Space Engineers 2 Combat NPCs: Patrols, Cover and PvE Encounters Take Shape

Space Engineers 2 is preparing to become a much livelier sandbox. In his latest development diary, Keen Software House founder Marek Rosa shared a new look at the game’s combat NPCs, which are now being tested in planetary stations, on difficult terrain, aboard moving grids and as part of contract-based encounters.

These characters are still in development, but the demonstrations already show far more than static enemies waiting to be shot. NPCs can patrol, stand guard, detect players, seek cover, alert nearby allies and navigate several types of environment. For multiplayer communities, this work also offers an early glimpse at the PvE possibilities that could eventually support more persistent and event-driven worlds.

Combat NPCs Are Being Tested Inside a Planetary Station

The latest internal playtest took place in a planetary station containing both indoor and outdoor areas. Some NPCs were positioned as guards, while another followed a patrol route through the environment.

Keen is also adding small idle behaviours to make these characters feel less mechanical. A patrolling NPC can stop, stretch its legs and perform temporary test animations before continuing along its route. The dancing shown in the current build is clearly not a final feature, but it demonstrates that NPCs can switch naturally between movement and idle states.

This may sound like a minor detail, but it is important for the atmosphere of stations, settlements and mission locations. Space Engineers has traditionally relied heavily on ships, drones, turrets and automated systems. Human-like characters could make boarding actions and planetary encounters feel much less empty.

NPCs Can Attack, Seek Cover and Alert Their Allies

Once an NPC detects the player, it can open fire or attempt to reach a position where it is no longer directly visible. In other words, the current AI already includes a basic cover-seeking system rather than forcing every enemy to stand in the open.

The system still produces some amusing mistakes. When the nearest cover is located behind the player, an NPC may run directly past its target and become an easy shot. Keen has openly identified this behaviour as something that needs improvement.

The more promising feature is communication between characters. An alerted NPC can call nearby allies, causing several opponents to approach the player from different directions. Even in this early state, that creates the foundation for encounters in which positioning, station layout and squad placement matter.

Pathfinding Must Work on Terrain, in Flight and on Moving Grids

Navigation is particularly challenging in Space Engineers 2 because the environment is not a traditional fixed shooter map. Players can build, destroy and move structures, while characters may need to cross natural terrain, station interiors or grids travelling through the world.

The development footage therefore includes several specialised tests: following a character across difficult ground, flying navigation, pathfinding on a moving grid and movement between the indoor and outdoor sections of a station.

Keen has also demonstrated a grid spawning together with NPCs for a contract. This is one of the most interesting tests for future PvE content. It suggests that a mission could generate a ship, outpost or encounter area already populated by characters with specific roles.

Combat Feedback Is Still One of the Main Weak Points

The developers are not presenting the current system as complete. NPCs do not yet provide enough visual feedback when they are hit. Bullet impact effects and hit reactions are missing, which can make it difficult to tell whether a shot actually connected.

The first planned solution is a generic hit animation. Keen may later expand this with reactions based on the body part that was struck, or possibly with ragdoll-based responses.

Feedback is also incomplete on the player’s side. The current build lacks a clear HUD indicator showing the direction of incoming fire. These details will be essential if Space Engineers 2 wants its infantry combat to feel readable and satisfying rather than merely functional.

VS4 Will Introduce NPCs and Four-Player Co-op First

Combat NPCs are being developed for VS4: NPCs & Cooperative Multiplayer. The current roadmap targets this major milestone for November or December 2026, although development plans can still change.

VS4 is expected to begin with four-player cooperative gameplay. Keen wants to make shared worlds, contracts, progression, rewards, GPS markers, respawning and reconnection work correctly before expanding the multiplayer architecture further.

The first NPC iteration may also remain relatively simple, with a focus on movement and combat rather than detailed factions or story-driven personalities. That approach makes sense for an alpha project: the underlying navigation and behaviour systems must work reliably before more elaborate content can be built on top of them.

Why Combat NPCs Could Transform Future Community Servers

Space Engineers has always been strongest when independent systems interact. Construction, automation, physics, logistics and combat give players tools rather than forcing them through a fixed sequence of missions. NPCs could become another system within that sandbox rather than a simple collection of scripted targets.

For future community servers, that opens several possibilities: defended stations, boarding operations, faction outposts, contract-generated raids, cooperative assaults and persistent PvE sectors. None of these experiences has been fully confirmed yet, but the current tests show the technical building blocks Keen is trying to assemble.

The most encouraging sign is not any single animation or pathfinding demonstration. It is the fact that NPCs are already being tested across terrain, flying movement, moving grids, contracts and group combat. If those systems eventually connect with the game’s construction and economy features, Space Engineers 2 could gain a much richer multiplayer PvE layer.