D2X-XL - In-Game Commands
Introduction
D2X-XL will display a help text for almost every single menu option it has when pressing F1 while highlighting the menu entry in question, so this page has been stripped down to show only information not easily available elsewhere.
In-Game Keys
Pressing any of the keys listed here will result in the reaction described for that key below.
| - | Shrink window. |
|---|---|
| = | Enlarge window. |
| 1 - 5 | Toggle through guns in weapon slots 1 - 5. |
| 6 - 0 | Toggle through missiles in weapon slots 6 - 10. |
| I | Display netgame information (multiplayer). |
| U | Display a list of all players (multiplayer). |
| Pause | Pause game. |
| Esc | Pause/resume game. |
| F1 | Display an in-game help window. |
| F2 | Open options menu. |
| F3 | Toggle cockpit. |
| F4 | Drop marker. |
| F5 | Start/stop demo recording. |
| F6 | Accept player attempting to join (multiplayer). |
| F7 | Toggle player stats display (multiplayer). |
| F8 | Type a message or command (multiplayer). |
| F9 - F12 | Send macro 1 - 4 (multiplayer). |
| Shift 0 - 9 | Issue Guide-Bot command. |
| Shift Esc | Open console. |
| Shift F1 | Display left HUD window (rear/missile/Guide-Bot/map view). |
| Shift F2 | Display right HUD window (rear/missile/Guide-Bot/map view). |
| Shift F3 | Change HUD window size. |
| Shift F4 | Open Guide-Bot menu. |
| Shift F5 | Drop current primary weapon (gun). |
| Shift F6 | Drop current secondary weapon (missile/bomb). |
| Shift F9 - F12 | Send macro 1 - 4 (multiplayer). |
| Ctrl P | Pause/Resume game. |
| Ctrl F1 | Decrease screen resolution. |
| Ctrl F2 | Increase screen resolution. |
| Ctrl F3 | Change HUD window position. |
| Ctrl F7 | Toggle display of network ping and packet loss stats per player. |
| Shift Ctrl F3 | Change HUD window zoom. |
| Alt - | Previous song. |
| Alt = | Next song. |
| Alt 0 | Drop flag. |
| Alt 1 | Accept player attempting to join in red team (multiplayer). |
| Alt 2 | Accept player attempting to join in blue team (multiplayer). |
| Alt R | Toggle framerate display. |
| Alt S | Toggle smart file search in menus. |
| Alt W | Toggle through weapon icon displays. |
| Alt F2 | Save game. |
| Alt F3 | Load savegame. |
| Alt F4 | Show all player names or only those of team mates and flag carriers (multiplayer). |
| Alt F9 | Save screenshot. |
| Alt F12 | Toggle external ship view. |
| Alt Shift F4 | Change Guide-Bot name. |
| Alt Ctrl F4 | Set Spawn Point. |
| Alt Ctrl T | Switch team (multiplayer). |
| Shift Ctrl Numpad-/ Alt Ctrl Numpad-/ Alt Shift Numpad-/ | Open render options menu. |
| Alt Enter | Toggle fullscreen. |
| Alt Ctrl Enter | Instantaneously terminate program. |
In-Game Commands
Press F8 in-game to enter one of the following commands.
| Handicap:<shields> | set starting shields of local player to <shields>. |
|---|---|
| Ping:<player name> | ping player <player name>. |
| !Names | Don't report player name to other players. |
| NoBombs | turn off smart mines. |
| move:<player name> | move player <player name> to the other team (game host only). |
| kick: <player name> / #<player number> | kick player <player name> (game host only). |
| ban: <player name> / #<player number> | kick & ban player <player name> (game host only). Player name will be added to ban list ('banlist.txt' in Descent 2 main or data folder). |
VR Headsets
D2X-XL supports VR headsets through OpenXR. All you need is the OpenXR runtime of your headset (e.g. Meta Horizon Link for a Meta Quest).
Hardware
VR only works with sufficiently powerful hardware. D2X-XL has to render a separate image for each eye at the headset's resolution, and it has to deliver these images at the headset's refresh rate. A computer that runs D2X-XL smoothly on a monitor can still be too slow for a headset. For reference: D2X-XL's VR support has been developed on an RTX 5070 Ti with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
Switching to the Headset
It is enough to put on the headset: D2X-XL detects it and switches to VR by itself. No special settings or command line parameters are needed; the VR runtime only has to be running when you start D2X-XL. D2X-XL checks for a headset every few seconds and switches to it, showing the progress bar 'Reconfiguring graphics' while doing so. The first switch after program start takes a while, because D2X-XL has to set up the graphics device for the headset and reload textures and lightmaps. Every further switch only recreates the shaders and render buffers and is done quickly.
When the VR runtime ends the session, D2X-XL switches back to the monitor, and back to the headset as soon as the headset is ready again.
Centering the View
D2X-XL centers the view by itself when it switches to the headset, when the main menu appears for the first time and when a game ends. To center the view yourself, sit in your normal playing position, look straight ahead and
- press Ctrl+F12 (works in the menus, in the game and in briefings), or
- select 'Center view' in the render options menu. This entry is only shown while VR is active.
Centering takes the direction your head faces horizontally as straight ahead and your current head position as the eye position. Tilting your head up, down or sideways is ignored; the horizon always stays level.
View Height
While VR is active, the render options menu offers the slider 'VR view height'. It raises or lowers the direction that counts as straight ahead, from -20 to +20 degrees in steps of 2 degrees. Negative values move the center of the view down, positive values move it up. World and HUD move together, the change takes effect immediately and is kept when centering the view. Use it if you prefer to play with your head tilted slightly down or up: if you look slightly down in your relaxed playing position, set a negative value, and the center of the view will be where you look.
Flickering
If the image in the headset flickers, turn off Asynchronous Space Warp (ASW) in your VR runtime and change the headset's refresh rate there (e.g. in Meta Horizon Link). While VR is active, V-Sync is handled by the VR runtime, and D2X-XL's own frame cap and V-Sync settings have no effect; the headset's refresh rate is the only thing you can change.
Note: Meta Horizon Link is only available for Meta headsets. Headsets of other manufacturers come with software of their own; see its documentation for where to change the refresh rate and to turn off ASW or its equivalent.