Habits to get into when using Constructor
These are somethings you should get in the habit of doing, that I didn't or I know of people that didn't do this when they first started. If you have something you think should be added feel free to post it.
Marble2's tips:
- Make sure you have grid spacing on. Goto Prefs and put a check in the snap to grid box. Most of the time you want grid spacing set to 0.5. Believe it or not I didn't know about this for awhile after I started Constructor.
- Hold down shift to copy and paste. This will take some time off using the key shortcuts or if you used the menu it will take a lot of time off once you get used to it. Just hold down the shift key with the brush(es) you want to copy, then drag you can release shift at any time after it copies.
- Use Mouse for movement. Don't use the movement things at the top of your view. The only time you might want to use that is when you want to target something. Holding down right click will rotate, scroll will zoom in/out, holding down scroll will move you around. Once you master this you will zoom around your constructor scenes.
- Use 1, 2, and 3 to change from the 3 select modes don't use the buttons to do that. Not only will this be faster, but you can remove the buttons and put something useful there.
- Use face select to make a brush bigger/smaller don't use the Size Bounds tool (I didn't make this mistake, but I know some people that did, so I thought I would add it).
- Setup Constructor the way you like it. It's well worth the time of setting up the UI the way you want.
Don.Gato's tips:
- When you use the create brush tools if you drag to create your brush, make sure to round off all of the alignment and size numbers, usually to multiples of you grid spacing (I use .25)
-When you need to do finer position adjustments, lower your grid spacing by dividing by 2 until it is fine enough. When done, bump it back up.
-Constructor has a built in calculator, Use it. If you type a calculation into any size or position field it calculates it for you. For example if I want to move a platform up .25, I could just type +.25 after the current value. * is multiply, / is divide, + is plus and - is minus. no quotation marks.
-If you are going to be using a shape often (like scenery poles) save it as a prefab. (I don't do this, but I really should). To do this save a map to ~/prefabs (where ~ is you constructor directory), and restart constructor. You can also make your own prefabs folder/subsection using the manage prefabs tool in the system menu.
- The little box on the bottom right of the screen is the Undo Stack If you need to go back multiple steps you can do so by clicking on items in the undo stack where you want to go back to, instead of just mashing ctrl+z. (note: sometimes texture alignment functions don't undo properly, and never use undo when making mp's)
- Sometimes the Undo Stack gets frozen. When you have a tool active the entry for that tool is listed in red, sometimes it stays that way when you exit the tool, thus freezing the undo stack. Click the little trash can next to it, or else you won't be able to undo any longer (until you reopen the map that is)
RDs.empire's tip:
For some its easier to do all things in Perspective(3D view) by maximizing it since some people don't even use the rest of the 3 views. Just hold RMousebutton and move thought 3D space by using WASD like in MB toogle view. But be careful using vertices tool since it sometimes acts weird in perspective view . Only way to fix it is to move vertices in any sideviews
Perishingflames' tips:
- When you are making a very high-degree slope, to avoid having incredibly stretched textures (think pythagorean law since distance is increased but number of texture squares remains the same) use the face button to reset the texture size to actually be 0.5 and count the number of squares that is approximately is. Then use the stretch to fit button (it will either be the horizontal line or the vertical line in the justify & fit section) and divide by that number to get a texture scale that is close to 0.5 that fits the slope.
- Don't use the World texture button. I still don't know of a use for it. Just use the Face button.
- Use the flip horizontal and flip vertical buttons to avoid black lines/etc on the brush where the two oppositely-rotated textures meet.
- If you need to select, say the outer face of a brush located inside other brushes, use the lock to selection preference after selecting the brush you want to change to ensure the face you select is indeed on that brush.
- If you need to extend a slope or trim the top of it, use the extend face plugin. Simply select the conform checkbox to line up the angle with the brush.
- Make it a habit to change the sun color to 100 100 100 upon opening Constructor to avoid the glaring colors. This also mimics MB's lighting.
Seizure22's tip:
- ALWAYS backup if cuttiing away parts of your level for testing.
- If not cutting away anything, mash ctrl S as often as you remember.
Ian V.'s tip:
- Hotkeys are your best friend. Instead of using drop down menus to find things, learn their shortcut keys. Such as:
- E to rotate a brush (or group of brushes)
- 1, 2, and 3 to switch between selection types (Vertices, Faces, and Brushes)
- Ctrl + Z to undo.
- Return (Enter) to Make
Pokko's tip:
Do not press Ctrl + X* and after that Ctrl + S (save)
(*deletes all if nothing selected)
Marble2's tips:
- Make sure you have grid spacing on. Goto Prefs and put a check in the snap to grid box. Most of the time you want grid spacing set to 0.5. Believe it or not I didn't know about this for awhile after I started Constructor.
- Hold down shift to copy and paste. This will take some time off using the key shortcuts or if you used the menu it will take a lot of time off once you get used to it. Just hold down the shift key with the brush(es) you want to copy, then drag you can release shift at any time after it copies.
- Use Mouse for movement. Don't use the movement things at the top of your view. The only time you might want to use that is when you want to target something. Holding down right click will rotate, scroll will zoom in/out, holding down scroll will move you around. Once you master this you will zoom around your constructor scenes.
- Use 1, 2, and 3 to change from the 3 select modes don't use the buttons to do that. Not only will this be faster, but you can remove the buttons and put something useful there.
- Use face select to make a brush bigger/smaller don't use the Size Bounds tool (I didn't make this mistake, but I know some people that did, so I thought I would add it).
- Setup Constructor the way you like it. It's well worth the time of setting up the UI the way you want.
Don.Gato's tips:
- When you use the create brush tools if you drag to create your brush, make sure to round off all of the alignment and size numbers, usually to multiples of you grid spacing (I use .25)
-When you need to do finer position adjustments, lower your grid spacing by dividing by 2 until it is fine enough. When done, bump it back up.
-Constructor has a built in calculator, Use it. If you type a calculation into any size or position field it calculates it for you. For example if I want to move a platform up .25, I could just type +.25 after the current value. * is multiply, / is divide, + is plus and - is minus. no quotation marks.
-If you are going to be using a shape often (like scenery poles) save it as a prefab. (I don't do this, but I really should). To do this save a map to ~/prefabs (where ~ is you constructor directory), and restart constructor. You can also make your own prefabs folder/subsection using the manage prefabs tool in the system menu.
- The little box on the bottom right of the screen is the Undo Stack If you need to go back multiple steps you can do so by clicking on items in the undo stack where you want to go back to, instead of just mashing ctrl+z. (note: sometimes texture alignment functions don't undo properly, and never use undo when making mp's)
- Sometimes the Undo Stack gets frozen. When you have a tool active the entry for that tool is listed in red, sometimes it stays that way when you exit the tool, thus freezing the undo stack. Click the little trash can next to it, or else you won't be able to undo any longer (until you reopen the map that is)
RDs.empire's tip:
For some its easier to do all things in Perspective(3D view) by maximizing it since some people don't even use the rest of the 3 views. Just hold RMousebutton and move thought 3D space by using WASD like in MB toogle view. But be careful using vertices tool since it sometimes acts weird in perspective view . Only way to fix it is to move vertices in any sideviews
Perishingflames' tips:
- When you are making a very high-degree slope, to avoid having incredibly stretched textures (think pythagorean law since distance is increased but number of texture squares remains the same) use the face button to reset the texture size to actually be 0.5 and count the number of squares that is approximately is. Then use the stretch to fit button (it will either be the horizontal line or the vertical line in the justify & fit section) and divide by that number to get a texture scale that is close to 0.5 that fits the slope.
- Don't use the World texture button. I still don't know of a use for it. Just use the Face button.
- Use the flip horizontal and flip vertical buttons to avoid black lines/etc on the brush where the two oppositely-rotated textures meet.
- If you need to select, say the outer face of a brush located inside other brushes, use the lock to selection preference after selecting the brush you want to change to ensure the face you select is indeed on that brush.
- If you need to extend a slope or trim the top of it, use the extend face plugin. Simply select the conform checkbox to line up the angle with the brush.
- Make it a habit to change the sun color to 100 100 100 upon opening Constructor to avoid the glaring colors. This also mimics MB's lighting.
Seizure22's tip:
- ALWAYS backup if cuttiing away parts of your level for testing.
- If not cutting away anything, mash ctrl S as often as you remember.
Ian V.'s tip:
- Hotkeys are your best friend. Instead of using drop down menus to find things, learn their shortcut keys. Such as:
- E to rotate a brush (or group of brushes)
- 1, 2, and 3 to switch between selection types (Vertices, Faces, and Brushes)
- Ctrl + Z to undo.
- Return (Enter) to Make
Pokko's tip:
Do not press Ctrl + X* and after that Ctrl + S (save)
(*deletes all if nothing selected)
