Space Engineers: The Center (Episode 1) - Let's Get Things Started!

Welcome to a new Space Engineers Mini Series called "The Center"! This one is a pretty simple concept. We're stuck in the center of the Earth with no way out! With limited power, limited jetpack, and limited options, we've gotta find a way to survive, thrive, and maybe one day get back to the surface.
Want to try it out for yourself? This link will take you to the workshop page for the starter world I'm using! Follow the directions on the page to get started.
steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
If you like the video, be sure to leave comments and hit that like button! That's how I know to make more of these!
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[@Dinkleberg96]

Omg this idea is amazing. Never seen anything like it before. The idea of the intro part was really cool. I hope the survival kit has an included AC cause must be hoooooot down there LMAO

[@AndrewmanGaming]

It's so hot!!! Luckily my suit handles most of the AC. All I've gotta do is keep it powered!

[@Ariethefloof]

Tip: build a passenger seat to recharge your suit faster. Also I'm pretty sure wind turbines produce less power depending on the voxels beneath/around them.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you for the tips!!

[@reachwbar]

Turbines produce power depending on the distance from the side of the turbine to voxels and/or grids (up/down axis doesn't matter). If you hollow out the stone around your turbines enough, they'll be as efficient as they are on the surface. Really cool idea for the series, good work!

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thanks for the info!!! I didnt know that's how simple it was. I could really get some good efficiency going!

[@reachwbar]

@@AndrewmanGaming Cheers man, thanks for the vid & the scenario on the workshop, it's neat.

[@Salem-yk7fs]

Full efficiency for wind turbines is 6 blocks, it's around the sides and I believe down(voxel only), that's why you get better efficiency with it lifted up

[@reachwbar]

@@Salem-yk7fs Good point, forgot about that.

[@BobMcDowell]

@@AndrewmanGaming Specifically they check via raycast for eight blocks in 8 directions (each edge of the block and each corner) along the surface they're placed. This is useful because you can stagger them a bit and/or place them above/below each other and they won't collide.

[@stevehayes2258]

i can see how this starts being a co-op. A second rover falls in. totaly want to do this now.

[@HeilTec]

Great idea for a vanilla survival challenge. 👍 Interesting to see what you'll do. 1: Wind power If you design your mining rig to clear out a fair space this can then be used for wind turbines. Greater clearance gives more power. 2: Rock power Stone can be converted into batteries with 1/4 charge which can then be ground down after depletion.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you for the ideas!

[@Caffin8tor]

For h2, you might consider adding the moisture vaparator mod which generates small amounts of ice given power and an atmosphere. For metal grids which require cobalt, not sure where you'll be able to get that.

[@Kosinuss]

Not sure how much moisture you can have at the infernal centre.

[@jaebob]

@@Kosinuss however much there is in the air that is being sucked down there

[@rogerpha1398]

you could try making a caterpillar type crawler with a piston and two landing feet on each side? like and inch worm to get up the hole?

[@guystick4461]

I love the idea of this mini series

[@Aix_Plainer]

The most fun i take out of Space Engineers is to come up with my own scenarios/rules, like Nomad (no base), piracy only, mining only, pirating ships and fusing them together, stranded on the moon trying to go back to Earth, ... . I love these kind of scenarios. Last time i took one of your scenarios (trade only), i enjoyed it much. Right now i am going to start this one, with the goal to reach Earth.

[@awiredape3999]

Most underrated space engineers channel on KZbin

[@Nachtom]

Just wanted to say that I'm hyped about this series, but I'm not watching videos yet, because I wait for more episodes - then I'll go through whole series. (I hate being in middle of something and need to wait for more episodes) I just wanted to let you know - maybe there are more people like me, so continue with making it, some views will come later! :))

[@randallvolk8437]

An idea on the source of ores! You could allow your self the use of one of the mods that filter ore from gravel. Since they only give a small amount you just get by. You could search the workshop for one that would work for this mini-series. And how ironic, making the one item that usually is at the ‘center’ of clogged inventories when mining and refining stone, would become the ‘center’ of getting ores, at the ‘center’ of the planet!

[@MrKhaled306]

I swear to god this is one of the best intros i’ve ever seen in any game or anything, you got a real subscriber my friend I will buy and start playing this game tonight on my ps5 I think im gonna skip work tomorrow If anything is going to let me quit Minecraft, its this game If only i can master the engineering things in it

[@mexicantcypher8615]

Clear more space around the windmills, the survival kit and medical components don’t destroy themselves, use a ladder so you can get back to the center of the mini base. Great idea and great video!!

[@jcataclisma]

Very best intro ever! 😁 So, you were about to star another type of series, but a random hole made you change your plans. Niiiice! Hahahah. Loved the idea. Hope the lack of almost everything doesn´t kill the mini-series. Cheers!

[@quickkrueger]

This is a really cool start to a really cool series idea.

[@lordsherifftakari4127]

piston mining to make room for equipment like refineries and another assembler or 2. without Cobalt, there's no Cargo Containers as all the Large Grid ones require Metal Grids. but escaping the center is very doable with an Inchworm piston and a couple Mag plates. it's slow, but it'll get you out. eventually!

[@erubianwarlord8208]

i was thinking of a very similar idea for how he could escape

[@DaDweekly]

ay yo im here!!! i like this concept of surviving, cant wait to see more of this series

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Yooooo welcome to the comment section!!

[@BNETT21]

the stone floating in the center reminds me of all the gravity "coil gun" style launchers I used to make when I first started playing this game lol.

[@remethepplays]

The solar panel might work if you stick it into the voxel. That used to be, and might still be, an exploit to get solar power underground. Since there is nothing behind the voxels. Test it out. Also, you should have used regular interior lights, they have a much greater range than corner lights. Fun series and challenge :)

[@erickmartin8959]

This is an amazing idea would love for this to be an actual series

[@moccaloto]

I love the concept. Great work👍

[@Stomperdon]

Love this idea. Keep it going as long as you can ma dude.

[@55zodiac55]

Great idea for a series! Keep it going!

[@Codebreakerblue]

I'm loving the super exploratory nature of this mini-series! The idea that it might not work well, or work at all, is really interesting.

[@IAmNoggin]

what a challenge! I can't tell if you're all vanilla but a stone extractor module would be an interesting blessing and a curse at the same time.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

This series is for all intents and purposes vanilla! (There are a few qol mods I like to add for recording)

[@UtopssAKAPJ]

Cool lore to the start of the video could nickname this as the mole challenge :)

[@thegovernor184]

Good episode, I had been having withdrawal after I finished binge watching your other videos!

[@joaco545]

This was a lot of fun to watch, hope the CotEVS (Center of the Earth Escapment Vheicle System) can be built :P

[@cpldeath1993]

love the spin on the idea i gave you about underground survival cant wait t see how you handle this challengeand for the drill use a piston hinge and then the drill... plus a control seat to make it easier on yourself

[@billyvanstaden8639]

Love it 🤘👍

[@chrisholland8892]

This is a cool concept! May have to try something similar. Looking forward to the next episode!

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you! Yes, you're welcome to give it a go yourself. If you're interested, there is a link in the description to the starter world!

[@samuraidriver4x4]

Pretty challenging series. For cobalt free cargo containers use welders, they provide a decent amount of storage space👍 To get up the hole some sort of piston hinge and landing gear contraption would work. Lock down landing gear 1, extend piston, lock down landing gear 2 etc.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you for the tips! The welder idea is 10/10 :)

[@jacobktan]

This is a pretty cool idea

[@joshreed7010]

Great idea.maybe place more lights around the base to get ride of the shadow glitch ?

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Great idea! Yeah it seems like the more lights we have all around the center, the less we see that lighting glitch. Its only really a problem when we're shining a light through the center point.

[@Oddesyus]

Love the content man, would be awsome to try and see you do something with trains. Perhaps set up transport networks between different bases. Either way keep up the epic work 😎

[@jaidejasigne]

I can't Wait to see more

[@ChichIndustries]

can’t wait for p2!

[@bcmpinc]

One way to get new hydrogen for your character is to respawn. You can't stockpile it, but at least you can keep flying around with your jetpack.

[@quuuimey]

The intro bought me

[@halfcirclehranch6877]

You'll have to come up with some kind of mechanical means of climbing out. Maybe some kind of crazy thing using a combination of pistons, hinges, and landing gears. Maybe some kind of weird rover with a piston to keep you pressed to the walls?

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Both great ideas! Those seem to be the consensus in the comment section as well. Someone also suggested an elevator I think, which could work too.

[@votefornormality]

You can use the ore to energy trick. Turning ore into ingots and ingots into components and components into batteries, draining the batteries, grinding it down, building just the missing components, and repeating the steps. You are turning ore into power as you would with ice but with several extra steps. Those steps could be streamlined with izys and some other tricks. It is the only realistic way to power a base without using tons of underground windmills. You can of course build a tunnel-boring ship around that and use it to escape. It is a fairly unique way to power a base/ship.

[@votefornormality]

You could RP in a small decrepit NPC base. Maybe with some small drones. Something had to make the tunnel...

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Great suggestion! That would be a really good way to farm power without the windmills. Maybe we look to set something like that up in a later episode!

[@CMDR-V-UncleJ]

Brave Man you are :-) I lov how you striate up handy caped your self hard..... you have gone full Troglodyte

[@STSWB5SG1FAN]

If you want to try walking, don't go straight, try to do a spiral. Drill around the hole, maybe large enough for a car something you can put your survival kit onto.

[@FreeMfHugs]

always happy to see an episode. always so sad to see and episode end :( love this idea!!! interested in how your gonna get ice

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Me too! We'll see what we can come up with for ice!

[@FreeMfHugs]

@@AndrewmanGaming i know there are mods for air condensers. Which i guess use power and make liqued in air into small.amounts of ice

[@Mogodin]

Conematic like intro? Like it!

[@Cr4sHOv3rRiD3]

Great idea Andrew, hope to see more of series going on Suggestion: You can dig little bit more until you feel gravity, then there, position yourself to gravity and build small rover with adjustable drill on front (drill on the piston/hinge to be able to angle the drill) and you can drive yourself to the surface digging at the angle (let's say like 30-50 degree angle). You can also build an elevator to bring you to the rover and back to base if need :D It will be long run to the surface but hey, better something than nothing :D Also, you can build Rover-Elevator, on a small grid, build pistons from center point pointing out in a circle, mount some rotors and slap wheels on rotor heads, then push the wheels against the surface and slowly move up to the surface. Maybe is better to even put hinges after pistons then rotors with wheels, hinges are good way to make like custom suspensions while driving your way out. Anyway, can't wait next episode to come out. Keep up great work

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you so much for the escape tips! I love the idea of the little miner car. I dont think we'll escape that way because it would take aaaages but to get ores, that's perfect!

[@Cr4sHOv3rRiD3]

@@AndrewmanGaming Yeah, it will take ages to get to surface... I'm always happy to help if I can :D Either way, can't wait to see what you've done next :D

[@Brony22]

From what i understand, you can never find ores down that deep, you might have a couple choices on what to do. 1: Find a mod that can allow ores to spawn that deep. 2: Manually place ore patches that deep.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

The challenge is to do it in vanilla! Hence the mini series aspect. If it becomes too restrictive to the point of being boring, we might consider throwing in a mod or something.

[@Gentalkat11]

That intro was the best i have ever seen

[@bassemgju2440]

tip you can heal anf recharge twica as fast by holding F an let mouse button on the survival kit

[@TimeKitt]

Just about the perfect place to set up some hoppers if you ever make a mining vehicle to bore upwards, just eject it down. I'd probably do something simple like making an elevator car dangling an assembler and survival kit and a scraping drill, just powering it by continuously making new batteries along the way, but I'm boring like that. Looking forward to seeing how you deal with this challenge yourself, and what interesting ideas for builds you come up with! Really wish there was some decent cave generation so we could have more underground adventures, without having to do things like make canyon planets and patch over the top with asteroids and smaller planets or something.

[@rogerpha1398]

nice intro :D subbed

[@Damnit_Aru]

Awesome Intro

[@koreyokeene]

new sub here im looking forward to this

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Welcome to the channel and thank you for your support :)

[@MrNote-lz7lh]

You should go as high up the hole as you can and dig a cavern for a new base there. That way you don't have to worry about floating off. But I do like the whole car idea that runs up the tunnel. Ooh. Maybe you could build a mobile elevator type base that you can use to get to the surface.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Ooo an elevator sort of thing would be awesome!

[@jonnyd8399]

@@AndrewmanGaming inchworm with pistons and mag plates.....

[@jafiwam]

If the tunnel is mostly uniform, two pistons with a "car" in the middle and some mag plates could "walk" up that tube like an inchworm. Another tip, welders and grinders have cargo space and don't need metal grids to construct.

[@ColinRichardson]

I LOVE strange things like this.. Like, I've seen people do the "get to the centre" before, but never "lets try to live here"

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Maybe for good reason lol, but we'll see what we can manage down here!

[@ColinRichardson]

@@AndrewmanGaming if it was gonna be easy, it wouldn't be entertaining.

[@pkwork]

Walk up the escape hole a little way and mine in laterally. Leave a block and ladder. This might lead outward enough to reach ores.

[@ikeycisdiablo6132]

i dont know if you know this by now but you can hold down the f button and it will keep grabbing ore's and stone. works when your drilling aswell.

[@jeizen]

I don't think you'll find any ore deposits that deep in the planet. Depending on how we feel about mods for the series, I would look into a gravity sifter or stone crusher mod to get very small amounts of more advanced resources from the gravel.

[@adivrsity]

Wind turbines also generate more power the "higher" up they are. Meaning in SE how many blocks are beneath them

[@davidgutting4317]

Use the gravity to your advantage, put a collector where all the stones gravitate to and you don’t need to go back and forth

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Love the idea!

[@kennethmitchell1418]

If I remember right the windmills are most efficient 8 blocks above the voxels and with 4 blocks between them

[@DizzyDJW]

If it’s a purely vanilla challenge, Ice will be impossible, however you could install the moisture vaporator mod which uses power to create ice, it's energy expensive and produces miniscule amounts, so it's very balanced Maybe that mod that allows you to refine very small amounts of other ore types from just stone but only in a basic refinery or better?

[@ianvanmusic]

No mods, please. Nothing is impossible.

[@DizzyDJW]

@@ianvanmusic Except in this case, where obtaining Ice or literally any other ores lmao 🤣🤣🤣

[@MrNote-lz7lh]

@@DizzyDJW What do you mean? All he have to do is escape the hole then he could find ice in vanilla.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you for the suggestion! For this series I think I'm going to keep it mostly vanilla (I do have a few visual and audio mods). We're gonna see what we can do with what we have!

[@DizzyDJW]

@@MrNote-lz7lh Lmao what do YOU mean? If he escapes the hole that's the end of the series, cuz that's the entire point

[@freeman105]

pretty sure you could get more power from the wind turbines by clearing more dirt from around them (make a second expandable cave just for power with better clearances {like your "mine" hole})

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you for the suggestion! I'll try clearing more dirt around the next few we place. Eventually all that dirt will be gone anyway as we expand the area.

[@freeman105]

@@AndrewmanGaming holy shit i expected my suggestion to get buried cool

[@waynewatson3186]

@@freeman105 It should work as on the surface. Power diminishes when close to voxels. On planet surface we try to keep 8 "blocks" away from voxels for optimal power, so try to clear 8 blocks around the turbine (each direction)

[@jwchaston1987]

if you mod the gravel sifter mod is a way to get extremely small amounts of all ores including ice can use yield modules but still small and slow-ish

[@mortigoth]

Yeah... i went 10 clicks down with a small grid drill... and tried to work my way up... with 4 metal grids only... was fun... If you have NPC mods some ships start spawning inside the planet, lol...

[@jonnyd8399]

Building a rover and ore detector, driving as far down that hole as possible to look for cobalt or ice is the only thing I can think of. Or spiraling ramps until u find ore. This is a true challenge!

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thank you for the suggestions! Yeah that might be the only way we get that stuff. I dont know how deep anything spawns.

[@albertkustra]

Could build a wall of collectors in an area that you mine so that you dont have to collect them, i would also use a mod to turn gravel into a small amount of rare resources that way it would be somewhat immersive

[@AndrewmanGaming]

I like the idea! I think we're gonna build something like that in the next episode on one side of our base. Should make mining 100x easier!

[@aarisz9817]

Btw Alt+MMB is quick deposit

[@trucksarenoisy]

Turn off shadows if the shadows are glitchy

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thanks for the suggestion! I should have tried that at the start. Now I think its more or less fixed with the base lights we have.

[@prometheus8010]

They should add underground ice lakes and caverns with ores , and then have a tougher stone towards the center that's harder to drill through

[@AndrewmanGaming]

I would love that! Just underground caves and stuff would give so much personality to the planets, and it would make exploratory mining really interesting!

[@prometheus8010]

Space engineers caves update like minecraft

[@tylerhansen1892]

Mod Gravel Sifter gets small amounts of everything including ice from gravel. large grid only

[@Nivoldoog]

"I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole!"

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Never was there a more fitting song!

[@naders7200]

it would be gamey but i wonder if you could set up the water mod in a way to have a puddle in the center of the planet and set a collector up to get ice? more curiosity than a valid suggestion

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thanks for the suggestion! I dont know if I want to go that far with the mods lol, but that would be a good way to make this series more accessible!

[@Kosinuss]

With the heat that's at the centre, I'd imagine any water flowing down would just evaporate long before reaching it.

[@butchvandyk1051]

would it mabe help going for the 8 block space around the windmills???

[@AndrewmanGaming]

That's not a bad idea!

[@butchvandyk1051]

@@AndrewmanGaming just test it before you make a nother episode... dont want to make a fool of my self for suggesting it.... lol.... lol... lol

[@killer13324]

At the 1 hour mark I would have started looking into building a new battery as priority 1

[@Fresh_Baklava]

That into.....lmao!

[@peterfixit7221]

the only way I can think of to get ores is to use a gravel sifter. it turns gravel into small amounts of other ores

[@prometheus8010]

So this series is gonna prove that the planets need reworked

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Yeah probably lol

[@machettefreddy4170]

Would a bank of no volt using lights close to and and pointed at a solar panel give any power?

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Oo thats a good question. I hiiiiiighly doubt it, but it could be worth a try!

[@PiroteusGaming]

Probably since it's a smooth hole you only need to build a piston rover which holds to the sides and drives on up. Eight wheeler all on pistons as long as you can build it wihtout sliding back in the center you should be golden.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

I think that should work!

[@frankmartel5775]

The second thing to build after the first wind mill is a battery so the windmill does not turn for nothing. You should have started to build from your battery out to the wall so you could have been charging it up right away instead of keeping it floating PS: please don’t put a heart by my comment I hate those

[@freedomoperator6502]

A vent should get you whatever gasses you can store.

[@koreyokeene]

number one tip try holding the F key you dont need to repeatly tap it in witch i can hear.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Thanks for the tip :)

[@ianvanmusic]

The only thing I'm disappointed about is the fact that there is not yet a part 2. P.S. You don't neeeeeed hydrogen if you plan for the worst now (which you seem to be) and you could drill a spiral shape to walk higher but still be grounded to get away from that Inferno temperature reading to find ice. (?)

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Good call! I have to use the hydrogen I do have to set things up for a world without hydrogen. Ladders throughout the base is a good step I think. And I love the spiral mining idea!

[@prometheus8010]

Since hot and cold seem to be a thing in the game geothermal generators should be as well

[@bloodkiss4491]

The lag of Materials is a bit of a Problem, what do you think of putting the "Mini Mole" or the "Ant Mobile" or somethin else in a radius of 1km around your Position in creativ mode and than you have to find it by your own ... probably never find it XD (maybe switch on an Antenna with an radius of 100m) this will give you a small amount of cobalt and maybe a bit of Ice in them.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

That would be a cool idea! I want to keep this relatively vanilla though. But still a very cool idea for a scenario based on this concept!

[@CodeRed7109]

dont forget you can use alt+mmb to deposit all

[@zigenstern]

safest base in space engineers history

[@AndrewmanGaming]

I agree!

[@LoneViking04]

You can hold to continue picking up rocks instead of spamming

[@jh5kl]

👍👍👍👍😀👍😀

[@pierreg2780]

What about a mine shaft with a few wheel that go up and down?

[@prometheus8010]

Your ship if possible should be the underminer

[@KevinNguyen1]

There is a solution for the jetpack fuel, but it is kind of like cheating even though it uses a feature of the game. You press backspace to respawn, and your fuel is now at 100%.

[@AndrewmanGaming]

True! Respawning would give me a new inventory of fuel. I want to avoid that though. My goal is not to die at all in the series.

[@KevinNguyen1]

@@AndrewmanGaming I would agree!

[@frankmartel5775]

Drill of spiral around the hole

[@camdenddelgallo9611]

Hey, why dont you do a series with the real orbits mod and try and set up a multi-planet automation system where you get materials from many planets, and shit. Idk

[@Cinnamon_Shaey]

well it makes sense why your character does not go all the way around the platform, cause you are still in p gravity, while low its still there so magnet boots does not activate

[@AndrewmanGaming]

Ohhhh that does make sense lol. Dang ok they're not gonna make it easy for us!

[@Cinnamon_Shaey]

@@AndrewmanGaming yea seems that way 😅 it's a challenge indeed, but one I'm sure we can solve with our big brains 😂

[@greenerion]

I think you're the only person in the world to play SE with progression on, on purpose

[@freeman105]

i do..... not sure why but i do

[@AndrewmanGaming]

LOL I really dont know why I do it. It just seems natural to me 😂

[@jaidejasigne]

nope Lunar kolony do it 😁

[@Debbiebabe69]

Progression adds nothing to the game but frustration - you try to place lets say a conveyor or light, only to find you cant because you forgot to, at the start of the playthrough, go through all the random blocks on the starter lander and hit them with the grinder then the torch.

[@swedichboy1000]

Could you even imagine what a hollow world would look like with a server full of players?

[@AndrewmanGaming]

That would be so cool! There's no hiding when the world is hollow lol

[@thee_number_six6227]

Clear out more rock and don't build it next to anything else and the windmills work fine.