So the original Deus Ex is often toted as one of the all time classics, taking its seat in Gaming Valhalla alongside the likes of Ocarina of Time and Half-Life 2. I've been eager to play through this as I've been on a bit of a Deus Ex hype recently. The main problem is the default control layout is, shall we say, obtrusive to say the least. F12 for flashlight? The same key that is the default button for taking a Steam screenshot? Enter to pick up items? Perhaps this was the norm back at the turn of the century, but nowadays, those two would be lucky to even get assigned something, let alone two very prominent actions.

What I'm trying to say is-does anyone know a comfortable modern key binding setup that would make the controls feel modern. I always get nervous when staring at a key binding screen. It feels daunting, especially since I'm less than a year deep into the PC gaming scene. I just worry that a button I won't need will come back to bite me on the ass later.

Just go what feels comfortable and change it as you go. As long as you quicksave often, it shouldn't hamper your progress too heavily. I would suggest things more, but it has been a long time since I have played Deus Ex.

@wemibelec90: I guess I'll have to wade the waters, so to speak. Even the settings presentation itself is against me here. I see no option for the flashlight toggle, and F6 is classified as an Action rather than a bindable key, which is a problem considering that would've been my go-to decision for a quick save button.

Hmm, if I remember correctly all the F-keys are used for augmentations. In that case it would be easier to just move the Steam screenshot key to some other button. I use one of the Numpad keys myself.
As for other keys, just do what you find comfortable! I usually use E for interactions, like opening doors, picking up stuff etc. But since you can lean in this game (I think, you should probably use something else. F is my second choice, as I use R for reload. Wait, let me see if I can find a list of buttons the game use, been ages since I played it last. There, so this would be my suggestion, which also contain unmodified keys:

• F - Interact
• WASD - Movement
• Q, E - Lean
• Backspace - Holster
• F1/F2 - Inventory/Goals
• Numpad + - Quick Save
• Numpad - Quick Load
• Tab - Drop item
• F3 - F12 - Augments
• Shift - Run
• Ctrl - Duck (I use the thumb-button on my mouse for this whenever possible)
• Space - Jump
• R - Reload

There are more buttons, like "change ammo type" and "toggle laser sight", but those might be different for you than for me since I have a Norwegian layout on my keyboard. Just make sure you know which button does what, and change them if you want. I would probably see if I could change it so that "toggle telescopic sight" is on the middle mouse button, as it now does the same as Tab.
Also, you can rebind the flashlight by rebinding the "F12" entry. I would just stick with F12 though, as you'll have all your augments up there. You'll get used to it.

Good luck with the game, wish I had time to replay it myself!

@jaqen_hghar: I've basically settled for RMB as scoping and F for Object interactions as the only major changes. I'm hoping muscle memory will kick in once I've settled into it and played enough for everything else to feel natural. Here's hoping for the best, eh!

Like wemibelec90 said, just start playing and do what feels comfortable. Also, you don't have to use 'enter' to pick up items. The default is mouse 1 or 2, I don't remember which. But the default controls are actually not that bad. Some of the F keys might need to be reassigned though. I think I changed the flashlight to 'F' but you really won't be using it that often anyway, so it won't matter much. I would suggest just sticking with the defaults and change as you go. But it handles pretty much similar to a first-person game of today.

Oh, and as far as the quick save/load, I just bind it to the + and - on the numpad. It's quick and easy access with your mouse hand.