Key and gamepad map — Pioneer Access
Quick reference of ALL the mod's keys and the gamepad scheme. The full manual (MANUAL-USUARIO) explains every feature in detail. You can open this document from the game: main menu → About Pioneer Access → Open the key and gamepad map.
All the mod's keys can be reassigned to any key, button or trigger you prefer in Options → Controls → "Accessibility" group.
1. Menu navigation (with a mod menu open)
- Down / Up arrow — next / previous item.
- Left / Right arrow — adjust the item's value (volumes, lists).
- Enter (normal or numeric keypad) — activate the item.
- Escape — go back / close.
- Home / End — first / last item.
- Any letter — jump to the next item starting with that letter.
In the text editor (names, save as, notes):
- Letters, numbers, space, hyphen, period — type (Shift for uppercase).
- Backspace — delete the last character.
- Up arrow — re-read what you typed.
- Enter — accept. Escape — cancel.
2. Global keys (always active)
- F12 — repeat the last announcement.
- F11 — mute / resume the mod voice.
3. Flight: status reports
Holding Ctrl (they don't clash with the game's F keys):
- Ctrl+F1 — speed, flight state and control mode.
- Ctrl+F2 — position: nearby body, altitude, latitude/longitude, atmospheric pressure (in atmosphere), orientation near a planet (heading with compass point, pitch and roll, to fly in atmosphere and land), system, docking. In hyperspace: destination and percentage travelled.
- Ctrl+F3 — fuel, delta-v and jump fuel.
- Ctrl+F4 — hull, shields, temperature and, if there is danger, the alert state.
- Ctrl+F5 — targets (navigation and combat): distance, clock bearing, closing, braking distance; the combat target's hull and shields; ship model and data with the scanner; the nose bearing toward the navigation target ("dead ahead" / "N o'clock off the nose" / "behind you") to aim the ship by hand; and the heading of travel ("moving straight ahead / toward N o'clock / backward") to spot drift during manual docking.
- Ctrl+F6 — date, time and time acceleration.
With the number keys (no modifier, only in the flight view and with menus closed):
- 6 — radar report (contacts, type, bearing, distance).
- 7 — credits and cargo hold.
4. Flight: flight menu
- F10 — open / close the flight menu (autopilot, targets, flight mode, follow target (formation), low thrust, planned maneuver, hyperspace, landing gear, rotation damping, docking orientation guide, cruise speed, speed limiter, comms, star navigation, active missions, ECM, missile…).
5. Combat (number keys, only in the flight view and with menus closed)
- 1 — audio radar mode: off → target only → ships and missiles → all. Without a radar installed it runs in proximity mode (only what is ahead, ~1000 km).
- 2 — target the attacker (or the nearest ship).
- 3 — next ship as target (cyclic).
- 4 — weapons report (guns, temperature, missiles, ECM).
- 5 — aim tone on / off.
- Space — fire (the game's own key).
6. Game keys (all the useful ones, by default)
These are the GAME's own keys, not the mod's. They can all be reassigned (even to gamepad buttons or triggers) in Options → Controls. With the flight menu's autopilot (F10) you barely need any manual-flight keys, but here they all are in case you want them.
Views and screens
- F1 — ship view (pressing again cycles the camera: internal, external, sidereal).
- F2 — camera / external view.
- F3 — player and ship information.
- F4 — communications.
- F5 — sector map; in flight, take off or undock.
- F6 — system map.
- F7 — system overview.
- F8 — ship internals (landing gear, low thrust).
- Tab — toggle the HUD mode (on-screen labels; no audio effect).
Weapons and targets
- Space — fire the primary weapon.
- M — fire the secondary weapon.
- Y — target whatever is in your crosshair.
- T — cycle through hostile ships.
Ship orientation (manual flight)
- I / K — pitch (nose up / down).
- J / L — yaw (turn left / right).
- Q / E — roll (rotate around the axis).
- P (or X) — kill rotation (stop all spins).
- C — toggle rotation damping (the flight assist). The mod announces by voice as soon as it changes ("Rotation damping off! The ship will rotate freely." / "on"), and you can also toggle it from the flight menu (
F10).
Thrust (manual flight)
- W / S — thrust forward / backward.
- R / F — thrust up / down.
- A / D — thrust left / right.
- Left Shift (hold) — low thrust (gentle maneuvers).
Cruise speed
- Enter / Right Shift — increase / decrease the set speed.
- V — toggle cruise mode.
- L + Right Alt — toggle the speed limiter.
Landing gear
- N — raise / lower the landing gear.
Camera (numeric keypad)
- 8 / 2 / 4 / 6 / 9 / 3 (keypad) — front / rear / left / right / top / bottom camera.
- 1 / 3 (keypad) — camera roll. 2 / 8 — pitch. 4 / 6 — yaw.
- + / − — zoom the view in / out. Home — reset the camera.
Time
- Page Up / Page Down — increase / decrease time acceleration.
- Shift+Escape through Shift+F5 — set the acceleration: paused / 1x / 10x / 100x / 1000x / 10000x.
7. ⚠ Keys you should NOT press
They do hidden or developer things in the game:
- F7 with any modifier — starts or aborts the hyperjump.
- Ctrl+F8 — test explosion on your ship.
- Ctrl+F9 — quicksave.
- Ctrl+F10 — object viewer (development).
- Ctrl+F11 — reload graphics.
- Ctrl+Delete — reload modules (development).
8. Gamepad
Reference: Xbox controller. On other controllers (PlayStation, generic…) the buttons may be named differently or be in another position; the behaviour is the same even if the name changes. The controller connecting and disconnecting is announced by voice.
- Left stick — move through the menus (up/down); left/right adjust values. With a mod menu open in flight, the ship ignores the controller: navigate freely.
- A — activate. B — go back.
- X — repeat the last announcement.
- Y — open / close the flight menu.
- LB (left bumper) — target the attacker.
- RB (right bumper) — next ship as target.
- Press left stick (L3) — position report.
- Press right stick (R3) — current target report.
- Start (Menu) — weapons report.
- Back (View) — short press: mute / resume the voice. Held + another button: tells you what that button does without running it (contextual help).
These buttons are the MOD's (to navigate, report and set targets). The PILOTING actions (firing, moving the ship, etc.) are the game's and are assigned separately:
Firing and piloting with the gamepad
Firing and flying are NOT bound to the gamepad by default, but you assign them once in Options → Controls (with spoken capture: the game also reads the gamepad's buttons and triggers). Suggested mapping:
- Fire primary weapon (Options → Controls → Ship → Weapons → Fire primary): assign it to the right trigger (RT) or the button you prefer. Hold to fire.
- Fire secondary weapon: to the left trigger (LT), for example.
- Pitch, yaw, roll and thrust: to the stick axes (Ship → Orientation and Manual control). Adjust the deadzone and curve per axis (Options → Controls → your controller).
How to assign: in Options → Controls, enter the action, press Enter ("Press the new key or combination"), operate the gamepad trigger or button and Enter to save. Remember to have the controller enabled in Options → Controls → "Enable joystick".
Notes: the D-pad is not available to the mod (engine limitation): use the left stick for menus. While a mod menu is open in flight, the ship ignores the controller; close it (B) to fly again.
Author: Héctor J. Benítez Corredera. Copyright 2026.