TiMan: Create shared HPL3 Model Editor controls guide verified against the SOMA, Rebirth, and Bunker editor executables and entity sessions

2026-10-02T17:34:18Z

Create shared HPL3 Model Editor controls guide verified against the SOMA, Rebirth, and Bunker editor executables and entity sessions

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The '''Model Editor controls''' combine object-editing modes with per-viewport camera and display controls. The core controls described here are present in the Model Editors shipped with SOMA, Amnesia: Rebirth, and Amnesia: The Bunker.

== Object editing ==

The editor provides four main object modes:

* '''Select''' chooses objects in a viewport and exposes their editable properties.
* '''Translate''' moves the selection.
* '''Rotate''' rotates the selection.
* '''Scale''' changes its size.

The editor also provides '''Clone''', '''Delete''', '''Undo''', and '''Redo''' commands. Keep an eye on the current selection and active mode before dragging: the same pointer movement has a different effect in selection, translation, rotation, and scaling modes.

'''Focus''' frames the current selection in a viewport. This is useful after importing a model at an unexpected scale or moving the camera away from the entity.

== Viewports ==

A normal Model Editor layout contains orthographic '''Front''', '''Right''', and '''Top''' views and a '''Perspective''' view. Each viewport stores its own camera and display state.

The viewport menu includes:

* '''Camera Mode''': selects the view orientation.
* '''Render Mode''': selects the display style, including shaded and wireframe rendering.
* '''Controller''': selects camera navigation. Shipped entity sessions use '''Ortho''' for the three orthographic views and '''Maya''' for the perspective view; '''Fly''' is also available in all three editors.
* '''Show Grid''' and '''Show Axes''': toggle those viewport guides.

The focused viewport can be enlarged and later returned to the four-view layout. Saved <code>.ent</code> files may retain the focused viewport, enlargement state, camera position and target, controller, view mode, renderer, axes, grid, and grid-plane state in <code>EditorSession/ViewportConfig</code>.

== Grid and snapping ==

The lower controls select a grid plane and maintain grid height and snapping state. The active plane matters in orthographic work: shipped sessions normally associate Front, Right, and Top with different grid planes.

Use snapping when collision shapes, sockets, or other components must share an exact position. Turn it off for fine visual alignment. Because the saved viewport session records <code>GridPlane</code>, <code>GridHeights</code>, and <code>LockToGrid</code>, reopening two entities can restore different grid states.

== Shortcut differences ==

Do not assume that every HPL3 Model Editor build displays the same keyboard hints. For example, the later Amnesia editors expose help strings for focusing the selection and toggling grid snapping that are not exposed in the same form by the SOMA executable. Use the command labels and tooltips shown by the editor build you are running.

== See also ==

* [[HPL3/Entities/Model Editor View|Model Editor View]]
* [[HPL3/Entities/Model Editor Preferences|Model Editor Preferences]]
* [[HPL3/Entities/Working with Shapes|Working with Shapes]]

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HPL3/Entities/Model Editor Controls - Revision history

TiMan: Create shared HPL3 Model Editor controls guide verified against the SOMA, Rebirth, and Bunker editor executables and entity sessions