VS Manual: 18. Quick Key Guide Table of Contents

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18. Quick Key Guide

WITHIN this manual, you will encounter references to various keys, appearing in black boxes. For example, W refers to the “w” key, SHIFT + W refers to the capitalized letter and CTRL + W refers to pressing both the “Control” and “w” keys simultaneously. References to KP refer to the buttons on the keypad. LMB and RMB refer to the left and right mouse buttons, respectively. Buttons appearing on-screen are noted in a similar fashion.

18.1 Flight-Control: Direction

Function Key(s) Command Description
Pitch Down Cursor-Up
KP 8
UpKey Turn down.
Pitch Up Cursor-Down
KP 2
DownKey Turn up.
Yaw Right Cursor-Left
KP 4
RightKey Turn right.
Yaw Left Cursor-Right
KP 6
LeftKey Turn left.
Roll Right Delete
*
KP *
RollRightKey Roll clockwise.
Roll Left Insert
/
KP /
RollLeftKey Roll counter-clockwise.
Jump Drive J JumpKey Engage the Jump Drive. You must be within range of a jump point in order to jump to another system.
SPEC Drive A
SHIFT + A
AutoKey Engage the SPEC Drive.

18.2 Flight-Control: Speed/Velocity

Function Key(s) Command Description
Decelerate -
KP -
DecelKey Decrease your velocity.
Accelerate =
KP +
AccelKey Increase your velocity.
Afterburner Tab

(Hold down the key in order to maintain the boost.)

ABKey Accelerate your ship past its maximum velocity.
Match Velocity Home
KP 7
SetVelocityRefKey Set your velocity, so that zero velocity is equal to your current target’s velocity.
Reset Velocity End
KP 1
SetVelocityNullKey Set your velocity, so that zero velocity is relative to the current system’s sun.
Stop Backspace StopKey Set your velocity to zero.
Full Throttle \ StartKey Set your velocity to your ship’s maximum.
Shelton Slide ` SheltonKey Perform a Shelton Slide.
(e.g., rotate your ship, while allowing your momentum to continue carrying you in the original direction of travel.)

18.3 Combat

Function Key(s) Command Description
Fire Weapon/Guns Space FireKey Fire your primary weapon(s). These include beams, bolts, chainguns, etc.
Cycle Weapons/Guns G WeapSelKey Cycle your primary weapons.
Fire Missiles/Torpedoes Enter
KP Enter
MissileKey Fire your secondary weapon(s). These include missiles and torpedoes.
Cycle Missiles/Torpedoes W MisSelKey Cycle your secondary weapons.
Combat/Flight Mode Y SwitchCombatMode Switch between Combat Mode and Flight Mode.
Cloaking Device C CloakKey Enable/disable the Cloaking Device.
ECM Device E ECMKey Enable/disable the ECM Device.

18.4 Camera Control

Function Key(s) Command Description
Look Forward F1 Cockpit::Inside View forward. Press F1 again to cycle between Cockpit View and HUD View.
Look Left F2 Cockpit::InsideLeft View to your left.
Look Right F3 Cockpit::InsideRight View to your right.
Look Back F4 Cockpit::InsideBack View to your rear.
Chase-cam F5 Cockpit::Behind View from above and behind your ship.
Panning Camera F6

(Move the camera by pressing Q, Z, S and F.)

Cockpit::Pan Switch to a panning camera, centered on your ship.
Target Camera F7 Cockpit::OutsideTarget Switch to a line-of-sight view, showing both your ship and your target.
Target Panning Camera F8

(Move the camera by pressing Q, Z, S and F.)

Cockpit::PanTarget Switch to a panning camera, centered on your target.
Zoom In F11 Cockpit::ZoomIn Zoom the camera in.
Zoom Out F12 Cockpit::ZoomOut Zoom the camera out.
Pan Up Q Cockpit::PitchDown Pans the camera up.
Pan Down Z Cockpit::PitchUp Pans the camera down.
Pan Left S Cockpit::YawLeft Pans the camera to the left.
Pan Right F Cockpit::YawRight Pans the camera to the right.

18.5 Communication (General & Wingmen)

Function Key(s) Command Description
Wingmen Form Up SHIFT + F CommFormUp Order your wingmen to form on your wing.
Wingmen Break Formation SHIFT + B CommBreakForm Order your wingmen to break formation.
Wingmen Help Me SHIFT + H CommHelpMeOut Order your wingmen to assist you. They will engage any ships that are attacking you.
Wingman Attack Target SHIFT + D CommAttackTarget Order your wingmen to attack your currently selected target.
Talking to other ships & stations 1 - 9

(Level of aggression ranges from friendly 1 to hostile 9.)

Comm1Key
Comm2Key
Comm3Key
etc.
Communicate with nearby vessels.
Request Docking Clearance 0 RequestClearenceKey Request docking clearance from your currently selected target. Green or red-colored squares will then appear at the docking points.

18.6 Targeting & Selection

Function Key(s) Command Description
All Units Forward: T
Back: SHIFT + T
TargetKey
ReverseTargetKey
Cycle through all targets in the current system.
Significant & Neutral Units Forward: N
Back: SHIFT + N
SigTargetKey
ReverseSigTargetKey
Cycle through all significant & neutral targets in the current system.
Non-planetary & Non-natural Units Forward: U
Back: SHIFT + U
UnitTargetKey
ReverseUnitTargetKey
Cycle through all non-planetary & non-natural units (such as capships and fighters) in the current system.
Hostile Units Forward: H
Back: SHIFT + H
NearestTargetKey
ReverseNearestTargetKey
Cycle through all hostile targets in the current system.
Subunit Select B SubUnitTargetKey Cycle through the subunits of your currently selected target.
Lock Onto Unit L LockTargetKey Lock onto your currently selected target.
Units In Front P PickTargetKey Select targets that are directly in front of you (near the crosshairs).

18.7 Turrets

Function Key(s) Command Description
Switch Turret Control ] TurretControl Switch to manual control of your turret(s).
Target for Turret SHIFT + P TurretTargetKey Select a target for your turret(s). Turret-targets are marked with a plus sign.
Turret AI on/off O TurretAIKey Switch turret AI on/off. When disengaged, turrets may still be controlled manually.

18.8 Info, Mission & Cargo

Function Key(s) Command Description
Map/Info Screen SHIFT + M Cockpit::NavScreen Toggle the Map Screen on/off.
Left VDU M Cockpit::SwitchLVDU Cycle the Left VDU.
Right VDU V Cockpit::SwitchRVDU Cycle the Right VDU.
Scroll Text Up PgUp
KP 9
Cockpit::ScrollUp Scroll the selected VDU up.
Scroll Text Down PgDn
KP 3
Cockpit::ScrollDown Scroll the selected VDU down.
Eject Cargo SHIFT + Z EjectCargoKey Jettison the selected (topmost) item in your cargo bay. Use the PgUp and PgDn keys to move the cargo to the top or bottom of the list.

18.9 Game Commands

Function Key(s) Command Description
Toggle Quit Mode Esc Cockpit::Quit Press Esc, and then Q to quit the game. Or, press Esc again to return to the game.
Pause |
Pause
PauseKey Pause the game.
Increase Time Compression F9 TimeInc Start/Increase Time Compression.
Zero Time Compression F10 TimeReset Stop Time Compression.

18.10 Sound & Music

Function Key(s) Command Description
Skip Music Track SHIFT + S Cockpit::SkipMusicTrack Skip to the next music track.
Sound Volume Up . VolumeInc Raise the sound volume.
Sound Volume Down , VolumeDec Lower the sound volume.
Music Volume Up > MusicVolumeInc Raise the music volume.
Music Volume Down < MusicVolumeDec Lower the music volume.

18.11 Miscellaneous

Function Key(s) Command Description
Ejection SHIFT + E EjectKey Eject yourself from your ship, and into an escape-pod. It has weak guns/shields, and will not help you against enemy ships. But, it will bring you to the nearest friendly station.
Respawn after death ; Respawn Restores play to the last, saved position.
Self Destruct ! SuicideKey Initiate the self-destruct sequence.
Ship Control [ SwitchControl Switch control from the current ship to the targeted ship.
Activate Dock Procedure D DockKey Engage docking procedures when within close proximity to green dock-markers.

18.12 Unassigned (by default)

Function Command Description
Strafe Left ThrustLeft xxx
Strafe Right ThrustRight xxx
Strafe Up ThrustUp xxx
Strafe Down ThrustDown xxx
Strafe Forward ThrustFront xxx
Strafe Back ThrustBack xxx
whatevername WhatEverCommand Whatever it will do

18.13 Keyboard Diagram


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