Step one of this process is to set keybinds on your keyboard before continuing. We'll use exiting your Corvette seat as an example; open the quick menu, hover over the "exit pilot seat" option, then hold the control key while pressing 1. Now you will see the number 1 above the exit seat option. Easy peasy, right?

Next, open your options menu, click controls, remap controls, and open the steam input menu. If you use another program to edit your controller inputs, open that instead. Once you're in, edit the current layout and navigate to the button you want to put your command on. For this example, I will bind the hotkey to the directional pad.

We will use my example as an action flow to make it easy to follow:

>Controller settings >Edit layout >DPad >change the action set at the top left to "flight controls" (it should be set at "menu" by default)>click the gear icon next to the button you want to add the keybind to >add extra command >the first one will be the control key >click the gear on your control key command >change input from single tap to something of your choosing (eg "long press") >click the gear again on the control binding >add sub command >add your number key >back out of the menus to return to the game and test your new keybind.

You're done! Now you can bind hotkeys like a pro.

The example given is my personal favorite, but there are of course a great many hotkeys you can set in game and as such many hotkeys you can bind in the same way. The process is more or less the same for on foot controls, just remember to check and see if you're in the right action set for what you're trying to do.

I made this guide for exactly one reason: the steam input UI is great on many levels, but it gives me a friggin headache any time I try to go in and change things. I have been playing NMS on Xbox since 2018 and have always wanted to get hotkey bindings natively for useful actions. Now that I'm playing on PC I can live my best controller life without sacrificing utility, and the time to go into quick menus just to get out of my seat is now a headache of the past and I couldn't be happier.

If you're having the problem of your keybind not working, here's a couple troubleshooting tips:

- Make sure your hotkey is set already. This doesn't work if you're not binding a specific key.

-Make sure you're in the right action set. Obviously a ship-specific command won't work on foot (although you can use the same buttons for multiple hotkey commands, provided the hotkeys are in completely separate contexts. For instance, binding the hotkey ctrl+1 does something different in your quick menu on foot vs in your ship)

-Check the bind you set up that your number key is a SUBcommand of your control key. This chains it together to make the game consider it a simultaneous button press.

-If your bind is not working as intended, ensure you changed the behavior required for the key. Weird things happen if you leave the bind as a regular press. As an example, if you used up on the DPad to get out of your seat, it's likely to just open the quick menu, or may not do anything at all when you press it. In this case, try switching your command to long press and see if that resolves the issue.

-If all else fails, you can reset the scheme back to default and try again. Click the gear next to the Edit Layout button in the controller settings page, then click revert changes and try again.