Can We Change Space Navigation Controls?

ameliatheneek

Is there a way to change starship navigation keyboard controls on my PC so I can use the arrows instead of letters? None of the letters for nav make any sense. You'd think it would be F for forward, L for left, R for right, etc, not the random letters they have by default. I can't make it beyond the first space mission because the nav feels so unnatural. I keep starting over and quitting because of it.

protoneous

Escape key / Options / Keybinds should bring up this screen so you can assign keys that work for you.

Another way to navigate is to hold down both mouse buttons and use your mouse to steer.

It might be worth giving WASD an extended try as sometimes it can take a little while to form a habit. Just pretend they are the arrow keys

phoenixc

I used to have the same problem with WASD for navigating in space until I switched to the analog method with the mouse that protoneous mentioned. If it helps, so many games use WASD for movement that some gaming keyboards have keytops that have small arrow glyphs on the WASD keys as a reminder. The game tutorial really should teach both methods instead of only the WASD one.

There are also gaming "sideboard" attachments that have even better arrangements, one is even set up almost like a VR glove, though those custom one-handed gaming keypads and whatnot tend to be expensive.

The keybind thing in Options is easy to use though, and it gives two bindings for each action so you can keep the original WASD in "Bind #1" column and make a custom one to bind the regular arrow keys in the "Bind #2" column. I have tried doing it that way and it does work (though the "pitch and roll" method of keyboard movement control in general does not work for me that well, which is why I use the mouse), but not having throttle keys nearby ("Q" and "E" in the default bindings) is a bit of a PitA when using the arrow keys.