Dead Space PC mouse/keyboard configuration revealed

For anyone that was wondering the keyboard configuration for the PC version of Dead Space, here they are: (of course you can change them, but this is the default config).

Forward/backward - W/S

Strafe left/right - A/D

Run - Shift (hold)

Aim mode - Right mouse button (hold)

Toggle Aim - CAPS Lock

Fire - Right mouse button + Left mouse button

Secondary fire - Right mouse button + SPACEBAR, or right mouse button + middle mouse button

Reload primary/secondary weapon - R/right mouse button + R

Melee weapon swing - Left mouse button

Melee curbstomp - SPACEBAR

Kinesis Module - Right mouse button + F, then left mouse button to propel object away

Stasis Module - Right mouse button + C

Health Pack - Q

Activate - E

Jump (in zero-G only) - Right mouse + CTRL

Map - M

Deck Nav - B or left CTRL

Rig inventory - TAB/1

Pause menu - ESC

Missions - J

Log database - L

Cancel (logs/menus) - F/TAB

I'm just wonderng, why is this important? It's definately nice to know, but 99% of games on PC have similar controls...it would only be logical for EA to follow those similar controlsnevereathim

Then I guess it isn't important to you. I know for a fact some people were worried about how the mouse/keyboard would work for the game. So, I decided to post the controls. No harm done by it. I was just lookin after the people the wanted to know what they were. Sorry if you thought it wasnt important...

You don't have to use "key/mouse button A + key/mouse button B" for those functions, do you? I'm not talking about whether or not you can change it, I mean is it not optional to have to press two keys at the same time for primary and alternate fire, for instance, or can you change those to use just one key each? So, say I wanted to change reloading to mouse 4, melee to a key on the keyboard, primary fire to just left-click, and secondary fire to right-click. Could I do that?

EDIT - Oh, I see how it works. I guess not. Gosh, that's an awfully convoluted control scheme. That on top of floaty mouselook. Bah.

[QUOTE="nevereathim"]I'm just wonderng, why is this important? It's definately nice to know, but 99% of games on PC have similar controls...it would only be logical for EA to follow those similar controlsTed_Bundy000

Then I guess it isn't important to you. I know for a fact some people were worried about how the mouse/keyboard would work for the game. So, I decided to post the controls. No harm done by it. I was just lookin after the people the wanted to know what they were. Sorry if you thought it wasnt important...

yea, thanks for this info. i was almost worried as the game seems to have the same resident evil 4 formula but in this you can atleast move while shooting.thank god EA has got the brains to support mouse/kb for PC version. doesn't seem like a weak port at all.:D

OP, you are missing the whole point. If you read the reviews for the game it says the mouse control is extremely slow and floating. this is what we wanted to learn? Is using the mouse disturbing? Is it difficult to aim and shoot accurately. This is what we wanted to learn

Hereanother review from Whatif gaming. Sorry EA, you dropped the ball on this one.

The controls are 2nd to the worst controls we've seen ever since Path of Neo came to the PC platforms. The smoothness compared to consoles is just not there, and from what we can tell it doesn't seem like a patch can fix most of the issues. Inventory stack access becomes frustrating when fighting with monsters and aiming for on-the-fly changes. The controls just aren't smooth. When contacting EA Redwood Shores regarding these issues:

Dead Space for PC is an equivalent experience to that on consoles. The controls are different and customizable, but we feel it's in the best ability for the players to match what the console experience is like.

It's ironic that it needs to be argued that it matches the console experience from the controls in EA's eyes. The fact isn't a matter of customization as much as it's just not feasible to do most of the mapped controls on the keyboard and still maintain a fluid transition between interface and gameplay. If you have a console, go with the console version of Dead Space. The PC one is just not the same thing. If you're tight on $20 extra for the console version, rent it and then settle for the PC one after. It's such a shame

Thanks for the time and effort OP, much appreciated.

However, like some other people, it's not the configuration I was concerned with but rather the lag given to kb+m controls. Even if it is intentional, or something I could become accustomed to, just yuck. Yuck. Double yuck!!! :P

Although, while it's not a preference, I could get by using a gamepad if necessary.

Thanks for the time and effort OP, much appreciated.

However, like some other people, it's not the configuration I was concerned with but rather the lag given to kb+m controls. Even if it is intentional, or something I could become accustomed to, just yuck. Yuck. Double yuck!!! :P

Although, while it's not a preference, I could get by using a gamepad if necessary.

Nitrous2O

The only noticable mouse lag of any kind was in the actual menu screen, in game I didn't notice any at all.

Also the graphics are breath taking.. They are definitely one of the best I have seen in a long time.

this one is from bit-tech.net :

Dead Space isn't an easy game to like and a lot of that is down to one very simple thing; the controls. The root of those control problems? Three words: it's a port.

That Dead Space was designed as a console game is pretty obvious and is evidenced by everything from the over the shoulder camera angle right through to the absence of a quicksave button. Take heart though; it isn't all bad.

The controls however are a totally different matter; they are just plain awful. They are sticky, unresponsive and stiff - all of which would be leading in to a very crude joke about necrophilia if we weren't such serious journalists. ****

Admittedly, the problem isn't as massive as it could be and once you get to grips with the stiffness of the mouse then you won't have problems with lopping off limbs with your lasers and lumps of lead - but it'll always be third nature rather than first or second. The problem isn't only with the aiming either, it's with the navigation too as turning and strafing isn't as smooth as you might expect it to be. It's clear the game would just play smoother and easier if it was being handled with a gamepad and not a mouse.

In the moment-to-moment gameplay, it isn't a huge problem. It's still easily possible to shoot off legs, arms and heads and it's just as easy to stomp those skulls and pistol-whip those alien beasties in the elbows until the rotten limbs litter the floor. When you get into some of the nitty-gritty though; the puzzles and areas, then it starts to become more of an issue.

It's pretty bad how many reviewers completely missed that the lagginess was entirely due to Vsync, especially given how many games have had laggy mouselook due to vsync in the last year or two. At the same time, it's even worse that EA's people contactedt didn't know that, for the people that tried asking them. That 'this is how it's meant to be' answer is just incredibly bad.Makari

Interesting, I certainly didn't know about the vsync relationship. Although I don't remember encountering any noticeable gameplay mouse lag before to the point of having a reason to investigate either, and most certainly not to the degree that was seemingly described in some reviews for Dead Space.

At any rate, it's good to hear this bad boy might be nicely-playable with keyboard and mouse after all!

I can't afford a 360 controller for my PC (I had to custom-build it using bought-direct parts, but then again, I now have a $500 monster rig).

However, the KB+M controls on Dead Space, for me, are excellent.

I also recognize why the mouse sensitivity, at maximum, seems so sluggish. I'll explain:

1) the devs of this game want you to feel claustrophobic, and totally immersed in being the character. They did something I hope to see in the future from all game devs: they made the gameplay fit into the atmosphere they wanted to create, which was a combination of tensity, dread, disgust, and vulnerability. You're not used to the subtle differences in the controls, but you can still do it. For some reason, those extra brain cells that are required to do the same things in other games make this one much more terrifying. You can't turn around quickly because it makes you feel too much like you're pushing a button to move, rather than being the character, and moving with the character. It's similar to jazz musicians who intentionally falter at moments of emotional stress or intensity during jams. It adds an extra twist to really draw you into the heart and soul. That's reason one.

2) In purely gameplay-based terms, the mouse is only slow when you're aiming. They don't want you to aim all the time. They want you to put down the gun, look around, run, then be able to start shooting again once you're ready to line up a shot. You're not a soldier, nor a S.P.E.I.A.L.I.S.T. in some random elite organization of training-ness. You're an engineer, and a rather whipped one at that. This isn't a twitch shooter. This is a shudder shooter. The difference has now been made, and may it continue to develop into separate genres of shooter.

3) They're probably expecting the average gamer to have one of those super-expensive 1-zillion DPI 1337 Mice of over-the-top-ness if they intend to play Dead Space like a twitcher. I think they're right to believe that.

Anyway, just my opinion.

[QUOTE="Makari"]It's pretty bad how many reviewers completely missed that the lagginess was entirely due to Vsync, especially given how many games have had laggy mouselook due to vsync in the last year or two. At the same time, it's even worse that EA's people contactedt didn't know that, for the people that tried asking them. That 'this is how it's meant to be' answer is just incredibly bad.Nitrous2O

Interesting, I certainly didn't know about the vsync relationship. Although I don't remember encountering any noticeable gameplay mouse lag before to the point of having a reason to investigate either, and most certainly not to the degree that was seemingly described in some reviews for Dead Space.

At any rate, it's good to hear this bad boy might be nicely-playable with keyboard and mouse after all!

im currently playing the game and its super cool.but one W T F thing is that i cant change e WASD into the arrowsGazaAli

I can't afford a 360 controller for my PC (I had to custom-build it using bought-direct parts, but then again, I now have a $500 monster rig).

However, the KB+M controls on Dead Space, for me, are excellent.

I also recognize why the mouse sensitivity, at maximum, seems so sluggish. I'll explain:

1) the devs of this game want you to feel claustrophobic, and totally immersed in being the character. They did something I hope to see in the future from all game devs: they made the gameplay fit into the atmosphere they wanted to create, which was a combination of tensity, dread, disgust, and vulnerability. You're not used to the subtle differences in the controls, but you can still do it. For some reason, those extra brain cells that are required to do the same things in other games make this one much more terrifying. You can't turn around quickly because it makes you feel too much like you're pushing a button to move, rather than being the character, and moving with the character. It's similar to jazz musicians who intentionally falter at moments of emotional stress or intensity during jams. It adds an extra twist to really draw you into the heart and soul. That's reason one.

2) In purely gameplay-based terms, the mouse is only slow when you're aiming. They don't want you to aim all the time. They want you to put down the gun, look around, run, then be able to start shooting again once you're ready to line up a shot. You're not a soldier, nor a S.P.E.I.A.L.I.S.T. in some random elite organization of training-ness. You're an engineer, and a rather whipped one at that. This isn't a twitch shooter. This is a shudder shooter. The difference has now been made, and may it continue to develop into separate genres of shooter.

3) They're probably expecting the average gamer to have one of those super-expensive 1-zillion DPI 1337 Mice of over-the-top-ness if they intend to play Dead Space like a twitcher. I think they're right to believe that.

Anyway, just my opinion.

Xeuton_Mojukai

Gordon Freeman is a scientist, yet he shoots just as fast as I can aim.. which seems logical in a game.

I'm just wonderng, why is this important? It's definately nice to know, but 99% of games on PC have similar controls...it would only be logical for EA to follow those similar controlsnevereathim