And I'm not happy...
Time for me to move on to simpler things.
Time for me to move on to simpler things.
Last edited:
Keybindings
- Thread starter Globusdiablo
- Start date
And I'm not happy...
Time for me to move on to simpler things.
I have 12 buttons and 2 2 axis sticks on my xbox one controller and it plays ED flawlessly without any other input devices. I haven't changed anything from the standard ED set up.
So I am somewhat at a loss as to how big this problem is perceived to be by PC players.
I'm not doubting it is causing frustration. but the number of threats of quitting seems OTT?
And I'm not happy...
Time for me to move on to simpler things.
I'm not exactly happy about the enormous control bind bloat that's occurred either, nor how conflicting and counter intuitive some of the changes have been.
However, binds are something that only need to be sorted out once per major control update, and I'm not about to stop playing over a transient annoyance.
While I'm all for such a feature, doing it manually is hardly difficult.
Many of us are not using the default controls and/or do not have controls suitable for any of the presets.
Working several new pages of controls into a previously well-honed control scheme, when there is no way (outside of trial-and-error) of knowing how much they overlap, when many controls behave differently in each new mode added, can be extremely frustrating.
It took me two protracted play sessions, probably about ten hours, to get my binds sorted out, and I wasn't able to keep everything I wanted to on my eight axis, forty button, HOTAS setup. It will be quite a while longer before my muscle memory has adjusted from the thousand-plus hours of play since the last time I was forced to do an overhaul.
I think the game is in desperate need of a major streamlining/consolidation pass, as far as controls are concerned, but as ultimately beneficial as it will be, I still dread it, due to the work that will surely be involved.
Some things they should be doing are pretty basic though. For example, the button to "Leave FSS" mode should be the same as the button for "Leave Hanger", "Leave Outfitting", "Leave Commodity Market", etc. FD is (as I really should have expected) wildly over-complicating their own UI for really no good reason. That's just poor planning and poor UI design on their part. There's no reason, for example, that searching around in FSS mode, or targeting in DSS, can't default to your Mouse if you have one, and your joypad stick that you use for flying if you don't. Some of these things are just obvious - or should be.
Do you need a mouse wheel or button to tune in? I have no idea because I've never tuned in and you have 17 I've never done before to find buttons or mouse wheels joystick moves for that's the point you naturally assume a yaw is a yaw but what is a radio tune ? Repeat that 17 times and find out and then those buttons only work in certain modes !! Then what mode do I need to be in 17 times that's where the frustration is
And if we don't complain you will be there playing your game on two gamepads
And if we don't complain you will be there playing your game on two gamepads
Last edited:
As someone who has returned after an 18mnth lay off. (Mixture of summer biking and winter burn outs), I returned to find my keybinds lost and no amount of redoing them would make them stick. They kept resetting. I had to delete and re-install. However, that aside, the sheer volume of controls to bind can be a tad daunting. I have an x55 and even thats running out of buttons. Tonight will be spent reconfiguring binds, rather than playing. Plus there new stuff to bind that I know nothing about. I see FSS and havent a clue what thats all about. Still, makes it interesting. New ships too. As if I havent enough already. Credits arent an issue. I'm minted. So, exploration thats what Im going to do methinks. But for me, what would be useful, is somehow knowing what button is what on my x55. Joy 1, ....joy20 etc. Both that and throttle use same numbers. I get confused. Ive already blown up one A rated cutter due to wrong controls. I switched off my heat thingy accidently, it overheated and boom. The bind thing does need some simplification and rationalisation for morons like me.
Plus there new stuff to bind that I know nothing about. I see FSS and havent a clue what thats all about. Still, makes it interesting. New ships too. As if I havent enough already. Credits arent an issue. I'm minted. So, exploration thats what Im going to do methinks. But for me, what would be useful, is somehow knowing what button is what on my x55. Joy 1, ....joy20 etc. Both that and throttle use same numbers. I get confused. Ive already blown up one A rated cutter due to wrong controls. I switched off my heat thingy accidently, it overheated and boom. The bind thing does need some simplification and rationalisation for morons like me. 
You don't take into account the fact that the developers have to design their console assignments completely, they have to have a setting for every control as they must adhere to the console manufacturer's requirements and there is very little variation in controller.
They leave huge blank assignments in the PC versions because of the huge variety of PC control arrangements, even the bog-standard M+K bindings have unassigned holes.
Last edited:
They could actually improve the current system by adding a button in the key bindings menu that clears all the keys. When I started playing this game I used over 2 hours in the first training mission setting up keys and some of that time went to clearing the keys so that I could start from a clean table. I know that some games don't even last two hours and some players just want to hop in and blast away, but when you plan on playing something for thousands of hours, spending 2 to make it perfect for you is not all that bad.
Once you have your bindings set up the way you want, adding and learning new ones is very easy. For example, I managed to bind all the new beta keys to only two new keys (all other keys were ones that are used in different modes doing similar things), Shift-F to show FSS and Alt-§ to change cockpit mode. Shift-F because all my menus use F to accept or go forward and R to reject or go backward. Alt-§ because §, or the key next to 1 on my keyboard, changes my firing group and mode change is just another kind of firing group change. Unfortunately binding night vision didn't work on any key but if it did, I would've bound it on the same key as ship lights with shift added.
Once you have your bindings set up the way you want, adding and learning new ones is very easy. For example, I managed to bind all the new beta keys to only two new keys (all other keys were ones that are used in different modes doing similar things), Shift-F to show FSS and Alt-§ to change cockpit mode. Shift-F because all my menus use F to accept or go forward and R to reject or go backward. Alt-§ because §, or the key next to 1 on my keyboard, changes my firing group and mode change is just another kind of firing group change. Unfortunately binding night vision didn't work on any key but if it did, I would've bound it on the same key as ship lights with shift added.
Someone (Vithigar) posted this X-Box controller view (I hope they don't mind me referencing it) - kind of puts it in perspective:
https://edrefcard.info/configs/fx/fxbcmk-xbox.jpg
[where is it]
https://edrefcard.info/configs/fx/fxbcmk-xbox.jpg
[where is it]
Last edited:
They don't even require specialized controls (theoretically, from a mechanical perspective), since they have their own modes you go into, and so you can't accidentally do something else. It would be like accidentally firing your weapons while browsing the mission board - you just can't. But they're specialized keybinds anyway, which is just confusing.
That's the thing I don't understand with those complaints - most of the controls can't conflict with each other as they aren't used in the same context, which is how you can actually map virtually everything to some cheap joystick with 12 buttons and 4 axes, and everything has a different function in different contexts. What is so complicated about that?
Just to post my experience, for reference (been playing for almost 4 years, have a Warthog HOTAS so plenty of buttons and switches)..
(Read here about controls being finicky, while downloading the Beta)
Launched the beta, bound some basic keys, then FSS -> went straight into Tutorial.
"Press not bound to...." Ok, this isn't going to work. Exit tutorial and open Options.
[bind some controls, worrying about whether these are contextual, or 'global']
Open FSS again, no tutorial. D'oh! Can I bring it up again?
Messed around with controls to see what works best. Thought throttle would make a good match for tuning (since you can't use throttle in FSS), but since tuning is a 'speed' control it doesn't work well at all.
Exited FSS, found one of the hat-switches I'd bound to zoom no longer had its original non-FSS function.
Screw this, I'll test the other areas of the beta.
I really think the controls need a re-think, it's only going to get worse.
The game should ship with sensible defaults. By default, zoom should be zoom in every context (Galaxy Map, Orrery, FSS, Camera Suite), roll should be roll etc. In some places you'll need two versions of the same control (e.g. in Camera Suite you can roll the camera or roll the ship) so there should be a modifier button/mode. Of course these can all be overridden to a Cmdr's preference, but the key is you only HAVE TO override individual controls you want to change. Instead of having an empty control set and being worried about overwriting controls in another context.
(Also, as many have said, dump the Combat/Analysis Mode switches and have them auto-switch based on the current fire-group).
(Read here about controls being finicky, while downloading the Beta)
Launched the beta, bound some basic keys, then FSS -> went straight into Tutorial.
"Press not bound to...." Ok, this isn't going to work. Exit tutorial and open Options.
[bind some controls, worrying about whether these are contextual, or 'global']
Open FSS again, no tutorial. D'oh! Can I bring it up again?
Messed around with controls to see what works best. Thought throttle would make a good match for tuning (since you can't use throttle in FSS), but since tuning is a 'speed' control it doesn't work well at all.
Exited FSS, found one of the hat-switches I'd bound to zoom no longer had its original non-FSS function.
Screw this, I'll test the other areas of the beta.
I really think the controls need a re-think, it's only going to get worse.
The game should ship with sensible defaults. By default, zoom should be zoom in every context (Galaxy Map, Orrery, FSS, Camera Suite), roll should be roll etc. In some places you'll need two versions of the same control (e.g. in Camera Suite you can roll the camera or roll the ship) so there should be a modifier button/mode. Of course these can all be overridden to a Cmdr's preference, but the key is you only HAVE TO override individual controls you want to change. Instead of having an empty control set and being worried about overwriting controls in another context.
(Also, as many have said, dump the Combat/Analysis Mode switches and have them auto-switch based on the current fire-group).
But you can't do that, the game warns you when you try to assign the same keys to two different functions used in the same context - and gives you the choice to cancel or overwrite anyway.
My issue was I used one hat-switch for UI up/down/left/right when in the UI, and also for target and contact selection when not in "UI Mode". I set this to be zoom in the FSS, then exited the FSS, and both of the original bindings were gone.
It might be a bug, I don't know. I bound some analog axes to tuning and zoom in FSS, and they both retained their original binding when I exited FSS.
That made me nervous about binding controls in the FSS.
