Controls

Game is controlled by keyboard and mouse only.

Default Input bindings

Current controls are displayed in-game by pressing the help key (F1). All controlls can be configured using the in-game options.

Navigation

Function	Keyboard	Keyboard 2	Mouse
Forward	W	-	-
Backward	S	-	-
Strafe left	A	-	-
Strafe right	D	-	-
Roll left (ship / jetpack)	Q	-	-
Roll right (ship / jetpack)	E	-	-
Hold to sprint	LShift	-	-
Up or jump	Space	F	-
Down or Crouch	C	-	-
Rotate left	Left	-	-
Rotate right	Right	-	-
Rotate up	Up	-	-
Rotate down	Down	-	-

Tools / Weapons

Function	Keyboard	Keyboard 2	Mouse
Use tool / Fire weapon	LCtrl	-	LMB
Secondary mode	-	-	RMB
Equip item from slot 1	1	-	-
Equip item from slot 2	2	-	-
Equip item from slot 3	3	-	-
Equip item from slot 4	4	-	-
Equip item from slot 5	5	-	-
Equip item from slot 6	6	-	-
Equip item from slot 7	7	-	-
Equip item from slot 8	8	-	-
Equip item from slot 9	9	-	-
Unequip	0	~	-

Systems 1

Function	Keyboard	Keyboard 2	Mouse
Use / Interact	T	-	-
Terminal / Inventory	K	-	-
Help	F1	-	-
Lights on / off	L	-	-
Hold to look around	LAlt	-	-
HUD on / off	Tab	-	-
Inertial dampers	Z	-	-
Jetpack on / off	X	-	-
Suicide	Backsp.	-	-
Landing gear	P	-	-

Systems 2

Function	Keyboard	Keyboard 2	Mouse
Screenshot	F4	-	-
Prev. Color	[	-	-
Next Color	]	-	-
Reactors on / off	Y	-	-
Toolbar config	G	-	-
Rotate block vertical +	PgDown	-	-
Rotate block vertical -	Delete	-	-
Rotate block horizontal +	Home	-	-
Rotate block horizontal -	End	-	-
Rotate block roll +	Insert	-	-
Rotate block roll -	PgUp	-	-
Symmetry switch	M	-	-
Use symmetry	N	-	-
First-person / Third-person	V	-	-

Controlling the Character

Space Engineers - Alpha Tutorial 10/2013

All players start a new game as an Astronaut character equipped with a jetpack.

Views

The game has two view options available: first and third person view. The player can toggle between these two views using the “V” key (default key binding). The first-person view displays from the perspective of the astronaut character. While the third-person view allows the player to zoom-in, zoom-out and rotate the camera in any direction around the character. The game begins in third-person view.

Movement

The astronaut has two movement modes: walking (on foot) and flying (with jetpack). While on foot the player can walk, sprint, crouch, and jump. While using the jetpack, the player can move and roll in any direction. Currently, use of the jetpack does not consume any resources.

Accessories

The astronaut is also equipped with headlights in the front of suit which act as a flashlight for the player. Currently, using the headlights does not consume any resources either.

Toolbar

At any time, the player can open the Toolbar Config, which allows them to select Tools & Weapons, and Building blocks, and drag them to Toolbar, to be equipped using the appropriate hot key.

Piloting Spacecraft

Cockpit view of Space Craft

The controls for flying a ship are the same as those for controlling the player’s jetpack. First person (Cockpit) or third person (extravehicular) views are available while piloting spacecraft. In third person view, you can zoom-in, zoom-out, and rotate camera around the space craft. Only small ships will have first person perspective available. The larger ships will be locked into the third person perspective, as they do not necessarily need a "cockpit”. Instead, they are controlled using a computer screen from a control station.

The ship can have headlights installed, like that of the astronaut character. They can be switched on or off using the “L” key (default key binding). Using the lights does not consume any resources.

Inertia Dampers

Inertia dampers allow the ship to automatically stop its motion when no input is received. Turning off dampers allows you to fly without being slowed down from the automatic thruster balance. The indication in lower left corner displays the damper’s current status.