Descent 3 Game Guide

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So, what are the basics for a solid control scheme? While some players might opt for a well-stocked joystick, others move for the mouse and keyboard combination. The mouse is used to position your ship's viewpoint left, right, up, and down. The two mouse buttons usually fire primary and secondary weapons. As for the keyboard portion of this combo, players tend to gravitate to the WASD combination - W moves you forward, S moves you backward, A strafes left, and D strafes right.

So far, this set up is like a simple first-person shooter, but don't forget: several other keys must be mapped appropriately. Rolling left or right isn't necessarily a huge priority, but the Q and E keys, especially since they hug the W key so perfectly, make great rolling keys. If you ever need to get upright, the two keys that'll get you there are just one finger length away. As for strafing up and down, these are usually the most difficult keys to get comfortable with. Some players choose R and F, as they are adjacent to the movement keys.

Even with the advent of mouse and keyboard combos in first-person shooters, some players still prefer the keyboard only for their Descent play. Here, you would use a set of four keys (probably the arrow keys) for the ship's viewpoint and another set of four (probably WASD combo) for moving forward, backward, and strafing left and right.

Next: Maneuverability and weapon basics