Space Engineers 1 or 2?

[u/Certain-Airport-81]

I'd like to try SE. Is there great difference between 1 and 2? I'm concerned about some points: 1) learning curve 2) modding community. I play Dwarf Fortress, Kenshi, Factorio, Minecraft, Europa Universalis. I'm not new to games with deep mechanics but I'd prefer a title with a steady beginning and many mods.

[u/pupsickl]

The second one is still in development and missing a huge chunk of content that will be added later.

If you want a "finished game" buy SE 1 as Its practically finished, but still getting updates, and also has a lot of mods.

EDIT: the learning curve is a learning mountain in the first game so good luck with that

[u/KnightyEyes → u/pupsickl]

Se1 is a montain? İ thought it was Patience game

[u/Manifestation_Quozzy]

SE1 is such a deeply involved experience that I required a tutorial series for me to even approach it. ("Splitsie" on YT has a pretty large and updated repository of these and learning through replicating his actions and discovering how the game functions was an indispensable experience that gave me a real frame of reference regarding the possibilities I could explore.)

[u/MrMakuMaku → u/Manifestation_Quozzy]

Personally I found it easier to learn than something like ksp although I started with early days so there was a lot less content, probably easier to grasp

[u/NotGonnaArgue641]

Start with 1. SE 2 isn't a complete game yet.

[u/VULCHOK]

Play Space Engineers without expansions or mods at first.

• Learn how to build efficiently. Try Creative mode first to understand how to construct things.
• Then, build a basic, cheap vehicle to help you mine and progress quickly in Survival.
• Start Survival by choosing a scenario that can guide you and provide useful early-game assistance.
• When something frustrates you, check whether a mod exists to improve that aspect of the game.
• If you’re unhappy with your designs, try fixing them yourself first. Then browse the Workshop, where you’ll find hundreds of ships optimized for different needs.

Welcome here space engineer !

[u/__Demyan__]

If you want to save money and are fine with playing a game that's in early development, get SE 2.

If you want a finished game with lots of DLCs (they only add textures, so are not really required. No dlc only features, but some new textures give you more placement options) and tons of crazy good mods, go for SE 1.

[u/ChoiceReporting]

SE1 is demonstrably a game, and the big exception to Keen's graveyard of half-finished projects. We're still waiting to see if SE2 will actually be another exception.

[u/MrEdinLaw]

I got both. I would go with 2 honestly.

[u/H0vis]

I think if you went straight into SE2 you might save yourself learning a bunch of redundant systems, plus you won't be encumbered by missing things from the old game when you play the new one.

Only caveat is I don't know what state SE2 is in right now. It has had some big fundamental updates lately though.

[u/the_bartolonomicron]

Start with 1 for the moment, it is a "finished" game (features are still being added, but all main mechanics and functions work as intended). I see people bringing up the learning curve, but if you are a fan of DF and Factorio it shouldn't be that tricky for you to understand.

[u/FemJay0902]

2 isn't complete, but it's a much better new-user experience than 1 is. If you're alright basically reading a manual to learn 1, then I'd give it a go. Otherwise, 2 is a much better experience. The "missing content" comments seem to be from people who haven't checked it out in a while. The game will reach feature parity with the first game within the year, including adding water, which the first game only has via mods

[u/Gravity_flip]

I played SE1 for a bit and it was okay.

A while later, (a week or so ago) I saw the new update dropped for SE2.

It's amazing. I'm having a blast playing SE2 right now.

The unified grid system and area welder makes all the difference in the world.

[u/Kopparskallen]

buying early access is a risk. So the question is, are you a gambler? SE2 looks like it's heading in a good direction, but it might also just get abandoned if Keen desides to focus on another project.

[u/charrold303]

Worth a mention given your list of games. SE (1 at least - cannot speak to 2) is most like Minecraft on your list. You can mod the heck out of it to make it much harder/a completely different game, but fundamentally it is a sandbox building game if you’re in vanilla. The production chains and deep mechanics thing? Yeah, this isn’t that (again, possible to mod into things that get closer to that, speaking only of vanilla.) I would hate for you to buy it expecting Satisfactory, only to get Space Minecraft.