Quality applies after a reload; the rest at once.
A gamepad works as it is: sticks to move and look, A jump, X use, Y vehicle, triggers to drive, View phone, Menu Planner, and the d-pad and A through every menu (B backs out).
Motion sickness? A wider field of view (Graphics) and turning off head bob and camera shake usually help.
The current village is left as it is in your save slots; autosave moves on to the new one.
You are the Founder: walk your village at street level, drive its roads, and rise into the sky to build. The village figures out the rest: families move in, find work, fall in love, vote, gossip and remember.
WASD move · Shift run · Space jump · mouse to look (click the view first)
V first or third person · E a building or villager nearby
F into or out of your car (parked at the Lodge) · W/S gas and brake · Space handbrake
Tab your phone: map and directions, wallet, news, tasks, camera
F2 photo mode: the world pauses, the camera flies free (lens, focus, looks, another hour or weather); Enter saves a PNG
P rise into the Planner and back down · WASD glide · wheel zoom · Q/E or right-drag to rotate
Pick from the palette and click to place · R turns the door side · drag roads, rails, rivers and the bulldozer
Click any building or villager to inspect · right-click or Esc cancels · Ctrl+Z undo · up to 8× speed · Settings → Controls changes any key
Sticks move and look · A jump · X use · Y vehicle · R3 camera · LB photo · View phone · Menu Planner · triggers drive. In any menu the d-pad moves, A presses, B backs out. In the Planner the ring in the middle is your cursor: A places, LB turns the palette's tabs, X pauses.
On phones: left thumb moves, right thumb looks, buttons for the rest (▲▼ climb and descend on the flight deck). In the Planner, drag to pan and pinch to zoom.
The phone's Jobs app (or a workplace's card) starts a shift: firefighter, police, paramedic, taxi, bus, delivery, train driver, pilot, electrician, builder, shop or café, PVTV reporter, farmer.
The card top left says what to do; a tag marks where. E does the work, F takes the work vehicle. In a cab or a cockpit: W/S power and brake, E/Q climb and descend. Clock off for your pay.
Open the Planner and drop a house near the highway: a road connects itself and the first family moves in. Add jobs, shops and a school, then come back down and watch the morning commute.
Click the picture to focus on that spot.
WASD move · E/Q up, down · Shift faster · drag to look · wheel zooms · Esc leaves
Raising the village…