Space Engineers Server Hosting

Why should a Space Engineers dedicated server run on a separate machine?

In Space Engineers ships, stations and asteroid mining are fully physics-simulated; if the PC you play on also carries that load, both you and your guests slow down. A separate dedicated server decouples the simulation from player clients, keeps the world online 24/7 and lets players progress at different times.

Keen Software House publishes the server software as a free tool. You install it from the Tools section of your Steam library or with SteamCMD using app_update 298740. It launches with SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe; the configurator that opens on first launch sets the world, player count, mods and block limits, after which the server starts directly or as a Windows service. Running it as a service requires an administrator account.

Official support covers Windows only. Community Wine and Docker projects exist for Linux, but Keen doesn't support them and they can break with updates. For a long-lived community server, a machine running Windows Server is the path with the fewest surprises.

How much RAM and CPU does a Space Engineers server need?

According to Keen's official page, the minimum is a 3.2 GHz CPU, 3 logical cores, 6 GB of RAM and a 5 Mbps connection; the recommended configuration is a 4.5 GHz CPU, 3 logical cores, 10 GB of RAM and a static IP for public servers. The table above is an estimate based on these values; the real requirement depends more on blocks and grids in the world than on player count.

Performance in Space Engineers is measured by sim speed. 1.0 means real-time simulation; as it drops everything moves in slow motion and pistons and rotors start behaving strangely. Much of the simulation relies on a single thread, so more cores help only so much; high clock speed and dedicated cores matter far more.

• Memory: large stations, many ships and Workshop mods consume memory quickly. On modded servers use the next row up in the table.
• Disk: save time grows with the world; NVMe storage reduces stutter while saving.
• Network: every moving grid generates updates; upload bandwidth matters on busy servers.

Is a ready-made package or a VDS better for Space Engineers?

This page shows VDS packages for Space Engineers: you can install the server yourself or request a ready-made setup through a support ticket. The game's heavy physics and sensitivity to single-thread speed cause sim speed swings on shared resources; on a VDS cores and memory are reserved for you, so performance stays predictable.

Since the server requires Windows, you use your VDS with Windows Server; see operating system licenses for licensing. You connect over Remote Desktop and use the configurator just as you would on your own PC.

A VDS also lets you run several instances on one machine. According to Keen's documentation each instance must use its own port; for example a survival server on 27016 and a creative test server on 27017. For a detailed comparison see game server package or VDS. Choose a package from the live table to fit your world size; resources can be increased later.

Treat Keen's recommended 4.5 GHz clock speed as a reference: on virtual servers it matters as much that cores are dedicated and high-frequency as how many there are. Starting small with a group of friends and moving up a package as the community grows is usually more economical than renting a large server from day one.

How do you configure a Space Engineers server?

Server settings are managed in the configurator or directly in SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg. As described in Keen's documentation, the tool has several tabs, each grouping a set of settings.

Saved worlds are loaded on Windows from %APPDATA%\SpaceEngineersDedicated, or for a service install from the SpaceEngineersDedicated folder under ProgramData. To open a world you created in the game, copy its save folder there.

You can monitor the server remotely with Keen's Remote Client, which shows sim speed, connected players and game state. Stop the server before changing settings and run a short test session afterwards to confirm the world loads correctly.

How do block limits and PCU protect server performance?

Block limits are the most effective tool to stop a single player or faction from building structures large enough to bring the server down. Every block adds a cost to the simulation; the game counts it as PCU (Performance Cost Units). A PCU cap limits each player's total cost and protects the server's sim speed.

The configurator's Block Limits tab offers two approaches: per-block limits (for example how many refineries or assemblers a player may build) and tag-based limits. Common practice on busy community servers:

• Set reasonable values for PCU per player and blocks per grid.
• Limit physics-heavy blocks such as rotors, pistons and connectors; the physics accidents known as “Klang” often come from them.
• Clean up unowned and abandoned grids periodically; the game's own cleanup settings can do this.
• Regulate projector and printer use with rules.

Explaining limits to players from the start avoids arguments over restrictions later. On a server with only a few friends limits can be looser; the real goal is keeping sim speed close to 1.0.

How do you add mods and plugins to a Space Engineers server?

Space Engineers mods are distributed through Steam Workshop and added in the configurator's Mods tab; when players connect, the mods download to their clients automatically. The first world load after adding mods can take longer while the server downloads and compiles them.

1. Few but useful mods: every mod increases memory and load time; script mods in particular can affect sim speed.
2. Track updates: after a game update some mods may stay incompatible for a while. Back up the world before updating.
3. Removal risk: removing a block mod deletes the blocks built with it from the world; decide after taking a backup.

Besides mods there are server-side plugins, managed in the configurator's Plugins tab. The community has also built Torch, a tool that wraps the server and adds admin plugins; Torch is not an official Keen product, may lag behind updates and is used at your own risk. Plugins can add cleanup, automatic restarts and admin commands, but every plugin is another possible source of errors.

How do you fix sim speed drops on a Space Engineers server?

The most common cause of sim speed drops is not server power but the physics load that piles up in the world, so first find where the load comes from. The Remote Client's monitoring tab shows sim speed; a drop that starts at a certain hour or when a particular player connects is a clue.

• Cleanup: abandoned grids, debris flung into space and small unowned pieces consume CPU constantly. Use the game's cleanup settings or admin tools regularly.
• Physics issues: locked rotors, overlapping grids and faulty piston builds can jam the simulation. Finding and stopping the offending build often fixes sim speed instantly.
• View and sync distance: lowering view and sync distance in world settings reduces network and CPU load.
• Voxels and asteroids: high asteroid density and a wide procedural generation area increase memory and disk use.
• Scheduled restarts: memory use can climb on long-running servers; a daily restart is standard on many community servers.

If the problem continues after these steps you have reached the hardware limit; consider a package with a higher clock speed or more memory.

How is a Space Engineers server protected against DDoS and unauthorised access?

A public Space Engineers server is exposed because its IP appears in the server list, so protection belongs both at network level and on Windows. On LIONFIN infrastructure traffic is filtered at network level by the RouteFence firewall, DDoS traffic is filtered before it reaches the server where possible, and everything is monitored 24/7 by our NOC and SOC (see our data center).

• Windows Firewall: keep only the game port (27016/UDP or your chosen port) and the ports needed for management open.
• Remote Desktop: don't leave RDP open to everyone on the default port; use a strong password, change the port and restrict by IP.
• Remote API: keep the remote access key used by the Remote Client secret and don't expose it unless needed.
• Admins and bans: limit the admin list by Steam ID and use the ban list for rule breakers.

If you use community plugins, download them only from sources you trust; a server-side plugin can access everything on the machine.

How do you move a Space Engineers world to the server and back it up?

A single-player world or one hosted on a friend's PC can be moved by copying its save folder. Player saves on Windows are under %APPDATA%\SpaceEngineers\Saves, in a folder named after your Steam ID; each world sits in its own folder with files such as Sandbox.sbc and SANDBOX_0_0_0_.sbs.

1. Stop the server.
2. Copy the world folder to the server's SpaceEngineersDedicated\Saves folder.
3. Select the world in the configurator and make sure its mods are enabled on the server.
4. Start the server, connect and check that ships and stations are in place.

Space Engineers autosaves and can keep backup copies in the world folder, but copies on the same disk don't protect against disk failure or a wrong admin command. Copy the world folder off the server regularly, and take a manual backup before big updates and mod changes.

Which game rules can you set on a Space Engineers server?

World settings change the experience the most; they are edited when you select the world in the configurator and stored in the save's Sandbox.sbc. The right settings decide both how fast players progress and how much load the server carries.

• Game mode: Survival or Creative. Creative gives unlimited resources and suits building-focused communities and design tests.
• Multipliers: inventory size and refinery, assembler, welder and grinder speeds. High multipliers speed progress but lead to more structures, and so more load.
• Environmental hazards: meteor showers, planetary creatures, encounters and pirate ships keep the game lively but steepen the curve for new players.
• Oxygen and survival mechanics: enabling or disabling oxygen, hydrogen and hunger changes the pace.
• Economy and safe zones: stations, trading and safe zone blocks help regulate conflict on PvP servers.

Agreeing rules with your community before opening the server is much easier than changing them later; lowering multipliers in particular can cause arguments because it changes the value of players' work.

Is a Space Engineers server the same as a Space Engineers 2 server?

No. Space Engineers 2 is a sequel released by Keen Software House as a separate game, and the information on this page covers the first game's dedicated server. The two share a universe and a similar idea, but use different engines, save formats and server tools; worlds, mods and server settings from the first game cannot be moved directly to the sequel.

This affects your hosting decision too: set the server up with the official software of whichever game your community plays. As Space Engineers 2's server side may change during early access, follow Keen's latest announcements and server docs for it. Hosting both games side by side on a VDS with separate folders and ports is technically possible, but both are physics-heavy, so size resources as if they were two separate servers.

If your group stays with Space Engineers for its large Workshop library and established modded-server culture, the configuration, block limit and backup advice on this page applies directly.

What are the most common Space Engineers server errors?

Most errors come from missing dependencies, ports or mod incompatibilities; the log files in the server folder usually name the cause clearly.

• The server won't start: .NET Framework 4.8 or the Visual C++ 2013 and 2017 packages are missing. Install the dependencies Keen lists.
• Not visible in the server list: 27016/UDP is closed in the firewall, or only TCP was opened. Space Engineers uses UDP.
• A second instance won't start: both instances are trying to use the same port; give each its own.
• Players can't download mods: a mod removed from or hidden on the Workshop is still in the list. Clean up the mod list.
• Crash while loading the world: not enough memory or an incompatible mod. Check memory use and disable mods one by one.
• Sim speed drops when players join: structures near the player are loading; review view and sync distance.

If you get stuck, open a support ticket from the customer panel with the log file attached.