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Linedef / Edge Tool

The Linedef / Edge Tool (3D keyboard shortcut 'E') allows you to select, edit, and create linedefs in 2D maps and select/edit edges on direct 3D geometry objects.

In 2D views it works with linedefs and includes creation modes for quickly building map geometry (sectors).

In 3D views, the same tool becomes the edge/surface-line editing tool for direct geometry objects. It selects existing edges and can draw surface-local line segments on a selected face. These drawn lines are stored as editable points plus segments, so later actions can turn them into cuts, ridges, grooves, or other edge-based surface detail.

Selection Modes​

  • Click: Select a linedef in 2D or an edge in 3D.
  • Shift + Click: Add linedefs/edges to the selection.
  • Alt (Mac: Option) + Click: Remove linedefs/edges from the selection.
  • Click + Drag: Move selected linedefs in 2D.
  • Click + Drag onto another edge/vertex: Auto-merge moved 3D edge vertices when they land on existing vertices.
  • Click + Drag (Empty Area): Select a rectangular area of linedefs in 2D.
  • Delete Key: Remove selected linedefs in 2D.
  • Escape Key: Clear the selection in 2D/edge selection, or end the current 3D surface-line polyline while drawing.

3D Shortcuts​

  • X: Split selected geometry edges. On connected quad geometry this performs a loop-cut through the quad strip.
  • M: Merge selected edge vertices to their center and rebuild affected faces.
  • L: Expand a selected edge into an edge loop on quad geometry, or expand a selected surface-line point/segment to its connected guide shape.
  • [ / ]: Move selected edge vertices vertically by one grid step.

When edge or vertex edits create a concave or non-planar face, Eldiron automatically resolves the affected face into triangles so the mesh remains valid.

The shared HUD grid shortcuts 1 ... 6 set 3D edge snapping to 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, or 1/32 world units. Moved edge vertices snap to absolute grid positions, and auto-merge can run after both drag and gizmo movement when vertices land together.

3D Surface Lines​

To draw a surface line, select a face with the Sector / Face Tool, switch to the Linedef / Edge Tool, then click points on that face.

  • The first click starts a new polyline and immediately creates the first visible surface-line point.
  • Each next click creates a straight segment from the previous point.
  • Clicking the first point closes the loop and creates the final closing segment.
  • Press Escape to end the current polyline without clearing the surface-line selection.

Click an existing surface-line point or segment to select just that point or segment. Use Shift + Click to add more individual points or segments, or Alt/Option + Click to remove them from the selection. Press L to expand the current point/segment selection to the whole connected surface-detail shape for cutouts, duplication, and reusable guide workflows. This also works on rebuilt cutout surface rings, so a guide from an earlier opening can be selected again even after choosing another face on the same object. Surface guide points remain visible in the Linedef / Edge Tool even when their host face is not the active face. Drag the selected points or guide shape to move it on the selected face. Press Delete to remove the selected surface-line points or segments.

Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C with surface-line segments selected to set them to straight lines or configurable arcs. You can also select two points on the same connected guide to curve the shortest path between them, which makes arch and rounded-detail guides possible without adding one-off arch tools. Positive and negative amounts bend the arc in opposite directions.

When the selected shape is a closed loop, the status bar shows that Create Cutout and Create Face are available. Open or closed selected shapes can be used for Create Ridge and Create Groove.

Surface lines are editor geometry attached to the face. They do not cut or deform the mesh by themselves. Use actions to commit selected lines into real geometry:

  • Create Cutout converts selected closed loops into openings through the host object. The action uses the loop shapes, rebuilds the front and opposite faces around them, and creates reveal faces through the thickness.
  • Create Face converts selected closed loops into new selectable faces on the host object without cutting through it.
  • Create Ridge converts selected surface lines into persistent raised geometry.
  • Create Groove converts selected surface lines into persistent recessed geometry.
  • Duplicate Surface Detail duplicates the selected guide shape on the same face with face-local offsets.
  • Surface Curve sets selected guide segments, or the shortest path between selected points, to straight lines or configurable arcs.

Create Cutout keeps the guide loops selected after openings are created, so shapes can be reused or duplicated instead of redrawn. The guides remain selectable on the rebuilt ring, which supports several matching cutouts on one object. Curved guide segments are tessellated into the resulting cutout, ridge, or groove geometry. Ridge and Groove can create box-shaped, triangular, or rounded strokes. They generate a separate Geometry Object, select it after creation, and inherit the tile, color, tilegraph, or nodegraph source from the host face by default.

The same closed guide-loop concept is intended to support future surface-region actions: cutting through, carving/chipping the inside, raising the inside, splitting the region into new paintable faces, or assigning different tiles/colors to generated interior regions.

Use surface lines for custom detail that should be drawn directly on a face: mortar lines, stone blocks, guide cobbles, floor seams, decorative raised trim, grooves, vents, custom window cuts, or other geometry-first surface relief. For committed patterned surface geometry, use Create Pattern in relief mode.

Creation Mode (Manual)​

  • Click on free space: Creates a new vertex (or uses an existing one at the click position).
  • Click again on another free space: Creates a linedef between the new vertex and the previous one.
  • Clicking on an existing vertex: Extends the shape by connecting to the selected vertex.
  • Closing a polygon (by connecting the last linedef to the starting vertex) automatically creates a sector.

This manual mode creates sectors by keeping a history of vertex clicks. You can only close already existing shapes when you click on every vertex in the path.

Creation Mode (Automatic)​

Hold Command (macOS) / Ctrl while clicking on vertices; on every click, the automatic mode checks if it can close an existing polygon. For example, if you have a shape that is not closed, you can add linedefs to this shape to close the shape and create a sector.

This mode fails if you have a grid of existing geometry created by the Rect Tool.

Authoring​

With Authoring mode enabled, the lower dock shows the Authoring editor instead of the tile picker for selected linedefs.

Use the same minimal TOML format:

title = ""
description = """
"""

For linedefs, this is intended for connection or passage descriptions rather than geometric direction names.