in: Production, How to play, Interface
Controls
In the alpha Interface · facts checked 2 November 2026
These are the controls of the Arborwake alpha. The world maps and the 3D Threadway use slightly different keys. Encounter rooms have their own turn-based controls; see Turn-based encounters and Run HUD. The old opening has different controls again; see Circuit Ranger prototype.
World maps#
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| WASD or arrow keys | Walk. Moving cancels any walk you clicked. |
| Click or tap the ground | Walk there by the shortest clear path. A spot outside the walkable ground moves you to the nearest walkable point. |
| E, or the Interact button | Use the nearest thing: a road or gate, a resident, the podium, the tray, a plot, a service counter or an observation point. A contextual "E" prompt names it; you can also click the prompt. |
| M, or the map button | Open the Places dialog. |
| I, or the bag button | Open the kit and inventory. |
| Escape, or the pause button | Pause or resume. |
| Fullscreen button | Fill the screen. |
| Q, F, R, C | Use your signature (tap or hold), flex skill and Imprint, where the world allows it. |
The game pauses by itself when the window loses focus or a menu is open.
Places dialog#
The Places dialog shows a picture of each map. In the alpha it does not teleport. Choose a place, and your cell walks to the connection that leads there. If the place is beyond Threadway, a message tells you to follow the road. A note in the dialog says: "Threadway connects the Glade, Starwell and Quiet District. Follow the road and press E."
Threadway#
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| WASD or arrow keys | Walk. Moving north (W, up) or right (D, right) is 15% faster, so long street walks feel quicker. Releasing the key stops you. |
| Click or tap | Walk to that point, including up the terrace stairs. |
| E, or the Interact button | Use a counter, the Common Hall blackboard, a door, the Pneumatic tube or a road out of town. |
| Space | Pause or resume. |
Inside the game, the Threadway camera is automatic. Its tilt and view-size controls appear only in the lead's standalone preview.
Touch#
Tap the ground to walk and use the on-screen Interact button. The lead's release browser test covers touch-only movement and interaction in Chromium's touch emulation. That is not a test on a real iPad or in Safari.
Development#
- Interaction prompt: the user ruled on 2 November that an E keycap floats above the nearest interactable, with no hover corners on world objects. Threadway uses Claude's animated keycap unchanged. The world maps still use the HUD's contextual prompt; the lead's audit lists the single E keycap there as an open item.
- Places: the published Live preview site still teleports, and its six captions overlap. The local integration
69c7b5470changed Places to route you along real connections. - Pace: the 15% boost on W and D comes from the lead's 2 November Threadway work (80.5 against 70 units per second). Click routing keeps the normal pace.
See also#
Travel and movement · Arborwake alpha · Turn-based encounters · Run HUD
Sources#
69c7b5470:src/main-game/preview.js69c7b5470:src/main-game/preview.html69c7b5470:src/main-game/threadway3d/final-preview.js69c7b5470:src/main-game/threadway3d/final.cssb89f778c2:docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-02-lead-reconciled-game-integration.md- docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-02-lead-threadway-viewport-station-pace.md (working copy, not in Git)
- docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-02-lead-full-project-reconciliation-audit.md (working copy, not in Git)