The main menu is where you can access everything from basic file operations and display options, to more advanced features such as terrain and level editing tools and AI settings. Many of these commands can also be executed the ToolBar and also by using keyboard shortcuts.
The File menu includes commands related to the handling of files such as open and save level file, show log file, and a list of recently loaded levels.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
New | Please see the Creating a New Map tutorial for information on creating a new map. |
Open | Opens an existing level. |
Save | Saves the level. |
Save As | Saves the level under a different name. |
Export to the Engine | Exports the level data to the level.pak file so the level can be played in real game mode. See Preparing a Level for Playing for more information |
Generate the Surface Texture | Generates the surface texture in a compressed format so changes done by the terrain painter will be visible in game mode. See Creating a New Map for more information |
Save the Level Resources | Saves all assets that are used in the level to a folder. |
Export the Selected Geometry to .OBJ | Saves the selected geometry to an .obj file. |
Show the Log File | Shows the log file containing all text that was printed in the console. |
Recently | Lists recently opened levels. |
Exit | Quits the editor prompting the user to save before exiting. |
The Edit menu contains commands related to object manipulation and selection.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Undo | Undos the users last action (Ctrl+Z). |
Redo | Redos the users last action (Ctrl+Shift+Z). |
Delete | Deletes the selected object(s), when you press the yes button on the confirmation window. |
Clone | Duplicates the selected object (Ctrl+C). |
Hide Selection | Hides the selected object (H). |
Unhide All | Unhides all hidden objects. (Ctrl+H), when you press the yes button on the confirmation window. |
Freeze Selection | Freezes the selected objects so they can no longer be moved or selected (F). |
Unfreeze All | Unfreezes all frozen objects (Ctrl+F), when you press the yes button on the confirmation window. |
Hold | Hold (save) the current state (Ctrl+ALT+H). |
Fetch | Fetch (restore) the saved state (Ctrl+ALT+F). |
Select All | Selects all visible, non-frozen objects. |
Select None | Deselects objects currently selected. |
Select Invert | Inverts the selection, so object currently not selected be come selected and objects currently selected become deselected. |
Select Objects | This will brings up the Select Objects window. Please see the The Select Objects Window tutorial for more information. |
Lock Selection | Having an object in lock mode prevents you from selecting other objects (Ctrl+Shift+Space), until you press Escape. |
Next Selection Mask | Selects the next selection mask (masks can be specified in the field with the pull down icon in the editing toolbar - Named Selections). |
Sub Object Mode | When an object is selected and using the edit mesh function, you have the option to select and edit various components of the geometry. |
Editing Mode | Select the various object editing modes. |
Constrain | Limits the movement to the X, Y, Z, or XY axes, to the surface of the terrain, or to the surface of the terrain and objects. |
The Modify menu is where you will find commands used to modify and change attributes and properties such as height and alignment and material of objects and entities.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Link | Linking is used to create hierarchies between objects. If you have one object (child) linked to another and then move the parent object, the child object will move the same way. To link one object to another you have to select one entity, then use the link feature and then clicking on another entity to link them together. |
Unlink | This function will break the link between the objects currently selected. |
Align/Snap | Align an object to the grid or to another object will move the pivot point and rotation parameters of the object currently selected to the one that you click on after you press the align to button. |
Fast Rotate | Quickly rotates the current selected object on the selected axis with the degree value specified in the Rotate Angles Window. |
Convert | Converts the selected object to a Brush or Geom Entity. Brushes are solid objects that can not be modified, expect if they have breakpoints specified (houses for example). Geom Entities are interactive entities with physical values so they behave like real life object (will get pushed away by explosions). |
Set Object Height | Moves the object to a certain level (in meters) above the terrain. |
Rename Objects | Renames the currently selected object. |
Goto Selection | Moves the camera to the selected object. |
Align Object to Surface | Moves the selected object to the surface that you next click on. |
Material | Assign Current assigns the selected material to the current selected object. Reset To Default resets the material on the object to the default one assigned on object creation. Get From Selected gets the material from the selected object to the material editor. Pick Material lets you pick any surfaces and then display the surface material in the editor. |
Physics | This feature is mainly used to make a physical simulation (wooden planks or dead bodies falling down, and then to cache the position of the objects lying on the ground as they would do in real life). Get Physics State gets the current physics state. Reset Physics State resets the physical state (to the position where it has been placed originally). Simulate Objects simulate Objects makes them behave like real gravity is on. |
AIPoint Pick Link | Used to combine AI navigation modifier points (Ctrl+Shift+S). |
AIPoint Pick Impass Link | Used to restrict AI navigation modifier points (so AI can not walk on these lines) (Ctrl+Shift+L). |
Save Objects | Save an object(s) to the game folder (Ctrl+Shift+S). |
Load Objects | Load an object(s) from a game folder (Ctrl+Shift+L). |
The Display menu enables the user to toggle display features which will aid in level design, entity placement and object manipulation. Other commands such as Remember/Goto Location and viewport navigation speed, can also be accessed from the Display menu.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Wireframe | Enables the Wireframe mode (F3). |
Point mode | This option turns on the point mode, it turns off almost all rendering features so editing particles can be done quicker. |
Snap to Grid | This locks an objects movement or rotation to a predefined grid (G). |
Snap Angle | Restricts the rotation of an object to predefined angle steps, i.e. 15, 30, 45, 60... degrees. |
Grid/Snap Settings | More information on the Grad/Snap Settings can be found at the end of this table. |
Configuring the Layout | Select one of the preconfigured layout settings to help keep arrange the Sandbox Editor. For more information, please see the Interacting with Windows and Toolbars tutorial. |
Cycle 2D Viewport | This function will change the current view port to the next type (from perspective to top, to front) (Ctrl+Tab). |
Go to Position | In this window you can specify a camera position in XYZ coordinates, and then hit “Go to” button to move the current camera to this position. |
Remember Location | Using this function allows you to save 10 locations that you later recall using the Goto Location Feature. This is useful to quickly jump to different predefined places in Sandbox and in Game. (Ctrl+F1,2,3,4 etc) |
Goto Location | With this function you can quickly jump to the predefined camera positions. (Shift+F1,2,3,4 etc) |
Change Move Speed | Increasing the speed will make the navigation in the editor faster. Decreasing the speed will make the navigation in the editor slower. Step Size changes the Step Size to higher values to quickly change between fast and slow movement. |
Switch Camera | Default Camera is the default camera. Sequence Camera is used when you want to see through the Camera used in a Track View sequence. Selected Camera Object is the camera entity that you have currently selected. |
AVI Recorder | Allows you to record the current viewport into an .avi video file. |
Show/Hide Helpers | Allows you to hide all helper objects or turn them back on (Shift+Space). |
Toggle Fullscreen Perspective Window | From here you can toggle the perspective viewport to & from full screen mode. This only works when the perspective viewport is not docked in the main editor window. |
Use the Grid/Snap settings dialog box to define Grid settings, Angle Snapping values, the sizes of the construction plane and snap markers.
Grid | |
---|---|
Snap to Grid | Snap the selected object to the grid. |
Grid Lines Every x units | The placement of grid lines measured by units. |
Units Per Meter | Defines the size of a unit. |
Get Angles & Translation from Selected | Rotates the grid lines & translation at angles equal to the selected object. |
Rotation & Translation by X/Y/Z | Rotate the required grid line axis by the specified number of degrees. |
Angle Snapping | |
Angle Snap checkbox | Activates/deactivates Angle Snap. |
Angel Snap | Sets the angle snapping steps in degrees. |
Construction Plane | The Construction Plane is useful when editing Solids, or moving objects around. |
Display | Switches Construction Plane on/off. |
Size | Defines the size in meters in all directions from the pivot. |
Snap Marker | The Snap Marker is used for modeling Solids. |
Display | Turns Snap Marker on and off. |
Size | Changes the size of the Snap Marker. |
This menu allows to quickly switch between predefined quality settings, to check memory footprints, visual quality differences and features available in the different modes. The definition, the features that are shown in a particular mode, needs to be defined in code.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
High | Turns on the high display settings. |
Medium | Turns on the medium display settings. |
Low | Turns on the low display settings. |
X360 emulation | Turns on the Xbox 360 display settings. |
PS3 emulation | Turns on the Playstation 3 display settings. |
From the Console Menu users have access to the Console options and various console specific commands.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Sync data to the console | Syncs all of the level's data to the console. Please see Syncing the Xbox for more information. |
Automatically Sync Data | Continuously syncs the level data to the console. |
Sync camera | Syncs the viewport's camera perspective between PC and Console. |
Options | Opens the dialog window to configure the sandbox editor for console development. |
Load current level on the console | Loads the current level on the console. |
Launch current level on the console | Launches the current level on the console. |
Upload Files to the Console | Opens the file transfer dialog window to send files across to the consoles. |
The Group menu contains commands that are concerned with the grouping of individual objects.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Group | When having multiple objects selected the grouping function will group them together and draw a green box around them. |
Ungroup | Having a group selected this function will ungroup all group object. |
Open | This function will open the group so individual objects within the group can be modified. |
Close | This function will close the group so individual object modification is no longer possible until the group is opened again. |
Attach | Having a group selected and choosing this function and then clicking on a object that is not already within the group will add this new object to the group. |
Detach | When the group is open and one of the group objects is selected this detach function will removed the specific objects from the group. |
The Prefab menu contains commands to make prefabs from selection, reload prefabs and add selected objects to the prefab library.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Make From Selection | Makes a new prefab from the selected objects. |
Reload All | Reloads all prefab items. |
Add Selection to Prefab | Adds current selected objects to the prefab. |
The Terrain menu serves as a hub to access many view panes and tools that affect the game world and terrain appearance in particular ways.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Edit Terrain | Opens the Terrain Editor window. |
Texture | Opens the Terrain Texture Layers window. |
Lighting | Opens the Terrain Lighting window. |
Time Of Day | Opens the Time Of Day window. |
Export/Import Terrain Texture | Opens the terrain texture import/export window, in which you can select multiple sectors to export, modify them in a graphics program and import them back. |
Refine Terrain Texture Tiles | Divides the terrain tiles into more smaller sections. |
Reload the Terrain | Reloads the terrain. |
Select Terrain | Select sections of the terrain to export. |
Export the Terrain Block | Exports a section of the terrain as a terrain block (.trb) file. |
Import the Terrain Block | Imports terrain from a previously saved terrain block file. |
Save Terrain Block as Geometry | Using this function you can save a part of the terrain as an .obj file that can be modified in a 3D graphics application. Have a look in the Export Terrain Block description how to export a section of the terrain. |
Resize Terrain | Opens the terrain resize window where you can change the heightmap of the level by modifying the Heightmap Resolution setting and Meters Per Unit setting. |
Terrain Modify | Opens the Modify a Terrain Panel (also located on the RollUp Bar) with either the Flatten, Smooth, raise / lower or pick height brush selected. |
The Sound menu contains commands to show the currently playing music and to access the sound and dialog browsers.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Show Music Info... | Opens the music information window, in which you can see what music is currently playing. |
Open Sound Browser | Opens Sound Browser, where you can click sound effects and listen to them. |
Open Dialog Browser | Opens the Sound and Dialog Browsers, where you can select dialog segments and listen to them. |
The Game menu provides commands to enable the game mode and test newly created features.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Switch to Game | Switches to game mode so you can play the level within the editor (Ctrl+G) (to exit game mode press Esc). |
Enable Physics/AI | Enables the physics and AI within the editor (Ctrl+P). |
Terrain Collision | Makes the editing camera collide with the terrain so you can't fly under the terrain surface (Q). |
Synchronize the Player with the Camera | Sets the player to the position where the current editing camera is. |
Edit Equipment-Packs | Opens the Edit Equipment-Packs window. See the Setting Up Equipment Packs tutorial for more information. |
Toggle SP/MP GameRules | Switches between “SinglePlayer” and “TeamInstantAction" game rules. |
The AI Triangulation menu contains commands used to generate AI navigation and update the AI system within a level.
Note: If there is no AI navigation data present in the level, the AI system will not be updated.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Generate All AI | This triggers generation of all the AI navigation. All steps listed below will be executed. |
Generate Triangulation | Generates triangulation - the navigation mesh, used for outdoor. |
Generate 3D Navigation Volumes | Generates navigation for 3D volumes. This type of navigation is used by aliens. The volumes have to be defined with AINavigationModifier and NavType of the modifier must be set to Volume. This will make the system process the entire environment within modifier and generate 3D navigation data for this Space. |
Generate Flight Navigation | Generates type of navigation data used by helicopters, scouts, etc. The volumes have to be defined with AINavigationModifier and NavType of the modifier must be set to Flight. This will make system process the entire environment within modifier and generate “2.5D” navigation data, usable for flying AI agents within this Space. |
Generate Waypoints | Regenerates links for indoor waypoints (updating connections). |
Generate Layered Nav Mesh | Generates LNM data specific to AI navigation Modifiers, with LNM set as their navigation type. |
Free LNM Debug Data | |
Validate Navigation | This will check current navigation data for various problems (bad object placement, overlapping forbidden areas, corruptions). Will output warnings if problems found. |
Clear All Navigation | This will remove all navigation information from the level. |
Generate Spawner Entity Code | Used for scripting, it looks for appropriate classes of AI entities and generates a .ent file for each. This associates an Entity class name with the Lua base file of that entity. |
Generate 3D Debug Voxels | Generates debugging information for volume navigation regions (when ai_DebugDraw entered into the Console and activated). |
Generate Cover Surfaces |
The Tools menu is where you reload scripts, textures, geometry and terrain. Other commands include user command configuration and check level for errors.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Reload Scripts | Reloads all entities. |
Reload Textures/Shaders | Reloads all textures and shaders used in the level. |
Reload Geometry | Reloads geometries used in the level. |
Reload Terrain | Initiates the Terrain (can be used instead of reloading the editor). |
Resolve Missing Objects/Materials | This will run a check through the level and try to resolve all objects / materials that have problems. |
Check Level for Errors | Checks the level for errors (duplicate objects, missing assets) and displays a list in the console. |
Check Object Positions | |
Save Level Statistics | Saves level statistics to the "YOURLEVELNAME.xml" file in the C:\Crytek\CryENGINE3\TestResults folder. |
Advanced | |
Compile Script | Compiles an entity script. |
Reduce Working Set | Reduces Memory consumption. |
Clear Level Shader List | Clears the shader list. |
Update Procedural Vegetation | Updates the Procedural Vegetation. |
Customize Keyboard | The Customize Keyboard window enables you configure toolbars, menus and shortcuts. |
Preferences | Editor Preferences can be set here. See Editor Preferences |
Configure User Commands | Function to create shortcuts to console commands. So common commands like display AI parameters can be accessed with just one mouse-click. |
User Commands | Displays the shortcuts to console and editor commands as specified in the Configure User Commands window. |
The View Menu helps users to be able to customize the Sandbox Editor, and provides access to the various Sandbox Editors, user layouts, and skins.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Open View Pane | Here you can open the various Sandbox Editor windows (ie Flowgraph, Trackview), as well as different view functions that aid in object setup. |
Show Rollup Bar | Shows and hides the Rollup Bar. |
Show ToolBox | Shows and hides the ToolBox. |
Show Console | Shows and hides the Console. |
Show Status Bar | Shows and hides the Status Bar. |
Layouts | |
Save Layout... | Save the current layout. If a layout has been previously saved, a list will appear above this menu option, allowing you to load, re-save, rename or delete the user layout. |
Restore Default Layout... | Restores the default layout. |
Skins | Select one of the various skins. Current SDK skins include CryDark and CryLight. |
The Help Menu contains version information as well as access to the Tip of the Day dialog box.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
About Editor | Displays CryENGINE Sandbox Editor version information. |
Tip of the Day | Opens the Tip of the Day dialog box, and allows users to turn "Show tips on startup" on and off. |
CryENGINE version information
Tip of the Day dialog box