Is there a way to force open a virtual keyboard on Android without it being active in the chat window? There are some controls/window shortcuts I would like to use, and being able to free up some button keybinds would make the game experience more responsive.

Thanks guys, Im open to exploring many different routes :)

It only shows up when a text entry field is active.

You might have better luck using the DroidButtons plugin if you want to assign game functions to things on-screen.