Playing Isometry

Controls

These are the default keybinds. Every binding can be remapped (keyboard/mouse and gamepad) from the options menu.

Movement

• Right Click — set a destination; your character paths to it around obstacles.
• W / A / S / D — move directly in a direction (hold to keep moving).
• Arrow Keys — change your facing direction (bearing).

Camera

• L — toggle camera lock on your character.
• Space — recenter the camera on your character (hold to keep it centered).
• = — zoom in.
• - — zoom out.

Targeting

• Tab — select the nearest target.
• ` (Grave) — move to the current target.
• E — cycle to the next target.
• Q — cycle to the previous target.
• C — cycle to the next target group.
• Z — cycle to the previous target group.
• X — target yourself.
• Esc — clear the current target.

Skills

• 1 – 9 — activate the skills in hotbar slots 1 through 9.
• Skills may require a target to be selected.
• Some skills are instant; others have casting animations.
• Hold a skill key to charge it (if the skill supports charging).

Menus & Views

• Enter — open the selection menu for the current target.
• Backspace — open the global menu.
• M — toggle the map view.
• O — toggle the resources view.
• K — toggle the skills view.
• Esc — close the current menu.

Gameplay Mechanics

Resources

Resources are numeric values tracked on your character (health, mana, gold, and so on). They display on your data plate and can be viewed by right-clicking your resource bar.

• Resources have minimum and maximum values.
• Resources can regenerate via timers.
• Resources can trigger actions when they change (for example, death at 0 health).

Skills & Actions

Skills are bound to the number keys 1–9 by default. Pressing a skill key executes its associated action, which may:

• Deal damage to a target
• Heal yourself
• Move to a location
• Display information
• Trigger conditional logic

Perception & Vision

Characters have a perception radius. You can only see actors within your perception range. Actors also have a visibility setting (salience) that affects how easily you can spot them.

Groups & Factions

Actors belong to groups (players, enemies, neutral). Group membership affects targeting and determines the colored outline on characters.

Multiplayer

Hosting a Game

1. Launch with --network=host, or click HOST in the launcher.
2. Share your IP address and port with players.
3. Players connect with --network=client pointing at your address.

For details, see Hosting & Networking.

Joining a Game

1. Get the server's IP and port from the host.
2. Launch with --network=client --uri=SERVER_IP --port=PORT.
3. Enter the same campaign name along with your credentials.

Authentication

Isometry keeps your password secure and encrypted. Players sign in with their username and password to join and spawn.

Troubleshooting

Campaign won't load

• Verify the .zip file exists in your campaign directory.
• Check the campaign name matches (case-sensitive, no .zip extension).
• Run with --log-level=trace for detailed error output.
• Validate the campaign directly with --validate=/path/to/campaign.zip.

Can't connect to server

• Verify the server is running and the port is open.
• Check firewall settings (the UDP port must be reachable).
• Ensure both client and server use the same campaign version.

Performance issues

• Reduce the zoom level.
• Play on maps with fewer simultaneously visible actors.
• Check --log-level=trace for bottleneck information.