Space Engineers 2Wiki
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VS2.4 · en-US · sourced data

WORKSHOP / VRAGE3

Create your first mod

A guided path from an empty project to a block you can test in Space Engineers 2, without leaving this site.

FROM PROJECT TO WORKSHOP

  1. 01MOD HUB
  2. 02EDITOR
  3. 03IN-GAME TEST
  4. 04WORKSHOP

BEFORE YOU START

  • Space Engineers 2 installed
  • Space Engineers 2 Mod SDK installed from Steam Library under Tools
  • A working folder separate from Vanilla data
  • Windows: the SDK tools are provided as .exe applications

Always work inside your mod project. Use Vanilla data as a reference and do not edit it directly.

QUICK START

Create and open the project

This first sequence prepares an empty mod and verifies the Mod Hub → Editor → Game toolchain.

01

Create the mod in Mod Hub

Launch Space Engineers 2 Mod SDK from Steam. VRAGE3 Mod Hub opens and manages your projects.

  1. Click “+ Add Mod”.
  2. Give the project a unique title.
  3. Confirm with “OK”, then click “Start Editor”.
The newly created folder is your mod workspace.
02

Import the sample thruster

The SDK includes ready-to-import models, so you can learn the pipeline before doing any 3D modelling.

  1. Find ExampleMod1/Modded Ion Thruster in the SDK.
  2. Drag the “Modded Ion Thruster” folder into the editor.
  3. In VRAGE Assets Import Utility, keep every file checked, enable “Snap models to SE2 Grid”, then import.
03

Link models and materials

The import creates the required VRAGE assets. Link the last-LOD material to each of the model's three states.

  1. Open Assets/Modded Ion Thruster/Models/NonFractured.
  2. Select ModdedIonThruster.model and assign moddedIonThruster_LastLod.def to ModdedIonThruster_LastLOD.
  3. Repeat for the Deformed and Fractured folders.
04

Generate the block

A visual model is not enough: the game needs a prefab and definitions describing its behaviour.

  1. Right-click empty space in Project Explorer → Create Prefab → Blocks → Breakable → IonThrusters.
  2. Name the prefab “ModdedThruster”.
  3. In the generated CubeBlock Definition, assign ModdedIonThruster_Icon.png and enter the block's display name.
05

Assign all three model states

The block needs to know what to display while intact, fractured or deformed.

  1. Open ModdedThruster_BlockModelDefinition.partialdef.
  2. Assign ModdedIonThruster.model to the Non-Fractured model.
  3. Assign the Deformed and Fractured variants to their matching fields.
06

Preview and test

Inspect the prefab in the render view, then launch a test world from the editor.

  1. Double-click ModdedThruster.partialdef to preview it.
  2. Enable dummies under Preview Settings and check the “Dummy Nozzle” orientation.
  3. Use Project → Start Game, then find the block under Movement → Space Propulsion → Ion thrusters.

SDK SAMPLE

Why start with the ion thruster?

It already contains the icon, intact, fractured and deformed models, LODs, textures and collision. You can learn how resources connect before creating your own 3D assets.

Space Engineers 2 - Mod SDK/ExampleMod1/Modded Ion Thruster

FILES TO RECOGNISE

.fbx
3D source model imported by the editor
.model
Generated model referenced by the block
.def / .partialdef
Definition or partial copy of game data
LOD0, LOD1…
Progressively simplified versions of a model
_collision
Simplified geometry used by physics
Albedo, Normal, Roughness…
Maps controlling a material's appearance

CHECK BEFORE TESTING

Start the game with a clean block

  • No error in Asset Validation
  • No missing path or GUID in the Console
  • All three model states are assigned
  • Collision and dummies are in the right place
  • Name and icon appear in the G screen

WHEN THE TEST PASSES

Prepare for publishing

  1. 01

    Run the mod in a fresh world and verify building, damage and thrust.

  2. 02

    Fix every validation error; understand any warning you decide to keep.

  3. 03

    In Mod Hub, add the title, description, thumbnail and dependencies.

  4. 04

    Use “Publish” only when the local version is stable.

SOURCES AND SCOPE

Rewritten from Keen Software House documentation and checked against the tools and samples present in the local SDK. VRAGE3 interface labels remain in English when they need to be found verbatim in the tool.

KeenSWH · Modding Overview ↗KeenSWH · Create New Thruster ↗
SDK local vérifié : Space Engineers 2 - Mod SDK · ExampleMod1 · VRAGE3.ModHUB.exe · VRage.Editor.exe