Keybind Profiles
Keybind Profiles
A Keybind Profile tells the game which set of default binds to use on a character. Each Keybind Profile has a different group of default keybindings. There are currently 4 Keybind Profiles that a player may select:
Modern
This is the newest Keybind Profile and is also the default Keybind Profile selected for all new characters. The name the game uses in keybinds.txt for this keybind profile is "Modern".
Classic
This is the "classic" Keybind Profile used for all new characters for most of the game's life before Issue 27 Page 7 (February 20, 2024). The name the game uses in keybinds.txt for this keybind profile is "Classic".
Joystick
This Keybind Profile contains the default keybindings for joysticks and game controllers. The name the game uses in keybinds.txt for this keybind profile is "Joystick".
Launch
This was the Keybind Profile when the game first launched on April 28, 2004 (Issue 0). It's provided mostly as a curiosity for fans of the game. The name the game uses in keybinds.txt for this keybind profile is "Original".
Players may select a Keybind Profile by clicking on the drop down menu in Menu--> Options--> Keymapping tab. Alternately, the Keybind Profile's name can be added to the top of the keybinds.txt file located in the Default Folder, and then imported into the game using the /bind_load command.
A keybind profile name is added to the top of the default keybinds.txt file when:
- A character is created,
- When using one of the /bind_save commands, or
- When clicking on the "Save to Default File" button in Menu--> Options--> Keymapping tab.
The game also adds the /unbind_all command to the top of the file to help clear the current custom keybindings when switching Keybind Profiles. The /unbind_all command and even the Keybind Profile name in keybinds.txt are optional and are not required to be in the file for keybinds to function. However, they do help the game to maintain consistency with keybinds and prevent problems.
The top of the keybinds.txt file for the default keybind profile, Modern, looks like this:
KeyProfile Modern UnbindAll
Custom keybinds are binds that a player manually assigns to a key (or keys) that are different than the Default Keybindings for that key found in the selected keybind profile.
When changing from one keybind profile to another, all custom, player-made keybinds will remain on the character unless the keybinds were cleared first using:
- The /unbind_all command,
- Clicking on the Reset KeyBinds button in Menu--> Options--> Keymapping tab, or
- If the UnbindAll command was inside a bindfile imported into the game using one of the /bind_load commands.
Profile Differences
The following comparison spotlights the differences between the 4 keybind profiles.
Classic vs Launch
There are only a few differences between these two profiles.
- Launch uses the CTRL+(0-9) keys for the goto_tray commands, whereas Classic uses the CTRL+(0-9) keys for the powexec_alt2slot commands, and the goto_tray commands are not bound to any keys in the Classic profile.
- In Launch the LCONTROL key is not bound, yet in Classic the LCONTROL key is bound to the +alt2tray command.
- In Launch the MouseChrord button is not bound, but in Classic the MouseChord button is bound to +forward_mouse.
Modern vs Classic
There are more differences between these two keybind profiles. Compared to the Classic profile, the Modern profile added the ability to control the power Tray Window's server slots as a default keybinding and bound powexec_server_slot commands to the CTRL+(0-9) keys. The Classic profile had the powexec_alt2slot commands bound to the CTRL+(0-9) keys, and so those commands were moved to the SHIFT+(0-9) keys in the Modern profile. This bumped the team_select commands that were bound to the SHIFT+(0-9) keys in the Classic profile to the SHIFT+F(1-8) keys in the Modern profile (which were unbound in the Classic profile).
There are other differences between the Modern and Classic keybind profiles that deal with individual keys and buttons rather than whole sets of them:
- In the Classic profile the - and ALT+- keys were bound to the prev_tray and prev_tray_alt commands respectively, but neither those keys nor commands are bound in the Modern profile.
- In Classic the EQUALS and ALT+EQUALS keys are bound to the next_tray and next_tray_alt commands respectively, whereas neither the keys nor commands are bound in the Modern profile.
- The LCONTROL key is bound to the +alttray command in the Classic profile, that key and command in the Modern profile is unbound.
- Modern added a new key LeftDragWorld and it's bound to the +camrotate command.
- Classic has the RALT key bound to alttraysticky, and that key and command in Modern is not bound.
- In Classic the W key is bound to +forward, but the Modern profile has it bound to two commands
+forward$$playerturn. - The MBUTTON in Classic is bound to +camrotate, whereas the MBUTTON in the Modern profile is bound to two commands
+camrotate$$camturn. - In Classic the MouseChord button is bound to the +forward_mouse, however the Modern profile has the MouseChord key bound to two commands
+forward$$playerturn.
Joystick vs All Others
The Joystick keybind profile is specifically designed to work with joysticks and game controllers. However, it's important to note that the profile also works with the mouse and keyboard. It accomplishes this by utilizing both the Primary and Secondary key settings in the KeyMapping tab in Menu--> Options. If you ignore the game controller specific keys and commands, the rest of the profile resembles the Launch profile more than any of the other profiles, with only a few minor differences: the H key, V key, and CTRL+(0-9) keys are all unbound in the Joystick profile vs. the Launch profile.
Default Keybinds Side by Side