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Settings: New Game, Map Generation & Challenges Guide

Settings control how new games are created and how the game behaves outside of a running save. They determine difficulty, scenario and map generation defaults, color mode, challenges and which local/shared settings files the game stores. This page explains each setting group and where to find or customize them.

Where settings live

  • Game Data Folder (persistent save data and many settings):
    Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\tobspr Games\shapez 2\
    macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/tobspr Games/shapez 2/
    Linux: ~/.config/unity3d/tobspr Games/shapez 2/
  • Exported game data (debug.export-game-data) produces a folder for the exact game version that contains:
    • difficulty-presets (in‑game difficulty JSONs)
    • scenario-parameter-presets (scenario preset files)
    • scenarios (scenario definitions)
    • json-schemas, buildings.json and other exported metadata
  • Local vs Shared vs General:
    • Local folder: Camera.json, Display.json, Graphics.json, Interface.json, Saving.json, Simulation.json, Sound.json — these are not synced by Steam Cloud.
    • Shared folder: Accessibility.json, Dev.json, General.json — synced if Steam Cloud enabled.
    • settings.json contains additional settings not in Local/Shared (including keybindings for older installs).

New Game flow and what is configurable

When you start New Game you pick a Mode (Certification, Classic, Manufacture). Choosing Classic/Manufacture opens a Scenario selection. After selecting a Scenario the "Scenario settings" dialog lets you change the following grouped tabs:

General

  • Savegame name field.
  • Difficulty selection (these are the only values editable after save creation via the gear icon on the savegames list).

Map Generation

  • Map Generation options control how resource patches spawn (shape/fluid patch likelihood, size, and per-type spawn weights).
  • You can control the chance for each shape generation type (Pure, Full, Partial, Half) and color tiers (Uncolored, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary).
  • A numeric Seed determines deterministic map generation. The same Seed plus identical Map Generation options produces the same map and operator-goal shape sequence. A preview of the map is available in the dialog.

Challenges

Toggle gameplay modifications that alter what you can build or how mechanics behave. Available Challenges:

  • No Alternate Rotators — disables counter-clockwise and 180° rotators.
  • No Cutter — disables the Cutter.
  • No Splitters — disables splitting conveyor belts (merging space-belt splitters still allowed).
  • No Straight Stacker — replaces straight stacker with bent stacker.
  • No Trash — disables Trash buildings.
  • Only 1x1 Machine Platforms — restricts machine platforms to 1x1 size.
  • Trains Derail — trains are destroyed at end of track instead of returning.

Scenario Presets and Custom Scenarios

  • Scenario Presets are collections that tie a Scenario + Map Generation settings + active Challenges. The game ships an internal preset for each default Scenario and will pick the first matching preset as defaults when you choose a Scenario.
  • Custom Scenario Preset JSON files can be placed in the custom-scenario-parameter-presets folder to add new presets to the game.
  • Scenarios themselves control many aspects: starting platforms, camera position, guaranteed resource patches, shape configuration (Quad vs Hex), max layers, and research screen content.

Difficulty

Predefined difficulties affect copy/paste costs, platform capacity and goal multipliers:

  • Relaxed: Copy/Paste cost = Free, Platform Capacity = Unlimited, Goal Multiplier = 60%
  • Normal: Copy/Paste cost = Free, Platform Capacity = 100%, Goal Multiplier = 100%
  • Challenge: Copy/Paste cost = 100%, Platform Capacity = 80%, Goal Multiplier = 150%
  • Custom difficulty is available and lets you set multipliers from 0% to 1000%.

Notes:

  • Blueprint paste cost uses the machine-count formula ceil((machine_count - 1)^1.3) and is multiplied by the difficulty Copy/Paste Cost multiplier. Relaxed/Normal set multiplier to 0% making pastes free; Challenge sets it to 100%.

Shapes: Configurations and Rulesets

  • Shapes Configuration decides how many parts per layer and which part types can appear:
    • Quad: 4 parts per layer (default).
    • Hex: 6 parts per layer (used in the Hexagonal Scenario).
  • Rulesets:
    • Strict Ruleset: shapes may only contain parts from the current Shapes Configuration and must match the number of parts per layer. Used by Signal Producers and Item Producers.
    • Flexible Ruleset: shapes can combine parts from any Shapes Configuration and may use any number of parts per layer (but all layers must have the same number). Used in the Shape Inspector, map markers, and shape icon generation.

Color Modes

Color Mode affects how colors are displayed (visual only; internal color data and codes are unchanged). Four modes:

  • RGB (default): primary colors Red, Green, Blue.
  • RYB: Red, Yellow, Blue primary set.
  • CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow primary set.
  • RGB (Colorblind): increases contrast and adds patterns for better accessibility. Choose Color Mode in the general settings before creating a save; it alters which colors appear for shape and fluid asteroids by default (map generation standard fluid asteroids spawn primaries of the selected mode; secondary/tertiary can be enabled via Map Generation).

Blueprint & Blueprints Folder

  • The Blueprint Library can paste blueprints; paste cost is subject to difficulty multiplier and the machine-count formula above.
  • The library exposes an "Open Folder" button to open the persistent Blueprints folder; this is another entry point into the game data folder.

Localization and translation overrides

  • Custom translations may be loaded via a translations JSON file; set the --custom-translations command line argument and place the translation file using the same format as translations-en-US.json. The file's LanguageCode must be valid; choose "Custom" in the in-game language setting to enable.

Debug, logs and advanced files

  • Logs for the current and previous sessions are Player.log, Player-prev.log and Player-prev.prev.log in the Game Data Folder (on macOS Player.log lives in ~/Library/Logs/tobspr Games/shapez 2/).
  • The Assets Folder (game executable and assets) is accessible via Steam → Manage → Browse local files; command line arguments can be passed to the executable.

Importing and exporting

  • Exported game data (via debug.export-game-data) produces JSON files and folders useful for making custom scenarios, difficulties and seeing building metadata such as buildings.json.
  • Custom difficulty presets cannot currently be loaded from JSON files; the in-game difficulty presets are available in the exported difficulty-presets folder for reference.

Quick reference — common edit points

  • To change map seed or generation: use New Game → Scenario → Map Generation tab.
  • To enforce different part counts/shape rules: choose Scenario with Quad/Hex or edit Scenario Preset.
  • To make blueprints free: select Relaxed or Normal difficulty.
  • To enable accessibility color patterns: select RGB (Colorblind) in Color Mode.
  • To add a custom Scenario Preset: drop its JSON in custom-scenario-parameter-presets.

This covers the in-game settings you can configure when creating or managing saves, where those settings are stored, and the files you can edit or inspect externally to create custom scenarios or presets.

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