Space Engineers and Proxies: Which Traffic Is Routed and Which Is Not

Most connection problems in Space Engineers stem from the assumption that the game talks to a single server. In reality, the moment the game opens, the platform client authenticates your account, the server browser pulls records from a separate listing service, when you join a world the session traffic flows over another path, and workshop content comes from an entirely different download infrastructure.

A proxy does not automatically cover all of these streams. An HTTP proxy carries only TCP; in-game state updates are predominantly UDP. So if, after setting up a proxy, the store page opens but you cannot join a server, this is not a fault but the expected result of the difference in scope.

The sections below first separate the streams, then show what a proxy can and cannot do for each one. Removing the wrong expectation from the start gives you back half the time spent troubleshooting.

Which connections are established, and in what order, when the game opens?

The first step is the platform client's own authentication. This traffic is carried over TLS and the other side sees only your exit IP address. If you are using a proxy here, the visible address is the proxy server's address; the account's identity, however, is carried by the session token and stays the same even if the IP changes.

The second step is the server browser. The game pulls the list of registered servers from a listing service; this request is also over TCP and can fall within the proxy's scope. The latency column in the list is a separate job: the client sends small probe packets to each server and measures the response time. These probes do not read the system proxy setting and go out directly.

The third step is joining a world. Once the session is established, what is carried is grid positions, physics updates and block changes; these flow as continuous, small packets. The fourth step is workshop content: mod and blueprint downloads come over HTTPS and their size grows with your subscription list.

The region in the server list and your account's region are not the same thing

In Space Engineers you come across two different notions of "region", and confusing them produces mistaken expectations. The first is the physical location of the server you choose to join: the latency column you see in the server browser is a measure of the path between you and that machine. The second is your platform account's store region, and it has nothing to do with the game itself.

The first region is entirely your choice; whichever server you pick from the list is the one you connect to. A proxy changes nothing here, because the connection target is the server on the list. Its only effect, in setups where traffic goes through the proxy, is that the path gets longer.

The second region is subject to the platform's own rules: the store region is generally tied to the payment method and account records, and the IP address alone is not decisive. A proxy does not change this rule, and this page was not written for circumventing regional restrictions. If you want to do regional price research, the right approach is how to observe store prices article.

Hosting the world yourself: home machine, rented server, community

In Space Engineers you see three forms of hosting. The first is where the machine of the player who opens the game also acts as the server; it is the easiest to set up, but the session ends when the host leaves. The second is separate server software: an arrangement where the world stays permanently open, the save is kept on the machine, and players join whenever they like. The third is community servers; their rules and mod list are not under your control.

The most common mistake made here in connection with proxies is this: trying to use a proxy to open your own world to your friends. A forward proxy does not accept connections coming in from outside; it only carries outward the connections you initiate. For your machine to be reachable from outside, you need port forwarding on the router or to move the server to a reachable machine. Confusing these two jobs is the most common reason for hours of futile setting-tweaking.

Hosting on a rented machine is practical for exactly this reason: the machine already sits on a public address, it does not carry the load of your home connection, and the world stays open when you leave the game. If you play from a corporate or shared network, how network restrictions work read first; on some networks outbound ports are already closed.

• In a host-based session, the world closes the moment the host leaves.
• Separate server software keeps the world permanently open and makes backups easier.
• Access from outside is a port forwarding job; a forward proxy does not provide it.
• On community servers, the mod list and the rules belong to the server owner.

Where do peer-to-peer connections, NAT type and hole punching come into play?

In host-based sessions, the two players' machines try to talk directly. Because both sides are behind NAT, they first register with a matchmaking service; the service gives each side the other's visible address and port information, and then both sides send packets to each other at the same time, opening a temporary path through the NAT. This is called hole punching.

This method does not work with every type of NAT. If the router assigns a different external port for each new destination (symmetric behaviour), the port information provided by the matchmaking service becomes invalid and no hole is punched. On connections that use an address shared at the operator level (CGNAT), the problem is even more pronounced; in that case the game usually falls back to a relay server and the path gets longer. What CGNAT is and why it leads to this behaviour the difference between a proxy and NAT .

A proxy does not fix this picture. A proxy is a routing rule that carries your outbound connections over itself; it does not establish NAT mappings, does not wait for inbound connections and takes no part in the hole punching process. If your inability to connect is caused by NAT, the solution lies in the router setting, in the address type your operator gives you, or in hosting on a separate server.

There is a practical way to tell them apart: try joining the same session from a different network (for example over a phone's shared connection). If it works on one network and not the other, the problem is in the network's NAT behaviour; if it fails the same way on both, look at the server side.