- Weather Sandbox controls cover tools, views, movement, simulation speed, and aircraft actions.
- Mouse controls handle panning, zooming, brushing, and selected weather tools.
- Display keys reveal air quality, humidity, clouds, velocity, droplets, and weather stations.
- Simulation keys pause, resume, reload, and adjust iterations per second.
- Flight controls support aircraft movement, firefighting, autopilot, landing gear, and engine actions.
Weather Sandbox controls: Core Layout
Weather Sandbox controls are divided between mouse input, keyboard shortcuts, simulation commands, visual overlays, and optional flight-simulator actions. Learning this layout first makes it easier to create weather, inspect changing conditions, and recover from an inconvenient camera position.
The official 2D Weather Sandbox interface supports presets, save-file loading, fullscreen play, and a configurable atmospheric simulation. The control scheme is designed around quick experimentation: select a tool, apply it with the left mouse button, then inspect the result through display modes.
Video Highlights:
- Storm and tornado creation is the central tutorial focus.
- The demonstration is useful after learning basic tool selection.
- Use the keyboard reference below to reproduce actions consistently.
| Input | Primary action | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| Left mouse button | Use selected tool | Apply the active weather effect |
| Middle mouse button | Drag simulation area | Pan across the atmosphere |
| Mouse wheel | Zoom view | Inspect large or small structures |
| Wheel while holding B | Change brush size | Adjust the active tool area |
| Ctrl or Command | Invert tool action | Remove or reverse an effect |
| Touchscreen | Basic touch input | Limited direct interaction |
Keep one hand near the number row and the other near the mouse. This makes it easier to switch displays while adjusting a storm or moving across the simulation.
Mouse Tools and Brush Management
Mouse input is the fastest way to manipulate the simulation. The left button applies the selected tool, while Ctrl or Command performs the inverted action. This makes one tool useful for both adding and removing conditions, provided the selected action supports an inverse state.
Panning and zooming should be treated as separate actions. Use the middle button to move the simulation area, then use the wheel to inspect a developing cell. Holding B changes the wheel from camera zoom to brush resizing, which is useful when moving from broad atmospheric edits to precise local work.
Navigate
- Middle button pans the view
- Mouse wheel zooms in or out
- V restores the default view
Apply
- Left button uses the selected tool
- Ctrl or Command inverts the action
- Esc removes the active tool
Resize
- Hold B while scrolling
- B twice toggles a whole-width brush
- Match brush size to the scale of the weather cell
| Shortcut | Result | Best application |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl or Command + left click | Inverted tool action | Reduce or reverse a local effect |
| B + mouse wheel | Change brush size | Fine adjustments or broad edits |
| B twice | Whole-width brush toggle | Full-width atmospheric changes |
| Esc | No tool and flashlight mode | Pause active editing |
| V | Reset view | Recover a useful camera position |
Start with a broad brush for large-scale setup, then reduce the brush size before shaping a narrow band, boundary, or localized weather feature.
Display Modes and Simulation Speed
Display shortcuts help you understand what the simulation is doing instead of relying only on the standard view. Number keys from 1 through 9 switch display modes, while dedicated keys reveal specific atmospheric data.
Use the simulation controls when you need to compare conditions over time. Space pauses or resumes the simulation, End enables automatic iterations per second, and Page Up or Page Down changes the iteration rate. These controls are especially useful when a formation develops too quickly to inspect.
| Key | Display or simulation function |
|---|---|
| 1–9 | Select display modes |
| K | Air quality display |
| C | Relative humidity and cloud density |
| Tab | Show or hide velocity vectors |
| D | Show or hide droplets |
| G | Show or hide sounding graph |
| N | Show or hide weather stations |
| H | Show or hide the graphical interface |
| Space | Pause or resume |
| End | Automatic iterations per second |
| Page Up | Increase iterations per second |
| Page Down | Decrease iterations per second |
Set the visual baseline
Begin in the standard display and confirm that the simulation area is easy to read. Press V if the camera is positioned awkwardly.
Inspect atmospheric data
Use C for relative humidity and cloud density, K for air quality, and Tab for velocity vectors. Choose the overlay that answers the question you are testing.
Control the timeline
Press Space to pause when a formation reaches an interesting stage. Use Page Up or Page Down to change the iteration rate before resuming.
Compare specialized views
Toggle droplets, weather stations, or the sounding graph with D, N, and G. Return to the normal view when you need an uncluttered read.
A dramatic visual does not always explain its cause. Check humidity, cloud density, velocity vectors, or the sounding graph before changing several tools at once.
Aircraft, Camera, and Utility Shortcuts
Weather Sandbox includes an optional flight-simulator mode alongside its atmospheric tools. Press A to enable it; the vertical mouse position controls the elevator, while the Up and Down arrows control throttle. Additional keys manage the camera, landing gear, engine, autopilot, and water drops.
These controls are separate from ordinary weather editing, so activate them deliberately. If you only want to inspect a storm, use the camera-following options without enabling flight mode. If you are testing fire response, the aircraft water-drop command provides a focused interaction.
| Key | Aircraft or utility action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A | Toggle flight-simulator mode | Mouse height controls elevator |
| Up / Down arrows | Adjust throttle in flight mode | Use with aircraft movement |
| F | Toggle camera following the plane | Keeps the aircraft centered |
| Shift | Toggle landing gear | Aircraft utility action |
| Z | Drop water from aircraft | Used to extinguish fires |
| Caps Lock | Autopilot | Automates aircraft control |
| Period | Brakes | Aircraft utility action |
| Slash | Toggle engine | Aircraft utility action |
| X | Follow a droplet | Tracks a selected falling droplet |
| Arrow keys | Move the view | Left, right, up, and down |
| Right Ctrl | Slower pan speed | Useful for precise camera movement |
Controls Practice Checklist:
- Pan and zoom the simulation without changing the active tool
- Use Ctrl or Command to test an inverted tool action
- Toggle humidity, velocity, droplets, and weather station displays
- Pause the simulation and adjust iterations per second
- Enter flight mode and test camera following safely
Test aircraft commands in a quiet area first. Camera following and autopilot can change your perspective quickly, so keep F, Caps Lock, and V easy to reach.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Performance and visibility are part of the control experience. The official sandbox tips recommend a vertical resolution of 300 for realistic results, while larger horizontal resolutions can support stronger converging winds and longer-lasting cells. Performance is mostly GPU dependent, and a dedicated graphics processor may need to be selected manually in a laptop browser.
Fullscreen mode can improve workspace visibility. Press F11, then verify that the browser is using the dedicated GPU when available. If the simulation becomes difficult to inspect, pause with Space, reset the view with V, hide the interface with H, or reload from a save file with L.
| Problem | First action | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| View is misplaced | Press V | Pan with the middle button |
| Tool behaves backward | Release or use Ctrl carefully | Confirm the selected tool |
| Simulation changes too quickly | Press Space | Lower iterations with Page Down |
| Data is hard to read | Use H or a display shortcut | Compare one overlay at a time |
| Laptop performance is weak | Check dedicated GPU use | Reduce unnecessary resolution |
| Saved setup needs restoring | Press L | Load the intended save file |
Q: What are the most important Weather Sandbox controls for beginners?
Start with left-click tool use, middle-button panning, mouse-wheel zooming, Ctrl or Command for inverted actions, Space for pausing, and V for resetting the view.
Q: How do I change brush size in Weather Sandbox?
Hold B while scrolling the mouse wheel. Press B twice to toggle a whole-width brush when a broad atmospheric action is more suitable.
Q: How can I inspect humidity, clouds, or air movement?
Press C for relative humidity and cloud density, K for air quality, and Tab for velocity vectors. G opens the sounding graph and N toggles weather stations.
Q: How do I use the aircraft controls?
Press A for flight-simulator mode. The vertical mouse position controls the elevator, while the Up and Down arrows control throttle. F follows the plane, and Z drops water.
Keep the official 2D Weather Sandbox open as your control reference. Practice navigation first, then add display overlays and aircraft actions as needed.