Don't hesitate to try this superb space sim just because you don't own a joystick ad you really don't need one to play the game. The reference card is a good starting point for your own keyboard layout. I use ESDF for movement in conjunction with my mouse for fine-tuning. So I have moved the standard S key (next subsystem) to W, E (next escort ship) to 4, F (closest friendly ship) to 5 - respectively the SHIFT+S, SHIFT+E and SHIFT+F combinations to SHIFT+W etc.