The Supreme Commander user interface is quite extensive. This list contain only commands from an unmodified latest offical patch release.
The game does not support reassigning keys or commands.
This reference lists Keyboard and Mouse commands separately, divided and ordered by function.
Keyboard Commands[]
The designers have tried to assign keys "mnemonically", where the letter is the beginning of the command. Unfortunately some letters would be overused, so the second letter, or a "similar" letter, is used instead. It is the letter that is entered, not the position of the key, so for non-US keyboards there may be some missing characters and a shortcut may be needed, (i.e. must use AltGR-8 for "[" ).
In-game you can find most of these by pressing F12.
Basic Unit Commands[]
The same command can work slightly differently depending on the unit, especially stationary or mobile units. Most commands require a left-click where/on what the action is to be performed.
Remember commands can be queued using Shift-left-click when selecting target/destination.
| Key | Command | Additional notes |
| Most units | ||
|---|---|---|
| S | Stop | All: Stop motion. Clears all way points. Clears build queues |
| M | Move | Mobile units: Move. Factories: Set rally point (Built units move to) |
| A | Attack | Fire and follow until enemy dead |
| P | Patrol | Mobile units: Patrol. Factories: Built units made go on patrol. |
| I | Guard/Assist | Engineers: Keep unit at full health. Mobile units: Follow and fire on attackers of unit. Factories (assisting other factories): Build same units |
| Z | Unit Pause | Engineer/Factories: Pause building or upgrading. |
| Ctrl-K | Suicide | All: Self-destruct! (Other units standing too close may be damaged, friend or foe) |
| Only applicable to few units | ||
| R | Repair | Engineer/ACU/SCU |
| E | Reclaim | Engineer/ACU/SCU: Get the mass/energy from tree, stone etc. Can recycle material from own units, too. |
| C | Capture | Engineer/ACU/SCU: Make enemy unit your own |
| B | Build | Engineers/ACU/SCU and factories: Enters special keyboard entry mode. See table below. Leave with ESC key. |
| D | Dive | Submarines: Toggles their state - surfaced or submerged. (If multiple selected they will all change to opposite state, not become same state) |
| F | Ferry | Transport: Sets the putdown point (See Ferry) |
| U | Transport | Transport: Load a unit or Unload unit at point, stop there. Air Stage Station: Move parked units. |
| L | Launch Tac.Miss. | Tactical Missile Launchers (stationary unit, some ships, and some ACUs): Fire one missile (must be built) |
| N | Nuke | Strategic Launcher and nuclear sub: Fire one nuclear missile (must be built) |
| [ | Toggle Fire state | Attack&Chase or just return fire. The "nonagressive" state means the Attack command does not work. |
Build mode[]
The B key enters a special keyboard entry mode - Build mode. End build mode with ESC.
The specific list varies with the building unit (Engineer/ACU, Factory) and the faction. The command keys are shown in the UI menu on the menu items. Some examples
Hotkeys from the manual
| Letter | Mnemonic? | Typical units |
| Engineer/ACU | ||
|---|---|---|
| E | Extractor | Mass extractor (all levels) |
| P | Power | Power generator (all levels) |
| D | Defense | Point defense towers |
| N | Anti Air | Air defense towers |
| R | Artillery | |
| L | Land | Factory |
| A | Air | Factory |
| S | Sea | Factory |
| W | Wall | |
| * | list incomplete | |
| Factory | ||
| E | Engineer | (all levels) |
| S | Spy or Scout | The fast recon unit |
| F | Fighter/Frigate | |
| T | Transport | Air transport unit |
| U | Upgrade | Also valid for stationary units that can upgrade |
| For all | ||
| 1 .. 4 | Switch to tech level | |
| ESC | Exit build mode | (or click the label on the screen) |
Forged alliance hotkeys
Display commands[]
| (arrow keys) | Move view point |
| W | Zoom out (Wider) |
| Shift-W | Zoom out (Wider) large amount |
| Q | Zoom in (no mnemonic, but it is adjacent) |
| Shift-Q | Zoom in large amount |
| Shift-TAB | Remember this viewpoint (add to list) |
| TAB | View remembered viewpoint (cycle through list) |
| Ctrl-TAB | Remove this viewpoint (from list, use immediatly after TAB) |
| V | View everything (max zoom out) |
| [Multiply] (NumPad) | Sets in-game-speed to 0 |
| [Divide] (NumPad) | Toggle FPS-Overlay |
| * | list incomplete |
Display overlays (and minor windows) commands[]
| Ctrl-W | Toggle Military Overlay |
| Ctrl-E | Toggle Defense (area reachable by firepower) Overlay |
| Ctrl-R | Toggle Economy (Resource usage) Overlay |
| Ctrl-T | Toggle Intelligence (Radar coverage) Overlay |
| F1 | Toggle Objectives |
| F2 | Toggle Score |
| F3 | Toggle Transmission log |
| F4 | Toggle Diplomacy Menu |
| F11 | Toggle Conectivity (Ping times) |
| Alt-L | Toggles Life Bars |
| Ctrl-Alt-F1 | Hide/Show the UI (for taking clean screen shot with Ctrl-F) |
Rearranging display[]
| ALT-up/down-arrow | Cycle between different layouts |
| INSERT | Rotate camera left |
| DELETE | Rotate camera right |
| HOME | Split screen on |
| END | Split screen off |
| Spacebar | Change angle and view of camera |
Miscellaneous[]
| Ctrl-F | Take screen shot (Saved as file SCFrame_<datetime-string><sequenceno>.bmp) |
| F12 | Show most of the keyboard commands. (Pauses the game) |
| * | list incomplete |
Mouse commands[]
"Left to select, Right to Command" is the idea from the manual and tutorials in the game. There are exceptions. Mouse commands are very context sensitive - what you currently have selected, what command you issued via the menu or keyboard, and what you are pointing at. Left-click on a menu item will not change the select
A right-click on its own, will do the default command for that unit on that target, typically Attack for an enemy and something (relatively) usefull for a friendly unit. (Some commands are only available through right-click?) If you have used a keyboard command or a menu command then you have to left- click on the location or target you wish to apply this to.
Mouse movement (mouse over)[]
| Action: | Result: |
| (Nothing pressed) | Just move the mouse. You get brief info on units you mouse over. For stationary units shows action radius. |
| . | If you reach the screen edges, map scrolls (adjustable in Options) |
| SPACE-bar held down, zoom level is "close enough" | Shift the camera viewpoint. (The camera "jumps backwards" if you are positioning it "in front" of a mountain.) (You can set and release a viewpoint with Ctrl-V) |
Left-click[]
| Action: | Result: | Action: | Result: |
| No command | Nothing selected | Click on ground | Does nothing |
| Select Patrol (or related option), then Shift click to mark waypoints. | Waypoints Marked | Click on Unit | Unit is selected |
| Click on ground and hold, then drag across desired units. | Units selected | Click on ground | Units are deselected |
| Click on option | Navigate through the menu | Click on a unit (after you already select one). | Units deselected, new unit selected. |
| Active command (Move, Patrol, Build ...) | Units Commanded | Click on Ground or Unit (appropiate for command) | Units immediately do the command |
Right-click[]
placeholder
Shift-left-click[]
Just holding the shift key down, will show all patrol and active destinations on the main display.
| Action: | Result: |
| Without an active command. Click on unselected unit | This unit is added to existing list of select units. (See Select Group Adjustment) |
| Active command (Move, Patrol, Build ...), Click anywhere (ground, other unit) | The command is queued for the selected units. |
Ctrl-right-click[]
| Selected units move/attack in formation to the target (formation
set with Right-held-left-click (described below)) |
Alt-right-click[]
|
Selected units move/attack towards the point you order them to, and they will open fire to any enemy forces in their weapon range |
Left-click, while right-held-down[]
| With seleced units only: Cycle through the available formations. When you reach
the desired formation, release the right mouse button. |
Drag-left[]
Will select most units in the box you outline.
|
| There is no distinction for land/air/sea, or if units are idle. (Previous selected units are deselected) |
Shift-drag-left[]
| Will select ALL units in the box. If you have other selected units these will remain, ie. the box units are added the the selected units. |
Select group adjustment[]
When multiple units are selected (and at least one is mobile?), they are listed in the menu area (where the build list normally is for a factory).
|
Xbox 360 controls[]
Since the Xbox 360 functions without a mouse and keyboard, but instead with a controller, the controls needed to be streamlined and adapted to this tool. Below is a table outlining the various controls.
| Button/Combination | Command | Additional notes |
| Most units | ||
|---|---|---|
| A | Context Sensitive | Select units, issue move orders or moving rally points, but can change for different units (i.e. loading units on a transport or ordering an engineer to reclaim reso |
| B | Cancel/Deselect | Cancel choices in menus, close build wheels and deselect a selected unit |
| X | Stop | Stop whatever action a selected unit is doing. (Building, moving, etc.) |
| Y | Assist | Orders the selected unit or structure to assist the highlighted unit or structure. For more information see Assist. |
| Right control stick | Camera controls | Moving the control stick forward or backward zooms in or out, moving it left or right spins the camera. |
| Left control stick | Camera controls | Pans the camera and moves the target/control reticule. Also used to make menu selections and option selections on the control wheels. |
| D-Pad Up | Order Wheel | Opens the selected unit or structure's order wheel. |
| D-Pad Right | Build Wheel | Opens the build wheel on structures or units that can construct. |
| D-Pad Down | Groups Wheel | Opens the groups wheel, regardless of selected units |
| D-Pad Left | Build Queue | Opens the build queue for a selected structure or unit, only if construction is in progress or paused. |
| Press and hold A | Box Select /Formation mover | Allows selection of multiple units and/or structures by dragging a box around them. Also allows the alignment and selection of a formation when issuing move commands |
| Push Down Right Control Stick | Quick Select | Jumps the camera to ACU, switches selected unit to ACU |
| Push Down Left Control Stick | Quick Track | Locks camera momentarily to a unit in order to follow it. |
| Right Bumper | Tactical Modifier | Allows placement of multiple rally points for move or partol orders, allows queuing of combat commands and shows all queued movement and build orders. |
| Left Bumper | Formation selection | When formation movements are being ordered(see above), changes the formation the units will use. |
| Left Trigger | Enables Free Look Camera | Allows the user to change camera angle and rotation/position without perspective being reset |
| Tap Right Trigger | Select combat units | Selects all visible combat units on screen |
| Hold Right Trigger and tap A | Select Engineer | Selects the nearest idle engineer, press multiple times to select farther engineers |
| Hold Right Trigger and tap B | Select Factory | Selecet the nearest idle factory, press multiple times to select farther factories. |
| Hold Right Trigger and tap X | Cycle Groups | Cycles through the player assigned groups as created in the Groups Wheel |
| Hold Right Trigger and tap Y | Cycle Groups | Cycles through the default groups: Air, Land, Sea or All |
| Start Button | Open Menu | Opens in-game pause menu |
| Back Button | View Scores/Objectives | Brings up the current and completed objectives in campaign, brings up a scoreboard in skirmish or multiplayer |
Reference material[]
The official sources used for this article include:
- DVD booklet or manual
- readme.txt file
- tutorials in the game
- F12 help button
- Xbox 360 manual
- various user forums.