Getting Started

Introduction
Space Exploration is a full-overhaul mod that introduces many new buildings, items, science packs, and even some secrets. For an overview of the features with pictures, check out the mod page.

A playthrough is split into 2 parts:
 * Pre-space, with AAI Industries. This is similar to vanilla but comes with some changes. This usually takes as long as a vanilla playthrough (~50-100 hours).
 * Space, with completely new buildings and items, and many logistical challenges unseen in vanilla. (200+ hours)

What you should expect:
 * A very long playthrough, lasting you hundreds of hours.
 * Many changes and rebalances to vanilla things. Do not expect your existing blueprints to work. You may have to adapt your playstyle.
 * Early game difficulty is similar to vanilla. Once launched into space, more difficult challenges will continue to be introduced past the point where vanilla would stop.
 * Circuitry knowledge is required, though the complexity is introduced progressively. This wiki can help with examples.
 * SE is mostly a complexity challenge and not a scale challenge. You won't need to build more than 50SPM to beat the game, unless you play with a science multiplier. But it'll still be hard!
 * ... some secrets to be explored?
 * The mod is in active development. Updating will bring you more features but could also break some of your existing stuff (though we try to avoid it).

Installing


The easiest way to install Space Exploration is to use Factorio's in-game "Mods" menu.

Under the "Install" tab, search for "Space Exploration" then install only the main mod.

All other required mods will also be marked for installation, and you do not need to install them yourself.

Optional recommended mods
Installing SE will already have installed all required mods, but you can also install some optional mods recommended by Earendel and the community for an enhanced experience.

Check out the Recommended Mods page for a list!

Starting a game


You must start a new game. Space Exploration cannot be added to an existing game.

For all players, we recommend starting from the "Space Exploration Defaults" map preset, for the intended balanced experience.

After selecting this preset, you can change settings according to your preferences (For example, biter or science multiplier settings). Some settings only affect your home planet Nauvis, some other settings affect all planets.

Check out the Map Generation Settings page if you are curious about the details of all available settings.

Good to go!
Enjoy Space Exploration!

If you have any questions, please check the Guides or the FAQ on this wiki, or join the Discord server and come say hi in #se-general!