I have train simulator on the pc, but got a ps5 for xmyth, so decided to finally see what train sim world was like, I quickly discovered i'd need to use a keyboard to turn off the damn action points banner at the top of the screen, so i dug out an old bluetooth mini keyboard, quickly found out you can't change the key bindings on the playstation And worse... with my mini keyboard i needed to press the FN key to access 'page down' and 'end' keys.. the very keys needed to work the PZB on the German trains (The only trains i am interested in driving) So i bought a new 85 key bluetooth keyboard with round keys, with the plan to 3D print some different coloured and size keys for it, then label them appropriately. Below is the result: The red keys are for the driving controls like power and brake levers, these keys are all taller than the standard keys, and round are for apply, square for release. Yellow keys for AFB and direction switch.. these sit lower than the standard keys, again round for up square for down. Then 2 square raised keys for the doors (would be nice to have a separate close button) Then black keys for SIFA and PZB... plus horn and panto/main breaker, The SIFA key is the tallest of them all, as that is used the most (every 30 seconds when moving) and the PZB Wachsam key is sort of in-between, taller than the other keys but not as tall as the SIFA one... makes for finding these keys easier. White keys are for the not often used buttons, i.e. headlights etc, and i did different shaped keys to help differentiate between groups of switches.. i.e the hexagon ones are ones i can never see me using, i.e engine start dosen't apply to electric trains. couple/uncouple i don't think gets used in any German routes? (I prefer driving passenger routes... ideally with lots of stops like an S-Bahn service, to freight workings) same with the bell button. The small square blue keys are ones i will never likely use, some are keys that are never bound to anything it seems like G and O, and other are for things only american trains have... like ditch lights, step lights etc... would be nice if we could have those keys bound to things like the brake lever lockout key, train power and carriage light keys that are found in German trains but not mapped to any keys.
That looks awesome. This game is greatly improved with having a keyboard for some of the controls. Out of curiosity I know that ctrl + switches between locomotives that are linked together. Is there a button that switches between locomotives at the front and rear of a consist. I saw a mention of ctrl - being used but I couldn’t make it work myself.
I got fed up of using the controller when i found it links the SIFA and PZB Wachsam buttons together... i.e. you have to press the circle button every 30 seconds to reset the SIFA timer, BUT you get the 'buzzz / beeeep / zugbeeinflussung' of the PZB Wachsam button being pressed as well, and that gets old quick. Sifa reset should be a near silent gentle 'clunk click' To me they should have put PZB Wachsam on 'square + up D pad' as afaik that button combo is not used in German trains, and PZB Frei and PZB Befehl are accessed with square + left or right D pad buttons anyway. ---------------------- The Train Spotter button is the 'drop cam' on key '8'... to me i figured it looks like the view from a train spotter standing at the side of the track watching the train go by --------------------- The CTRL + '+' key... in the BR112 with a Steuerwagen / control car at the end, each time i press it i get : Rear cab of loco. Front cab of loco, looking forwards out of left window. Front cab of loco looking forwards out of right window. Rear cab of loco, looking backwards out of left window. Rear cab of loco, looking backwards out of right window. Steuerwagen cab (Cab at the other end of the train) Steuerwagen cab looking out of left window sideways. Steuerwagen cab looking out of right window sideways. Back to front cab... and repeat. All left and rights referenced to sitting in the driving seat of the loco, and in the 'looking out of window' views, the shunting controls are active instead of the main controls (the panel near the window with a small lever to operate the train) The CTRL and '-' key does nothing on the PS5.. which is annoying as you have to cycle through all 8 views / 9 key presses to get back to the driving cab view.
There are two other keyboard keys I just discovered, that I find quite handy, depending on how you like to play. CTRL 8 cycles through the crosshair options. This is nice because it allows you to turn off the crosshairs once you’ve set up the locomotive. Without going to the options menu. CTRL F2 turns on and off motion blur. The discovery of mysterious keyboard keys continues.
Oh yeah, CTRL + 1 to 8 changes things you can change in the options menu... which you need to use 'options then hold L1 down' to access (so no keyboard access there... like to end the drive you need to use the controller to press the options button.. then you can use arrow keys and escape and enter on the keyboard. I forgot about the F2 key (no need to CTRL) is for motion blur on/off, so making a sticker up for that now.
You seem very knowledgable about keyboards and I was wondering it there was a keyboard command for something that is very specific to American Freight routes. And this might not be a feature on the PS5. I know CTRL + switches between the locomotives that are attached at the front of a train, but is there a key that switches to the set of locomotives at the back of the train? I thought is was CTRL - but that key, as you noted, does not work.
i only drive German trains i'm afraid, and passenger services mostly. I think the keyboard function in the playstation version is still not officially endorsed, its kind of a hang over from when it was converted from the pc version i think, It's annoying in a way, with the pc version... at least with train simulator 20xx you could open the files up and read what the key bindings were, each loco could have its own extra key bindings which were not always mentioned in the manual,
Sad days. At least I learned the CTRL 0 command. So I have a long walk in one direction only. Thanks to everyone for all the info.
