Approximately up controls

Keyboard and mouse

The default PC setup keeps movement on WASD and building actions on the mouse and nearby keys, so you can keep flying while you bolt parts together. Approximately Up is a co-op building game at heart, so most of your key presses will be for selecting parts, rotating them, and slamming down thrusters. The tutorial introduced by the Tutorial Completed achievement walks you through all of these bindings before you launch.

Movement and camera

• W, A, S, D
  • Move your character around the ship and planets
• Mouse
  • Look around and aim part placement
• Space
  • Jump on planets, lift off in low gravity
• Left Shift
  • Sprint, or boost thrust while piloting
• C
  • Crouch to reach low-mounted cables and small gaps

Building and ship control

• B
  • Open the build menu to pick parts and modules
• Left Click
  • Select, grab, place, and attach parts
• Right Click
  • Rotate the selected part while placing
• E
  • Interact with switches, mission objects, sheep, and crew
• R
  • Hold to activate
  Time Rewind after a bad crash
• F
  • Snap a highlighted thruster onto the nearest mount point

Menus and multiplayer

• Tab
  • Open the crew and objective list
• Esc
  • Pause menu, where you can save anytime mid-mission
• Enter
  • Open chat to argue with your crew or coordinate a launch

During co-op sessions, the Tab crew list is your best friend. It shows who is piloting, who is still building, and which player is about to trigger a thruster. Check it before every big burn so you do not launch a half-built ship into orbit without your engineer.

Gamepad

Approximately Up also plays well with a controller, especially in online co-op. A gamepad works great for the pilot seat, while a keyboard player handles rapid part placement on the other end of the ship. The default gamepad layout mirrors the keyboard actions one-to-one:

• Left Stick
  • Move and steer
• Right Stick
  • Look and rotate placement aim
• A
  • Interact and confirm
• B
  • Cancel, back, or release a grabbed part
• X
  • Open the build menu
• Y
  • Hold for
  Time Rewind
• Left Bumper
  • Rotate part counterclockwise
• Right Bumper
  • Rotate part clockwise
• Left Trigger
  • Reverse thrust or brake
• Right Trigger
  • Main thrust to accelerate
• Start
  • Pause and save menu
• Back
  • Crew, objectives, and mission list

Tips and rebinding

Approximately Up lets you remap most actions in the options menu, and the game has Save Anytime support, so you can pause and adjust bindings in the middle of a mission without losing progress. Take a minute to test the defaults in the tutorial, then move the actions you use most onto comfortable keys.

• Time Rewind placement matters. Keep it on R or move it to Q so you can hold it while steering with WASD.
• Thrust on a dedicated key. If you are chasing the Need For Thrust achievement at 1 000 000 m/s, make sure your main thrust action is not sharing a key with anything else.
• Rebind rotate before long build sessions. You will spend more time rotating parts than any other action, so put it on a mouse button or a bumper you can hold comfortably.
• Keep interact on E. Missions ask you to grab sheep, flip switches, and talk to crew members, and E is always within reach of WASD.
• Set a separate boost key. Left Shift works, but a side mouse button gives you easier control during high-speed emergency maneuvers near planets.

Build, crash, rebuild!

That loop is the core of the controls. Expect to slam into the ground, hit Time Rewind, swap a few parts, and launch again. If a binding feels slow or awkward during a tight turn, change it before the next objective. Since the game saves anytime, you never have to finish a messy flight just to reach the settings menu.

A final tip for solo players: keep the crew and objective list mapped to a key you can tap without looking. The One Step Further achievement asks you to discover a new planet, and mission markers often update quietly as you approach, so a quick Tab or Back press keeps you pointed the right way without breaking your throttle hand.