How to Fix the Default Keybinds

Since the default binds are essentially unusable for your modern gamer, this short guide will walk you through the steps needed to correct that.

The Issue

Simply put, if you go Right-Click the Properties tab of Darkstone in your Steam Library>Local Files>Browse, you will find the folder where your game is installed. From there, open the "config" folder and then the "keyboard.txt" file. Use notepad if it doesn't open by default.

From here you can see some obvious issues:

- Camera controls are arrow keys
- Quicksave on Q
- "Terrain Mapping," whatever that is, on E
- Generally confusing binds all around

You might be tempted to think, "Oh, I'll just go in and edit these to what I want and be on my merry way!"

You would be wrong. So, so wrong.

As it turns out, the game will not allow you to map a key that is not already in use thanks to the ancient coding of the game. You could use something like AutoHotKey or a third party program to customize your binds around this issue, but there is actually an easier way (thankfully).

The Solution

There are two steps from this point.

1. Delete the "keyboard.txt" file, then launch Darkstone, then close it.
This produces a new "keyboard.txt" file. Only this time, when you open it, you will find a whole bunch of new values that weren't present before: VirtualKey

What this does is tell the game that these keys are, in fact, in use. Now it is merely a matter of rebinding them. I didn't test if the game would take issue with not assigning some of these, so I rebound superfluous keys/functions to unimportant ones.

2. Rebind your keys to your own tastes, but make sure you understand the logic behind it. For example, let's say you want to rebind the camera controls to ASDW (like any moral human being).

You need to find the "ROTATECAMERALEFT" and "ROTATECAMERARIGHT" values and assign them the "KEY_A" and "KEY_D" values, respectively. Do the same with the Zoom controls. From here, just to be on the safe side, I rebound the functions that were originally on these keys to the Arrow keys. This step may not be necessary, but again, I haven't tested if it creates any issues. I sort of doubt it.

Just repeat this process until you find the keybinds that work for you.

Optionally...

I will provide my own control schema, so you can merely replace my file in your folder. These keybinds are as follows:

Camera Left/Right: A/D
Zoom In/Out: S/W
Map: Tab
Run: R
Rest: T
Spell: Z
Inventory: C
Talent: V
Close All Panels: Space

Select Spell 1-6: 1-6
Select Spell 7 & 8: Q / E

Quicksave: P
Combat Mode: F
Locations: L
History: H
Map Fade is still on -/+
Camera Modes still on F9-12, but you may wish to change this if you use F12 for Steam screenshots.

I reversed the item hotkeys, but they are still F1-F8
This is because the game seems to have players 1 and 2 backward when playing solo without an AI buddy.

--

I think that's all the relevant information.

Simply delete the contents of your "keyboard.txt" file and Copy/Paste the next section into it.

keyboard.txt

VIRTUALKEY_A KEY_LEFT
VIRTUALKEY_B KEY_B
VIRTUALKEY_C KEY_I
VIRTUALKEY_D KEY_RIGHT
ENVMAPPINGMODE KEY_8
COMBATMODE KEY_F
VIRTUALKEY_G KEY_G
HISTORY KEY_H
INVENTORY KEY_C
VIRTUALKEY_J KEY_J
VIRTUALKEY_K KEY_K
LOCATIONLIST KEY_L
VIRTUALKEY_M KEY_M
VIRTUALKEY_N KEY_N
SHADOWMODE KEY_O
VIRTUALKEY_P KEY_7
QUICKSAVE KEY_P
REST KEY_T
SPELL KEY_Z
TALENT KEY_V
VIRTUALKEY_U KEY_U
VIRTUALKEY_V KEY_BACK
VIRTUALKEY_W KEY_DOWN
VIRTUALKEY_X KEY_X
VIRTUALKEY_Y KEY_Y
VIRTUALKEY_Z KEY_UP
VIRTUALKEY_0 KEY_0
SELECTSPELL1 KEY_1
SELECTSPELL2 KEY_2
SELECTSPELL3 KEY_3
SELECTSPELL4 KEY_4
SELECTSPELL5 KEY_5
SELECTSPELL6 KEY_6
SELECTSPELL7 KEY_Q
SELECTSPELL8 KEY_E
VIRTUALKEY_9 KEY_9
PLAYER1USEITEM1 KEY_F5
PLAYER1USEITEM2 KEY_F6
PLAYER1USEITEM3 KEY_F7
PLAYER1USEITEM4 KEY_F8
PLAYER2USEITEM1 KEY_F1
PLAYER2USEITEM2 KEY_F2
PLAYER2USEITEM3 KEY_F3
PLAYER2USEITEM4 KEY_F4
CAMERAMODE1 KEY_F9
CAMERAMODE2 KEY_F10
CAMERAMODE3 KEY_F11
CAMERAMODE4 KEY_F12
VIRTUALKEY_ESCAPE KEY_ESCAPE
VIRTUALKEY_RETURN KEY_RETURN
MAPTRANSP_PLUS KEY_ADD
MAPTRANSP_MINUS KEY_SUBTRACT
RUNMODE KEY_R
NEXTPLAYER KEY_NEXT
PRIORPLAYER KEY_PRIOR
ROTATECAMERALEFT KEY_A
ROTATECAMERARIGHT KEY_D
ZOOMIN KEY_S
ZOOMOUT KEY_W
CLOSEALLPANEL KEY_SPACE
MAP KEY_TAB
VIRTUALKEY_SHIFT KEY_SHIFT
VIRTUALKEY_CONTROL KEY_CONTROL

That's It. Enjoy the game!

If this was helpful to you, please rate the guide and share it with anyone else struggling with this problem.

I used to play this back in the PS1 days and loved the game. I hope you come to know the joy I did with this game. Be safe, stay healthy, have one hell of a GG.

[DuhhReww]

Do you know if you can bind to mouse buttons? I have a 65% keyboard and the F keys are usable but not very... user friendly in this scenario

If so, how?

[Albinosaurus]

Steam keeps several things in different places for each game, so you may need to check that too. Would be something like ".../steam/steamapps/compdata/(ID number the specific game)/" etc.

[The Golden Meme (B-Day in 2 Days]

So, when I delete the original "keyboard.txt" file and try to boot up the game to create a new one, then the game refuses to run. At all. Not until I uninstall and reinstall the game.

Dunno how to fix this? What do?

[Albinosaurus]

That's fantastic. I certainly don't expect people to use the identical setup I did, unless they like it, but rather showing how to solve the problem while providing an easy fix was the primary goal.

[Mojo]

@Vamrem - I know it is an old post you made and seems like you found a solution.
My better half loved this game back in the day. So I got it for her she was having same issue as you.
I set it up where the Z key is the Zoom in.
I changed the following 2 lines in Albinosaurus' keybinds above and now works flawless.


SPELL KEY_SHIFT

ZOOMIN KEY_Z

[Albinosaurus]

You're very welcome. I'm glad people are using this to make the game playable despite the bad port. I always loved this game and am glad others are able to enjoy it too.

[Madvessel]

Thank you for taking the time, this is very helpful!

[「Ironic Imouto」]

Okay now this is epic, I think this might've been why I stopped when I tried it again on Steam after what feels like a million years back on CD.

[Vamrem]

I'm using GOG version and this works like a charm.

One only issue with KEY_S for camera, not working. Someone have solved it yet? I've read a comment which makes possible to add it by making a runtest, but didn't work for me. So, thanks to Conan1983 for the WAXD - camera, it is super comfortable, having the S to switch characters.

[evilkittenofdoom]

I played this on my PS1 and bought it on Steam on a whim, only to never touch it beyond a few minutes with how terrible the PC controls were. I'll definitely have to give it a try with these.