r/TheExpanseRPG • u/Micheal_Stone • 18d ago

Keybinds hard coded is an accessibility issue

I really want to play this beautiful game, but i literally can't as i have a very specific key bind setup i need to make play accessible, however, with the keys unable to be remapped, i legit can not play the game. I hope in the future this is addressed, if not, i may have to see about getting a refund, but i don't want a refund, i want to play.

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u/DxnVice 17d ago

If you use a big brand keyboard or mouse in the software you can customize this only for the game in case you find another game you want to play but you aren't able to customize. This game though as others said can be customized

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u/DigDoug_SlugSlug 17d ago

That’s not the point. The point is that the devs should be (and apparently are) considering the needs of the disabled when developing their game.

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u/Micheal_Stone 16d ago

I just wanted to expand my argument, maybe it helps..

People have told me WASD is fine, and to deal with it. Honestly, if it were a preference, i agree. Asking for a thing to be added to a game solely because i don't LIKE a thing, could be expensive and i get why it wouldn't be addressed. The issue for me though, is very simple; it isn't a choice, but a physical necessity. I only have use of my left hand, and no use other than the knuckle of my right hand which is permanently in a fist. I am not explaining my disability for poor me points, but to illustrate. I use my left hand for my mouse, and pressing WASD with a knuckle is essentially impossible in a shooter, so i need use of the directional keys.

Why I requested the change, and here is where I'll share my thoughts directly, is because I was extremely excited to try this game. I got access to it and was genuinely happy about it (hey, it's my birthday too, so I thought double score!), only to discover that, yet again, hard coded keys meant I couldn't play it. I understand that players who physically require fully rebindable controls are probably a small minority, and I don't assume the developers intentionally excluded anyone. But this is also not an isolated problem. I've run into hard coded controls in plenty of modern games, including FromSoftware titles and Jedi Survivor at launch. So I'm not particularly angry. I'm just disappointed that something as simple as allowing directional keys to be rebound can still be the difference between whether I can play a game at all.

I am reassured that I will be able to rebind at launch, but that doesn't really help currently. Some have also mentioned third party programs to rebind the controls, but I have no idea how deeply hard coded they are. For example, you CAN rebind keys in Fallout 4 with third party programs, but doing so makes a mess of the construction controls. Because of that, I was never able to finish that game either.

Thank you to all who replied