Controls and settings
Quick answer
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Dawson Oaks Trailer Park keeps its controls simple on purpose - walk, talk, grab, drink, call somebody - but the game never explains them loudly, and the launch-week streams are full of adults discovering that push-to-talk has been muted since spawn. This page collects the default bindings we could verify in the 1.0.5 build, plus the settings you should touch before your first lobby.
Pairs with: System requirements · Frequently asked questions · Items and money
Default controls (1.0.5, verified from launch-week footage)
| Action | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Push to talk | T | The game's default; set it up before you join a lobby |
| Move | WASD | Standard first-person movement; sprint exists and behaves twitchy on launch build |
| Interact | G | Doors, pickups, props, general "do the thing" button |
| Emote wheel | Q | Dances, points, twerking - the meeting-phase comedy toolkit |
| Notebook / tasks | 6 | Your urge list. If you read one key on this page, make it this one |
| Phone panel | Tab | Contacts, messages, calls - and the info streams call your "read" on the park |
| Use / consume item | Right mouse button | Drinking milk, using items - hold to interact |
| Hotbar | Number keys | Your phone, wallet and notebook live here |
| Camera / photo | Via phone | The camera keeps coming up in snitch meta; it is part of your phone kit |
Two honest caveats: exact movement and menu keys can shift between patches, and the classic playtest-era bindings for drop and throw were reported differently by players, so verify in-game rather than trusting any list - including this one.
Voice chat setup
Proximity voice is the whole game, so sort this out in the menu, not mid-round:
- Pick your microphone and set push to talk (default T). Streams make a ritual of this before every lobby - do the same, because a silent player is a suspicious player.
- Test your output loudness. There is no "everyone can hear you" indicator beyond people responding; do a quick hello in the lobby.
- Rebind if T fights with anything you use. The game allows it and half the community has opinions about which key is correct.
- Voice range is proximity. Talking to someone requires being near them - meetings and the saloon are the two places the whole park can effectively hear you.
Reading the HUD
The interface tells you more than it seems to:
- Left side: your task list - the urges the game wants you to complete. It is the single most important panel in the game.
- Top: your sanity bar, draining politely while you ignore that list.
- Phone: contacts, messages, calls. This is how deals, meetings and snitch reports move around the park.
Settings worth changing first
- Push-to-talk binding and mic gain - covered above, non-negotiable.
- Graphics: if you see heavy shimmering or the "screen door" artifact players complained about in launch week, drop to a lower preset or disable upscaling - the system requirements page has the details.
- Volume: custom volume controls are supported; the saloon's slot machines are as loud as they look.
What about controllers?
Use the keyboard and mouse bindings shown in the current controls. Steam does not list controller support.
Default bindings will keep you alive for your first round, but the players who look effortless by day three all did the same thing on day one: fixed push-to-talk, learned key 6, and stopped walking into the middle of the park holding a lighter.
Related guides
- The system the notebook feeds: sanity and urges
- Your first round with these controls: how to play
- The map you are navigating: map and landmarks
Night rounds: flashlights and the shadow setting (1.1.0-1.1.1)
- Flashlights arrived in patch 1.1.0 and are the practical answer to night maps: without one you are walking a dark park.
- Name tags are hidden in darkness (1.1.0), so voice chat carries more weight after sunset.
- Patch 1.1.1 added a Flashlight Shadows setting. It can be switched off independently of graphics quality, and it is the first thing to try if you get lag spikes at night.
Community Service controls in 1.2.0
After arrest or a vote, the broom replaces the notebook and the task meter replaces sanity. Follow the active cleanup prompts, complete all three tasks, then allow sixty seconds for the next set. Do not treat the missing notebook as an input failure in that state. Community Service tasks.