Space Engineers Dedicated Server: Complete 2026 Guide

Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering, construction, and survival in space and on planets. You build ships, space stations, planetary outposts, and vehicles, then program them with in-game scripts and fly them through a fully destructible voxel world. A dedicated server lets your group collaborate on massive engineering projects around the clock, with ships and stations persisting whether anyone is online or not.

This guide covers everything you need to run a Space Engineers dedicated server in 2026: installation using the official SEDS tool, world configuration, Steam Workshop mod support, performance tuning through PCU limits and cleanup settings, the Torch server manager, and practical optimization advice. For a shorter setup overview, see our Space Engineers server setup guide.

Hardware requirements

Space Engineers is one of the more demanding games to host. The physics simulation that makes the game fun (destructible blocks, gravity, collisions, thrusters, rotors, and pistons all interacting in real time) is also what makes it expensive to run on a server. Here is what you need.

RAM

Plan for 6 to 16 GB depending on your world configuration and player count.

Planets are the single biggest memory cost. Each planet loads terrain data, vegetation, and atmospheric simulation. The Star System scenario with multiple planets and moons uses 2 to 4 GB more than a space-only world before anyone builds anything. If your group plans to stay in space, you save significant RAM by skipping planets entirely.

Grids (ships, stations, vehicles) are the other major factor. Every block in every grid stays in server memory. A group that builds capital ships with thousands of blocks pushes memory up fast. PCU limits help control this, as covered later.

CPU

Space Engineers depends on single-thread performance more than core count. The physics engine and game simulation run primarily on one thread. A fast CPU with a high clock speed (4 GHz+) is essential for smooth gameplay, especially when players fly large ships, operate pistons and rotors, or trigger voxel deformations (drilling, explosions).

The server also uses additional threads for network I/O, world saving, and mod scripts. Four cores total is the practical minimum. More cores help with mods that use parallel processing, but the main game loop remains single-threaded.

Storage

The dedicated server installation is about 3 to 5 GB. World saves range from a few hundred megabytes for a fresh world to several gigabytes for an old world with extensive building and mining. Voxel changes (every hole you drill, every tunnel you dig) are stored in the save, and these add up over months of play.

NVMe storage is strongly recommended. Space Engineers autosaves the entire world state to disk, and a large world save on slow storage causes the server to freeze for several seconds. On NVMe, even a multi-gigabyte save writes in under a second.

Network

The default game port is 27016 UDP. Bandwidth requirements depend on player count and grid complexity. Each connected player receives updates about nearby grids, player positions, and world state. A server with 8 to 16 players typically uses 5 to 15 Mbit/s. Latency matters for combat and flight: aim for under 50 ms for the best experience.

Installing with SEDS

The Space Engineers Dedicated Server (SEDS) is the official server tool from Keen Software House. It is available as a free download on Steam (app ID 298740) and through SteamCMD.

SteamCMD installation (Linux/Windows VPS)

1. Install SteamCMD on your VPS if you have not already. On Debian or Ubuntu: sudo apt install steamcmd.
2. Download the Space Engineers Dedicated Server:

   steamcmd +force_install_dir /home/se-server +login anonymous +app_update 298740 validate +quit

3. The server files appear in /home/se-server. The main configuration file is SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg in XML format.
4. On first launch, the server generates a default world. Stop it, edit the configuration, and restart with your preferred settings.

Game panel installation

If your hosting provider offers a game panel (like Pterodactyl), select Space Engineers from the available games. The panel handles SteamCMD, port allocation, and startup commands. You configure the server through the panel's file manager or startup variables.

Configuration file

The SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg file controls all server settings. It is XML, and each setting is self-explanatory. After editing, restart the server for changes to take effect. Key sections include server name, admin Steam IDs, world settings, and mod lists.

World settings in detail

World settings define the fundamental rules of your server. Choosing the right combination determines both the gameplay experience and the server load.

Scenarios

• Star System: the full experience. Multiple planets (Earth-like, Mars, Alien), moons, and asteroids. This is the most popular scenario but also the most resource-intensive. Plan for 8+ GB of RAM.
• Empty World: space only, no planets or asteroids. The lightest option. Ideal for creative building servers or PvP arenas where the focus is on ship combat.
• Easy Start 1 and 2: starts players with a basic base and some resources. Good for groups new to the game.
• Custom scenarios: community-made worlds from the Steam Workshop. These vary wildly in resource requirements depending on what they include.

Game mode

• Survival: resources must be mined, refined, and assembled. This is the standard multiplayer mode. Players progress from hand drills to automated mining ships.
• Creative: unlimited resources, instant building, no damage. Used for building competitions, testing designs, or showcasing creations.

Inventory and production multipliers

These settings control how much players can carry and how fast machines work. The defaults (1x for everything) create a realistic but slow experience. Most dedicated servers increase these for quality of life.

For a balanced server that respects progression but does not waste players' time, 3x to 5x on inventory and production speeds is a good starting point. For a creative-leaning survival server, 10x removes most of the grind.

Sync distance

Sync distance controls how far each player's client receives world data from the server. The default is 3,000 meters. Increasing it lets players see and interact with objects farther away, but it also increases network traffic and server load because the server must track and send more data per player.

• 3,000 m: the default. Good for most servers. Players see nearby grids, and distant objects appear when they get closer.
• 5,000 to 10,000 m: useful for PvP servers where long-range detection matters. Increases load proportionally.
• 20,000+ m: only for small groups with powerful hardware. The server sends a large amount of data per player per tick at these distances.

If your server experiences network-related lag (rubber-banding, delayed interactions), reducing sync distance is one of the most effective fixes.

PCU limits: the key to server stability

Performance Cost Units (PCU) are Space Engineers' built-in mechanism for preventing individual players or factions from crashing the server with oversized builds. Every block type has a PCU value. Simple blocks like armor plates cost 1 PCU. Complex blocks like thrusters, weapons, and programmable blocks cost significantly more because they require more CPU time to simulate.

How to set PCU limits

The server configuration includes three PCU-related settings:

• TotalPCU: the global PCU budget for the entire server. This is the hard ceiling. All players and factions share this pool.
• MaxBlocksPerPlayer: limits how many blocks each player can place. Works alongside PCU limits.
• BlockLimitsEnabled: the mode. Options are GLOBALLY (shared pool), PER_PLAYER (individual budgets), PER_FACTION (faction-wide budgets), or NONE (no limits).

Recommended PCU values

The goal is to keep server simulation speed (sim speed) at 1.0. When sim speed drops below 1.0, the game runs in slow motion. PCU limits prevent the unchecked building that causes sim speed drops. Set limits based on your player count and hardware, and communicate them clearly to your players so they can design within the budget.

Trash removal and automated cleanup

Over time, Space Engineers servers accumulate floating debris: disconnected blocks from explosions, abandoned ships, unfinished builds, and loose components. These objects consume server resources and eventually drag down performance if not cleaned up.

The server includes automatic trash removal settings:

• TrashRemovalEnabled: turn this on. There is no reason to accumulate floating junk.
• BlockCountThreshold: grids with fewer blocks than this value are candidates for removal. Setting this to 20 or 50 removes small debris and abandoned pods without touching meaningful builds.
• PlayerDistanceThreshold: objects farther than this distance from any player are eligible for cleanup. The default (50,000 m) is conservative; you can lower it for stricter cleanup.
• OptimalGridCount: the target number of grids the server tries to maintain. When the grid count exceeds this, the server removes the smallest and most distant grids first.
• TrashRemovalInterval: how often (in minutes) the cleanup runs. Every 5 to 10 minutes keeps things tidy without being disruptive.

Aggressive trash removal is one of the most effective performance optimizations available. A server with 500 floating objects runs noticeably worse than one with 50, even if the total block count is similar, because each object is a separate physics entity the server must track.

Steam Workshop mod support

Space Engineers has one of the largest modding communities in the sandbox genre. Mods are distributed through the Steam Workshop, and the dedicated server supports them natively.

Adding mods to your server

1. Find the mod on the Steam Workshop and note its Workshop ID (the number in the URL).
2. Add the ID to the <Mods> section of your world save's Sandbox.sbc file:

   <Mods>
     <ModItem FriendlyName="ModName">
       <Name>12345678.sbm</Name>
       <PublishedFileId>12345678</PublishedFileId>
     </ModItem>
   </Mods>

3. Restart the server. It downloads the mod from the Workshop automatically.
4. Players connecting to the server receive the mod automatically. No manual installation on the client side is needed.

Popular mods for servers

• WeaponCore: overhauls the weapon system with better targeting, new weapon types, and improved combat mechanics. Essential for PvP servers.
• Defense Shields: adds energy shields to ships and stations. Works with WeaponCore for a complete combat overhaul.
• Build Info: shows detailed information about blocks during placement, including PCU cost, component requirements, and power consumption. Helpful for players managing PCU budgets.
• Aerodynamic Physics: adds realistic atmospheric flight physics. Ships behave differently in atmosphere vs vacuum, making planetary gameplay more interesting.
• Modular Encounters Spawner: spawns NPC ships and stations that players can fight or salvage. Adds life to an otherwise empty universe.
• Tiered Tech Blocks: introduces upgraded versions of standard blocks with better performance at higher resource cost. Adds progression depth.

Be cautious with mod count. Each mod adds to server startup time and memory usage. A server with 50+ mods needs noticeably more RAM and takes longer to boot. Start with a focused mod list and add more only when your group requests them.

Torch: the community server manager

Torch is a community-developed replacement for the vanilla Space Engineers dedicated server. It wraps the server in a management layer that adds features the official tool lacks. For any server beyond a casual friends-only setup, Torch is worth considering.

What Torch adds

• Plugin system: Torch supports plugins that extend server functionality. Popular plugins handle grid cleanup, player management, economy systems, and automated announcements.
• Remote management: a web-based interface and Discord integration let you monitor and control the server without logging in via SSH or remote desktop.
• Better performance logging: Torch tracks which grids, mods, and scripts consume the most server resources, making it much easier to identify what is causing sim speed drops.
• Automated restarts: schedule restarts with player warnings, save-before-restart, and automatic continuation.
• Concealment: Torch can "conceal" grids that are far from all players, temporarily removing them from the physics simulation. This dramatically reduces server load on large worlds where most grids are not near any player at a given time. When a player approaches, the grid is revealed again seamlessly.

Installing Torch

Torch runs on Windows. Download it from torchapi.com, extract it, and run the installer. It downloads the Space Engineers server files automatically via SteamCMD. Configuration is done through the Torch GUI or its XML configuration files.

If your server runs Linux, you have two options: run Torch in a Windows VPS, or use the vanilla SEDS on Linux and handle management through scripts and cron jobs. Torch's plugin ecosystem is its main advantage, so if you need those features, a Windows environment is the way to go.

Essential Torch plugins

• Essentials: the base plugin. Adds commands for grid management, teleportation, and server maintenance.
• BlockLimiter: more granular block limits than vanilla PCU. You can limit specific block types (e.g., max 5 jump drives per grid, max 100 turrets per player).
• Concealment: the grid concealment feature described above. Arguably the single most impactful performance plugin.
• ALE (Another Landing Enforcement): prevents players from building in restricted areas or too close to other factions.
• Nexus: connects multiple Space Engineers server instances into a seamless universe. Players transfer between servers by flying to sector boundaries. This is how large community servers handle 50+ players.

Multiplayer limits and scaling

Space Engineers does not have a hard player cap, but practical limits exist based on hardware and world complexity.

The key insight is that player count alone does not determine performance. Four players who build modestly on a space-only world put less load on the server than two players who each build 50,000-block capital ships on a planet. Set expectations with your group about build sizes and use PCU limits to enforce them.

Performance tuning checklist

Use this checklist to optimize your Space Engineers server, ordered from most impactful to least:

1. Enable PCU limits: the single most important setting. Without limits, one player can crash the server by building an oversized grid.
2. Enable trash removal: keeps floating debris under control. Set BlockCountThreshold to 20 to 50.
3. Reduce sync distance: if network lag is a problem, lower this from the default. 3,000 m works for most servers.
4. Use Torch Concealment: if available, this reduces CPU load by 30 to 60% on worlds with many grids spread across large distances.
5. Limit programmable block scripts: in-game programming blocks execute player-written scripts every tick. Poorly written scripts are a common cause of sim speed drops. Consider disabling them on public servers or limiting script complexity with Torch plugins.
6. Reduce view distance on planets: planetary rendering is expensive. If players report low client FPS on planets, suggest they lower their view distance in client settings.
7. Schedule regular restarts: once every 12 to 24 hours. Space Engineers servers accumulate physics state over time. A restart clears this and restores peak performance.
8. Monitor sim speed: sim speed below 0.8 means the server is struggling. Identify the cause (usually a specific grid or mod) using Torch's profiling tools or the /admin stats command.

Backup and save management

Space Engineers world saves contain everything: terrain modifications, every grid, every player inventory, faction data, and GPS markers. Losing a save after weeks of collaborative building is painful.

• Set up automatic backups with a daily cron job or Torch's built-in backup feature.
• Keep at least 7 days of rolling backups. Save files can be large (multiple GB), but storage is cheap compared to the hours of play they represent.
• Back up before game updates and before adding or removing mods. Both can occasionally cause save compatibility issues.
• The save directory contains Sandbox.sbc (world settings and mod list), YOURWORLDNAME.vx2 files (voxel data), and Sandbox_config.sbc. Back up the entire directory, not individual files.

Hosting at HostValues

HostValues KVM VPS plans are well suited for Space Engineers. All plans include AMD Ryzen 9 7950X processors (the single-thread performance Space Engineers needs), NVMe storage (fast autosaves), DDoS protection, and full root access for installing Torch or configuring the vanilla server exactly as you want.

For a small group staying in space, an 8 GB plan covers the basics. For planets and mods, start with 12 GB. For a community server with Torch, Concealment, and Workshop mods, go with 16 GB and scale from there. RAM upgrades apply without rebuilding the server or losing your world.

Use the latency test to find the server location closest to your group for the smoothest flight and combat experience.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my sim speed keep dropping below 1.0?

The most common causes are: oversized grids (too many blocks or complex subgrid connections like pistons and rotors), too many floating objects (enable trash removal), poorly written programmable block scripts, or simply too many grids on the server for the available CPU. Use profiling tools to identify the specific cause, then address it with PCU limits, cleanup, or by removing the offending grid.

Can I run Space Engineers on Linux?

The vanilla dedicated server runs on Linux. Torch requires Windows. If you need Torch plugins (Concealment, BlockLimiter, Nexus), use a Windows VPS. For a vanilla server with manual management, Linux works fine and uses less overhead.

How do I add an admin?

Add the player's Steam64 ID to the <Administrators> section of SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg. Admins can use the in-game admin panel (Alt+F10) to manage the server, spawn items, teleport, and clean up grids.

Do mods download automatically for players?

Yes. When a player connects to a modded server, the game downloads all required mods from the Steam Workshop automatically. Players do not need to subscribe to the mods manually. This makes it easy to add mods to an existing server without coordinating with every player.

What is the Nexus plugin?

Nexus connects multiple Space Engineers server instances into one seamless universe. Each instance handles a sector of space. When a player's ship crosses a sector boundary, they transfer to the next server instance transparently. This is the only practical way to support 30+ concurrent players, because a single server instance cannot handle that many with complex builds.

How large can a world save get?

A world with months of active play, extensive mining, and many large grids can reach 5 to 10 GB. Most of the save size comes from voxel modifications (mining, drilling). Worlds with no mining (creative mode, prefab bases) stay much smaller. Make sure you have adequate storage and that your backup system can handle the file sizes.

For a quick setup overview, see our Space Engineers server setup guide. Ready to build? Browse HostValues VPS plans and pick the hardware that matches your engineering ambition.