There's no explanation of any of the configuration or gameplay options in-game, and while some are fairly obvious (such as resolution and volume controls), others aren't:
| Option | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Use mouse | on/off | Changes keyboard control mapping (see below). Mouse control remains active even if off. |
| Invert pitch control | on/off | Often called "Invert Y-axis". Swaps dive/climb controls between aircraft-like and crosshair-following (except there's no crosshair). |
| Widen field of view | 50 to 110 | Angle of main field of view in degrees. Adjust this depending on how far from the screen you are so that things appear natural. |
| Text speed | 8 to 0 | Delay between word reveals in dialogues in twentieths of a second |
| Head Up Display Nothing | on/off | Toggles between nothing else checked and previously saved settings while Display Adjustments screen is open. Really controls the visibility of the Status menu prompt. |
| Remove landscape details | 0 to 4 | To improve graphics performance, you can remove levels of landscape details, from mushrooms to trees. |
| Enable character reflections | on/off | To improve graphics performance, you can turn off the reflections of characters in water (independent of overall graphics quality). |
| Control adjustment sensitivity | -10 to +10 | Adjust how much of an affect each control has on the associated movement. |
| Speed of time | 90% to 110% | How fast in-game time passes compared to real time. |
| Landscape size* | Tiny,Small,Default,Medium,Large,Massive | Approximate diameter of the crater. Tiny is half the diameter of the default, large twice the diameter. Massive landscapes should not be used. |
| Game type* | Default,Challenge,Endless | In default mode, you get one bag of letters to deliver, and the game ends when you return after delivering all of them. In the other modes, new letters become available for delivery at midnight. Return to the post office towers to collect them. The difference is that in challenge mode, if you return with an empty bag the game will end and you will be judged on your performance.** |
| Difficulty* | Custom,Easy,Default,Hard | Controls how easy it is to move around the landscape. See custom settings for details. |
| Maximum height above ground | 50 (hard) to 200 (easy) (default 100) | How high above the ground you can fly. Your altitude ceiling (how high you can fly above water level) is fixed. |
| Maximum superspeed | 1 (easy) to 4 (hard) (default 2) | Superspeed ("Fly fast") at water level, relative to a base line approximately five times faster than normal. |
| Superspeed altitude sensitivity | 0 to 4 (default 2, easy 3, hard 1) | Superspeed at maximum altitude. "Easy" is easy to control close to the ground and allows fast flight between delivery locations. "Hard" requires more skill to control close to the ground, and makes flight between delivery locations harder. |
*These options can only be set when starting a new game.
**This is the only boss encounter in DragonMail. The boss gives you a performance review.
Also, there are a couple of inessential controls which aren't documented within the game, and some UI screens are missing prompts, so here is a full reference chart:
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Xbox controller | PS controller* | Switch controller* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move (forward,back,left,right) | W, A, S, D | left stick | left stick | left stick | |
| Turn (left,right) | left ,right (mouse off) | move left/right | right stick | right stick | right stick |
| Pitch (dive, climb)** | up, down (mouse off) | move up/down | right stick | right stick | right stick |
| Ascend/Descend | Q,E or page up, page down | scroll | left trigger, right trigger | left trigger, right trigger | left trigger, right trigger |
| Pan camera | H, L ((mouse off) left, right (mouse on) | D-pad (left,right) | D-pad (left,right) | D-pad (left,right) | |
| "Zoom" camera | O, P or home, end | D-pad (up,down) | D-pad (up,down) | D-pad (up,down) | |
| Tilt camera** | J, K (mouse off) up, down (mouse on) | right shoulder+D-pad (up,down) | right shoulder+D-pad (up,down) | right shoulder+D-pad (up,down) | |
| Reset camera | backspace | right hold | B | circle | A |
| Fly faster ("Superspeed") | space or shift | left shoulder or right shoulder | left shoulder or right shoulder | left shoulder or right shoulder | |
| Local map toggle | Z | left stick press | left stick press | left stick press | |
| Main map toggle | M | right stick press | right stick press | right stick press | |
| Pan main map | up, down, left, right | move | D-pad | D-pad | D-pad |
| Zoom main map | Q, E | scroll | left trigger, right trigger | left trigger, right trigger | left trigger, right trigger |
| Toggle main menu (save, quit etc) | del | start | ? | ? | |
| Toggle game menu (postbag etc) | esc | select | ? | ? | |
| Navigate menu | tab/up,down.left,right*** hotkeys | move | D-pad*** | D-pad*** | D-pad*** |
| Select item | enter | left click | A | cross | B |
| Dismiss menu sub-screen | esc | right click | B | circle | A |
| Dismiss end-game screen | esc/enter | left click/right click | A/B | cross/circle | A/B |
| Dismiss dialog | enter | left click | A | cross | B |
| Fast-forward dialog | backspace | right click | B | circle | A |
| Screenshot (saved to saved games folder) | shift+escape | right shoulder+select | ? | ? | |
| Chatter | tab | X | square | Y | |
| Swipe | \ | Y | triangle | X |
*These haven't been tested, and at the moment are best guesses.
**Swapped by "Invert pitch control" configuration
***Moving focus on menu screens by keyboard and controller is somewhat unreliable