Run Mods Offline

This guide explains how to run your Space Engineers mods, blueprints, and scripts from the workshop locally which means to run them from your computer offline, without an internet connection.

Step 1: Get it from the Workshop

Visit the Space Engineers Workshop catalog on Steam and click on the Subscribe button. Then launch the game. The game has to be run in order for Steam to download the item you've subscribed to.

Make note of the WorkShop ID:

This is important to do if you want the offline version of the workshop item to have a name you recognize in the Mod's screen of the game. The workshop ID is in each items web address:

IMPORTANT: Make note of the workshop item's name

Use an excel / Calc / Google sheet / Notepad or write down both the ID number and the name of the workshop item when you subscribe to it. The folder created when it's downloaded will be named as the ID number.

You won't know whether its a script, blueprint, or a modification by it's number. They don't all work from the mods folder. Scripts go in the scripts folder, there are several different Blueprint folders - BP's have to go in the right blueprints folder or they won't show up in the game. Mods need to go in the mods folder or they won't work.

We don't have to launch the game to download:

I've written a guide on how to download workshop items without launching games here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3012007390

Mods you already have the latest version of from subscribing to them are downloaded to this directory after you launch the game:
<Your_SteamLibrary_Folder>\steamapps\workshop\content\244850
The items you've subscribed to will be in folders named as their workshop_ID

Step 2: Copy it

After you launch the game and the Workshop Item gets downloaded the files are installed to a folder named as the workshop ID number:

SteamLibrary\steamapps\workshop\content\244850

244850 is Space Engineers Game ID. The folders inside the folder named 244850 are the workshop items you've subscribed to that you've already downloaded.

Copy the Folder(s) in the above directory. Not the contents inside the folders, copy the entire folder that has the workshop ID number as it's folder name.

Open the AppData Folder

Press WinKey+E and paste the following line into the address bar then press Enter:

%appdata%\SpaceEngineers

Mods

Go in the AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineers\Mods folder.
In their own folder. Copy the entire folder from steamapps\workshop\content\244850

Blueprints

Go in the AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineers\BluePrints\Local folder
In their own folder. Copy the entire folder from steamapps\workshop\content\244850

Scripts

Go in the AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineers\IngameScripts\Local folder
In their own folder. Copy the entire folder from steamapps\workshop\content\244850

Step 3: Rename it

TEST THAT IT WORKED FIRST

Set Steam to OFFLINE by going to Steam > Go Offline...
(it's not a good test to stay in Online Mode, they'll still download from your internet connection with Steam in Online Mode)
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/0E18-319B-E34B-B2C8


Launch the game and check your saved world's Mod section. You should see the local versions listed with a House icon named as their workshop ID. Workshop items you have that came and will run from the workshop (online) will have a Steam Wrench icon in front of their name.

Red Text?:

Those are the online versions of them. You're not online so the game can't access the online versions to run them. The red text indicates that the game cannot access those files. It does not indicate the health of or whether the mod is up to date with the current version or not.

When running them locally they have to be updated manually.

Please read the FAQ section of this guide. There is no indication whether or not a mod has an update, you will have to check the workshop item pages of the items you run to know if there's been an update.

Sometimes it's of benefit to run older versions of mods. Perhaps you're not fond of the new features added or the author nerfed it with an update and rolled.

- Mods should be kept up to date. Updates to the game itself can break mods. You may have to update your mods so they work on the newest current version of the game.
- Scripts don't usually need to be updated. We can run ancient versions of scrips if we want.
(Most of the time, not always. Update it if you try running an old version and it doesn't work)
- Blueprints don't need to be kept up to date either if we want to run older versions of them.

As long as it runs? Let it run. If you're having trouble with mods check that item's workshop page's update date to see if there's been an update. Get it if there has been an update and repeat copying it over.

Rename the folders in AppData

Renaming the folders in AppData is extremely helpful to do so you know what's what. If they're all working you can now rename them from their workshop ID number to whatever name you want them to be in the Mods screen of the game.

Update it

When you are running workshop content offline / locally the game and Steam will not automatically update them. You have to update them manually by launching the game in online mode and letting the game check for and install mod updates or repeat this process when Steam updates them outside of the game.

It is recommended to check the workshop item pages now and then to see if the author has updated their item.

Updates to the game tend to cause workshop items not to work. If your workshop stuff isn't working after a game update check the workshop page for the items that are no longer working or have issues. Keep in mind that workshop item creators may not be able to produce an update that works instantly as soon as a game update is released and applied to the game. Be patient with them, give them time to make the changes and fix it so it works again.

Why:

There are several reasons why we might want to run the workshop content we're subscribed to locally. The first reason is obvious. The others are tid bits of info:

- No Internet Connection.

- We're able to modify the mods to our preferences without exiting, editing, reloading, testing constantly. We only have to alt+tab and make our edits to the local files, alt+tab back to the game, and then press F5 to quick reload the game session to see / test the changes we've made.

- Faster load times. If you haven't noticed or if you have a lot of mods it might take a while for Space Engineers to load in to a game before you can start playing because when we're online, or even if we're offline and we have non-local (online mods) the game detects that, checks for updates, and downloads the update(s) if there are any.

When we run them locally ("offline") the game skips that step. It sill checks to see if we have mods, if they're all local and it doesn't need to use the internet to check for updates it flies right by that process.

- We can run older versions of workshop items if we want to.. Build Vision is an example of a mod that I prefer using an older version of. By running that mod locally I'm able to run v2.5 instead of v3.0 or later which skips having the big ugly wheel thing it just opens the context menu right away when I MMB (middle mouse button) click on a block.

Unsubscribing to your subscriptions

Tip: Once you have them installed locally it makes load times even faster if you go through your subscribed items in the workshop for the game and unsubscribe so Steam isn't checking for updates (or running them through a connection online) either. If you're running them locally there's no reason for Steam or the Game to run an online update-checking-process.

[Jack Schitt]

If we're not hosting a game online we can and only need to run the local versions of the mods and scripts we have. We can use local scripts and blueprints in any multiplayer game. What mods are in a multiplayer game is determined by the mods active on the server.

[Jetter]

Alright, good. Just double checking. Also of note for anyone on steam deck reading this thread, I've been messing around on steam deck and it turns out you can symlink the appdata mods directory to the workshop folder and it works, as does linking the offline saves location to its online counterpart. No names though, but you can make a world online, add mods, then go offline, then match the mod ids in red to the local ones. Feels janky as hell but it removes a lot of the manual steps.

[Jack Schitt]

Jetter,
When a mod requires another mod to work they all need to be local, in the appdata folder. There are no extra steps. You can try making a mod pack by copying the contents of each mod into a new folder you create. If it just copies it's good to go. I cancel the copy anything other than the thumb image and meta file try to overwrite. It's more work that can be a tedious pain in the ass to do when the copy process asks about overwriting. The thumb and meta file doesn't matter, the other files do.

[Jetter]

Are there any extra steps to take for mods that have other mods as a requirement? Eg: Infestation Enabled requires AI Enabled and Small Spiders. Online it'll be taken care of automagically, offline will I have to do anything extra other than have the dependent mods sitting there in-folder?

[Jack Schitt]

Thanks! It's rewarding to share useful information others appreciate.

[Korgyopz]

Aye after going through many many mods, this is indeed the case, I just got lucky with a large amount of mods in the beginning.Had to fall back to running ID's on some to figure out what they where. All good, still, thanks for the guide!

[Jack Schitt]

There's several reasons why using the thumbnail preview doesn't work for everyone.

The ID is always there in a file. The game uses the IDs in the SBC files for the saved games. The number IDs are used because workshop items can have the same name. They can't and won't have the same ID.

[Korgyopz]

first off, thanks for this!

secondly, it appears (so far) that each mod has a thumbnail in its folder, this thumbnail is usually the same image displayed in the workshop for the mod itself, so by viewing each thumb (so far), it seems it will be very easy to figure out witch mod is witch when you copy them over to the local folder.

could this method be used to eliminate the need to track the steam id of the workshop items/mods? insofar it appears so!

[Jack Schitt]

Thank you, BIV! It's rewarding to me that it's helping people.

[BIV]

I really, really wish I had seen this work of Schitt when I first started playing, my mods and scripts stuff is a mess and after reading this work I feel like having a little cry and then shooting my computer.
Thanks Jack, great hints, information and bloody good ideas to follow. Champion !!!!