@@BlackMaze Like wise, though I'm a 2d old noob... So new I can't even find how exactly to change the throttle. Everything else has been amazing to help me adapt to the game though. Big thanks for helping a fellow WT Pilot/Tanker join the ED ranks!
@@silvercat18 Kinda the same. Played this a while ago a few years but couldnt get the hang of stuff. Decided to give it another go so really a few hours in just going through the training and wanted some 'real world advice'
= Misc.= (Pips) @ 6:30 Divert Power to Systems: Shift-A Divert Power to Engines: Shift-W (Warp) Divert Power to Weapons: Shift-D (Damage) Balance Power Distribution: Shift-S (reSet)
Started playing the game again after a 2 year break and I duplicated this setup. It has completely change the way I play. I use to be horrible at combat in the game and this made it feel so much more natural and I feel like I have so much more control.
dude this video is a lifesaver, I've been trying to get into ED again but i sucked at flying, hopefully using your controls will help, i certainly understood what you were explaining more than i did the game's tutorial
I just picked up Elite Dangerous, and my first thought on playing the tutorial was: These controls are bananas! Surely there's a way to configure them to make more sense. Cheers for the video mate, your keybinds are now my wallpaper and the tutorials have been 10 times easier, next step: the actual game.
I use a joystick for the immersion. Especially since I play in VR, so having my hands on a physical joystick and thruster that somewhat matches the in game avatar just makes it feel AMAZING! ...BUT in terms of pure practicality I do agree that aiming with a mouse is probably easier than adjusting your pitch and yaw with a joystick
Hey! I want to genuinely thank you for giving the idea about this control set up. Today - after about 350 hours of standard keyboard and mouse control usage - I have switched the controls to this FPSish set up. Didn't take long to get used to and I have never had as much fun in Elite, as I did today. I was finally able to use the PAs (effectively)! I'd thoroughly recommend anyone to switch to this set up. :)
I knew there was something wrong with the default settings, but your video took my gaming experience to the next level. To be honest, "QWE" keys + mouse is quite enough for me now. Thanks, Commander!
Interesting, I never played around much with key bindings when I started ED. I went mostly with the defaults, with a few changes. Never got to grips with it, which is perhaps why I find a HOTAS to be much nicer and easier. (But also more "realistic" when playing in VR.)
While this would probably work well in CQC flying the condors and other tiny fighters that are relatively responsive to the thrusters. I would NOT recommend relying on them too much flying a Federal Corvette in a combat zone. Heavy ships aren't responsive to thrusters that much. You can't switch between forward and backward movements that fast. But yes, I do use them. I've gotten so used to my HOTAS setup in the game that maneuvering like this is not an issue. Another thing I disagree with is the aiming comparison he does between Joystick and Mouse, I rarely have to compensate that much up and down with the joystick to stay on target, with the MOUSE on the other I find I had to do that all the time. It all depends a bit on how used you are with your controls and of course the settings for sensitivity and accelerators etc you use. In the end I say it is to each their own, what you prefer. This video did not convince me M+K is better in any way, easier for most to get used to most likely. But if you have a GOOD joystick, I'm not talking cheap and unprecise sticks, you won't have any problem with the aim. If your stick drifts with 0 in dead zone, it's a shit stick. Or not calibrated, or broken. A cheap stick I do recommend for Elite is the T16000, due to the HALL effect sensors it uses. (Same as the Warthog and also has twist in the stick for yaw unlike the Warthog) If you play with no throttle or pedals with your stick, I totally recommend having thrusters set up as this guy does. Or on the numpad if you're left handed. (There are no throttles for left handed people sadly) The guy mentions another thing, freelook is hard using a mouse. Yes and no, you CAN set it to toggle on the middle muse button (You know the scroll wheel is also a button) OR there IS actually a mouse with a build in joystick! Asus Chakram. And it works in Elite without any special third party software except Asus Amory. (You need it to set the stick to analogue from just imitating the arrow keys on the keyboard) Totally recommend it. My current setup is Thrustmasters FCWS throttle paired with a VKB Gladiator NXT joystick. What I don't like with the NXT stick is that it is linear. You can clearly tell the difference on forward/back and left/right movement. Unlike the T16000 that is completely free 360 movement. In the end the T16000 is a LOT more precise while fine aiming as the NXT struggles with diagonal movement. The Warthog is the same as the T16000 as it uses the same gimball method and HALL sensors. But lacks twist functionality, meaning you can't yaw with the stick. Or roll depending what you sacrifice. I never liked Logitechs sticks they are either too slack or to unprecise. Tends to start drifting very easily too and the X56 for example requires external powered USB ports to function properly. Cheap Chinese materials and buttons. And then we have the ultra expensive overkill sticks from Virpil and VKB etc. You really need to be an enthusiast to justify those prices. So yes, in a way M+K is a lot simpler. Also a lot cheaper. But not necessary better. It's more up to the hardware and particularly the user in the end. For beginners that want a good stick especially for Elite Dangerous that won't cost you kidney, I recommend a T16000 with the FWCS throttle bundle if you can find it.
This video is so old but so useful if you're someone who just bought (or got gifted the game). Having roll on the mouse is a nightmare and I cannot understand why that was a default decision. I barely got through training on default binds.
These are very close to the controls I was setting up earlier, all based around Descent controls. Glad to see someone put in the thought and work already so that I don't have to spend as much time tweaking for my comfort in the end. Great vid!
That's good thinking there, BlackMaze. Now that I've seen your setup, it seems very intuitive. I played with a HOTAS since my first day in the game, but since it requires me to get creative with desk space, which often is the reason I don't just jump into the game at a whim, I'll be trying your setup. Thanks! :) I just need to figure out a way to cycle through the weapon configs, and cycle between the current target's subsystems, but that's small stuff I hope :D
Not playing ED anymore, but just to say this video really helped me at the time. Thanks @BlackMaze. It was even better coupled with sim racing pedals for forward throttle (bind to accelerator) and reverse throttle (bind to brake). Keeping throttle +/- 10% increment to mouse wheel, which somehow would be temporarly overwritten by pedals, but would resume to selected throttle level (usually the ideal area) when no pressure applied to pedals. And Moving vertical up/down to W/S for even more natural feeling. This setup also allowed for very easy FA off/on flight style.
I'm just transitioning today from playing on Xbox to PC. This keyboard layout makes so much more sense than the default. Thanks for sharing! And +1 for your flight skills!
So I'm going to just say some reasons why joystick is better, ofc I'm talking about a full HOTAS setup and not the joystick on a controller. First of all you do not have to constantly re adjust, I can turn to a target and use roll pitch and yaw to stay on target. Ofc I'm talking fixed weapons in a fighter. I can use lateral thrusters while rotating and accelerating which is a massive advantage in combat, especially cqc where the ships are light. The difference is I can change all directions while still have full control but on keyboard your finger has to move to a new key and back, this is extra time and makes it tricky to quickly move round things. Ofc joystick is harder to learn but in my opinion once you learn how to use it, it's much easier. I've been using my HOTAS with elite since Oculus dk2 was released, may give you a clue as to why I use joystick and always have. I have VR and it's far easier to navigate buttons without your eyes on a joystick rather than a keyboard. This is ofc all opinions but it's also your opinion that keyboard is better, there is no one right way. Just to add tho. In warthunder I cannot use joystick at all, I'm rubbish at it so I have to use keyboard and mouse and I don't think keyboard and mouse is bad unless you are talking about SIM battles
I do something similar. One difference: I generally do not use the WASD keys for FPS/MMORPGs (and now for ED) but remap that always to ESDF, because that gives much more reachable options for the left hand. And if one learned 10 finger typing then that's also more natural - and the base position for the hands/fingers are not by coincidence fitting to this. It is clear that the game designers back then who used WASD the first time (Dark Castle and especially Half Life who made WASD more popular) were no 10 finger type writers and had no deeper thoughts on the best design/most ergonomic keyboard usage. But now many players are used to that ...
As people have stated below, its great you created your own set of macros, but for most of us it really would have helped to tell us which keys are bound and were... the keybinding in this game is huge and repeats itself everywhere so its confusing, so if we knew how you bound your keys, (the photo of your keyboard is not much help) it would be lovely for us.
I have a friend who told me that it will be shit to play this game with a mouse in keyboard (literally unplayable) After I saw this video I totally changed my view on controls.
He is basically controlling his ship like it's a first person shooter. In any other flight simulator that would be similar to flying with rudder. You don't fly with rudder. You steer with rudder when taxiing. But you're right, it's personal preference. I had to fiddle with controls myself (mostly adjusting sensitivity and inverting mouse), but other than that, the default setting is basic flight simulator control. Terribly adjusted, but still. Then again, I am the kind of person that played games like Warbirds and Air Warrior, where flying is much more finicky because of g-forces.
Well i watch this old video, and think back to the times where i prefered kb&mouse over everything else even tho´i own the very good t16000m fcs-hotas Now.. i own a Samsung Odyssey+ Headset (Elite is INSANE in VR) and use my hotas combined with Voiceattack+HCS Celeste for voicecommands and oh boy..:O I dont´t just play Elite .. I REALLY FEEL LIKE FLYING THE SHIP! or like yamiks would say "immersion" It is a completeley different experience and i can´t and wont go back to those times.
I've tried Elite with my HTC Vive but things on the edges of the HMD are blurry (in every game, it's VR) which doesn't exactly lend to fun times in Elite. In an FPS like Arizona Sunshine it's not a big deal but I didn't care for Elite VR much.
I've got an X52 I bought several years ago but I end up using keyboard/mouse more because I just don't want to set it all up. 110% agree with you on the roll vs pitch on the mouse, first thing I changed when I started playing. Though I eventually moved all my pip management to the mouse. Scroll up for engines, scroll down for shields. and my mouse has 2 extra buttons so M4 for weapons and M5 for reset. Also left the thruster buttons in their default places, Q,E for laterals and R,F for verticals. A and D for roll. Also I left the throttle controls alone, W increases it at a certain rate and S decreases it. When I need to switch to backwards or back to forwards I just tap X to center the throttle then move it in the desired direction.
BlackMaze. First of all thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge with us. I am not a big simulator buff. As such your instructions have saved me many many hours of trial and error. Thank you for your time and effort! You deserve many more votes than the 872 votes at the time of this comment.
I started playing last week and I've spent countless hours refining my KB/M setup. I have the same philosophy as you with regard to having an FPS setup so it's easy for me to see how intuitive it is. Using the Shift keys for PIPS is what I need. I've been using CTRL for crouch but will definitely look into using the C Key. Thanks for sharing the mouse setup, similar to mine, just need a few tweaks to test. I use Middle Mouse Button for Head-look, give it a try. Thanks for the Vid man, I really hope to get my space legs in this game, the CQB looks like way too much fun and I can't wait to refine my KB/M setup.
Sorry for the necro comment, but I had to say thank you for this! I just started playing this game a few weeks ago, and started with a keyboard/joystick combination. It worked well enough for trading and other non-combat activities, but I could never get the hang of it with combat. Holy moly, does this totally change the game (in a good way)! Thanks again!
I've spent hundrets, if not thousands of Euros on Joysticks so far - and it always ends the same, they start giving ghost inputs and you can just throw them away or try fixing (it it works, it's never a long term solution). My last setup was twin joysticks - worked really nice but they both ended up doing random yaw inputs after a while (what an awesome 200+€ investment). I've decided to go for keyboard and mouse from now on - I think this video is definitely a great starting point for my next setup. I'll have to do some adjustments for flight assist off flying, but treating controls like FP shooter is definitely a good way to go. Great work!
Wow that was very impressive, it would take me a millennium to reach that type of combat skill well done and great video. I'm also new to Elite Dangerous and being almost at retirement age my fingers are not as supple as they used to be , but that won't stop me from enjoying the vast universe and involvement that awaits me. I shall check out the rest of your videos and see id there's a beginners guide. I have only completed the training videos so I have a long way to go! Any tips on a very good mouse to use on Elite Dangerous any info would be much appreciated.
@@BlackMaze Do you by chance have a controls file for the current version of the game? The only information is the small keyboard picture, but that leaves me with a lot of unbound functions. I'm finding I have to remap pretty much rebind everything for it to make sense (no map button by default, really? ("mah immersion")
After having just returned to Elite and realizing how much HOTAS binding I have to do for Odyssey, I now agree. Mouse and my Azeron (basically a keyboard) is now my chosen method.
Interestingly, this is in many ways similar to my Thrustmaster 3d pro stick and keyboard setup. I got yaw on x-axis for precise fire with fixed weapons, and put the roll on the twist (no accuracy required). I got lateral and vertical thrust on WASD, forward/reverse thrust on shift/control and the boost on space. Throttle is on QE and full stop on X. In combat I got the throttle preset in the blue zone 95% of the time and simply override it with full forward/reverse thrust, and the second I let go the throttle snaps back into the blue zone. I guess one advantage of my setup is that it's easier to combine roll, lateral thrust and vertical thrust all at the same time without ever moving my fingers off of my thrust keys. Of course, I can't use shift-WASD for power settings, so I do have to move my fingers to deal with power settings, which is a drawback. I never was much use with the kind of mouse control that E:D has, so the setup I worked out works brilliantly for me. It's also very comfy to fly on at all times when not in combat.
Can't afford to get a HOTAS at the moment so this is an awesome alternative. I agreed with several comments and switched QE and AD, but overall this was much better for me. Still working on my skills, but feeling better about it!
Came back to the game tonight after a long break and discovered all previous settings had been reset. After browsing the shitshow that is the keybinding options and getting nowhere near the control of the ship I had previously when playing, I almost quit out. Thankfully I stumbled across your video and once again balance is restored in my game :). Thank you.
@@Flyingturdless I found a link on reddit and it appears to be from BlackMaze. Flight groups appear to be on the mouse. You're welcome, I'm glad to be of help. www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/3mcc2f/here_is_my_fpsstyle_keyboard_layout_for_elite/
Agree with many comments - wish l had found this a lot sooner and that you went through (shown) you key bindings. I wish the game also allowed different binding as in Binding A for combat, Binding B for mining and Binding C for exploring. Thumbs up
At 13:53 he says Space Bar to go Down, but he is incorrect, I'm sure he meant to say C to go Down. And if you watch his thumb close, you will see he is pressing C to go Down. So he is using C for Vertical Down, and Space Bar is Vertical Up.
This is SO old, but thank you so much!! This feels amazing for flying as someone who just started playing for the first time yesterday! Is there any chance you could share your entire keybinds panel? I'm still having some quirks that seem off and it might just be me not changing everything as I should.
From what I'm seeing, as long as you don't use the throttle for accelerating, you could bind everything to hotas or a controller and have even more control thanks to the sticks
You were the one I chose to trust for my controls a year ago, and I am now going back into this game once more, using your controls setup. Thank you for this video. o7
This is a super good set up for K+M piloting, but personally I use a dual stick setup with analog input and its as smooth as butter. Although it does take a ton of practice, but that's just ED in a whole.
2022, game is on sale again, not wanting to spend more money but game is intimidating... this made me want to play it and know i could with my current setup. thanks man!
Oldie but goldie 😄 Used this & AXI recommended keybinds to fly. Recently plurged on a dual Thrustmater 16000m setup, aiming will be harder but I run out of fingers for the lateral thrustrrs for advanced combat (FAOff & Thargoids tougher than a Cyclops.
You are using basically the same kind of controls as I am (I only have the other mouse positioning function, without the arrow), but for those who use mouse and keyboard I highly suggest to buy a mouse with the numpad on the side and bind the lateral thrust to them, as long as other quick commands that you may need during battles, activating them with the thumb, I found it to be way more efficient using only pitch, roll and yaw on the keyboard, you don't have to use "extra" keys to switch to lateral thrusting, although it may not be a great deal, at least you have ALL the controls at once, and you could take a little more advantage on the enemy in this way, plus it's more comfortable for all the other maneuvers as well, like docking, canyon racing, etc. Fly dangerous!
Dude, game changer for me too, even though this video is 4yrs old! So used to Star Citizen controls, so was hard to adapt to default settings until I saw your video (especially vertical and lateral thrust). Tired of Star Citizen not working right, so will give Elite a spin to satisfy my space sim itch. Thanks!
I started with Kb+mouse, then Joystick (left handed thrustmaster)+ Kb and at last VR(Oculus)+Joystick(left handed)+Kb. Nothing changed in my play style, but of course now I feel lot more immersed. Thinking about the HOTAS, but I developed my muscle memory and I should learn to play right handed... no idea if it's worth the bill. On a side note: good joystick users do not need to make the continuous corrections you show in your video. Side side note: some of the best PVPers (and I'm not one of them :P) play flight assist off mode only. It seems you can do incredible magic that way.
I have a very similar setup. Not strictly 'FPS' though. The differences are that I use W and S for UP and DOWN; and I swapped ROLL and STRAFE. I find I use ROLL more than STRAFE, so putting them on A and D made sense to me. And the UP and DOWN movement is so important, I want it more accessible too. I currently use SHIFT and CTRL for throttle (like KSP, ha), but I can see the advantage your method of using Full Forward and Full Reverse. I'll need to play around with that. Good video and demonstration.
Man i just want to thank u! I was regretting buying the game cause i could not control my ship, it was taking me 20 minutes to kill the ship in the advanced tutorial. Instaled your confgs and killed it in 2 minutes and actually had fun. Again thank you!
I'm a mouse+keyboard guy but I still fly and shoot better with a controller. Some of your thoughts were the same as mine, and the keys themselves come naturally. The problem is pitch. It has to be inverted to feel like a ship, and NOT inverted for tracing and shooting, if you use the mouse. Well, for me it just results in thinking twice about which way to drag the mouse. Two takeaways from experimenting: 1. Thrust forward and back buttons. You need them for exactly what you show in the video. Throttle + and - is just too slow. 2. I'm going to try to assign pitch up to something, and then try to bind fine adjustment for the pitch axis to something on top of that, maybe. I might even end up with not using the mouse at all. I wish you could use it to click on things in the panels, that's what a mouse is for.
Thanks for the video, really helped me refine my set up. Personally I feel that Elite just doesn't really take advantage of Hotas and Pedals. I much prefer keyboard and mouse for ED compared to my Warthog and Saitek Combat pedals. Especially the fact I don't have to lock my chair into my pedals which makes it easy to walk away during the drudgery of supercruise.
For the algorithm! Thank you so much for the tips. I donxt get motion sick easily, but this game was starting to do it for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to play well now.
I hate your hotkey setup but youre absolutely right about how much more control KB+M gives. Throw in some FA toggling and you can run some crazy angles on the poor bastards on the other side of your sights. I like being able to stick the throttle so i use mouse wheel (dont laugh) for thrust control and w and s are my "jump" and "crouch."
I was complaining to wife that I might need a joystick after getting annoyed with ship twirling with the mouse. She found this video that has helped me incredibly! Thank you bro!
I just got into ED and flying is a pain in the a**. Your config looks promising and your manouvering skills are very impressive. I'm gonna test your config out
Glad I found this but you REALLY needed to SHOW us how you set up the keyboard because as I type this I am having a really hard time working out how to actually set up the rest of the keys. I have to look at the picture and then scour through the options looking for each one individually and that not only takes so much time but it's super annoying.
Thank you, I wondered why it was so hard to aim with default settings, I wonder why I didn’t change it in the 170+ hours since I got the game, This is grate, helps a lot, thank you!
So I have a proper HOTAS (X-52) and just bought the game - I've heard that you definitely need the HOTAS to enjoy the game - the problem with my desk right now is that 1) I don't reall have a lot of room for the HOTAS and 2) the height makes it uncomfortable for my hands on the stick (in a real planet the hands are way down compared to my desk height). And that's how I ended up just youtubing "Elite Dangerous mouse and keyboard" since I wanted to know if it's such a huge disadvantage to fly using just the mouse and keyboard - and I stumbled across your video. It's not long at all (you were apologizing at some point) and after more than a dozen space combat videos of ED that I've seen where people just have their stick up and try to loop their way back to the enemy's tail, you seem to use every possible tool at your disposal to not lose them from your sights - very efficient and it's all done with keyboard and mouse. Big thumbs up and thank you for taking the time for this video! :)
I agree that this is easily one of, if not, the best Key+Mouse setups, and would also agree this is better than a basic joystick setup like an Extreme 3D Pro. But, I don't see any advantage over a proper Hotas setup like a Thrustmaster T-Flight, something like this has 3 axis on the stick pitch, yaw and roll, and an additional 2 axis on the throttle for Forward/Reverse and Right/Left. Leaving only Up/Down to be mapped to buttons which is really easy. With a setup like this I am basically running the exact same "FPS" setup as your keyboard and mouse. Left Hand controls movement, Right Hand controls aim. The only difference is I have roll in my right hand instead of my left. I am interested to know what kind of Stick you were comparing with. Because, like I said I 100% agree that if you were trying to use something like an Extreme 3D Pro. You would be severely handicapped by only having access to Pitch/Roll and Forwar/Reverse Thrust.
I challenge you to change your setup to the next step: go from WASD to ESDF or SFED as I call it. giving your pinkie access to QAZ adds so much more utility without contorting your thumb. I haven't played this game so I haven't tried it for this specifically, but I remap all games to SFED and it's so much more comfortable... using the home row keys as keyboards are designed to be used makes it so much easier. Additionally, I'm about to start playing this game with the logitech G600, the MMO mouse which adds so many more accessible buttons. Maybe consider trying that out too in order to see how that might spice things up.
I played several hours with mouse+keyboard because I had no money for a HOTAS and I had no problems with my own config, then I switched to HOTAS and now I play with the same skill as with mouse+kb, but I have x1000 more fun, I feel better playing with it and I feel that I don't have to do weird things to control my ship. Also, the Joystick has more movements than the mouse. ED is designed for VR + HOTAS and it's really better with that setup. Of course, you can play with kb+mouse, but it's not better.
How does VR/TrackIr work feel with Mouse+KB when compared to Joystick. Does mouse+KB hurt the feel with TrackIR? Im interested in the game but cannot afford a HOTAS or Trackir.
PvP is dominated by kb mouse players. The HOTAS players can bitch and whine all they want but the reality is they get wtf pwned by good pilots using kb and mouse
I use your keyboard setup but my joystick is an old Force Feedback 2, which provides powered resistance, allowing for extremely accurate yaw similar to the mouse. I really like this setup because you get all the precision of m+k, but you can still use an analog stick (and all those lovely buttons). o7
I'd say a combination of a simple joystick with left right twist, the obv forward backward left right pull and a keyboard. Using the joystick only for 6dof movement and maybe firing.
My layout kinda FUBAR'd itself off into Thargoid territory and I had to redo most of my binds...still using your preset to this day. Best thing since FSD's and sliced bread. Hope you're doing well CMDR. o7
Found this 5 years too late! And i know that you will most likely not see this but the keyboard layout is very hard to map out with just the screenshot
There are great PvP players with KBM and HOTAS as well as controllers. There is really not much between them if you are an experienced pilot and use the right combat tactics. I believe it comes more down to the feel the three controlling options give you, when flying your ship. For me personally there is only one option to play Elite and that is with a HOTAS and VR. The level of immersion is insane and it really feels like you are in the space ship. Your opinion may differ and I respect that.
I'm a K+M user too, I use a Logitech G502 that has plenty of buttons where I have binded all my thrusters, so I have more freedom and more fingers to it.. well done sir! PS: as much as I love K+M, I want a hotas anyways because of VR inmersion
Ive used keyboard and mouse for years. I just find joysticks to cumbersome. What your basicly showing here is a form off FAO (flight assist off). Will have to try this out. Wow im 8 years behind the times
I don't really think there's any advantage over a HOTAS, I can fly just as well with one as I can without. The difference here is how comfortable the controls are, a HOTAS is more comfortable for me than trying to cram my hand into one corner of my keyboard. You may also find that in larger ships this control scheme is not going to be as comfortable for you.
You are correct simply because you have a lot more buttons in reach of one hand. however I go with a dual joystick setup which gives you a lot more freedom for movement. I think it is all just personal preference as well :) everybody plays in a different way :) thanks for showing anyways I might try it out to see if it fly's better for me or not :)
Nice! I've had this game literally for YEARS but never played it for any length of time (10 min), gonna give this a go and see how good it works for me.
These controls are amazing. I hope I don’t ever get in a dogfight with you. Personally, I play this game for immersion and I’ll never stop using my hotas in VR. I don’t care if I can’t hit the broadside of a barnacle. I could mine in a type 9 for 6 hours straight totally riveted with my setup.
Would you happen to have a keyboard layout suggestion for us left handers, I use the number keyboard and surrounding keys on that side and got pretty good at it for basic flight but lost my key binding input so now I have to start over. I like your layout for a right hander but could use your suggestion.
What you're arguing against here is, imho, not joysticks etc but the specific control scheme that is usually used for this game with them - because I'm personally sure that having more analogue inputs is going to increase the control you can have; specifically having analogue inputs for both movement and orientation would be ideal (though with most joysticks getting everything important on an easily accessible analogue axis does seem hard, and you usually have less digital buttons to use as well)
I think... this depends a lot more on what type of joy stick your talking about here. I use a X-55 Rhino with throttle. It has got a heck of a selection of buttons that allow a lot of the same flexibility you show here, performing multiple actions without having to move fingers very far. I haven't mastered it to such an extent but that's more a me problem, I'm a bit on the skittish side so I tend to have a slower learning curve, taking fewer risks and learning less so fast as a result. Also need practice which I'll admit I too often exchange for the option to make more money. Still a bit on the poor side. Still, a very enlightening video and also a good thing to show that with the proper set-up this game is just as viable if not better with more commonplace peripherals. Might even use this as an alternate set-up for using fighters and CQC, though my mouse and keyboard are pretty crummy compared to my joy stick.
LOVE!!! Thank you!!! Have ALWAYS wanted to get in this game, but I suck when using my old MS Sidewinder Pro. This reminds me so much of Freelancer - Same type of controls. Don't know why I didn't think of that considering the number of hours I put in that game.
I set up ED at work and I don't have a HOTAS there. I use the x52 at home and I am starting to get good with it. At work I typically just do explore or delivery runs for cash. I"m going to have to try this set up to see how well I do and compare them. Interesting set up for sure.
Whilst the base concepts stay the same (in regards to vertical thruster usage), you can't do half of these moves in a bigger ship. The FDL basically stalls itself in a normal boost turn, for example, so you have to fly it differently to most other combat ships.
Why not just upload the file for the controls so everybody can get them. For now every time i bump into something I have the feeling that i messed up the controls somehow :D
Very helpful, thanks! Man I had a heck of a time getting the second ship in the combat tutorial to be in front of me. The mouse movement hardly moves the ship at all; the keyboard rolls are fine but the pitching with the mouse is so painfully slow I had a hard time getting the enemy in front of me. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I'm probably just shit.
you good sir are my hero ... or at least the savior of my fingers/hands .... this control Set is so much smoother then what I did the last whole last week of learning the game
hello, good vid i just begin elite dangerous. i'm wondering you are using S, W to move forward and backward ,does it means you never use the propulsion contrôls ?, and always keep the W key pressed as long as you want to move forward. and what about flight assist on/off, in your vidéo you are using flight assist Off ; or ON ? i wished a little more détails for the newbie i am ;) PS: many thanks for your keyborad layout !
Real spacecrafts aren't flown with flight sticks and throttles. Since there still aren't any authentic spacesim controllers on the market that would simulate those of a space shuttle or a soyuz module, a mouse and keyboard aren't the worst as far as realism goes.
Realistically speaking by time we can fly like that for real controls will not be like anything we can even imagine today. Wish Sci fi designers were a little more imaginative in this respect coz aliens with touch screen tablets everywhere are really starting to get on my tits.
Im a shift jump and ctrl crouch. The mouse to yaw is something i need to change. Wasd is just like yours. I agree that mouse a keyboard is really nice, and because i travel for work, i cant be toting around a hotas
It's not clear to me if (W)/(S) are forward/backwards thrusters or throttle ? These are very good facts to know about maneuvering the ship if you are not comfortable with the FA OFF. Good Job!
This is a game changer, especially for me being a 1 week old noon to elite dangerous. So glad I came across this video!
Happy to help! :-)
@@BlackMaze Like wise, though I'm a 2d old noob... So new I can't even find how exactly to change the throttle. Everything else has been amazing to help me adapt to the game though. Big thanks for helping a fellow WT Pilot/Tanker join the ED ranks!
Still useful today, I am using this having started a few hours back.
Great setup, i knew the default setup was lame bit this video is a game changer. Quick question, how do you setup W and S the way you didi?
@@silvercat18 Kinda the same. Played this a while ago a few years but couldnt get the hang of stuff. Decided to give it another go so really a few hours in just going through the training and wanted some 'real world advice'
i discovered this 5 years later and you saved my life gg
= Misc.= (Pips) @ 6:30
Divert Power to Systems: Shift-A
Divert Power to Engines: Shift-W (Warp)
Divert Power to Weapons: Shift-D (Damage)
Balance Power Distribution: Shift-S (reSet)
thanks
WOAH. Pip management forcing me to take my hand off mouse or WASD to reach arrow keys is one of my biggest issues. This is incredibly useful.
I used shift+(number keys) for those, but these are so much better!
holy shit... this took me so long to figure out. thanks.
Started playing the game again after a 2 year break and I duplicated this setup. It has completely change the way I play. I use to be horrible at combat in the game and this made it feel so much more natural and I feel like I have so much more control.
dude this video is a lifesaver, I've been trying to get into ED again but i sucked at flying, hopefully using your controls will help, i certainly understood what you were explaining more than i did the game's tutorial
Most welcome man!
I just bought the game and played around with the controls for an hour. Came up exactly with the same setup. I feel very satisfied now.
I just picked up Elite Dangerous, and my first thought on playing the tutorial was: These controls are bananas! Surely there's a way to configure them to make more sense.
Cheers for the video mate, your keybinds are now my wallpaper and the tutorials have been 10 times easier, next step: the actual game.
This game... every time you have a break ... its like learning it again
don't even start. I had complex and customized controls, now I can't even move up and down, freaking frustrating
@@akiraic 2k hours before a 6 year break is where im at., its brutal
I use a joystick for the immersion. Especially since I play in VR, so having my hands on a physical joystick and thruster that somewhat matches the in game avatar just makes it feel AMAZING! ...BUT in terms of pure practicality I do agree that aiming with a mouse is probably easier than adjusting your pitch and yaw with a joystick
Hey! I want to genuinely thank you for giving the idea about this control set up. Today - after about 350 hours of standard keyboard and mouse control usage - I have switched the controls to this FPSish set up. Didn't take long to get used to and I have never had as much fun in Elite, as I did today. I was finally able to use the PAs (effectively)!
I'd thoroughly recommend anyone to switch to this set up. :)
What will be nice if you show your Keybindings aswell in this video. so the we can know what to change exactly...
Yep, please share the controlls ingame, too. Thank you.
I knew there was something wrong with the default settings, but your video took my gaming experience to the next level. To be honest, "QWE" keys + mouse is quite enough for me now. Thanks, Commander!
The control you have to over that ship is astounding. You inspire me. Thanks for this video
Interesting, I never played around much with key bindings when I started ED. I went mostly with the defaults, with a few changes. Never got to grips with it, which is perhaps why I find a HOTAS to be much nicer and easier. (But also more "realistic" when playing in VR.)
While this would probably work well in CQC flying the condors and other tiny fighters that are relatively responsive to the thrusters. I would NOT recommend relying on them too much flying a Federal Corvette in a combat zone. Heavy ships aren't responsive to thrusters that much. You can't switch between forward and backward movements that fast.
But yes, I do use them. I've gotten so used to my HOTAS setup in the game that maneuvering like this is not an issue. Another thing I disagree with is the aiming comparison he does between Joystick and Mouse, I rarely have to compensate that much up and down with the joystick to stay on target, with the MOUSE on the other I find I had to do that all the time. It all depends a bit on how used you are with your controls and of course the settings for sensitivity and accelerators etc you use.
In the end I say it is to each their own, what you prefer. This video did not convince me M+K is better in any way, easier for most to get used to most likely.
But if you have a GOOD joystick, I'm not talking cheap and unprecise sticks, you won't have any problem with the aim. If your stick drifts with 0 in dead zone, it's a shit stick. Or not calibrated, or broken. A cheap stick I do recommend for Elite is the T16000, due to the HALL effect sensors it uses. (Same as the Warthog and also has twist in the stick for yaw unlike the Warthog)
If you play with no throttle or pedals with your stick, I totally recommend having thrusters set up as this guy does. Or on the numpad if you're left handed. (There are no throttles for left handed people sadly)
The guy mentions another thing, freelook is hard using a mouse. Yes and no, you CAN set it to toggle on the middle muse button (You know the scroll wheel is also a button)
OR there IS actually a mouse with a build in joystick! Asus Chakram. And it works in Elite without any special third party software except Asus Amory. (You need it to set the stick to analogue from just imitating the arrow keys on the keyboard) Totally recommend it.
My current setup is Thrustmasters FCWS throttle paired with a VKB Gladiator NXT joystick. What I don't like with the NXT stick is that it is linear. You can clearly tell the difference on forward/back and left/right movement. Unlike the T16000 that is completely free 360 movement. In the end the T16000 is a LOT more precise while fine aiming as the NXT struggles with diagonal movement.
The Warthog is the same as the T16000 as it uses the same gimball method and HALL sensors. But lacks twist functionality, meaning you can't yaw with the stick. Or roll depending what you sacrifice. I never liked Logitechs sticks they are either too slack or to unprecise. Tends to start drifting very easily too and the X56 for example requires external powered USB ports to function properly. Cheap Chinese materials and buttons. And then we have the ultra expensive overkill sticks from Virpil and VKB etc. You really need to be an enthusiast to justify those prices.
So yes, in a way M+K is a lot simpler. Also a lot cheaper. But not necessary better. It's more up to the hardware and particularly the user in the end.
For beginners that want a good stick especially for Elite Dangerous that won't cost you kidney, I recommend a T16000 with the FWCS throttle bundle if you can find it.
This video is so old but so useful if you're someone who just bought (or got gifted the game). Having roll on the mouse is a nightmare and I cannot understand why that was a default decision. I barely got through training on default binds.
Same here I gave up and started using a gamepad. Might have to give this control scheme a shot
These are very close to the controls I was setting up earlier, all based around Descent controls. Glad to see someone put in the thought and work already so that I don't have to spend as much time tweaking for my comfort in the end. Great vid!
That's good thinking there, BlackMaze. Now that I've seen your setup, it seems very intuitive. I played with a HOTAS since my first day in the game, but since it requires me to get creative with desk space, which often is the reason I don't just jump into the game at a whim, I'll be trying your setup. Thanks! :) I just need to figure out a way to cycle through the weapon configs, and cycle between the current target's subsystems, but that's small stuff I hope :D
Not playing ED anymore, but just to say this video really helped me at the time. Thanks @BlackMaze.
It was even better coupled with sim racing pedals for forward throttle (bind to accelerator) and reverse throttle (bind to brake). Keeping throttle +/- 10% increment to mouse wheel, which somehow would be temporarly overwritten by pedals, but would resume to selected throttle level (usually the ideal area) when no pressure applied to pedals.
And Moving vertical up/down to W/S for even more natural feeling.
This setup also allowed for very easy FA off/on flight style.
I'm just transitioning today from playing on Xbox to PC. This keyboard layout makes so much more sense than the default. Thanks for sharing! And +1 for your flight skills!
So I'm going to just say some reasons why joystick is better, ofc I'm talking about a full HOTAS setup and not the joystick on a controller. First of all you do not have to constantly re adjust, I can turn to a target and use roll pitch and yaw to stay on target. Ofc I'm talking fixed weapons in a fighter. I can use lateral thrusters while rotating and accelerating which is a massive advantage in combat, especially cqc where the ships are light. The difference is I can change all directions while still have full control but on keyboard your finger has to move to a new key and back, this is extra time and makes it tricky to quickly move round things. Ofc joystick is harder to learn but in my opinion once you learn how to use it, it's much easier. I've been using my HOTAS with elite since Oculus dk2 was released, may give you a clue as to why I use joystick and always have. I have VR and it's far easier to navigate buttons without your eyes on a joystick rather than a keyboard. This is ofc all opinions but it's also your opinion that keyboard is better, there is no one right way. Just to add tho. In warthunder I cannot use joystick at all, I'm rubbish at it so I have to use keyboard and mouse and I don't think keyboard and mouse is bad unless you are talking about SIM battles
I do something similar. One difference: I generally do not use the WASD keys for FPS/MMORPGs (and now for ED) but remap that always to ESDF, because that gives much more reachable options for the left hand. And if one learned 10 finger typing then that's also more natural - and the base position for the hands/fingers are not by coincidence fitting to this. It is clear that the game designers back then who used WASD the first time (Dark Castle and especially Half Life who made WASD more popular) were no 10 finger type writers and had no deeper thoughts on the best design/most ergonomic keyboard usage. But now many players are used to that ...
As people have stated below, its great you created your own set of macros, but for most of us it really would have helped to tell us which keys are bound and were... the keybinding in this game is huge and repeats itself everywhere so its confusing, so if we knew how you bound your keys, (the photo of your keyboard is not much help) it would be lovely for us.
OH im sure its makes you better. But the joystick simply feels cooler. So i guess in the end it just comes down to personal preference.
+eg0zb I personally prefer a 3d mouse coupled with an "mmo" mouse.
I have a friend who told me that it will be shit to play this game with a mouse in keyboard (literally unplayable)
After I saw this video I totally changed my view on controls.
Well, it would definitely be uplayable if the mouse was in the keyboard...
@@mohfuu what is a 3d mouse?
He is basically controlling his ship like it's a first person shooter.
In any other flight simulator that would be similar to flying with rudder. You don't fly with rudder. You steer with rudder when taxiing.
But you're right, it's personal preference.
I had to fiddle with controls myself (mostly adjusting sensitivity and inverting mouse), but other than that, the default setting is basic flight simulator control. Terribly adjusted, but still.
Then again, I am the kind of person that played games like Warbirds and Air Warrior, where flying is much more finicky because of g-forces.
Well i watch this old video, and think back to the times where i prefered kb&mouse over everything else
even tho´i own the very good t16000m fcs-hotas
Now.. i own a Samsung Odyssey+ Headset (Elite is INSANE in VR)
and use my hotas combined with Voiceattack+HCS Celeste for voicecommands and oh boy..:O
I dont´t just play Elite .. I REALLY FEEL LIKE FLYING THE SHIP!
or like yamiks would say "immersion"
It is a completeley different experience and i can´t and wont go back to those times.
I've tried Elite with my HTC Vive but things on the edges of the HMD are blurry (in every game, it's VR) which doesn't exactly lend to fun times in Elite. In an FPS like Arizona Sunshine it's not a big deal but I didn't care for Elite VR much.
clamum on my oculus S the blur is there but bearable. It helps to turn supersampling up to 1.25 and HMD quality to 1.5
Even 8 years later you managed to turn me from a panicking noob into a confident pilot, just with those few simple changes to the controls.
Thank you!
Do you use this setup with Flight Assist off and is it a good setup for using FA off?
I've got an X52 I bought several years ago but I end up using keyboard/mouse more because I just don't want to set it all up. 110% agree with you on the roll vs pitch on the mouse, first thing I changed when I started playing. Though I eventually moved all my pip management to the mouse. Scroll up for engines, scroll down for shields. and my mouse has 2 extra buttons so M4 for weapons and M5 for reset. Also left the thruster buttons in their default places, Q,E for laterals and R,F for verticals. A and D for roll. Also I left the throttle controls alone, W increases it at a certain rate and S decreases it. When I need to switch to backwards or back to forwards I just tap X to center the throttle then move it in the desired direction.
BlackMaze. First of all thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge with us. I am not a big simulator buff. As such your instructions have saved me many many hours of trial and error. Thank you for your time and effort! You deserve many more votes than the 872 votes at the time of this comment.
You're awesome Ryan, thank you :-)
I started playing last week and I've spent countless hours refining my KB/M setup. I have the same philosophy as you with regard to having an FPS setup so it's easy for me to see how intuitive it is.
Using the Shift keys for PIPS is what I need. I've been using CTRL for crouch but will definitely look into using the C Key.
Thanks for sharing the mouse setup, similar to mine, just need a few tweaks to test.
I use Middle Mouse Button for Head-look, give it a try.
Thanks for the Vid man, I really hope to get my space legs in this game, the CQB looks like way too much fun and I can't wait to refine my KB/M setup.
Sorry for the necro comment, but I had to say thank you for this! I just started playing this game a few weeks ago, and started with a keyboard/joystick combination. It worked well enough for trading and other non-combat activities, but I could never get the hang of it with combat. Holy moly, does this totally change the game (in a good way)! Thanks again!
I've spent hundrets, if not thousands of Euros on Joysticks so far - and it always ends the same, they start giving ghost inputs and you can just throw them away or try fixing (it it works, it's never a long term solution). My last setup was twin joysticks - worked really nice but they both ended up doing random yaw inputs after a while (what an awesome 200+€ investment). I've decided to go for keyboard and mouse from now on - I think this video is definitely a great starting point for my next setup. I'll have to do some adjustments for flight assist off flying, but treating controls like FP shooter is definitely a good way to go. Great work!
Wow that was very impressive, it would take me a millennium to reach that type of combat skill well done and great video.
I'm also new to Elite Dangerous and being almost at retirement age my fingers are not as supple as they used to be , but that won't stop me from enjoying the vast universe and involvement that awaits me.
I shall check out the rest of your videos and see id there's a beginners guide.
I have only completed the training videos so I have a long way to go!
Any tips on a very good mouse to use on Elite Dangerous any info would be much appreciated.
Hi Bob, I'm glad you find it useful! I use a Logitech G502 mouse and swear by it! Enjoy Elite!
@@BlackMaze Do you by chance have a controls file for the current version of the game? The only information is the small keyboard picture, but that leaves me with a lot of unbound functions. I'm finding I have to remap pretty much rebind everything for it to make sense (no map button by default, really? ("mah immersion")
After having just returned to Elite and realizing how much HOTAS binding I have to do for Odyssey, I now agree. Mouse and my Azeron (basically a keyboard) is now my chosen method.
Interestingly, this is in many ways similar to my Thrustmaster 3d pro stick and keyboard setup. I got yaw on x-axis for precise fire with fixed weapons, and put the roll on the twist (no accuracy required). I got lateral and vertical thrust on WASD, forward/reverse thrust on shift/control and the boost on space. Throttle is on QE and full stop on X. In combat I got the throttle preset in the blue zone 95% of the time and simply override it with full forward/reverse thrust, and the second I let go the throttle snaps back into the blue zone.
I guess one advantage of my setup is that it's easier to combine roll, lateral thrust and vertical thrust all at the same time without ever moving my fingers off of my thrust keys. Of course, I can't use shift-WASD for power settings, so I do have to move my fingers to deal with power settings, which is a drawback.
I never was much use with the kind of mouse control that E:D has, so the setup I worked out works brilliantly for me. It's also very comfy to fly on at all times when not in combat.
Can't afford to get a HOTAS at the moment so this is an awesome alternative. I agreed with several comments and switched QE and AD, but overall this was much better for me. Still working on my skills, but feeling better about it!
Came back to the game tonight after a long break and discovered all previous settings had been reset. After browsing the shitshow that is the keybinding options and getting nowhere near the control of the ship I had previously when playing, I almost quit out. Thankfully I stumbled across your video and once again balance is restored in my game :). Thank you.
Steve Fletcher what is he using on the c key?
@@Flyingturdless he's using 'c' to go down and 'space' to up from what I remember.
Steve Fletcher awesome thank you and 1 other question where would you put the cycle fire groups? That’s one I didn’t see on his psd
@@Flyingturdless I found a link on reddit and it appears to be from BlackMaze. Flight groups appear to be on the mouse. You're welcome, I'm glad to be of help.
www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/3mcc2f/here_is_my_fpsstyle_keyboard_layout_for_elite/
Agree with many comments - wish l had found this a lot sooner and that you went through (shown) you key bindings. I wish the game also allowed different binding as in Binding A for combat, Binding B for mining and Binding C for exploring. Thumbs up
At 13:53 he says Space Bar to go Down, but he is incorrect, I'm sure he meant to say C to go Down.
And if you watch his thumb close, you will see he is pressing C to go Down.
So he is using C for Vertical Down, and Space Bar is Vertical Up.
This is SO old, but thank you so much!! This feels amazing for flying as someone who just started playing for the first time yesterday! Is there any chance you could share your entire keybinds panel? I'm still having some quirks that seem off and it might just be me not changing everything as I should.
Excellent video. Very good that you explain in CQC what keys you are pressing during maneuvering. Going to try that out myself later today. Thanks!
From what I'm seeing, as long as you don't use the throttle for accelerating, you could bind everything to hotas or a controller and have even more control thanks to the sticks
You were the one I chose to trust for my controls a year ago, and I am now going back into this game once more, using your controls setup. Thank you for this video. o7
You’re welcome! I’m glad it’s useful!
This is a super good set up for K+M piloting, but personally I use a dual stick setup with analog input and its as smooth as butter. Although it does take a ton of practice, but that's just ED in a whole.
2022, game is on sale again, not wanting to spend more money but game is intimidating... this made me want to play it and know i could with my current setup. thanks man!
Oldie but goldie 😄 Used this & AXI recommended keybinds to fly.
Recently plurged on a dual Thrustmater 16000m setup, aiming will be harder but I run out of fingers for the lateral thrustrrs for advanced combat (FAOff & Thargoids tougher than a Cyclops.
You are using basically the same kind of controls as I am (I only have the other mouse positioning function, without the arrow), but for those who use mouse and keyboard I highly suggest to buy a mouse with the numpad on the side and bind the lateral thrust to them, as long as other quick commands that you may need during battles, activating them with the thumb, I found it to be way more efficient using only pitch, roll and yaw on the keyboard, you don't have to use "extra" keys to switch to lateral thrusting, although it may not be a great deal, at least you have ALL the controls at once, and you could take a little more advantage on the enemy in this way, plus it's more comfortable for all the other maneuvers as well, like docking, canyon racing, etc. Fly dangerous!
Dude, game changer for me too, even though this video is 4yrs old! So used to Star Citizen controls, so was hard to adapt to default settings until I saw your video (especially vertical and lateral thrust). Tired of Star Citizen not working right, so will give Elite a spin to satisfy my space sim itch. Thanks!
I started with Kb+mouse, then Joystick (left handed thrustmaster)+ Kb and at last VR(Oculus)+Joystick(left handed)+Kb. Nothing changed in my play style, but of course now I feel lot more immersed. Thinking about the HOTAS, but I developed my muscle memory and I should learn to play right handed... no idea if it's worth the bill.
On a side note: good joystick users do not need to make the continuous corrections you show in your video.
Side side note: some of the best PVPers (and I'm not one of them :P) play flight assist off mode only. It seems you can do incredible magic that way.
I have a very similar setup. Not strictly 'FPS' though. The differences are that I use W and S for UP and DOWN; and I swapped ROLL and STRAFE. I find I use ROLL more than STRAFE, so putting them on A and D made sense to me. And the UP and DOWN movement is so important, I want it more accessible too.
I currently use SHIFT and CTRL for throttle (like KSP, ha), but I can see the advantage your method of using Full Forward and Full Reverse. I'll need to play around with that.
Good video and demonstration.
Very usefull tips, thanks man, i can't wait to go back home and try this key mapping.
Man i just want to thank u! I was regretting buying the game cause i could not control my ship, it was taking me 20 minutes to kill the ship in the advanced tutorial. Instaled your confgs and killed it in 2 minutes and actually had fun. Again thank you!
I'm a mouse+keyboard guy but I still fly and shoot better with a controller. Some of your thoughts were the same as mine, and the keys themselves come naturally. The problem is pitch. It has to be inverted to feel like a ship, and NOT inverted for tracing and shooting, if you use the mouse. Well, for me it just results in thinking twice about which way to drag the mouse. Two takeaways from experimenting:
1. Thrust forward and back buttons. You need them for exactly what you show in the video. Throttle + and - is just too slow.
2. I'm going to try to assign pitch up to something, and then try to bind fine adjustment for the pitch axis to something on top of that, maybe.
I might even end up with not using the mouse at all. I wish you could use it to click on things in the panels, that's what a mouse is for.
Thanks for the video, really helped me refine my set up. Personally I feel that Elite just doesn't really take advantage of Hotas and Pedals. I much prefer keyboard and mouse for ED compared to my Warthog and Saitek Combat pedals.
Especially the fact I don't have to lock my chair into my pedals which makes it easy to walk away during the drudgery of supercruise.
For the algorithm!
Thank you so much for the tips. I donxt get motion sick easily, but this game was starting to do it for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to play well now.
I hate your hotkey setup but youre absolutely right about how much more control KB+M gives. Throw in some FA toggling and you can run some crazy angles on the poor bastards on the other side of your sights.
I like being able to stick the throttle so i use mouse wheel (dont laugh) for thrust control and w and s are my "jump" and "crouch."
I know this is a super necro but I would kill for the keybindings file for this!
3:40 I stopped watching then because I'm a thargoid so I'll stick to a control pad. Control pads are just very natural for us thargoids.
I was complaining to wife that I might need a joystick after getting annoyed with ship twirling with the mouse. She found this video that has helped me incredibly! Thank you bro!
I just got into ED and flying is a pain in the a**. Your config looks promising and your manouvering skills are very impressive. I'm gonna test your config out
Glad I found this but you REALLY needed to SHOW us how you set up the keyboard because as I type this I am having a really hard time working out how to actually set up the rest of the keys. I have to look at the picture and then scour through the options looking for each one individually and that not only takes so much time but it's super annoying.
Thank you, I wondered why it was so hard to aim with default settings, I wonder why I didn’t change it in the 170+ hours since I got the game,
This is grate, helps a lot, thank you!
Stuck with GeForce now for a couple of months (so no Hotas), this gave me the courage to take on combat using the keyboard and mouse
So I have a proper HOTAS (X-52) and just bought the game - I've heard that you definitely need the HOTAS to enjoy the game - the problem with my desk right now is that 1) I don't reall have a lot of room for the HOTAS and 2) the height makes it uncomfortable for my hands on the stick (in a real planet the hands are way down compared to my desk height).
And that's how I ended up just youtubing "Elite Dangerous mouse and keyboard" since I wanted to know if it's such a huge disadvantage to fly using just the mouse and keyboard - and I stumbled across your video.
It's not long at all (you were apologizing at some point) and after more than a dozen space combat videos of ED that I've seen where people just have their stick up and try to loop their way back to the enemy's tail, you seem to use every possible tool at your disposal to not lose them from your sights - very efficient and it's all done with keyboard and mouse.
Big thumbs up and thank you for taking the time for this video! :)
I agree that this is easily one of, if not, the best Key+Mouse setups, and would also agree this is better than a basic joystick setup like an Extreme 3D Pro.
But, I don't see any advantage over a proper Hotas setup like a Thrustmaster T-Flight, something like this has 3 axis on the stick pitch, yaw and roll, and an additional 2 axis on the throttle for Forward/Reverse and Right/Left. Leaving only Up/Down to be mapped to buttons which is really easy.
With a setup like this I am basically running the exact same "FPS" setup as your keyboard and mouse. Left Hand controls movement, Right Hand controls aim. The only difference is I have roll in my right hand instead of my left.
I am interested to know what kind of Stick you were comparing with. Because, like I said I 100% agree that if you were trying to use something like an Extreme 3D Pro. You would be severely handicapped by only having access to Pitch/Roll and Forwar/Reverse Thrust.
I challenge you to change your setup to the next step: go from WASD to ESDF or SFED as I call it. giving your pinkie access to QAZ adds so much more utility without contorting your thumb. I haven't played this game so I haven't tried it for this specifically, but I remap all games to SFED and it's so much more comfortable... using the home row keys as keyboards are designed to be used makes it so much easier.
Additionally, I'm about to start playing this game with the logitech G600, the MMO mouse which adds so many more accessible buttons. Maybe consider trying that out too in order to see how that might spice things up.
I played several hours with mouse+keyboard because I had no money for a HOTAS and I had no problems with my own config, then I switched to HOTAS and now I play with the same skill as with mouse+kb, but I have x1000 more fun, I feel better playing with it and I feel that I don't have to do weird things to control my ship. Also, the Joystick has more movements than the mouse. ED is designed for VR + HOTAS and it's really better with that setup. Of course, you can play with kb+mouse, but it's not better.
I'm sure this guy would own you in 1 vs 1. Zzz
How does VR/TrackIr work feel with Mouse+KB when compared to Joystick. Does mouse+KB hurt the feel with TrackIR? Im interested in the game but cannot afford a HOTAS or Trackir.
PvP is dominated by kb mouse players. The HOTAS players can bitch and whine all they want but the reality is they get wtf pwned by good pilots using kb and mouse
how does a joystick have more movement than a mouse?? lol a mouse has infinite movement and can move it faster. a joystick is limited in movement
I use your keyboard setup but my joystick is an old Force Feedback 2, which provides powered resistance, allowing for extremely accurate yaw similar to the mouse. I really like this setup because you get all the precision of m+k, but you can still use an analog stick (and all those lovely buttons). o7
i will like to see a updated video of this
I'd say a combination of a simple joystick with left right twist, the obv forward backward left right pull and a keyboard. Using the joystick only for 6dof movement and maybe firing.
Hello, can you put the PSD again please? Thx
My layout kinda FUBAR'd itself off into Thargoid territory and I had to redo most of my binds...still using your preset to this day. Best thing since FSD's and sliced bread. Hope you're doing well CMDR. o7
Found this 5 years too late! And i know that you will most likely not see this but the keyboard layout is very hard to map out with just the screenshot
I bought this game yesterday and was struggling a lot with steering my craft. This is really helpful. It almost feels like I'm in control now :D
There are great PvP players with KBM and HOTAS as well as controllers. There is really not much between them if you are an experienced pilot and use the right combat tactics. I believe it comes more down to the feel the three controlling options give you, when flying your ship. For me personally there is only one option to play Elite and that is with a HOTAS and VR. The level of immersion is insane and it really feels like you are in the space ship. Your opinion may differ and I respect that.
I'm a K+M user too, I use a Logitech G502 that has plenty of buttons where I have binded all my thrusters, so I have more freedom and more fingers to it.. well done sir!
PS: as much as I love K+M, I want a hotas anyways because of VR inmersion
Sweet binding you propose here. I haven't took into account vertical thrust before. I love it. Cheers !
Ive used keyboard and mouse for years.
I just find joysticks to cumbersome.
What your basicly showing here is a form off FAO (flight assist off).
Will have to try this out.
Wow im 8 years behind the times
I don't really think there's any advantage over a HOTAS, I can fly just as well with one as I can without. The difference here is how comfortable the controls are, a HOTAS is more comfortable for me than trying to cram my hand into one corner of my keyboard. You may also find that in larger ships this control scheme is not going to be as comfortable for you.
You are correct simply because you have a lot more buttons in reach of one hand. however I go with a dual joystick setup which gives you a lot more freedom for movement. I think it is all just personal preference as well :) everybody plays in a different way :) thanks for showing anyways I might try it out to see if it fly's better for me or not :)
Yeah I ain't gonna lie, you're slick with that shit. I'm making an executive decision gonna give it a shot.
Nice! I've had this game literally for YEARS but never played it for any length of time (10 min), gonna give this a go and see how good it works for me.
How has it worked out? I've played for years with joystick and thinking of converting
LOL, still haven't got around to it.
These controls are amazing. I hope I don’t ever get in a dogfight with you. Personally, I play this game for immersion and I’ll never stop using my hotas in VR. I don’t care if I can’t hit the broadside of a barnacle. I could mine in a type 9 for 6 hours straight totally riveted with my setup.
Would you happen to have a keyboard layout suggestion for us left handers, I use the number keyboard and surrounding keys on that side and got pretty good at it for basic flight but lost my key binding input so now I have to start over. I like your layout for a right hander but could use your suggestion.
this guy is just very good at flying, you can do that with a hotas too, but it takes longer to learn
also he sits in an eagle
Excellent guide. I'm actually doing quite well in combat after watching it.
What you're arguing against here is, imho, not joysticks etc but the specific control scheme that is usually used for this game with them - because I'm personally sure that having more analogue inputs is going to increase the control you can have; specifically having analogue inputs for both movement and orientation would be ideal (though with most joysticks getting everything important on an easily accessible analogue axis does seem hard, and you usually have less digital buttons to use as well)
Look at my recent vids 😜
I think... this depends a lot more on what type of joy stick your talking about here. I use a X-55 Rhino with throttle. It has got a heck of a selection of buttons that allow a lot of the same flexibility you show here, performing multiple actions without having to move fingers very far. I haven't mastered it to such an extent but that's more a me problem, I'm a bit on the skittish side so I tend to have a slower learning curve, taking fewer risks and learning less so fast as a result. Also need practice which I'll admit I too often exchange for the option to make more money. Still a bit on the poor side.
Still, a very enlightening video and also a good thing to show that with the proper set-up this game is just as viable if not better with more commonplace peripherals. Might even use this as an alternate set-up for using fighters and CQC, though my mouse and keyboard are pretty crummy compared to my joy stick.
LOVE!!! Thank you!!! Have ALWAYS wanted to get in this game, but I suck when using my old MS Sidewinder Pro. This reminds me so much of Freelancer - Same type of controls. Don't know why I didn't think of that considering the number of hours I put in that game.
I set up ED at work and I don't have a HOTAS there. I use the x52 at home and I am starting to get good with it. At work I typically just do explore or delivery runs for cash. I"m going to have to try this set up to see how well I do and compare them. Interesting set up for sure.
Can you upload this settings? To be honest i dont know where everything is(keys) :(
Whilst the base concepts stay the same (in regards to vertical thruster usage), you can't do half of these moves in a bigger ship. The FDL basically stalls itself in a normal boost turn, for example, so you have to fly it differently to most other combat ships.
Can ANYONE share his keyboard+mouse settings ? because it's a puzzle for me. I don't know how to set it correctly even with the keyboard layout
Why not just upload the file for the controls so everybody can get them. For now every time i bump into something I have the feeling that i messed up the controls somehow :D
Love it as I'm just starting with this kind of game without a joystick. Would you make a 2022 / Horizons update?
Very helpful, thanks!
Man I had a heck of a time getting the second ship in the combat tutorial to be in front of me. The mouse movement hardly moves the ship at all; the keyboard rolls are fine but the pitching with the mouse is so painfully slow I had a hard time getting the enemy in front of me.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I'm probably just shit.
you good sir are my hero ... or at least the savior of my fingers/hands .... this control Set is so much smoother then what I did the last whole last week of learning the game
Most welcome :)
hello, good vid
i just begin elite dangerous.
i'm wondering
you are using S, W to move forward and backward ,does it means you never use the propulsion contrôls ?,
and always keep the W key pressed as long as you want to move forward.
and what about flight assist on/off, in your vidéo you are using flight assist Off ; or ON ?
i wished a little more détails for the newbie i am ;)
PS: many thanks for your keyborad layout !
Real spacecrafts aren't flown with flight sticks and throttles. Since there still aren't any authentic spacesim controllers on the market that would simulate those of a space shuttle or a soyuz module, a mouse and keyboard aren't the worst as far as realism goes.
Bonus points for you!!!
Realistically speaking by time we can fly like that for real controls will not be like anything we can even imagine today. Wish Sci fi designers were a little more imaginative in this respect coz aliens with touch screen tablets everywhere are really starting to get on my tits.
Im a shift jump and ctrl crouch. The mouse to yaw is something i need to change. Wasd is just like yours. I agree that mouse a keyboard is really nice, and because i travel for work, i cant be toting around a hotas
It's not clear to me if (W)/(S) are forward/backwards thrusters or throttle ? These are very good facts to know about maneuvering the ship if you are not comfortable with the FA OFF. Good Job!