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Space Engineers Scenarios: How to Choose and Load One on Your Server

A practical guide to selecting the right Space Engineers scenario, loading it on a dedicated server, transferring an existing world, and avoiding platform and Workshop compatibility problems.
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Choose a scenario from your dedicated server’s New game workflow. Use Saved worlds only when you are loading an existing save. That distinction determines whether the server creates a fresh scenario-based world or opens a world that already exists.

Before starting, check four things: whether the scenario runs on every player’s platform, what kind of objective or structure it provides, which Workshop items or mods it requires, and whether the server uses Steam networking or EOS cross-play. Then install the dedicated-server software, create an instance, select the scenario, configure the world, and start it. If you are moving a local world instead, copy its save into the dedicated server’s Saves folder and load it through Saved worlds.

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What a Space Engineers scenario is—and what it is not

A scenario is a starting world with a defined setup, progression, or objective. It can provide a tutorial-like introduction, a campaign structure, a defensive challenge, or an open-ended starting situation. The scenario choice is made when you create a new server world; it is not a setting for reopening an existing save.

Keen Software House’s dedicated-server documentation describes the two paths as starting “a new world generated from a scenario” or loading “a previously saved world.” In the server configuration utility, the Scenario setting appears only after you choose New game. Selecting Saved worlds takes you to worlds that already have save data.

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This matters because changing the scenario selector will not convert an established save into a different scenario. If your group has already built a base, changing scenarios is not a safe way to continue that world. Keep the existing save and load it as a saved world, or create a separate instance for a new scenario.

Choose a scenario with four checks

1. Platform compatibility

Start with the platforms your players actually use. The scenario reference identifies First Jump, Learning to Survive, and Never Surrender as officially supported on consoles. Third-party Steam Workshop scenarios are not supported on consoles according to the same reference.

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A scenario that works on a PC server may therefore be unsuitable for a mixed PC, PlayStation, and Xbox group. Confirm console support before you build a schedule around a Workshop scenario. If even one essential player is on a platform that cannot load the scenario or its required content, choose a supported alternative.

2. Objective and structure

Decide what you want players to do during the first session and after the initial spawn:

  • Tutorial or learning: Useful when players are new and need guided systems before free construction.
  • Campaign: Better when the group wants a sequence of goals, discoveries, or scripted progression.
  • Defense: Appropriate for a team that wants to prepare, build, and survive attacks or escalating pressure.
  • Open-ended: The least prescriptive option, allowing the server community to define its own projects and rules.

Read the scenario description and objective list before selecting it. A title alone does not tell you how much scripted progression, combat, or cooperation the world expects. Also decide whether a failed objective ends the experience for your group or simply creates a new problem to solve.

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3. Workshop and mod dependencies

Built-in scenarios, Workshop scenarios, and custom scenarios do not have the same dependency profile. A Workshop scenario may require published mods, scripts, or other Workshop content. Write down every required item and verify that the dedicated server can obtain it before you announce a launch date.

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Dependencies also affect maintenance. If an author updates or removes a required item, a previously working world can stop loading or behave differently. Keep a record of the scenario and its required content so you can diagnose a failure instead of guessing which item changed.

4. Server and network model

Choose the network model before inviting players. Steam networking is PC-only. EOS is the cross-play option for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. A cross-platform group must use EOS; a PC-only group can use Steam if that fits its access and administration preferences.

Network selection does not make an unsupported scenario compatible. EOS can connect the supported platforms, but a third-party Steam Workshop scenario remains unsuitable for consoles when the scenario itself is not supported there.

Scenario sources and their practical limits

Source What it means Platform implication Server decision
Built-in scenario Included with the game and selected from the server’s New game path. Availability depends on the scenario; First Jump, Learning to Survive, and Never Surrender are identified as officially supported on consoles. Usually the simplest starting point when you need a predictable, low-dependency setup.
Steam Workshop scenario Published content created for other players, often with required Workshop items. Third-party Steam Workshop scenarios are not supported on consoles. Check every required item and restrict this choice to a compatible PC-focused setup unless the creator explicitly provides supported cross-platform content.
Custom scenario A scenario created with the Visual Scripting Tool or another custom workflow. Support depends on how it was built and what content it uses. Test the complete package on the intended server and platforms before opening the world to players.

Keen’s Visual Scripting Tool documentation says you can run a scenario directly from the tool by clicking Run on the Ribbon bar. After confirming publication, the scenario is added to the Steam Workshop for other players. That workflow is useful for testing and sharing, but publishing does not remove platform or dependency restrictions.

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Pre-launch checklist for a dedicated server

  • List every player’s platform: PC, PlayStation, or Xbox.
  • Choose Steam for a PC-only group or EOS when cross-play between PC and consoles is required.
  • Decide whether the group wants tutorial, campaign, defense, or open-ended play.
  • Identify whether the scenario is built-in, from the Steam Workshop, or custom.
  • Record required mods and Workshop items, including versions or author notes when available.
  • Decide whether this is a fresh world or an existing save that must be transferred.
  • Tell players that a new scenario and an existing saved world use different server setup paths.

How to load a new scenario on a dedicated server

  1. Install the dedicated-server software. Install Space Engineers Dedicated Server through Steam’s Tools section, or use the standalone installation method described in Keen Software House’s dedicated-server documentation.
  2. Open the server configuration utility. Create a new instance or select the instance you intend to run. Keep separate instances for separate campaigns or scenarios so that one world’s settings do not overwrite another’s.
  3. Select New game. Do not choose Saved worlds for a scenario you have not started yet. The scenario selector is available only on the New game path.
  4. Choose the scenario. Select the built-in, Workshop, or custom scenario that passed your platform and dependency checks. If it requires Workshop content, make sure those items are available to the server before starting.
  5. Set world options. Configure the available world and server settings for your group, including the options that control how players will access and progress through the world. Match the network model to your platform decision: Steam for PC-only play or EOS for PC-to-console cross-play.
  6. Save the instance configuration and start it. Allow the server to finish creating the world. The first start may take longer when the scenario has additional content to load.
  7. Verify the result before inviting everyone. Join with an administrator account, confirm the expected spawn and objectives appear, and check that required content loaded. If the server creates an ordinary world or opens an older save, stop it and review whether New game, the scenario, and the intended instance were selected.

How to load an existing local world

An existing local world is not loaded by choosing a scenario. First move its save data into the dedicated server’s Saves location, then select it through Saved worlds.

  1. Stop the dedicated server. Do not copy or replace save data while the target instance is running.
  2. Locate the local save. Find the world in the local Space Engineers Saves directory. Copy the complete save folder, not just an individual file.
  3. Open the corresponding dedicated-server Saves folder. Use the Saves location associated with the server instance you plan to run. Keeping the folder under the correct instance prevents you from loading the world into a different server configuration.
  4. Copy the world folder into that location. Preserve the folder structure and the world’s existing files. If a folder with the same name already exists, make a backup before replacing anything.
  5. Open the server configuration utility and choose Saved worlds. The transferred world should now be available to select. Do not use New game unless you intend to create a separate scenario-based world.
  6. Start and validate the save. Join as an administrator, check that inventories, grids, player positions, and progression are present, and only then invite the rest of the group.

Keep an untouched copy of the original local save until the dedicated server has loaded it successfully. This gives you a recovery point if the copy is incomplete or the wrong instance was selected.

Steam or EOS: choosing the network model

Steam networking

Steam networking is limited to PC players. It can be appropriate for a group in which every player uses the PC version, provided the selected scenario and its Workshop dependencies are also PC-compatible.

EOS networking

EOS is the cross-play choice when PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players need to join the same server. Select it before launch and test at least one connection from each platform represented in your group.

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Changing the networking model does not repair a scenario that lacks console support or depends on content unavailable on a player’s platform. Treat platform support and network selection as two separate checks.

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Workshop and custom scenario workflow

For a Workshop scenario

  1. Read the scenario’s description and required-item list.
  2. Confirm that the scenario’s platform assumptions match your player roster.
  3. Make the required Workshop content available to the dedicated server.
  4. Create a separate test instance and select the scenario through New game.
  5. Join the test world, verify that scripts, objectives, and required assets load, and record any warnings.
  6. Only after the test succeeds, use the production instance or announce the launch.

For a custom scenario

Use Keen’s Visual Scripting Tool to run the scenario during development. The tool provides a Run command on the Ribbon bar for opening the scenario directly in Space Engineers. When you confirm publication, the scenario is added to the Steam Workshop for other players.

Test the unpublished or published build on the same type of server and network model your players will use. A scenario that runs from the creator’s tool is not automatically proven on a dedicated server, and publishing it does not establish console support.

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Troubleshooting common setup failures

The scenario selector is missing

You are probably on the Saved worlds path. Return to the instance configuration, choose New game, and then select the scenario. If you actually meant to open an existing world, leave the selector alone and use Saved worlds instead.

The transferred world does not appear

Stop the server, confirm that the complete save folder was copied from the local Space Engineers Saves directory into the Saves location for the intended dedicated-server instance, and reopen the utility. A copy placed in another instance’s folder will not appear where you expect.

Players on consoles cannot join

Check both conditions: the server must use EOS for cross-play, and the scenario itself must support the console platform. A third-party Steam Workshop scenario is not supported on consoles according to Keen’s scenario reference, so changing from Steam to EOS will not make that scenario usable there.

The world loads without expected content

Review the Workshop or custom scenario’s required items. Missing dependencies can prevent scripts, objectives, or assets from loading correctly. Recreate the test instance with the complete dependency list and compare its result with the production configuration.

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The server opens the wrong world

Check the instance you started and the path you selected. New game creates a fresh scenario world; Saved worlds opens a copied or previously created save. Separate instances and clear naming reduce the chance of starting an old campaign by mistake.

Should you start a new scenario or use your existing world?

Choose a new scenario when… Load the existing world when…
The group wants a defined tutorial, campaign, defense challenge, or fresh starting condition. Players already have bases, ships, inventories, or progression they want to preserve.
You have checked platform support and are prepared to install required Workshop content. The local world is the source of truth and should continue unchanged on the server.
You want a clean, repeatable launch for a new community or season. You have stopped the server and copied the complete save folder into the correct dedicated-server Saves location.

For a new community, start with a scenario in a separate instance and keep the old world untouched. For an established group, transfer the existing save and use Saved worlds; selecting a new scenario would create a different world rather than continue the current one.

Hosting considerations

Running a dedicated server yourself is one option. Renting a hosted instance is another practical path when you do not want to maintain the machine, uptime, or network configuration. Keen Software House’s official dedicated-server page names GTX Gaming as the official host for the PC version. Availability, pricing, geography, and current service terms can change, so verify those details directly before committing.

Regardless of who operates the machine, the scenario workflow remains the same: choose New game for a fresh scenario, copy an existing save into the server’s Saves location for a continuation, and select Steam or EOS according to the platforms that must connect.

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