Space Engineers: Update 1.206 Sneak Peek - Large Grid Small Connector

We’re hard at work on the next Space Engineers update!
Alongside the NPC Cargo Ship overhauls we shared with you last month, there are a number of very exciting blocks and features headed your way. This month we’ll be showcasing one of the more unique items on the list, coming as part of the free portion of the 1.206 update - a large grid variant of the Small Inset Connector.
This block serves as an adapter which allows small grids equipped with the Small Connector to directly connect to large grids, vastly improving the docking experience for grids which utilize them.
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Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering, construction, exploration, and survival in space and on planets. Players build spaceships, wheeled vehicles, space stations, planetary outposts of various sizes and uses (civil and military), pilot ships, and travel through space to explore planets and gather resources to survive. Featuring both creative and survival modes, there is no limit to what can be built, utilized, and explored.
Explore the world of Space Engineers through our community. The 4th largest Workshop on Steam with over 500K mods, ships, stations, worlds, and more!
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[@Flipsie]

The industrial aesthetic of those tanks is really nice, looking forward to painting some red ready to explode :D

[@Black5heep_]

If there is one fundamental law of the universe, it is the color of explody barrels.

[@libreriapapiros4771]

No puedo estar mas de acuerdo !!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@indomitabled4c4]

At the bottom of the newsletter was Ai people developed by Good AI, part of keen. Maybe llm NPC's will be in se2¿

[@enshrowd]

@@indomitabled4c4we already know there will be NPCs in SE2

[@malcontender6319]

@@enshrowd Sure, it'll only take them Five years this time, not Ten! :I

[@cgt-creative6238]

I hope they redesign the GPS list in SE1 so we can create groups and make GPS more tidy, and use icons instead of text, etc.

[@cgt-creative6238]

GPS Filter for Jump Drives, GPS groups, .....

[@kacperh6]

There is a Plugin avaiable which allows you to create GPS folders EDIT: I forgot to mention, that there is GPS recoloring mod on the steam workshop

[@aresthecrazy9335]

@kacpergames1606you can recolor GPS markers in vanilla, don’t even need the mod.

[@kacperh6]

@@aresthecrazy9335 didn't know that, how can you do that?

[@Squeech.007]

I wish we could recolor antennas and beacons hudmarkers...

[@evlkenevl2721]

Love it! No more rotor and hinge shenanigans for small ships!

[@tackyinbention6248]

We all focused on SE2 so much that we forgot the original still getting updates huh?

[@maxwell_edison]

Ngl didn't know there was a SE2

[@Cc8tv2]

@@maxwell_edison now you do go check out the trailers

[@Darknight_84930]

Yea... I was playing se1 when I saw the first vid drop from the devs and while thinking about it one of transport ships I was flying fell into the moon gravity and got smoked .. it took me 2 hours to build xD

[@olegbeon]

A single block, how exciting

[@Superstack2]

​@@maxwell_edisoncoming out this January 23, or was it 26? But only the creative mode so far. Everything else coming soon.

[@necrorex1]

There is also what looks like a glass narrow door at 0:07 right next to those horizontal tanks...I don't remember seeing anything like that before.

[@neonpinhead8079]

Looks like a window panel on it’s side with a console in the middle

[@fschlut]

@@neonpinhead8079 I dont think so due to having a small blue control panel on the outside. Im really confident that this will be some sort of new door which would be really cool.

[@ranow3389]

@@fschlut looks to be a new block. Agree with you that's it's not something we've currently got.

[@davidmorton6051]

I think your right, and that those are new corridor blocks.

[@theapug7296]

its a new 20 dollar dlc

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

Those new oxygen tanks look wonderful. The connector is going to help so greatly - I've got at least three ships that sit partly unfinished because they need some small grid connection to have a proper drone dock, and it's excellent to see that I'll be able to fix that. Some incredible builds on display here, too; I quite like the floodlight towers and that mining rover in particular.

[@ifthenelse7956]

put up a rotor, cut off top part then attach small head or medium (3x3 small), it's the same thing meanwhile

[@Black5heep_]

Don't we all just look for connection? :)

[@cptccman5665]

Finally my micro drones can have a home 🥹

[@thederpiestturtle]

OMG I was literally needing this block for a build

[@Shakads]

New textures look great too!

[@leakyabstraction]

It's a nice addition. I remember that I had to mess around with using rotors and attaching a small head with a small connector before...

[@fredpryde8555]

wow that looks cool very sneaky little bits to tease us and that was a planet

[@EntoSanto]

Salute to 30 people who are responsible for SE1 at Keen. :D

[@jh5kl]

indeed

[@shawn39997]

Se1 better than all these triple a games and with 30 people😂✊🏽

[@Wholy]

finally, i can remove large connectors from my fighters xD

[@UdonRob]

As long as you aren't using rockets, since they need a large conveyor port unless you are hand loading, the large connector always kind of got in the way of design aesthetics and I 100% agree! It just takes up so much real-estate and is such a vulnerability in pretty much any design.

[@ranaghast]

OMDS! I SUGGESTED THIS A WHILE AGO! LETS GO!

[@Gottaculat]

Yep! I think I saw that, and upvoted it! Keen actually reads those suggestions, if you submitted it through their portal. They're pretty fast on some things. A while back, when small grid doors were introduced, I found a bug, was able to repeat it, made a video showing how to repeat it, submitted it to Keen, and like the next day a hotfix rolled out to address it. This is seriously why Keen gets my continued, unwavering support, because they actually listen.

[@ranaghast]

@Gottaculat I put in one of my videos actually but I should have put it in as a official suggestion! Guess someone else had the same idea!

[@MicheleKolodi]

Those new tanks can be either new medium size hydrogen tanks or they can be for new oil resource.

[@startstepvr]

im guessing they're gonna be 1x2 hydrogen tanks, like an industrial styled one

[@snom953]

lol people coping hard trying to prove it's oil look closer. those smokestacks are cosmetic. Planets that don't have plant life don't have oil

[@ЭрнестХимич-ь5э]

Most likely those are just new DLC small hydrogen or oxygen tanks

[@blakekendall6156]

This is for Space Engineers 1. Am I missing something? Has there been any indication that space engineers 1 will be getting oil? I know possibly in space engineers 2, but that is purely a brainstorm at this stage, with zero development at this point.

[@Haplaz]

That block is going to come in handy on a lot of my builds

[@Chicken_12345]

those oil wells are more interesting for me. confirms there will be rotors and/or hinges coming in SE2. wasnt sure about it before as havent noticed any in previous sneak peeks!

[@GhostScout42]

Yes i am very excited for this!

[@drewcipher896]

Large grid, small variant industrial gas tanks and maybe small conveyor industrial style pipes?

[@housekraze]

Nice progress for Space Citizen

[@leakyabstraction]

Gosh, I really won't be missing these armor edges in SE2. They are the bane of my existence 😅

[@evlkenevl2721]

I know some don't like using mods, but Edges-Be-Gone is one I always make an exception for.

[@TedAlter]

I hope we'll also get adapter from large grid to small so it easier to use and more stable than other vanilla wariants

[@JamesAlexanderMartin]

0:14 is that a vanilla rover drone? Is ai getting proper rover support?

[@senast]

It's actually possible to create a rover drone with scripts. But it would be really nice if there comes an easier way to create rover drones.

[@ЭрнестХимич-ь5э]

​@@senastI've seen a vanilla wheeled drone on Steam WS. It uses a subgrid with AI and sensors that detect subgrid rotation and control wheel steering and override according to where that subgrid is pointing. Yes, it takes a lot of space, plus it's somewhat clangy, but it is a vanilla solution

[@sylshooten410]

@@ЭрнестХимич-ь5эbet

[@antwarior]

exactly what i was thinking too, i really hope this is the case so i can stop making these autonomous rovers and start making rovers that are built to transport and work for my base

[@Benjimains]

YES YES YES YESSSSS!

[@LunarKolony]

Teasers 😏

[@Aikagi000]

looks like some kind of new block skin also? I don't recall blocks with yellow or grey pathing lines or the yellow edging on one side. And Ai rovers???

[@tetegaming7402]

Finally ! Small connectors were to revulutionize the way we build micro ships... we will finally be able to use them !

[@arturkandla5438]

Awesome, very useful👍

[@rolandmine6693]

Idk what will happen to SE1 after SE2 drops, but it will be remembered

[@valdemarsimonsen9612]

It will still go on with content updates and such but the majority of Keens team is working on SE 2

[@rolandmine6693]

@ it would be so cool if keen achieved a high level of photorealism in the next 5 years with SE2. Like implanting unreal engine 5 type graphics into their engine

[@00Klingon]

I spy new gas tanks, a new thin glass door block (excited!), new textures or new blocks on the tarmac with yellow lines and differential colors for paths? Also, curious what I see in the background at 0:27 that might be new cargo containers?

[@vladkruglov7719]

This is so good, if only subgrid thruster and wheel contro lwas a thing without mods, this combined would bring some impressive designs to reality

[@CMDROldDuck]

I've been waiting for this block a long time. It would be nice to have a variation with a half-block that has the small connector on the "inside", so that you could fill in the other side of the large grid half block with a 3x3x2 array of small grid blocks, making the assembly flush with the large grid wall this would be inserted into. That's how I build my "server farms" (timer, event controllers, etc) now, except that I use a hinge.

[@CaptainJack]

New Connector you say :)

[@alexandre069]

I hope so we need some not subgrid solution to park ship using small connectors

[@timdrtot3855]

Was in the newsletter😅

[@Anuwabu]

That's been needed awhile. And now time for 4x1 slopes already, which modders realized was needed 5 years ago.

[@triangel1401]

next best thing to the 25cm unified grid right now

[@BattlewarPenguin]

I will love this update, thank you! Random QoL idea, wireless charging grid between batteries?

[@drewbear_07]

Oh man the way this is gonna help downsize ships so well

[@Коля-у5с]

ура, мы ждали этого 10 лет

[@slinkerdeer]

nice!!

[@miniindy1183]

Those new Hydrogen Tanks are also very interesting and they look kinda cool, but i'm also convinced, that those at 0:05 are also new Glas Doors.?

[@PolishCaptainC4]

It would be nice if we could also get a connector that would seal 2 grids together so that you could walk through from one to the other without losing oxygen

[@kerbalairforce8802]

Small grid connectors on large grids will be great for missile hardpoints

[@Thaleans]

I wish actual gameplay would look at least a little bit similar to what we are watching here. - Dozens of NPC engineers working under player administration - Part mass balance which encourages wheeled vehicles - Singnificantly heavier electric systems which encourages hydrogen thrusters - Engineer jetpack nerf under planetary gravity - Oil or coal as early, low-tech energy resource Hoping for SE2

[@Real_LittleEgg]

It does work like this when you're playing with the right people. For example, my group of friends who play SE do things like this with bases in strategic places for gathering resources and stuff much easier Just gotta find the right people to play with

[@Real_LittleEgg]

And for your other questions one word: Mods

[@Thaleans]

@@SioxerNikita With few cheap wind turbines and cheap batteries you won't get any power shortage. Air transport has big advantage on speed, safety, lower PCU, easier to use over land transport.

[@Thaleans]

@@SioxerNikita I am talking about competitive gameplay. Sure you can say that transporting heavy cargo over land with less power but that does not mean it is preferable due to transport time, pcu, complexity...etc I have over 3000 hours in SE, I really like to design and use wheeled vehicles but they are not useful in competitive gameplay. They are just luxury, not the efficient way of getting thins done. That is because of extremely low weight of batteries (and later reactors), very easy to produce electric power.. Mining and refining ice requires less power than the used hydrogen fuel to power them, which feels like fake free energy generators..

[@malcontender6319]

That would mean Keen would have to put more people and *gasp!* money into SE1. They're already jumped the gun with a 10% done SE2 reveal and the reaction was less than ideal.

[@dylanbalie3285]

Best game out there

[@edwardnigma2216]

About time they added the large grid small connector block. Sad thing is, all they had to do was enable large-small grid connector sharing and we would have had this ages ago. There was a steam mod that did exactly this a year ago IIRC.

[@buzzbobby]

What I think we need are 3x3 and 5x5 rotors, less worries about clang and make more sense fo bigger turrets

[@SDF_Live]

Выглядит красиво

[@pedropimenta896]

Another "about time".

[@donaldpetersen2382]

Would love a mode for the hand drill to level voxels when drilling.

[@spacenewsoficial]

wawwww!!! nice one!

[@echomande4395]

What block are those horizontal tanks at 0:09? I don't recognize the (floor) blocks surrounding the tanks and refineries. Also the hazard stripes surrounding the crossing seem to be new, either as skin or as block.. Nice industrial vibe, along with assets from Frostbite, though I cannot recall having seen that dropship before.

[@waffletronmk7]

The hazard stripes are sci-fi interior walls on their side with the hazard skin, the other textures are new though

[@CyberneticKinesis]

The dropship is an updated version of the one found in the Pertam Orbiter scenario! The best base rover I’ve made started out as that ship lol.

[@bastienlaviolette5076]

Wow I can't wait to get survival!

[@walkinhere]

Those new tanks look unfinished with how smooth they are.

[@hugot2261]

Finally we can pump oil from the ground 🎉🎉🎉

[@snom953]

look closer lol its just for cinematic purposes Exhaust Pipe block (Cosmetic) the tank is connected by normal conveyors the pump jack is made of armor blocks ITS ON A PLANET WITH NO FUCKING PLANT LIFE MEANING FOSSIL FUELS CANNOT FORM OVER CENTURIES OF SEDIMENT AND PRESSURE

[@dobby5404]

This reminds me of Arrakis from Dune

[@jamesthegrey2036]

My big question is.... Whats up with the oul derricks?? Are they adding oil or extractable fluids?? Or are they just a tease prop?

[@Sue-zz6tm]

Now that the steam workshop is back they just announced I'm going to buy it when it goes out of alpha

[@M4nnu5]

Finally

[@yokdahaneler.3418]

a new block , a new tralier , a new dlc.

[@rumorcontrol7873]

Big

[@kahwigulum]

what are those floor panels with straight and curved sections

[@justinconway4913]

Big sad they didn't use my pumpjack in the video. I've had one created for 2 years

[@simonmihelic1808]

Full Controller Support? When will it be?

[@malcontender6319]

lol. Right after they enable steam deck support. Meaning never.

[@gamerelite3989]

hmm now small grid can be even more compact :-D noice!! and the new tanks hmmm what could it all mean :p

[@TheFakeGooberGoblin]

If I can finally put large grid thrusters of my 100megabyte small grid ship I will be so happy.

[@gamerwolf-ne1yl]

Wait this looks a lot like AI controlled rovers

[@zachio69]

are we talking about the sweet desert oil?

[@phreeesubz]

*Can we get colored UI so i don't have to use a mod for it please?*

[@cmtfarms9777]

It seem like new blocks that mixing small and large grid new tanks and ai rovers and might be getting new fuel like natural gas?

[@snom953]

No we're not. Those pumpjacks are made of armor blocks

[@cmtfarms9777]

@snom953 misdirection say its close but not on point. Thanks for the confirmation.

[@NathanGibbs3]

The Epic part of this is the time frame (Probably in years) between there being an obvious need for this solution and the actual delivery of this solution. Hold that thought, the solution is still pending delivery. Summary: "Yeah, and ... "

[@FazekasPK]

That's a shipload of connectors already, but can we get more?

[@Hairy_McClairy]

Do you think we'll get a large grid small mergeblock at some stage to match the 50cm grid system?\

[@fulconini]

Oil???? Freedom

[@Nathouuuutheone]

Is there any purpose to the footage between 0:00 and 0:30 ? Am I missing hidden small connectors or some easter eggs or something?

[@helratz9627]

You guys need to fix the Horizon app that doesn't work properly in sloped LCDs when rotated 90°. Also, with all the blocks you have added to make small ships gone wild better, we need a toilet and the gravity generator in small grid. Somebody needs to go through all of the armor panels and glass blocks and make comparable shapes of both so they match the same variety in both sets. Fill in the gaps.

[@Hughsie28]

0:07 do we already have half width catwalks?

[@fearmaker1]

Are the blocks in the bottom right at 0:07 new tanks?

[@2KOOLURATOOLGaming]

Hi there Keen, is there any chance that SE2 will feature improved joystick and controller support? I attempted to play SE with my HOTAS setup years ago and found that I couldn't rebind or tweak any of the axis. It was quite underwhelming when I had hoped to be soaring among asteroids like the Tachi. Some amount of rebinding and axis adjustment would go a long way. Head tracking too.

[@Har1ByWorld]

Keep up the good work, the game is great but i think it miss some stuff like npc/mobs thing to do like encounters and so on.

[@malcontender6319]

We'll NEVER have NPC's because KEEN is lazy and SE is a minimal viable product.

[@Har1ByWorld]

@@malcontender6319 saddly i know

[@hunterandersen4862]

So when we gonna make oil a resource in the game 👀

[@Reginald-Erasmus]

had this for nearly a year now lol

[@killianmiller6107]

Small hydrogen tank DLC reskin?

[@Kilted_Dragon]

What music is that? It's absolutely epic!!!

[@retroshiba9283]

Train enthusiasts unite! We have smaller horizontal tanks!

[@PandemicPlayground]

My Clang nightmare will be solved!

[@GregtheMad]

SE1 looks great ... but SE2 looks so much better it makes SE1 look outdated.

[@dilbertdonges910]

*breathes heavily in bald eagle* I think outer space needs some freedom🇺🇸

[@ИмяФамилия-г2щ7о]

Ничегосе, у космического корабля выхлоп. Он что, на мазуте работает?😂 Плазменно-мазутный двигатель, новое слово в ракетостроении😂😂😂

[@thewildones8840]

will this just allow is to supergrid now a lot easier

[@kacperh6]

Nice to see, but i have no idea where I'm gonna use this block

[@timetounwind9205]

Mostly useful if you make use of lots of small drones/ships that can connect up to your large grids using their small connector ports. You can do that already using a hinge or a rotor to convert down to small grid connections but having a block to do it will reduce the number of subgrids needed.

[@itsmichaeljohn]

Are those blocks making up the oil derricks unfinished or are they new? I didnt know unfinished blocks could be painted or have a skin?

[@waffletronmk7]

The "Heavy rust" and "Frozen" skins still apply when a block is unfinished, a lot easier on the eyes than the default texture, however I noticed the interior walls have a new texture that seem to resemble a path which I'm excited about

[@indomitabled4c4]

New oxygen tanks are long overdue

[@optcron]

is clang fixed now?

[@Keyboard_Thoughts]

Why did you guys make this video accessible only by link?

[@supernerd4623]

It's part of their newsletter to give people early access to these trailers

[@TheDovensian]

Can we PLEASE have caterpillar tracks

[@silviupopovici7122]

I'd honestly want these things to happen on singleplayer with AI npcs too.. hopefully SE2 will have it. Otherwise.. where can a solo player find such communities for such cool coordinated plays? I am clueless.

[@malcontender6319]

They don't really exist. You might get 4 or 5 ppl together every now and then, but the game is 90% solo.

[@catbehaviourchannel]

The drills at 0:07 look different to the ship ones we saw in earlier videos. Like they retract or something?

[@KaiLplol]

Im pretty sure those are vanilla drills

[@CaptainFlips]

I mean... if it comes with a DLC I'll probably buy it but odds are, I'll only be playing SE2 as of next month 😅

[@malcontender6319]

You say that, but you have no idea how barebones the release of SE2 will be. No inventory. No items. No survival mechanics. No handheld weapons. Most blocks have no menu. It's literally exactly the same as SE 1 at launch, meaning it's 10% of a game. And they won't have it at parity with SE1 for _at least_ another 5 years.

[@CaptainFlips]

@malcontender6319 I don't? You seem to know an awful lot about me

[@faustmarlo]

I see the same problem with this game that lingers year after year. Why is it impossible to turn on “downshift” on the ship with one button to move slower when approaching or landing? The movements look jagged even in the official video, the ship jerks back and forth, instead of hotkeying the flight systems into landing mode (reducing acceleration).