment points
Fixed an issue where the game would not recognize swapped mouse buttons
Fixed an issue where the Gatling Gun barrels were not updated after welding from projection, preventing shooting
Fixed an issue where the Gatling Gun orientation would not get updated with grid rotation, causing damage to unintended targets when shooting
Fixed an issue where the hazard sticker on the Large grid Small Hydrogen Tank was changing orientation on lower LoDs
Fixed an issue where the Hinge minimal angle could be overridden by a script
Fixed an issue where the Industrial Cockpit LCDs were shrunk
Fixed an issue where the Large grid Ship Welder had decreased reach
Fixed an issue where the Lobby Host could see the GPS locations of its Clients if the Clients turned them off and then back on
Fixed an issue where the Nickel Ore Russian translation had a typo
Fixed an issue where the Oxygen Tank port would not align with a connected conveyor tube
Fixed an issue where the Passage 3 lower LoD model was deformed
Fixed an issue where the Programmable script method GatlingTurret.SetTarget always made a turret aim at 0,0,0
Fixed an issue where the Railgun lost colorable material at lower LoDs
Fixed an issue where the reflection between Window 1x2 Face and Window 1x2 Face Inv. was inconsistent
Fixed an issue where the Remote Control Forward Direction setting order was changed by localisation, causing a grid in German to fly differently
Fixed an issue where the Remote Control was missing some of its settings as toolbar actions
Fixed an issue where the Remote Control would trigger actions assigned to a waypoint on the waypoint removal
Fixed an issue where the reputation changes would not be displayed while sitting in a cockpit
Fixed an issue where the Round Window blocks wouldn't be aligned when stacked
Fixed an issue where the Small grid Control Seat did not offer the ability to build from the cockpit with Ctrl + G
Fixed an issue where the Temporary container floating object would not fit into tight spaces; introduced a small version for those cases
Fixed an issue where the textures for armors and panels would not have the same shade of black upon painting
Fixed an issue where the Window Wall German translation had a typo
Fixed an issue where Thrusters contained in a Safe Zone were damaging the contained structures

Support Portal

18/10/2024
Hotfix 1.205.024 b2

Fixed a crash in New Game screen when a player made Custom Scenario was loaded
Fixed a crash related to modded NPCs when accessing MyIdentity
Fixed an issue where players were unable to paste blueprints with mods not present on the server
Fixed an issue where the Factorum Outpost global encounter had typos in the Broadcasted messages
Fixed an issue where the Gatling Turret Type II had wider collision models than intended
Fixed an issue where the new Tag based block limits couldnt be used on existing world which used to use BlockPairName
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Drill would not produce particles while drilling certain materials
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Drill would start using lower LoDs way too fast
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Gyroscope had a small cube in the center of the model in block preview
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Gyroscope model had missing railing inside the inner ring
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Gyroscope was not defined in BlockPairName based block limits
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Thruster had wider collision models than intended
Fixed an issue where the Repeat button was missing in the Assembler's Disassembling tab
Fixed an issue where the Strong Unknown Signal colors were hard to read with colorblindedness

24/10/2024
Hotfix 1.205.025 b1

Fixed a crash during the loading of a world save
Fixed a crash in DSGUI
Fixed a crash in Safe Zones
Fixed a crash in target locking
Fixed a crash when attempting to use a ship welder on a projection on a server with Tag block limits
Fixed an issue where a drone name in a Global encounter had a typo
Fixed an issue where a Factorum drone did not have the proper color mask to receive the Factorum faction colors
Fixed an issue where a planetary encounter containing a drone would duplicate itself on despawn/respawn
Fixed an issue where the High Profile Escort Global encounter refused to fight small grids
Fixed an issue where the Inverted Round Window and Round Window were the same
Fixed an issue where the Listening Post Global encounter was targeting debris instead of enemies
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Jump Drive sounds were missing on consoles
Fixed an issue where the Prototech Thruster flame was damaging blocks outside of its visual range
Fixed an issue where the server was able to save after unsuccessfully loading the world
Fixed an issue where the small and medium Hinge heads couldn't be reattached to the Hinge base
Fixed an issue where the small grid Gatling Turret Type II had a bigger collision model than necessary
Fixed an issue where the small grid Rocket Turret Type II had a bigger collision model than necessary

25/10/2024
Hotfix 1.205.026

Fixed an issue where only the first Wind Turbine worked
Fixed an issue where the Planetary encounter spawn system would retry a failed attempt without changing variables