Combos

A combo is a saved compound: an arrangement of objects that can be placed again through the SOMA Level Editor’s Combo EditMode. Use it when you want to reuse a group of pieces rather than assemble each member separately.

Understand the three kinds of grouping

• A compound groups objects so they can be transformed together in the editor.
• A combo stores a compound in a .cmb file for placement through Combo EditMode.
• Combine EditMode groups static geometry for loading as a whole; the toolbar documentation describes this as an optimization feature. This is a separate toolbar mode from placing saved combos.

Start with a shipped example

1. Open your mod’s map in LevelEditor.exe; see Edit Your First Map for the working-mod setup and save/reopen check.
2. Select Combo EditMode on the toolbar. It is the mode documented for placing saved compounds.
3. Use combos/urban/tech/alarm_clock.cmb as the small reference combo. It contains alarm_clock_1 and alarm_clock_button_1, each referencing its own .ent file.
4. After placing the combo, compare its members with that file’s Components and Compound sections. The compound records both member IDs; it is a group containing two entities.
5. Move the compound with its Position property, then save and reopen the mod map. Compound position, rotation and scale transform the group together.

The alarm-clock combo uses entities/urban/tech/alarm_clock/alarm_clock.ent and entities/urban/tech/alarm_clock/alarm_clock_button.ent. A larger example, combos/urban/furniture/desk_work.cmb, contains one desk and three drawer entities. The vegetation example combos/organic/vegetation_clusters/vegetation_cluster01.cmb contains both static objects and an entity. These are examples of the contents a shipped combo can store.

Compound transforms

Property	What it changes
Name	The name of the compound.
Position	The compound’s center position.
Rotation	The rotation of the group; a member that cannot rotate can restrict this.
Scale	The scale of the group; a member that cannot scale can restrict this.

Saving your own combo

The shipped editor includes controls labelled Create Compound, Save as Combo and Destroy Compound. The saved examples use the .cmb extension and contain FileIndices, Components, Compound and Thumbnail sections.

The exact save dialog, destination selection, browser refresh procedure and behavior when an existing combo file changes still need direct editor verification. This page therefore does not prescribe an unverified save-and-refresh sequence.

See also

• Compound objects
• Editor modes
• Static geometry and automatic combining