User Interface
This wiki page describes an overview of the user interface of the Principia sandbox, available when you press Create in the main menu.
Building Modes
Default Mode
While in the default building mode the view will be in 3D and objects can be placed or moved anywhere at any angle. This will often lead to messy looking angles, while rotating an object with touch controls hold down a second finger and you will able to lock the object to a particular angle and use Gridlock Mode(see below). The other building modes will provide many options for you to play with.
Orthographic Mode
This mode switches the view while building to 2D and more importantly it switches to Orthographic (straight line) Mode also called Gridlock Mode, this will snap the single object you are moving to exact places on a world grid, marked in the width of a small box, 0.5 world size.
Gridlock Mode
Gridlock Mode also provides the ability to rotate objects and lock them to one of the 16 primary directions, North, North North-east, Northeast, East North-east East etc.
Layer Visibility Mode
This mode allows you to look through the top layers of objects to see and move the parts underneath. Tap/click the button once to make the third layer invisible, tap/click again to make the second layer invisible and tap/click a third time to return to normal view.
You will then be able to change settings and make changes to the hidden objects without accidentally grabbing an upper layer part.
Advanced Modes
When the advanced options are shown, pressing the cogwheel will bring up a dropdown with the following modes:
- Multiselect
- Connection edit: See Connections
- Terrain Paint
Building Tools
When an object is selected a rotation icon will appear by it, which can be dragged to rotate the object. The further you move your mouse or finger from center the slower it will rotate. Rotating groups of objects can become messy very quickly and they will rarely cooperate
When an object is selected, typically the following buttons will appear in the bottom left corner of the screen:
- Object help: This button brings up the Wiki page for the selected object or item.
- Change object layer: Most parts in the game can be set on one of three different layers, when you have an object selected tapping this icon will change its layer orientation. Switching from layer three back to one will break some wiring connections as the two ends of any wire cannot be connected to objects two layers apart.
- Toggle lock: Lock the selected object, making it not move or rotate if objects intersect with it. This only applies in the paused sandbox state.
- Disconnect from other objects: Removes all nail and multilayered pivot connections for the selected object.
- Unplug cable: Remove a cable (or Jumper, Receiver, or Mini transmitter) from the selected object. If there are multiple cables connected a selection will appear to choose which socket to unplug.
- Toggle moveable: Puzzle only, toggles whether an object can be moved by the player during puzzle gameplay.
- Remove object: Deletes the selected object.
Sandbox object menu
The menu to the right contains all the objects available in the game. The objects are grouped into categories which can be selected by tapping the top of the menu. The menu can be scrolled up and down to view all the objects in the category.
Hold the long bar on the edge of the parts menu to pull out and widen the menu. Tap the long bar to snap close the menu or drag it back closed.
By highlighting an object already on the board and dragging out a new part of the same type, the new object will have identical settings, level orientation, size and rotation as the selected object.
The bottom of the parts menu will show the most recent objects you have added to the level, allowing you to quickly add them again.
Quickadd
In addition to the sandbox object menu, there is also a quickadd feature to quickly add objects, items and decorations if you know the name of them.
- On desktop: Press Space and the quickadd popup will appear, type in a few letters to filter the object list and press Enter to add the selected object to the center of the board. The object will be added at the cursor's current location.
- On mobile: Tap the quickadd button below the hamburger menu in the top right corner to open the quickadd dialog. The object will be added at the center of the screen.
Default Layer
By highlighting nothing (tap/clicking the background) the icon in the bottom left will allow you to change the default layer of all new objects you bring into play.
