Tools and mouse grammar

Creator has 17 tools. Pick one from the left rail or with its shortcut (see Keyboard shortcuts); the status bar always shows the active tool’s mouse grammar, and the right dock swaps to that tool’s inspector.

The Mouse grammar line under each tool is the exact string the app shows you in the status bar. If the two ever disagree, the app is right and this page is stale.

Select

Pick prefabs in the viewport. The starting point for every prefab edit.

Mouse grammar: LMB select · Ctrl+click toggles · drag empty ground to box select (Ctrl adds, Alt removes) · Alt+click picks one piece of a group · click again cycles overlaps · Shift+click lists every overlap
Inspector: Transform

Move

Drag a selected prefab along an axis handle, or snap it to the ground.

Mouse grammar: LMB drag moves · axis handles constrain · Alt+drag snaps to prefabs · G snap to ground · X local or world · Ctrl+Shift+T tunnel grid · Alt+click picks one piece of a group
Inspector: Transform

Rotate

Turn a selected prefab with the axis rings.

Mouse grammar: Drag a ring to rotate on its axis · Outer ring turns about the view · Shift snaps · X local or world · Esc cancels
Inspector: Transform

Scale

Resize a selected prefab with the axis tips.

Mouse grammar: Drag an axis cube to scale that axis · Center cube scales all three · Shift snaps · X local or world · Esc cancels
Inspector: Transform

Sculpt

Raise, lower, smooth and stamp terrain height with a brush. Sixteen modes, including clone, bridge, terrace, hydraulic erosion and the stamp library.

Mouse grammar: LMB paint · Alt+drag size/strength · Ctrl+RMB pick height · [ ] size · , . strength · M mode · Esc cancels
Inspector: Terrain

Paint

Paint a terrain layer: the ground textures (splat), the biome, the topology bits, or alpha (holes). Every layer honors the selected brush shape, falloff and rotation.

Mouse grammar: LMB paint layer · Alt+drag size/strength · 0-7 channel · [ ] size · , . strength · Esc cancels
Inspector: Terrain

Paths

Author the road, rail and river splines the map stores natively.

Mouse grammar: LMB pick node · click terrain adds a node · Del removes · Esc clears
Inspector: Paths

Volumes

Place and size trigger volumes (an app-only layer saved beside the map).

Mouse grammar: LMB pick volume · drag to move · axis handles resize · Del removes
Inspector: Volumes

SpawnPoints

Place the spawn points an NPC spawn group stands on, and set which way each one faces. Make the group first, on the NPC SPAWNERS tab.

Mouse grammar: LMB place a spawn point · drag to face · click a point to re-face · Del removes
Inspector: SpawnPoints

Markers

Place the markers that show up on the in-game map.

Mouse grammar: LMB place a map marker · click one to select · drag to move · Del removes
Inspector: Markers

IoWire

Wire electrical and industrial IO between placed prefabs.

Mouse grammar: LMB an IO prefab to add a node · click a slot then another to wire · Esc cancels · Del removes
Inspector: IoWire

Zipline

Place and aim the prefabs that make the server build a zipline, and see the line it will build. Shows every launch point, the target it solves to, and whether the line of sight is clear.

Mouse grammar: LMB a launch or target · click a pair to test it · drag to aim · Alt+click swaps launch · Del removes · Esc steps back
Inspector: Zipline

Sockets

See and author the sockets a prefab piece joins on, in the prefab workspace. Shows every socket in the document as free, mated, the candidate a release would commit, or unable to mate, and lets you add sockets to pieces that ship with none.

Mouse grammar: LMB pick a piece to edit its sockets · click empty space to clear · drag in the Move tool to snap them together
Inspector: Sockets

IslandStamp

Stamp one of the four Deep Sea tropical islands into the map: its own height, ground textures, biome and topology go into the map’s layers and its palms and rocks on top, as one undo step. Refuses a footprint that leaves the map or lands on a monument.

Mouse grammar: Move to preview · LMB stamps here · [ ] turn (Shift: 1 degree) · Shift+LMB pins · Drag the ring to turn a pinned island · Enter stamps the pin · Esc unpins
Inspector: IslandStamp

Ramp

Place a graded ramp between two clicks. It is drawn over the terrain before anything is written, with its grade shown against the game’s own roads, and applying it is one undo step. An applied ramp stays a ramp: pick it up again, in this session or after a save, and reshape it.

Mouse grammar: LMB foot, then head · Drag an end or the middle · Enter applies · Esc puts it down · Ctrl+Z undoes
Inspector: Ramp

PrefabBrush

Lay prefabs from a palette along a drag: a weighted set of prefabs with their turn and size rules, spread under a ring, at a density you set. Every stroke is one undo step. Palettes are the Scatter window’s presets, so each one works in both tools.

Mouse grammar: LMB drag lays prefabs · Ctrl+drag erases · Shift+LMB straight run · [ ] spread · Esc or RMB cancels
Inspector: PrefabBrush

Patrols

Vehicles and Patrols. Place vehicles that stand at a spot and come back, draw a Bradley’s patrol path with its interest points, and draw the ring the cargo ship sails. The server extension makes them happen in game. See Vehicles and patrols.

Mouse grammar: LMB place a vehicle or add a path node · click one to select · drag to move · drag a vehicle’s ring to aim · click a line to insert a node · Del removes · Esc steps back
Inspector: Patrols

Notes

Every edit is undoable. One user-visible operation is one undo step, including whole-map operations. A live drag mutates in place and commits a single step on release.
Painting and undo show immediately.
Strokes paint the same at any frame rate. Esc during a stroke cancels it: the terrain returns to how it was and no undo step is recorded.
Adjusting the brush without leaving the viewport: [ and ] step the size (by a percentage, so it stays useful at every size), , and . step the strength, and Alt+drag sets both at once (left/right = size, up/down = strength).
Brush presets persist. Save the current size, strength, opacity, shape, falloff, rotation, spacing and paint filters under a name in the Terrain inspector.
Ziplines are not saved in your map. The server works out every line when it boots, from the prefabs you placed. Move a prefab or raise the ground under a line and the line changes or disappears the next time the server starts.
A launch point that finds no target is deleted by the server. The tower stays, the zipline does not. The Zipline panel says so for the selected launch before you export.
Lines only run downhill. A target may sit at most 3 m above its launch, so a zipline gets you down, never up, and never back.
A platform pylon starts TWO lines, one in each direction. Alt+click swaps between them and you should check both.
Range is 370 m dead ahead, narrowing as the target moves off the launch’s forward: at the edge of the cone it is about 74 m. The wedge drawn on the ground is the real limit.
Line of sight comes in two tiers. The terrain check is exact; the prefab check is approximate. NOT CHECKED means the panel could not tell.
A blocked line can be fixed with one click. An out-of-range pair is offered an intermediate platform; both are one undo step.
Check it on a real server. With admin rights, ziplinelaunchpoint.report prints how many ziplines exist plus their total and average length, and ziplinelaunchpoint.highlight draws an arrow along each one. If the editor and the server disagree, the server is right.
Scatter is not a rail tool: TOOLS > Scatter… opens its window, which places many prefabs at once by rule, previews them as outlined boxes and places them as one undo step. See Scatter.
Layer Files is not a rail tool: TOOLS > Layer Files… opens its window, which writes each terrain layer of the map to its own file, as an image or as its exact bytes. See Layer files.
The Map Validator is not a rail tool either: TOOLS > Validate Map… opens its window, which scans the map for likely problems and lists them, numbered. Double-click a line, or press Enter, to select its prefab and move the camera to it. See Validate your map.
Volumes, markers, IO wiring, spawn points and loot/vending/NPC profiles are saved with your map. Keep the sidecar with the map. See Where your files live.