Introducing Tools
Surveyor is a workspace where you can build your own railroad, and Surveyor 2.0 provides a range of new tools designed to help you make your your dream railroad in less time, with less effort, and with more control.
In S20, we've streamlined the usage of tools, and introduced new functionality including multi-selection, instant copy/paste, and the ability to save and share any part of a route by saving it as a Scrapbook Asset.
Selection Highlight
When an object is first placed into the world, it becomes highlighted; this indicates it is selected.A Category icon will show over the highlighted object. Clicking on this will bring up the Contextual Menu.
Additional objects can be selected using the Free Move or Fine Adjustment Tools, and each new item becomes the active selection.
Information about the currently selected object(s) is displayed in the Info Palette, and there are several tools that can be used to interact with your selected objects.
Once an object is placed, Ctrl-D can be used to deselect the object, or you can switch to a different tool to manipulate the object.
What's Changed?
In Surveyor Classic, there was no highlight showing which object would be affected by the active tool. It was sometimes trial and error to find the right tool, as each one worked on a specific type of asset.
In S20, you can not only edit objects of any asset type with a single tool, but you can also select and manipulate multiple objects of several different types at the same time.
In Surveyor Classic, there was no highlight showing which object would be affected by the active tool. It was sometimes trial and error to find the right tool, as each one worked on a specific type of asset.
In S20, you can not only edit objects of any asset type with a single tool, but you can also select and manipulate multiple objects of several different types at the same time.
Anchors
The Anchor is an important new concept in Trainz.
Anchors can be used to move or rotate the selected objects, splines, terrain, and ground textures in any direction.
Different Anchor types are shown depending on which tool is currently active and which objects are selected.
The Anchor is an important new concept in Trainz.
Anchors can be used to move or rotate the selected objects, splines, terrain, and ground textures in any direction.
Different Anchor types are shown depending on which tool is currently active and which objects are selected.
Spline Anchors
Each selected spline segment will display three Anchors - one for each vertex, and a single Anchor for the entire segment (Note: artwork not complete - this is placeholder).Dragging anywhere on the highlighted area will move the entire spline without changing its direction.
Dragging either of the spline's End Anchors will move that end of the spline to the cursor and leave the other end of the spline where it is (just like in Surveyor Classic).
When a stretch of track is selected, the Middle Anchor will be displayed where you last clicked on the spline. This allows you to insert a new Spline Point at any location easily.
The Ground Anchor is a vertical line drawn from a spline's end vertex down to the ground. This Ground Anchor will display when a spline segment is selected, or when you hover your mouse near the end of any existing track segment.
TIP
Click where the Ground Anchor intersects the Ground to attach a new track to an existing track.
Free Move Tool
The Free Move Tool allows you to move your selected objects in any direction along the ground terrain. (Similar to object movement in Surveyor Classic)
The Free Move Tool does not show a specialised Anchor. Instead, free movement can be initiated by clicking anywhere within the object's highlighted area and dragging.
The Fine Adjustment Tool provides an Anchor that allows for additional movement options.
Find out more about the Free Move Tool
here
The Free Move Tool allows you to move your selected objects in any direction along the ground terrain. (Similar to object movement in Surveyor Classic)
The Free Move Tool does not show a specialised Anchor. Instead, free movement can be initiated by clicking anywhere within the object's highlighted area and dragging.
The Fine Adjustment Tool provides an Anchor that allows for additional movement options.
Find out more about the Free Move Tool
here
TIP
Shift-click to add more objects to your selection and double-click to select all nearby objects of the same type.
Fine Adjustment Tool
When using the Fine Adjustment Tool, a specialised Anchor appears over the last selected object or spline.When clicking and dragging the axis handles (lines), the objects will move along the axis of the selected line.
The rotation handles (rings) will rotate the entire selection around the selected axis of rotation.
Drag the black dot in the centre of the Anchor to move it along the terrain, in the same way as the Free Move tool.
Click the Asset-Category icon to open the Contextual Menu, which provides access to additional tools and functionality.
Marquee Tool
When using the Marquee Tool, all objects within the Marquee Area are highlighted, and an Anchor appears on the corner of the Marquee.Dragging this Anchor will move everything within the Marquee Selection, including the terrain and Ground Textures.
Find out more about the Marquee Tool here.
TIP
To move only the objects within the Marquee, select the Free Move Tool or Fine Adjustment Tool and click and drag on any of the selected objects. This will not affect the terrain or Ground Textures.
Contextual Menus
When an object is selected, it is highlighted, and will also show a Contextual Menu icon based upon the Asset Category.
Clicking the Asset-Category Icon will open the Contextual Menu, which lists a range of additional operations that can be applied to the selection.
Different options are offered depending on the active tool and object types selected.
Note that for splines, the End Anchors have different Contextual Menu options to the Middle Anchor.
When an object is selected, it is highlighted, and will also show a Contextual Menu icon based upon the Asset Category.
Clicking the Asset-Category Icon will open the Contextual Menu, which lists a range of additional operations that can be applied to the selection.
Different options are offered depending on the active tool and object types selected.
Note that for splines, the End Anchors have different Contextual Menu options to the Middle Anchor.
Brush Tool
In Surveyor Classic, your brush was limited to a radius of 75m; now the brush radius is unlimited. Additionally, sections of your route can now be copied, pasted, and moved at any degree of rotation - no more fixed 90 degree increments!*
The same Brush Tool is used to update different types of Grid Data by changing the **Brush Target** and **Brush Mode** settings.
The Brush Target determines whether your brush will update ground height or paint Ground Textures, Scrapbook data, or Effect Layer data.
The Brush Mode then changes the way the brush operates on the target data (e.g. Height Up or Height Down).
In Surveyor Classic, your brush was limited to a radius of 75m; now the brush radius is unlimited. Additionally, sections of your route can now be copied, pasted, and moved at any degree of rotation - no more fixed 90 degree increments!*
The same Brush Tool is used to update different types of Grid Data by changing the **Brush Target** and **Brush Mode** settings.
The Brush Target determines whether your brush will update ground height or paint Ground Textures, Scrapbook data, or Effect Layer data.
The Brush Mode then changes the way the brush operates on the target data (e.g. Height Up or Height Down).
TIP
The Brush Tool replaces the Topology Tools and Paint Tools found in Surveyor Classic. In S20, building hills and valleys, painting Ground Textures, and placing Scrapbook Data is accomplished with a single tool.