Press "Start" to enter the program and start your selected situation, this will show
you the program main screen.
When you move your mouse to the upper part of the screen the main menu will appear.
The main menu has access to all functions of the program, these include:
Situation - loading a situation, saving a situation, exit the program.
Change - managing vehicles, changing scenery, changing weather, managing animals.
Design - designing textures, vegetation and objects in your scenery.
Network - shows the net play connectivity dialog, activates the chat window.
Options - Allows you to adjust settings for the video, sound, joystick and the graphics of the program.
Help - Shows you the keys used in the program and the information about this program and your serial number
Vehicle Simulator has three ways of controlling vehicles :
click and drag of the mouse, using the joystick and using the keyboard.
These are the keys used by the program to activate all of these functions:
| Simulation and time: |
| F3 - lower sim rate F4 - increase sim rate F10 - pause simulation Shift + F3 - lower sim rate ( unlimited ) Shift + F4 - increase sim rate ( unlimited ) Shift + M - toggle FPS and application data Escape - pause and show exit |
| Camera controls: |
| PgDn lower camera or vehicle PgUp raise camera or vehicle Z - zoom in X - zoom out Shift + Z - normal FOV Shift + X - normal FOV Shift + V - Viewpoints Shift + T - Telescope Home - move forward End - move back Numkey5 - center view Numkey4 - pan left Numkey6 - pan right Numkey8 - pan up Numkey2 - pan down Numkey9 - move forward Numkey7 - move back Numkey3 - move right Numkey1 - move left Numkey. - move up Numkey0 - move down Control + Space - center view Control + Left - pan left Control + Right - pan right Control + Up - pan up Control + Down - pan down Mouse + Rbutton - pan camera |
| Vehicle selection: |
| Tab - change vehicle Shift + Tab - change view point Control + Tab - change and track F1 - attach to vehicle - cockpit view F2 - chase view - detach from vehicle F5 - toggle tower view F6 - toggle auto zoom ( in tower view ) F7 - toggle wide view ( in cockpit view ) Mouse wheel - zoom ( in cockpit view ) Mouse wheel - change distance ( in chase view ) |
| Panels and screens: |
| K - show keys M - show map N - show NAV H - toggle HUD P - toggle panel A - show auto pilot W - show weather V - show vehicles O - show options R - show Radar Shift + P - show vehicle path Shift + W - show wireframe Shift + G - show GPS Shift + V - show viewpoints Shift + T - Telescope Shift + N - Echo sounder Shift + R - show marine radar Control + P - select panel F8 - replay mode F9 - show messages F12 - show chat window Shift + F8 - show scripts Escape - close any open dialog or show exit |
| Vehicle controls: |
PageDn - lower/repair vehicle PageUp - raise/repair vehicle J - toggle joystick on/off Shift + J - toggle sound on/off Joystick axes - move selected controls Joystick buttons - do selected actions Mouse + Left button - control stick ( joystick off ) Mouse + Left button - pick and manipulate ( joystick on ) Mouse + Left + Shift - pick and hold controls Up - stick forwards Down - stick backwards Left - stick left Right - stick right Space - center controls Shift + Up - throttle up Shift + Down - throttle down Shift + Left - rudder left Shift Right - rudder right Shift + Space - throttle to idle Backspace - shoot Shift + Backspace - change weapon Control + Backspace - reload weapons Insert - trim down Delete - trim up Shift + A - auto pilot on/off Control + A - animation on/off B - brakes on/off Shift + B - parking brakes C - cable or hook on/off Shift + C - attach anchor Control + C - open canopy D - deploy parachute Shift + D - dock boat Control + D - open doors D - fill ballast tanks Shift + D - empty ballast tanks E - engine on/off Shift + E - reverse engine F - lower flaps Shift + F - raise flaps G - gear up/down G - running on/off ( hang glider, para glider) Shift + H - play horn S - lower spoilers Shift + S - raise spoilers Control + S - seep wings L - cockpit light on/off ( not in replay ) Shift + L - flood light on/off T - adjust trim 1,2,3,4 - select view point in cockpit Shift + Tab - toggle view point 5 - throttle down 6 - throttle up 7 - lower prop pitch 8 - increase prop pitch 9 - leaner mixture 0 - richer mixture F8 - replay mode F11 - eject/return to vehicle [ - left throttle up ] - right throttle up Shift + [ - left throttle down Shift + ] - right throttle down |
| Sail boat controls: |
Insert - Jib sail up Delete - Jib sail down PageUp - Main sail up pageDn - Main sail down Shift + Insert - Jib sail up Shift + Delete - Jib sail down S - spinnaker on/off Shift + S - auto sail on/off |
Vehicle Simulator is very intuitive to use, any control on the vehicle or its panel can be manipulated using the left mouse button, the direction of view can be rotated in all directions using the right mouse button.
When the camera is attached to a vehicle the left mouse button will manipulate controls you pick, the right mouse button will change view direction.
When the camera is free of any vehicle the left mouse button will allow you to move forward inside the scenery, the right mouse button will change your direction.
The mouse wheel can be used to zoom in or out if you are onboard a vehicle, or move forward or back if you are outside it.
When onboard a vehicle you can move freely and see any point of view you like, to move to a desired location use the camera keys, you can store this point of view for later use by pressing Shift + V to show views, and add this view to the list.
Almost any control you have on a vehicle or an instrument panel can be manipulated my the mouse, if the control can be manipulated pressing the left mouse button upon it will show you a tool tip.
Many instruments can be manipulated directly with the mouse, for example the GPS, RADAR, MAP and NAVall can be manipulated using the mouse even if they appear on the panel of a vehicle and not directly on screen.