Space Engineers has been available for quite a few years now and been at least semi-popular for all of that time. With the game out that long, especially one as intricate and creative as a game like Space Engineers, it's no wonder it's gathered quite the modding community. There are a ton of different mods out there, from ones that just change the game aesthetically to ones that fundamentally change the way the game is played. Let's take a look at ten of the best mods for Space Engineers out there right now:
Updated on March 14th, 2020 by Drew Ferguson: Space Engineers still seems to be going strong, and players still seem to be creating quality mods for the space sandbox game. There is always something new to do in Space Engineers because of the open-ended nature of it; as a wise man once said, 'There's always a bigger fish.'
But sometimes, you simply need more options to keep things fresh and interesting. These mods add a variety of different things to the game, from new mechanics, more NPCs, a change to existing functions, and so on, while still keeping the game with the same feel that it's always had.
15 DEEP ORES
This mod adds some variation to where ores spawn on planets/moons, with the main purpose of enabling ores to be much deeper in the ground. (Seriously, like, really deep down there.) This makes mining a bit more interesting and forces you to be a bit more creative with your mining ships, all in all adding a bit more variety to the game.
Mod created by Ghost722nd!
14 BUILD INFO
This mod is almost a must-have for those control freaks out there. This gives you so much more info about what exactly each block is doing, allowing you to be a bit smarter with your creations while giving you some extra info on ships you've already built, too, since this mod allows you to easily track down those pesky air leaks in your ship/station.
Mod created by Digi!
13 NANITE CONTROL FACILITY
There's a lot of tedious busywork in Space Engineers. There are those that would argue that's a strength of the game; it's a good way to relax and spend some real time making something cool. But, some don't have that kind of time or the desire to spend that long on a project, and for those people, there are Nanites. These Nanite's can be programmed to do different things, from construction, repair, deconstruction, and more.
Mod created by Nukeguard, Fank, and Splen!
12 MORE NPC ENCOUNTERS
The NPC encounters in the default version of Space Engineers are a bit lacking, but the thought of not being entirely alone in the universe is pretty enticing. For those who like those cool encounters, this mod adds a bunch more of them to the game, making for a much less lonely experience. Sure, looking at the stars and pondering is fun. But so is becoming a notorious space pirate.
Mod created by SuperHappyAlien!
11 AIR TRAFFIC
A bit along the lines of the last mod, this one adds cargo ships that fly around planets with atmosphere. This really makes a big difference in making the world feel pretty lively and, once again, gives ample opportunity to carve a name for yourself as an infamous space pirate. (I mean, you could be nice and let them be on their way, too, but let's not pretend that's what's really going to happen, here.)
Mod created by The Wizard Of Moz, Meridius_IX / Lucas, Whiplash141, WisdomTooth8, Nostrian 99, Firebird_528!
10 10. BETTER STONE
Starting off this list is a mod that might change the game more drastically than any other mod on this list. The Better Stone mod does a lot more than the name of the mod suggests; it adds a ton (seriously it's a lot) of new ores to the game, in an attempt to make mining and ore spawning more realistic than it is in the base game. More than just adding new ores, the ores will also spawn a bit more realistically in big clumps of a lot of different ores, rather than a huge clump of one kind, mostly eliminating the need to run around for hours trying to find an infinitesimal amount of one specific ore.
The Better Stone mod is created by DranKof.
9 9. HUD COLORS
Let's face it: the base game of Space Engineers can be a bit dreary. Just about the entire HUD is the same washed out blue color, and after a few hours of staring at it, it starts to look more than a bit dull.
If you want to add a bit of color to the world, take a look at the HUD Colors mod. It stays pretty true to the original HUD while adding a bit of color to a few of the elements to make the whole thing pop a little bit more.
HUD Colors is created by Skinface.
8 8. COLORFUL ICONS
On the topic of adding a bit of color to Space Engineers, here's another mod to help: the Colorful Icons mod. Instead of every single item in every inventory being that same washed-out blue as the rest of every HUD element, it shows every item the same color that it is in the game when it's outside the inventory. This really does wonders for the hours of time you'll be spending sifting through the inventories here.
The Colorful Icons mod is created by typekcz and SISK.
7 7. ANIMATED INTERACTIONS
Space Engineers animations have come a long way since it's early access launch all those years ago, but there's still times you're doing something in-game and your character sort of just stands there. With the Animated Interactions mod, that problem is more or less eliminated. Even if you play in first-person, most of what you're going to do has an animation with this mod, doing wonders to increase that all-powerful immersion.
The Animated Interactions mod is created by Digi.
6 6. EASY INVENTORY
Space Engineers holds one dark secret: the knowledge that ninety-percent of your time in game is going to be spent looking to see how many materials of what kind are needed to build an item, trying very desperately to memorize them for the short trip back to the assembler, only to realize you have no idea what you needed and need to go back. The Easy Inventory mod fixes this, grabbing all of the things need to build that item and automatically stuffing them into your inventory.
Easy Inventory is created by DraygoKorvan and Remaarn.
5 5. SPACE JUST GOT REAL
While the space in Space Engineers looks cool, it doesn't quite look real. For those who want to make space look as realistic as possible, there's the Space Just Got Real mod.
It takes away quite a bit of the color in the space skybox and replaces it with the deep black of void.
Space Just Got Real is created by Dr. Novikov.
4 4. EXPLORATION ENHANCEMENT
For those with a bit of adventurer in them, there's the Exploration Enhancement mod. This mod adds an incredible amount to the table, with entirely new and complex systems like trading, police, military, random encounters, more (and cooler) cargo ships, more (and cooler) pirates, and custom factions. All of the things mentioned above come with unique systems that react to what you do.
The Exploration Enhancement mod is created by LeonserGT, Maxyall, Skleroz, Cheetah, nukeguard, and Thraxus.
3 3. SHIP AI VOICE BASIC
Ever thought Space Engineers was a little bit quiet? A bit lonely? Well, while it's not quite the same as having a human companion, with the Ship AI Voice Basic mod, at least someone is talking! This mod adds dozens of voice lines to the game, all reacting and responding to what you do.
The Ship AI Voice Basic mod is created by Cogwings.
2 2. SMART TURRETS
Everybody's been there. A flip is switched, something doesn't quite go as planned, and that huge space freighter that took dozens of hours to build is being torn apart by its own turrets.
But with the Smart Turrets mod, the disaster might have been avoided. This mod allows for a whole slew of new options, allowing for new targeting parameters, targeting specific blocks, the order in which it should destroy blocks, etc. For players who are into the combat in Space Engineers, this mod is a great addition.
Smart Turrets is created by Zkillerproxy.
1 1. SURFACE OCCUPATION
Walking around on a planet in Space Engineers can feel like a pretty empty and meaningless experience. There's so much land, and absolutely nothing to find. Well, picking up the Surface Occupation mod somewhat alleviates this problem! This mod adds quite a few different stations that will randomly generate on the surface of planets, ranging from defense installations to observation outposts. Most importantly, it makes the game-world feel a little less empty, making for a much more enjoyable time.
The Surface Occupation mod is created by Meridius_IX, WisdomTooth8, and dunebugmi.