Positioning objects
Position is where an object goes from roughly there to exactly right. You can drag it, use keys like a 3D program, or type numbers.
The Edit switch
EDGEbuilder’s window covers the whole game view, with its panel at the right. Normally the rest of it is see-through, and your mouse goes to the game.
The Edit switch at the right end of the panel’s title bar (the bar that says EDGEBUILDER) turns the rest of the screen into EDGEbuilder’s viewport: the area where you select and move objects with the mouse.
| Edit off | Edit on | |
|---|---|---|
| The screen | The game as usual | Very slightly darker: that’s how you know the viewport has the mouse |
| The mouse | Goes to the game | Selects and moves objects |
| The view | V’s eyes | EDGEbuilder’s own camera, and the game’s HUD hidden. See The camera and builder mode |
| The gizmo | Not drawn. The game’s outline still marks the selection | Drawn on the selected object |
The overlay must be interactive for Edit to work: press F10 until REDnode’s windows take the mouse.
A help line at the bottom left of the screen says what you can do next.
Selecting
With Edit on, click an object in the world to select it. The game outlines it, and the Scene tab opens with its numbers. Click empty space to select nothing.
Clicking in the Scene tab’s list selects too.
The gizmo
The selected object gets a gizmo, drawn over the game:
| Part | Colour | Drag it to |
|---|---|---|
| X arrow | Red | Slide the object east or west |
| Y arrow | Green | Slide it north or south |
| Z arrow | Blue | Raise or lower it |
| Ring | Yellow | Turn it around the vertical |
A thin cyan box shows the object’s size. In the in-game test, the gizmo and the box landed exactly on the object (0.0 px off the game’s own projection).
Hold Ctrl while dragging to snap: moves go in 0.25 m steps, turns in 15° steps.
Let go to keep the new position. The scene is saved as you go.
G, R and S
If you’ve used Blender, these work the same way. Select an object, then:
| Key | Starts |
|---|---|
| G | Moving. The object follows the mouse |
| R | Turning. Around the vertical unless you lock another axis |
| S | Scaling. Meshes only: an entity keeps the size its template gives it |
While it’s going:
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| X, Y or Z | Locks to that axis. Press it again to unlock |
Digits, . and - |
Type an exact amount: metres for G, degrees for R, a factor for S. With G and no axis locked, a typed amount moves the object up or down |
| Backspace | Removes the last typed character |
| Ctrl | Snaps, as with the gizmo (0.25 m, 15°, 0.25 for scale) |
| Enter or a click | Keeps it |
| Esc or a right-click | Puts the object back where it was |
The help line shows the amount so far.
Examples:
- G, Z,
1.5, Enter: up 1.5 m. - R,
90, Enter: a quarter turn. - S,
2, Enter: twice the size.
Scaling rebuilds the mesh’s preview at the new size, so it blinks once.
Drop to floor
Ctrl+E, or Drop to floor in the Scene tab, lowers the selected object onto the first surface below it: the ground, a floor, a pavement. If there’s nothing within 100 m, the message line says so and the object stays put.
Typing numbers
The Selected panel in the Scene tab has five fields:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| X, Y, Z | Position in the game’s world, in metres. X is east, Y north, Z up |
| Heading | The turn around the vertical, in degrees |
| Scale | Size as a factor, for meshes. 1 is the original size. Greyed out for entities |
Type new values and press Apply, or Enter in a field. The object moves there.
Delete
Press Delete with an object selected, or Delete in the Scene tab. It goes from the world and the scene. There’s no undo yet.
Good to know
- Drags follow the mouse at the game’s frame rate. In the in-game test, dragging didn’t lower the frame rate.
- While Edit is on, EDGEbuilder’s layer is over other REDnode windows, so you can’t click them. Switch Edit off to use them.
- The fields set the heading only. R with X or Y locked turns around those axes instead, which tilts the object; the in-game test turned objects around the vertical only.