Vertex/Editing
Build a small room and test its scale and collision in your game before adding detail. The active game profile sets the map's units; changing the connected profile does not rescale an existing map.
Move around and select
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Z, then WASD / Q / E | Enter free camera and move. Hold Shift to move faster; Escape exits. |
| F | Frame the selection. |
| 1–4 / Space | Choose a view / maximize the view. |
| S / G / R / T | Select / move / rotate / scale. |
| V / E / H | Edit vertices / edges / faces. |
| B / Shift+A | Draw / texture tools. |
| [ / ] | Decrease / increase the grid size. |
| I / Shift+C | Isolate the selection / preview collision. |
Shortcuts yield to text fields and free camera. Select an object before selecting its vertices, edges, or faces. Delete in a component tool removes those components; deleting in the hierarchy removes whole objects.
Switch Global / Local above the views to choose transform axes. Local follows the active object or selected face. Numeric fields accept arithmetic, so you can enter a value such as 128*2.
Draw geometry
- Choose the draw tool and a shape.
- Set the grid and depth, then drag out the footprint.
- Apply the preview with Enter or Apply. Escape cancels.
- Use Move, Rotate, and Scale to position it. Keep large structural pieces on the grid.
Drawing on an existing collider starts the new shape on that surface. Empty space uses the draw plane. Hold Shift while drawing for equal width, height, and depth. Stairs fit the drawn bounds; adjust their step count in the creation settings.
Parametric shapes retain their settings. Use Convert to brush when you need to edit individual components. That conversion gives up the original shape controls.
Doorways and windows
For a doorway through a solid wall, place a box cutter through the wall, select the wall and then the cutter, and apply Subtract last selected. The operation removes the cutter.
For a framed opening, use Inset faces, apply it, scale the selected inner face, and delete that face. A thick wall needs openings on both sides. Bridge boundaries joins compatible open rims to form the inside surfaces.
Choose Auto or Exact collision for a wall with an opening. Box and Convex collision can fill that opening even when the rendered wall looks correct.
Materials, models, and prefabs
Drag a material from Materials onto a face. Hold Shift during the drop to apply it to the whole brush. These drops preserve the existing UV alignment.
In Texture mode, left-click samples a face's material and alignment; right-drag paints them. Adjust texture size and offsets in the inspector. Texture lock keeps the mapping attached while moving or resizing geometry.
Drag models from Models into a view, or use Place at pivot. Game models retain references to the SDK assets. For your own models or textures, use Content import.
Prefabs contains reusable assemblies supplied by the game. They can include geometry, models, entities, and scripts. Linked instances retain local changes when refreshed. Unpack removes the source link. Save your own selections with File → Save selection as prefab….
Terrain
Select one four-sided face and choose Convert to terrain. Pick subdivisions, preview, and apply. The terrain replaces that brush with an open patch, so duplicate the brush first if you need to keep the solid.
Choose Base texture and Paint texture in the Terrain inspector. Paint textures reveals the second texture; Shift erases back to the base. Sculpt terrain raises, lowers, or smooths the surface. Use enough subdivisions for the shape you need, and inspect collision after sculpting.
Collision and lighting
The Collision section controls whether an object blocks movement, its collision shape, and its filters. Start with Auto. Use Create collision proxy when a simpler invisible shape would make movement smoother, such as a ramp over stairs. Creating a proxy disables the original collider; deleting the proxy does not restore it.
Set the sun, sky, ambient light, and fog in Map Environment. Game SDKs decide which lighting and spatial bakes are required. Inspect the built map in the game: the Vertex viewport does not reproduce every game shader or baked lighting effect.
Entities and logic
Choose an entity in the creation controls, place it, and edit its properties in the inspector. A point has a position and direction. A bounds entity defines a volume. A brush entity owns geometry placed under it in the hierarchy.
Name entities before wiring them in VSig. Game-specific reference pages explain their behavior; Grimwar's entity index covers every supplied type.
Validate and export
Use File → Validate map to find geometry, reference, asset, and collision problems. Validation reports problems without repairing the map.
Export compiled meshes… writes .vertexmesh for engine import. Export selection as model… writes OBJ or FBX geometry for other tools. Model export does not carry game entities, engine model placements, or collision. Use the game's Build controls for a playable package.
Hidden objects still export. Hide and isolate are editing aids; delete an object or change its output settings when it should not ship.