Virtual Keys

Virtual Keys

Virtual Keys are the abstract input actions the project responds to — confirm, cancel, menu, the directional movement keys, and any other system-level input the player can perform. Each virtual key defines an ID, a name, the scripts that run when it is pressed, held, and released, and the physical input mappings (keyboard, mouse, touch, gamepad) that activate it.

Virtual Keys are the layer that decouples physical input from game logic. Scripts and systems react to virtual keys, never to a specific keyboard key or gamepad button, which is what allows players to remap controls and what lets the same in-game action be triggered from any supported input source.

Properties

The key's own fields— its name and ID, and how it behaves: a Cooldown before it can fire again, whether it ignores input blocks, and whether it requires the key to be released before it counts again. Every one of them is listed under Properties further down this page.

Mapping

The physical inputs bound to this key. Each row pairs a source with a key on it, so one virtual key can answer to several inputs at once — a keyboard key and a controller button both pressing the same thing.

Mapping Details

The selected binding's own settings. Source chooses the device it listens to, and the button beneath captures the key on that device — here the keyboard's Tab.

Mutually Exclusive Virtual Keys

Keys that cannot be active at the same time as this one. Tick a key here and the two will not both register, which is how opposed inputs are kept from firing together.

Pressed Script

Runs once when the key goes down. This is where a user-defined key does its work — the Map key here pushes a menu. See Script Editor.

Ongoing Script

Runs repeatedly for as long as the key is held.

Released Script

Runs once when the key comes back up.

Note: A handful of Virtual Keys are reserved as system actions and cannot be deleted or scripted — they are owned by the engine itself for core navigation and input handling. Custom virtual keys can be added freely on top of these for any project-specific actions that need their own scripts or remappable bindings.

Note: Virtual Keys can run three separate scripts: Enter when the key is first pressed, Ongoing while it is held, and Exit when it is released. They can also be configured to ignore input blocks (so that critical actions still work when controls are otherwise frozen) and to require a key release before they fire again, which prevents continuous re-triggering when a key is held down.

Properties

System

Name	Explanation	Type
Enter Script	The script executed when the virtual key is activated.	Script
Exit Script	The script executed when the virtual key is deactivated.	Script
ID	The ID of the virtual key.	Number
Mutually Exclusive	Commands that cannot be active simultaneously.
Name	The name of the virtual key.	String
Ongoing Script	The script that runs continuously while active.	Script

Details

Name	Explanation	Type
Cooldown	The duration before the virtual key is registered again, in milliseconds.	Number
Ignore Input Blocks	Whether the virtual key ignores input blockers and works even when controls are frozen.	Toggle
Require Key Release	Whether the virtual key requires a key release before it registers again.	Toggle