GROUP EVENT Space Engineers Server Details

Is this Sunday, good? Do we want to start earlier... 3pm?... or later... 7pm? (EST as usual)

 

I could probably make either time.

 

I just got an update on my plans for Sunday. It's my roomates b-day and we will be going out around that time. This does not prevent any of you from doing something without me, but it does mean I will be absent for Sunday evening (not turning down the opportunity for all-I-can-eat sushi).

Based on feedback, I propose we "officially" start at 3pm EST this Sunday, but people are willing to come and go as they please as the day goes on. We can start earlier, but then break for dinner as needed before picking things back up later that night. Will post updates as needed in discord.

 

So some good news and some bad news.

Bad news first:
Due to continuing server instability complications and generally low player activity, I will be shutting down the SE server at the end of it's current billing cycle (Oct 5, 2019). It is recommended you save any blueprints of designs you have on the server (contact me if you need help with that). To all those who have supported our efforts in this game, I am deeply grateful and I apologize if this comes as a disappointment. The truth of the matter is that as much as I love SE and have wanted to see it succeed, there is some hard truth that the game doesn't feel satisfying in the way a game *should feel satisfying*.

I want to break it down how we got here:

1. Many of us first bought into SE at a time in the 'borg when we were still promoting "Early Access" games... that was our first fundamental mistake.
2. Because MANY of us already owned it, this perpetuated an "on-again, off-again" semi-annual promotion of it within our community whenever there was a major update.
3. The indie developer has for a long time been very good at creating a steady stream of updates that keep the game on our radar; the hope with each new patch that the game came closer to being a "finished product".
4. I have felt personal guilt about abandoning a game that I have personally encouraged so many of you to take part in; for anyone here who feels like I failed you, I am deeply sorry. All I can say is that my intentions were genuine and I did my very best to make this something we could all enjoy together.

With all that said, it's time to be honest with ourselves and this game:

1. SE still has a TON of instability issues in multiplayer; at times, so bad it makes the game nearly unplayable.
2. The server admin UI is a nightmare to navigate and understand; this makes 10x more work to manage the server effectively than there should be (and extremely difficult to manage on my own).
3. The game is kind of "not fun" without at least two dozen mods to fix various lingering issues; this ultimately complicates stability issues when mods are not regularly updated and makes more work for me because I need to keep them up to date.
4. The SE server costs me $15 a month to keep open. I was happy to pay it if it gave us a common game we could all play together, but it's not a great investment if not many of us are using it.
5. There are simply better games to play in the same genre as Space Engineers: No Man's Sky is actually GOOD now, Avorion, while still in development, already eclipses SE in most ways.

It is for all the above reasons I am shutting down the SE server.

I hope this is acceptable to everyone. If not, please feel free to contact me personally and we will try to work it out.

Now some good news:

• The server will stay up until the end of the current billing cycle (Oct 5,2019); plenty of time to save any design blueprints you want to keep.
• Other games are on the horizon that offer a superior experience (No Man's Sky, Avorion, etc.)
• Closing this server frees up time and money for me to host something else for the community. I hope you all will take part in that discussion to decide where we go from here; a topic for a seperate thread I will announce at a later date.

 

Maybe? But we've done that now three times over; I am no longer hopeful that day will ever come. It's aggravating to keep following a game that keeps disappointing me. I won't rule the possibility out completely, but I'm no longer going to follow the roller-coaster development of this game.

Guide to making/editting blueprints in SE:
https://www.spaceengineerswiki.com/Blueprint

Like I said before, SE was from an earlier time when we still actively promoted games that were in Early Access. Since so many of us bought it way back when, it kind of perpetuated its presence within our group longer than most. I'm recognizing its it's time to shake that off and focus on games that offer a better experience.