Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Escape From Tarkov Controls Guide: Hotkeys And Keybindings

Escape From Tarkov has been "out" in some form or another since 2016, first with the closed alpha and eventually a closed beta, available to those who pre-order the game on its official website. Described as a "hardcore story-driven MMO" with RPG and FPS elements, Escape From Tarkov's popularity surged at the start of the new year thanks to some popular streamers picking it up over the holidays, bringing in many new players. The recent patch 12.6 wiped all character progress, making now a pretty good time to pick up the game if you haven't already. The upcoming patch 12.7 will also be revamping the skill system.
One thing that sets Escape From Tarkov apart from other multiplayer shooters is how detailed and finely tuned every aspect of it is, from combat to movement to inventory management. Unless you're used to more realistic military sims like ARMA or adjacent games like DayZ and even PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Tarkov's barrier to entry is a bit higher than your average shooter--if you really want to be on top of your game, you're going to have to learn a lot of hotkeys.
Table of Contents [hide]
  • Basic Movement and Controls
  • Advanced Movement and Controls
  • Basic Combat and Equipment Controls
  • Advanced Combat and Equipment Controls
  • Inventory Management and Looting Controls
  • Other Controls
Below, you'll find a handy list of some of the most important and commonly used hotkeys in Escape From Tarkov, as well as a rundown of the basic controls--the action, the primary key binding, and the press type (if it's something other than pressing or releasing a button) listed below are all the current default from Escape From Tarkov's settings. We've changed the wording for "press type" or "input type" to be a bit more basic than what the game's official settings specify--"continuous" is now "hold down," for instance, meaning it's a key you need to hold down rather than just press once. We've also added a few hotkeys that were unlisted and bolded some particularly handy ones to memorize, which we'll go over individually.
Note that the distinction between a "basic" and "advanced" control in this guide is entirely for organizational purposes--Escape From Tarkov's game settings don't distinguish its inputs this way, this is just to make things clearer for new players. What's "advanced" for one player might be considered "basic" for another--it all depends on how new you are to the kind of hardcore, genre-bending shooter Tarkov strives to be. In any case, we hope this guide will help you learn the finer nuances of Tarkov's movement, how to properly wield your weapons and take advantage of their customizability, and how to quickly cycle through your inventory when exploring and looting in the dangerous Russian city of Tarkov.
If you're interested in picking up the game, check out our Escape From Tarkov pre-order guide for a quick breakdown on where to buy and the differences between its four editions. Escape From Tarkov is currently not on Steam and does suffer from server outages and occasionally long queue times, but if you're willing to roll with some of the issues that come with any early access game, it's worth it.
Note: Escape From Tarkov is still in development, so many of the default hotkeys and keybindings are subject to change as its systems get updated. We will try to keep this guide as up-to-date as possible, but if you see something is missing or inaccurate, feel free to let us know in the comments!

Basic Movement and Controls

CommandKeyInput Type
Move forwardW--
Move leftA--
Move backwardS--
Move rightD--
Lean leftQHold down
Lean rightEHold down
JumpSpace--
WalkCaps LockPress to toggle
SprintLeft ShiftPress to toggle
CrouchCPress to toggle
ProneXPress to toggle
InteractF--
Open inventoryTab--
NextMouse Scroll+--
PreviousMouse Scroll---
Check timeO--
Check time and exitsODouble tap
MumbleY--
Open mumble dropdownYDouble tap
Mumble presetF1-F12--
Movement in Escape From Tarkov is bound to the WASD keys by default, and the ability to jump, crouch, and go prone are pretty straightforward too. There are more advanced movement options to be aware of that we'll list out under Advanced Movement, but the major takeaway from this section should be some of the basic interaction inputs, notably hitting F to grab items, loot bodies and containers, and open and close doors.
Raid time and extraction points will appear in the top right-hand corner when you press the
Raid time and extraction points will appear in the top right-hand corner when you press the "O" key twice.
But another big one not to overlook is double-tapping "O" to check time and exits. Every raid you enter comes with a time limit and a set of potential exit points, and you should be tracking both while you're out looting. Hitting "O" twice pulls up that information in the top right corner.

Advanced Movement and Controls

CommandKeyInput Type
Free lookMiddle Mouse ButtonHold down
Smooth lean leftLeft Alt + A--
Smooth lean rightLeft Alt + D--
Sidestep leftLeft Alt + Q--
Sidestep rightLeft Alt + E--
Next walk poseC + Mouse Scroll+--
Previous walk poseC + Mouse Scroll---
As you can see, Escape From Tarkov features both basic lean and crouch options as well as more advanced, incremental variations. Unlike leaning using Q and E, "smooth" lean lets you only lean out a little bit at a time. You also don't need to hold Alt down unless you're adjusting your lean position, so you can stay leaned the degree you want while behind a corner and have your keyboard hand free. You can use the standard Q or E lean to stand back upright. You can also cycle between "walk poses," which are just different degrees of crouching that you can adjust to adapt to the height of whatever cover you're behind. Hitting C automatically takes you to the lowest crouch level and hitting C again makes you stand up. To exercise more caution, you can use walk poses to rise and lower yourself more deliberately.
There are five additional
There are five additional "walk poses" between standing upright and crouching fully, which you can set by holding the "C" key and scrolling up or down.
Free look is another important one. If you recall from the basic controls section, there are three movement speeds in Escape From Tarkov: the default walking speed, the slower walking speed you can toggle with Caps Lock, and sprinting, which you can toggle with Shift. You can't sprint while strafing, so your field of view is limited to what's in front of you--but by holding down the middle mouse button while moving, you can freely look around. Currently, your free look range is still pretty narrow, but it does allow you to quickly glimpse blind spots while in a hurry. You can even use free look while scoped in so you're not completely unaware of short-range threats while sniping.
Speaking of movement speed, here's a general tip that anyone playing a first-person shooter on PC should know: if your mouse allows it, adjust the sensitivity. The Tarkov controls menu also has two built-in mouse sensitivity sliders, which let you customize both general mouse sensitivity and mouse aiming sensitivity to your preference. You'll be more accurate and better equipped to deal with threats when your mouse movement speed suits both you and the game. (You can also invert both the Y and X axis.)

Basic Combat and Equipment Controls

CommandKeyInput Type
Shoot/FireLeft Mouse Button--
Aim down sightsRight Mouse ButtonPress to toggle
Reload weaponR--
Quick reloadRDouble tap
Next magazineR + Mouse Scroll+--
Previous magazineR + Mouse Scroll---
Throw grenadeG--
Equip melee weaponV--
Quick draw melee weaponVDouble tap
Hold breath to steady aimLeft AltPress to toggle
Escape From Tarkov strives for a bit more realism with its guns than most games do. You have the standard right-click to aim, left-click to shoot, and R to reload, but there's way more to it than that.
One major thing to note from this section is the difference between a reload and a quick reload. Just hitting R for a standard reload in Escape From Tarkov will remove the current magazine in your firearm, place it in an open slot in your inventory, and replace it with the next magazine in your inventory. (You can even select which magazine to load in from your inventory by holding R and scrolling with the mouse wheel.) A quick reload, as the name suggests, saves some time by having your character throw the current magazine onto the ground before loading in a new one. You won't get far in Escape From Tarkov being too trigger-happy or constantly reloading after every shot, which most FPS games let you get away with, but quick reloads can be appropriate in an emergency. You just have to remember to pick up your dropped magazine later.
Escape From Tarkov News And Guides
  • Escape From Tarkov Patch 12.6 Wipes Character Data
  • Escape From Tarkov Pre-Order Guide: Version Differences & How To Get Early Access
  • Escape From Tarkov: Controls And Hotkeys Guide
  • Why Escape From Tarkov Won't Include Playable Women
Remember that reloading is more realistic in Escape From Tarkov, unlike more casual shooters--you're not reloading bullets into a magazine by tapping R, you're actually replacing the entire magazine. So if your current magazine had a few rounds left, it'll go into your inventory with that same amount of rounds, and if you reload with it next time, you won't have a full magazine. (You can manually load rounds into magazines from the inventory.) To complicate things further, reload times vary depending on what gun you're using and whether or not it already has a round in the chamber.
Moving on to melee combat. Pressing V will equip your melee weapon (you'll start out with a knife), but double-tapping V will do something the in-game settings call "Draw Knife," but what I'll call a "quick draw" instead. Quick drawing your knife will holster your currently equipped weapon, draw your knife out and do a quick stab, then sheath your knife and pull out your previous weapon, all just by double-tapping V.
Finally, holding your breath with Left Alt while aiming down sights will steady your firearm's aim. This used to be bound to the Shift key, but was changed. Many players end up remapping this one to avoid interfering with other commands involving the Alt key, and setting its input type to "hold" instead of "toggle." We recommend playing around with different settings and keybindings in offline mode and seeing what works for you.

Advanced Combat and Equipment Controls

CommandKeyInput Type
Activate night vision goggles/Lower face shieldNPress to toggle
Activate tactical device (flashlight, laser, etc.)TPress to toggle
Switch tactical device modeLeft Ctrl + T--
Switch scopesLeft Ctrl + Right Mouse Button--
Change scope magnificationLeft Alt + Right Mouse Button--
Check ammoLeft Alt + T--
Change fire modeB--
Check fire modeLeft Alt + B--
Check chamberLeft Shift + T--
Examine weaponL--
Fold stockLeft Alt + L--
Overhead blind fireLeft Alt + W--
Right side blind fireLeft Alt + S--
Equip weapon on the back3--
Equip weapon on the sling2--
Equip secondary weapon1--
Slot 44--
Slot 55--
Slot 66--
Slot 77--
Slot 88--
Slot 99--
Slot 00--
Scope elevation upPage Up--
Scope elevation downPage Down
Here, you get into the real nitty-gritty of Escape From Tarkov's firearm mechanics. Most of it is pretty straightforward: inputs for switching scopes and cycling through reticles once you get more advanced modifications for your guns, using the number keys to cycle through weapons, and so on. Changing your fire mode between single (the default starting mode), burst, and full-auto with the B key is an important one, but the other ones worth explaining from this section include how to toggle your "tactical device," check ammo, and blind fire.
Tactical devices in Escape From Tarkov can be toggled with T, and it's important to note these include flashlights and lasers. So if you have the right mod equipped and you're wondering how to turn on your flashlight, it's T. Many serious Escape From Tarkov streamers like Shroud have rebound this command (as well as the input for changing scope magnification) to Mouse Button 3, 4, or 5 for easier access.
Checking ammo in Escape From Tarkov will only give you an approximation of how many rounds you have left. Try to stay on single fire and be sure to count your shots!
Checking ammo in Escape From Tarkov will only give you an approximation of how many rounds you have left. Try to stay on single fire and be sure to count your shots!
Checking ammo with Left Alt + T can be vital, since Escape From Tarkov's HUD doesn't track how much ammo you have left--even when you use this input to check ammo, it won't give you an exact number. Finally, you can blindfire from behind cover using Left Alt + W for overhead firing or Left Alt + S for right-side firing around corners. At the moment, it does not seem Escape From Tarkov has the option to switch firing positions between right and left shoulders.

Inventory Management and Looting Controls

CommandKeyInput Type
ExamineMiddle Mouse Button--
Quick transferCtrl + Left Mouse Button--
Quick equipAlt + Left Mouse Button--
Split stackCtrl + Left Mouse ButtonClick and drag
DiscardDel--
Rotate itemR--
Nothing is bolded here because it pretty much all needs explaining. A major part of Escape From Tarkov is looting and inventory management, so you'll be spending a lot of time looking at your inventory and your stash, but if you're in a raid it's important to minimize that time so you're not vulnerable. To quickly grab an item from a looted container and transfer it to your inventory, just hit Ctrl + Left MB. This works when transferring items between your inventory and your stash too.
To quickly equip something in your stash or from a container, you can use Alt + Left MB. You can click and drag items around with the left mouse button to place them in specific slots. Pressing R while dragging an item rotates it so you can use the space you have more efficiently. To split a grouped item like a stack of ammo, hold Ctrl and click and drag the item you want to separate to a new cell. A box will pop up where you can designate the number of items you want to place in the new stack. If you have unknown, greyed-out items in a container, your inventory, your stash, or even a trader's inventory, you can quickly examine and reveal those items by clicking on them with the middle mouse button. Finally, you can hover over an item you don't want and press delete to discard.

Other Controls

CommandKeyInput Type
Take a screenshotPrtScn--
Toggle iconsI--
Console`--
Open menuESC--
As stated above, these are just the default key bindings for Escape From Tarkov's controls and we recommend testing things out and seeing what works for you. Like most games, you can reset the primary key for each command and set a secondary input on top of it. You can even change the press type for even more customization.
  • Read more: Escape From Tarkov Server Issues, Long Queue Times Persist, But The Devs Are Working On It
Did we miss something? Escape From Tarkov is still in development, so things are always being updated and changed. Plus, the community is awesome at finding out new tricks and techniques. Feel free to leave a comment below if we left something important out or if a piece of information is outdated.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Scavenging A War-Torn City In Escape From Tarkov Video

Do you like guns? Do you like guns that realistically jam on you because you scavenged them in a war-torn Eastern European city and you had no other choice because people were trying to kill you and you had to defend yourself? Well that’s kind of what Escape From Tarkov [official site] is all about.
Last week, some of developers from Russian studio Battlestate Games hopped onto YouTube for their first ever livestream to dig into the atmosphere and complex systems of Escape From Tarkov. The parallels to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and its sequels are pretty obvious, but Escape From Tarkov is aiming to translate all that hardcore shootyness into a hybrid-MMORPG.
If you have an hour and a half to spare, you can watch the archive of the livestream above. In the video, the developers showcase some of Escape From Tarkov’s ridiculously granular gun customization, including the ability to remove or modify components of your weapon in order to affect how well they function. There’s also a good deal of shooting, and if you’re a fan of the more realistic and intense firefights found in S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Escape From Tarkov looks promising.
Okay, but I swear Escape From Tarkov isn’t just a ripoff of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. From the looks of things, it’s taking that foundation and adding a great deal more customization and features, including an RPG progression system where you level up and unlock new skills. It’s not quite clear how the nuances of multiplayer will work, but Escape From Tarkov will feature perma-death and several modes including 10 story-based scenarios that can then be revisited to roam around and scavenge for loot. When asked in an FAQ thread on their forums if Escape From Tarkov could be completed alone, the response read: “We do not intend to make an offline single-player campaign, though anyone is free to try and clear the game alone, without help from partners in co-op.”
However it all ties together, we won’t have to wait too long to find out since Escape From Tarkov is due out later this year and will cost $44.99/34,99€ for the basic preorder package.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Escape From Tarkov's v0.8 trailer teases harrowing close-quarters combat

Yes, that is a fortified Ikea
While hardcore multiplayer shooters aren’t normally my thing, I find myself dipping a toe into Escape From Tarkov‘s pre-order beta once a week or so. It’s a STALKER-inspired (minus the supernatural bits) hybrid PvP/PvE combat sandbox where teams of mercenaries scour an abandoned city for resources as they clash with both NPC gangs and each other. The main draw for me is how intensely violent the gunplay feels, and the trailer for the next major patch looks to take that to new levels.
Developers Battlestate Games were kind enough to give me press access to the game some time ago. Having just finished an article on STALKER’s mod scene when they did, it was easy to draw comparisons between Tarkov and the more simulationist mods such as MISERY. While the full version of the game promises a PvE-focused story mode where you must work your way through the titular city in search of a way out, the current public beta is a purely PvP sandbox of murder and looting, which makes it great for streamers and groups of players, but not really advisable for solo, casual play.
Combat plays out very similarly to STALKER, albeit with a significantly more realistic damage model. If someone strafes your legs with SMG fire, you’re going to have to plug those holes and splint up any broken bones if you plan on doing anything more than crawling home on your belly. That said, it also means that nobody is invulnerable, no matter how expensive their gear. See, here’s the big twist: If you die in Tarkov, your entire inventory is up for grabs save for a small, special case that persists between lives.
The best way to take advantage of this easy-come, easy-go system is the option to spawn into battle as one of the roaming NPC scavengers. You’ll not have anything better than a pump shotgun, but that’s enough to kill someone if you sneak up on them. All you’ve got to do is loot the body and hoof it out of the combat zone and you get to add the ill-gotten goods to your personal stash, either to use in later sorties or to trade in for gear better suited to your personal playstyle.
Escape From Tarkov
The next update, which you can see in the trailer above and will be hitting servers soon, adds the dense, urban Interchange map, which looks to be a complex warren of potentially lethal environments (including an Ikea store), but also brings the promise of good loot within the map itself. There’s plenty of new guns coming in the update, plus more ways to modify your existing gear (if your gun has a tactical rail mount on it, there’s probably 20 different things to attach to it), and some exciting new gear like super-heavy helmets that can absorb direct headshots if you can stomach the disconcerting spiderweb cracks spreading across your field of view.
If you want access to the current beta build of the game, you can pre-order Escape From Tarkov direct from the developer’s site for 34.99€, although I would personally recommend against it at present unless you’ve got a good crew ready to roll with you. That said, I’m definitely going to be keeping a close eye on this one – even though it falls outside of my regular wheelhouse, it’s an oddly compelling experience, even in this early state.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Escape From Tarkov is brutal, stressful and exhausting

*Click*, went my gun. Not the good, Richard Beymer kind of click. The “you’re out of ammo and definitely dead” kind of click. The survivor in my sights had shrugged off my first few shotgun blasts, leaving me at the mercy of his assault rifle. He turned, shouted, and aimed. Then his gun clicked too, and I charged him with my tomahawk.
It was a glorious moment, but nothing else in Escape From Tarkov has lived up to it.
Escape From Tarkov is the name, escaping from Tarkov is the game. You spawn in on one of six current maps, have a rummage, then get out of dodge with as much as you can carry. In your way are a mixture of NPCs and players, the latter of which will almost certainly have better gear than you. That’s fine, because they’ll almost certainly shoot you before you have a chance to spot them. Especially if you’re playing when it’s really, really dark.
I don’t like it.
It’s in beta, so I best chuck in some caveats. The bugs and occasionally laggy servers are offences that can be waved away as early access indulgences, and I can only hope that the worst of the other guff (more complaints incoming) will get cleared up. At the end of the day, though, it hardly matters. I’ll always find Tarkov conceptually off-putting.
My overarching goal can’t be the acquisition of better loot. Not when that goal is stated so nakedly, and not when pursuing it feels like so much work. As a means to an end, sure! My patience for trawling through buildings in Plunkbat is bountiful, and I’ve whiled away many a happy hour on Destiny’s treadmill. In both of those games, though, I’m playing with a broader purpose: there are objectives on the horizon, and I want to be best equipped to shoot them. Tarkov wants me to loot first and ask questions later, but I can’t stop asking “Why?”.
Why do I want to spawn in with a good gun when I’m bound to lose it? Why do I want to spawn in with a poor gun when I’m bound to lose it? Why do I want… any of this? There are answers, and some of those answers lie in insurance. Every item you spawn in with can be insured, which gives you a chance of getting it back so long as nobody else pinches it. Which they will, of course, if you bring in something that’s good enough to be worth bringing in. The problem compounds, not dissolves. I wind up losing money before I’ve done anything.
Making insurance decisions is work, but the toil doesn’t stop there. In fairness, part of that toil is embedded in military simness which others will find endearing. The in-game ammo checking. Weapons with more than a dozen attachments, and buttons that let you flop your character into almost as many positions. It’s all very involved.
Great, you might say. “I like my shooters fiddly.” “Granularity is good.” What is unequivocally not good, though, is having to wait for a search timer to finish on every box and bag you’re unfortunate enough to dip your fingers in. Then for another timer to transform whatever you’ve found from a silhouette and into something you can actually equip. Bizarrely, that black box problem extends to the out-of-round shops, which already involve more faff than an airport. Just look at them.
Argh.
ARRGH.
The first of those screenshots shows one of the seven traders, who have cool names like “Ragman” or “Skier” but lame currency restrictions like bitcoins or horse figurines. I eventually found out, through googling, that those bitcoins are rewards for completing quests – finding stuff or killing stuff. This ensures that only the most experienced players get access to the deadliest weapons. Hurray.* (I still don’t know what’s up with the horse figurines.)
Money can also be spent on the player-run Flea Market, where you can fleece your own gear. I tried to sell some cigarettes, but wasn’t a high enough level.
I did have one break from the deluge of faff. It was an actual deluge: a storm with proper thunder that lagged behind lightning like it’s supposed to. I was escaping from the Darkov, inching my way through woodland drenched in blackness, rain and atmosphere. For that brief life, I stopped worrying about loot and just lost myself in wander. Then I got shot from behind.
Nearly all my Tarkov anecdotes end that way. That melee from earlier? I won the stab-off. Then, while I was searching the dude’s corpse for something to stop myself bleeding, someone snuck up and shot me. I’ve only managed to escape from Tarkov once under my own steam, and that was just with a measly shotgun. (You can spawn in with so-so gear as one of what are normally NPCs, you see, then keep whatever you scarper with.)
My other successful escape was with friends, when I basically just followed their bums to victory. That’s another off-putting oddity: you can play in up to groups of five, pitting loners against impossible odds. It was nice being the bullies, but I feel for the bullied. Even though two people did manage to ambush us, and I’m pretty sure I accidentally killed my pal Greg.
Here comes the rub. I checked into Tarkov because I saw all my friends having a great time there – and they still are. They’re going to read this and tut at me. But I am not like them. Dan best sums up our differences: “it’s the game for people who find screens like this appealing”.
That makes me want to run away screaming. For me, Escaping From Tarkov is a hollow endeavour. Empty in purpose, brimming with faff.
*I’ve since been told the weapons in the shop are pre-made configurations, and there’s nothing to stop you buying all the individual parts. Apart from having enough money to do that, which you’ll only have if you’re experienced – or if you bought one of the more expensive versions of the game.

Friday, July 10, 2020

No, Escape From Tarkov won't add female playable characters

After a year-ish of steadily growing a fanbase, serious Russian scavenging sim-o-shooter Escape From Tarkov recently exploded in popularity thanks in part to promotion from some big Twitch streamers. The torrent of new interested people have come bearing wishes and questions, including wondering if the developers will add playable female characters. No, Battlestate Games say, they won’t. There’s your answer. It seems they don’t consider female player characters sufficiently worth investing resources in. Ah well. They did also offer the patently daft idea that ladies wouldn’t fit with the “lore” but mate come on.
Battlestate Games addressed the question of a female player character option on Monday after internauts seeking an answer found a dodgy one in an interview from 2016. Back then, Battlestate’s Pavel Dyatlov told Wccftech they had considered playable warlasses “but we came to the conclusion that women are not allowed to be in the war.” When the interviewer pushed back that women are in the military, Dyatlov gave the remarkable answer:
“I can agree with you and we discussed it for a very long time, but we came to the conclusion that women can’t handle that amount of stress. There’s only place for hardened men in this place.”
With that daftness circulating again and drawing ridicule, Battlestate addressed the interview on Monday in a tweet. “The answers were done by one, not a key BSG employee which probably were misinterpreted and as a result didn’t reflect the official position of the company, that we always respected women in wars and military women,” they said.
That is a weaselly response, trying to deflect with accusations of misinterpretation and claiming the problem was that they’d disrespected women in the military. Battlestate added that “the employee was reprimanded and properly instructed” and said they are “sorry for caused confusion.” They still don’t plan to add female characters, mind, and they’re not entirely done using daft fictional justification for their decision.
Battlestate followed-up with tweets saying while they have some female NPCs, “there will be no playable female characters because of game lore and more importantly – the huge amount of work needed with animations, gear fitting etc.”
So they don’t think it’s worth allocating any of their limited resources to this task, basically. It’s not a priority. I wish it were otherwise, but hey ho. I’m more forgiving of that when it’s a small studio rather than Ubisoft, who had nine studios and hundreds of people working on Assassin’s Creed Unity yet said they couldn’t add women. It’s still a shame, particularly with Tarkov drawing interest from a whole load of new people.
It’s also unfortunate that Battlestate muddied the waters by trying that “lore” nonsense again. As Samuel Johnson said, lore is the last refuge of the scoundrel. The game’s story is a paper-thin excuse for heavily-armed players to pick through ruins for loot, shoot and rob each other, then escape. It doesn’t matter. This is like Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds getting self-serious delusions that it’s a grim and gritty world built on cutting Cold War history rather than a big silly playground for idiots to lark about with stunts and banter. They could change the lore to allow women fighters with a click of their fingers.
Escape From Tarkov is still in closed beta, though they’re selling beta access as part of pre-ordering for €35. It’s basically early access under another name. When we sent our Matt into Tarkov in January 2019, he came out declaring it “brutal, stressful and exhausting” – but he felt no lasting purpose or draw. Still no firm word on when the finished game will launch.