Controls

Default Input bindings

Located in the game's setting menu, the player can change the keys that control their character. The game can be controlled either by keyboard & mouse, joysticks, or an Xbox One controller.

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

Movement

	PC	Xbox
Forward	W
Backward	S
Strafe left	A
Strafe right	D
Rotate left	←
Rotate right	→
Rotate up	↑
Rotate down	↓
Roll left (ship / jetpack)	Q
Roll right (ship / jetpack)	E
Hold to sprint	⇧ Shift
Toggle walk	Caps Lock
Up / Jump	Space
Down / Crouch	C

Systems / Interactions

	PC	Xbox
Use tool / Fire weapon	LMB
Secondary mode	RMB
Use / Interact	F
Helmet	J
Jetpack on/off	X
Inertia dampeners on / off	Z
Enable relative dampening	Ctrl+Z
Broadcasting	O
Power switch on / off	Y
Lights on / off	L
Voice chat	U
Chat screen	↵ Enter
Terminal / Inventory	K
Inventory	I
Respawn	← Backspace

Block placement

	PC	Xbox
Toolbar config	G
Rotate block vertical +	Page Down
Rotate block vertical -	Delete
Rotate block horizontal +	Home
Rotate block horizontal -	End
Rotate block roll +	Insert
Rotate block roll -	Page Up
Repaint block	MMB
Reset orientation	T
Toggle symmetry	N
Symmetry setup	M
Cycle placement modes	B
Build Planner	MMB
Cube size toggle button	R

Toolbars

	PC	Xbox
Next toolbar	Period
Previous toolbar	Comma
Next toolbar item
Previous toolbar item
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 or Tilde

Miscellaneous

	PC	Xbox
Prev. color or camera	[
Next color or camera	]
Scenario settings	U
Landing gear	P
Open voxel hand settings	K
Open control menu	Minus
Pause game	Pause
Console	Tilde
Help	F1
Open Contract screen	Colon

View / Camera

	PC	Xbox
Player control	F6
Delta spectator	F7
Free spectator	F8
Static spectator	F9
First-person / Third-person	V
Hold to look around	Alt
Zoom in third-person mode	Alt+Mouse wheel
Screenshot	F4
Hud on / off	↹ Tab
Toggle signal mode	H

General

	PC	Xbox
Open blueprint screen	F10
Open spawn screen	⇧ Shift+F10
Open admin screen	Alt+F10
Cycle performance statistics	⇧ Shift+F11
Open debug draw	Alt+F11
Quick Load	F5
Quick Save	⇧ Shift+F5
Toggle statistics	Ctrl+H
Show players (multiplayer)	F3

Grids and Blueprints

	PC	Xbox
Create/manage blueprints	Ctrl+B
Change block variants	Mouse wheel
Move pasted object	Ctrl+Mouse wheel
Copy object	Ctrl+C
Copy object detatched	Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C
Paste object	Ctrl+V
Cut object	Ctrl+X
Delete object	Ctrl+Delete
Export model	Ctrl+Alt+E

Color Picker

	PC	Xbox
Color picker	P
Pick color from cube into slot	⇧ Shift+P
Color block	MMB
Medium color brush	Ctrl+MMB
Large color brush	⇧ Shift+MMB
Color whole grid	Ctrl+⇧ Shift+MMB

Voxel Hands

	PC	Xbox
Open voxel hand settings	H
Next voxel material	[
Previous voxel material	]

Spectator

	PC	Xbox
Move character to spectator	Ctrl+Space
Changes spectator speed	⇧ Shift+Mouse wheel

Build Planner

	PC	Xbox
Withdraw	MMB
Withdraw and keep	Alt+Ctrl+MMB
Withdraw x10 and keep	Ctrl+MMB
Put to production	⇧ Shift+MMB
Put x10 to production	⇧ Shift+Ctrl+MMB
Deposit all	Alt+MMB

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. Using the jetpack consumes hydrogen, which can be replenished automatically by carrying hydrogen bottles in your character's inventory or by accessing a medical room that is attached to an oxygen generator or hydrogen tank via the conveyor network.

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 and Blocks and either drag them to Toolbar or right-click on them, 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).

Inertia Dampeners

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

Chat Commands

Chat commands are case-sensitive!

/save

Saves the game. Usage: '/save' or '/save <new name>'

/stop

Stops the server. Usage: '/stop'

/f

Switches you to Faction chat channel.

/g

Switches you to Global chat channel.

/w

Switches you to Whisper chat channel with specific player. Usage: '/w <playerName>'. Surround the player name with quotation marks ("player name with spaces") if it contains spaces.

/gps

Adds a new GPS point from your current position. Add 'share' to share with everyone, or 'faction' to share with your faction. Anything other than 'share' or 'faction' will be regarded as name and new gps will be named in such way.

/help

Shows help.

/timestamp

Turns timestamp for chat 'on' or 'off'. Usage: '/timestamp <state>' where <state> can be 'on' or 'off'.

/rweather

Creates a random weather at your camera's postion.

/smite

Creates a lightning bolt to what you're looking at.

/weather

Gets or sets weather at your current position. Add a weather name to set weather.

/weatherlist

Lists all available weathers.

Emotes

/facepalm

Play emote Facepalm

/thumb

Play emote Thumbs Up

/victory

Play emote Victory

/wave

Play emote Wave

StylePack

/angry

Play emote Angry

/assistCome

Play emote Assist come

/assistEnd

Play emote Assist end

/dance

Play emote Dance

/pointAggressive

Play emote Point Aggressive

/pointBack

Play emote Point Back

/pointDown

Play emote Point Down

/pointForward

Play emote Point Forward

/pointLeft

Play emote Point Left

/pointRight

Play emote Point Right

Frostbite

/cold

Play emote Cold

/checkwrist

Play emote CheckWrist

SparksOfTheFuture

/charge

Play emote Charge

/comeherebaby

Play emote Come here baby

/dancedisco1

Play emote Dance disco 1

/dancedisco2

Play emote Dance disco 2

/lookingaround

Play emote Looking around

/stretching

Play emote Stretching

/whatever

Play emote Whatever

/yelling

Play emote Yelling

ScrapRace

/fyou

Play emote Go Clang yourself

/drunk

Play emote Drunk