For those that enjoysandbox gamesbut aren’t really interested in the more fantasy settings of games likeMinecraftandDwarf Fortress, and are looking for a sci-fi-themed setting, there are plenty of options to choose from.Space Engineersis one of those games, and it is one of the most realistic survival sandbox simulators out there. Whether in single-player or multiplayer,Space Engineersallows players to build a variety of space vehicles like spaceships, planetary outposts, and more to travel through the vastness of space for discovery and resources.
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One of the resources that players will end up needing to find is uranium, at least when it comes to late-game objectives. Uranium ore is the rarest of the naturally occurring ore and the only place to find them is in asteroids, making it one of the hardest resources to mine. Uranium ore can be processed and used to fuel nuclear reactors and make ammunition like artillery shells, rockets, and railgun sabots. None of those things are absolutely needed in a game as there are other and less costly energy sources and ammunition that can be used. But for those that want those things, there are a few tips and tricks that will, hopefully, make finding it easier.
4Mod: Uranium On Planets And Moons & Bring Back Planetary Uranium
For PC players there is always the option to use mods made by the community to make uranium a more accessible resource. These mods are only for players with “vanilla” game planets. Creator StarDruid has created several different mods that will give players more places to mine the rare ore. In previous versions of the game, uranium could be found on planets and moons but was changed when the Survival update was added.
There are 4 versions of the mod,one that adds uranium only on moons, one thatadds uranium only on planets, one that adds uranium on planets, but it’s locateddeep in the planet, and one thatadds uranium and platinumon planets again. There’s another mod similar to these, created by Nikolas March that brings back uranium to planets and moons, though it makes it more difficult to find it as it’s buried deeper. This mod, calledBring Back Planetary Uraniumwill also make gold more rare, as half of the gold spawns will be replaced with uranium.
3Mod: High Range Ore Detectors
For players who don’t want to really change anything about the planets and moons but still want to have an easier time finding uranium ore, they might want to try theHigh Range Ore Detectorsmod by Federal. It changes the range for both the large and small ore detectors, the large ore detector will have a max range of 1250 meters while the small ore detector will have a max range of 250.
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As a warning, this mod may affect a player’s game performance when it’s set to the max range. It will still require the player to search each asteroid one by one, but with the new range, players should be able to detect what type of ore is on an asteroid from a much further distance. This mod conflicts with theAnimated Ore Detectormod by Krynoc and players should be cautious using other mods that affect ore detectors as they might conflict with the High Range Ore Detectors mod. This mod may also not work with custom ore detectors.
2Vanilla: Search The Entire Asteroid
There are a few strategies to optimize uranium hunting for those playing the game on a console or players who simply don’t wantto use mods. Starting off with a small grid mining ship is fine, but eventually, a player will want to transition to a large grid mining ship to optimize their mining. The max range of the large ore detector in a vanilla game is 150 meters, however, a lot of asteroids will be larger than that and the uranium ore might be located deeper. ensure to search all around an asteroid so as not to miss any ore.
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Players should leave a GPS marker on the asteroids they search so that they know which ones had been searched through. They should also verify to include what ore is found there, even if it isn’t uranium it’s nice to know exactly where to find other resources. If there are asteroids that are close to one another, it’s a good idea to not waste fuel by traveling to each one with the ship. Players can use the space suit to jump from one asteroid to another asteroid and then mine the ore with a hand drill.
1Vanilla: Stay Close To Home And Gradually Search Further Away
Sometimes players will get lucky and find uranium after their first few asteroids, but other times someone might be into a 9-hour game and not find uranium at all. While there’s no way to control where the uranium ore will be, not without using mods, one can be more efficient in their search by checking asteroids within 20 km oftheir starting location.
If they haven’t found any uranium at this point, they should try going about 60 km in another direction and while searching, they should ensure to mark each asteroid with a GPS maker, so they don’t double-check the asteroids they’ve already hit.
Space Engineersis available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
