OpenFront Controls

OpenFront is played with a contextual mouse and a number row that skips the radial menu. Learn the keys after you know what you want to place. If you still need the match loop, read How to Play first. If you need the first-match shopping list, use Getting Started. This page is input only.

On macOS, read Ctrl as Cmd. Most action bindings can be changed in Settings → Keybindings since v24, and some can be left unbound. In v33.5, three workflows stay fixed: F select-all-warships, the R half of graphics reset, and Shift + drag warship box selection. If a configurable action does nothing, check the keybinding screen before assuming the game removed it.

Number row: arm, then click

Press a number to arm a structure or weapon, move to a valid tile or target, then left-click (or press Enter to build under the cursor). Esc cancels the preview. New structures stay x1. Press the same key again to toggle x5 only when you are upgrading an existing structure or arming Atom Bombs. Hydrogen Bombs and MIRVs stay x1. A second press never places five brand-new Cities.

Key	Default action
1	City
2	Factory
3	Port
4	Defense Post
5	Missile Silo
6	SAM Launcher
7	Warship
8	Atom Bomb (press again for x5 loaded-tube batch)
9	Hydrogen Bomb (stays armed, stays x1)
0	MIRV (x1)
Enter	Build / fire the armed item under the cursor
U	Flip Atom / Hydrogen launch arc (up or down)
Esc	Cancel the preview

Gold still caps a batch (community reference: 50 actions max). Atom x5 also stops at loaded Silo tubes. One Silo spaces queued bombs by one tick; separate ready Silos can fire on the same tick. Always Esc after a salvo so the next map click is not another 750,000 gold. Costs and roles live on Buildings and Nukes; the keys only speed the click.

The radial menu (right-click, or Ctrl + left-click) is better when you still need icons, upgrade levels, or a batch that is not x1/x5. It exposes structure x1/x5/x10/xMax and Atom x1/x2/x5/xMax. Use the number row when the decision is already made.

Mouse

Default scheme: left-click attacks an enemy or unowned border, sends a transport across water, or places an armed build. Right-click cancels an active warship or boat selection (v33.1) and otherwise opens the radial / build menu. Ctrl + left-click opens the build menu at that spot. Alt + left-click opens emotes. Shift + drag box-selects warships. The wheel zooms. Middle-drag pans.

Settings include Left click opens menu. If every click feels backwards, check that toggle before remapping the rest of the board. Shift + wheel adjusts the attack ratio. Shift is not a general repeat-build modifier.

Camera and view

Key	Action
W A S D	Pan
C	Center on your nation
Q / E	Zoom out / in
+ / -	Zoom fallback
Wheel	Zoom
Space	Alternate view (terrain / countries)
M	Coordinate grid overlay
P	Pause / resume (use this in single player)
, / .	Game speed down / up (single player)

C is the recovery key. After a long pan to a distant silo or a warship lane, one tap returns you to the core. Space is a reading tool: terrain view before a mountain attack, political view before a betrayal. Do not plan a public FFA around P or speed keys; those are lab tools.

Combat and fleets

Key	Action
T / Y	Attack ratio down / up
Shift + wheel	Attack ratio
G	Ground attack on the hovered target
B	Boat / transport attack
F	Select all of your warships (fixed in v33.5)
Shift + drag	Box-select warships (fixed in v33.5)
Shift + R	Retaliate against the player who last attacked you
Alt + R	Reset graphics

F moves every hull. Use box select when one coast still needs a local patrol. Shift + R answers the last attacker, not the most dangerous neighbor; glance at the whole border first. Warship target priority and veterancy are on Naval, not here.

Alliance shortcuts K and L (called out in v31 notes) matter when a pact must happen without covering the map with a menu. Diplomacy timers and the traitor debuff are on Alliances. Team donations use the radial menu on an ally; Team Games explains when to send troops instead of gold.

Remapping without breaking recovery

Open Settings → Keybindings before a practice match. Keep a cancel key, a center-camera key, the T/Y pair, and the number row close together. Unbind keys you smash by accident (9 and 0 are expensive). You cannot rebind the v33.5 exceptions listed above; test the documented default.

Practice in single player versus bots so pause and speed exist. Drill this sequence until it is boring: pan away, C, arm City with 1, place, Esc, arm Defense Post with 4, place, tap T/Y while watching the slider, F then box-select a subset of ships. Then queue a real FFA and change only one habit.

The Guides Hub is the rest of the tutorial set. The Updates Hub notes control patches. The Links Hub has Discord if a lobby modifier disabled nukes and your 8 key “does nothing.” Steam Early Access date is 17 September 2026; these bindings describe the live browser client.

Treat cancellation as part of every armed action, not as cleanup. Number, valid tile, click, Esc is the whole skill. Players who skip the last tap do not have faster hands; they have a loaded Atom still glued to the next border click.