Does Unreal Editor have a focused volume editing mode? If I’m working in volumes, I do not want to select anything else. If I am editing a specific volume, I want to fluidly edit that volume without selecting anything else.
I am just as likely to select a non-relevant object when I click on a volume edge that I want to transform, or use to split a volume face. This is really frustrating, surely there is a way in Unreal Editor to limit selection to just volumes, or more efficiently just the volume I am editing.
A lack of Lock/Freeze functionality compounds this problem; also it looks like there is no way to increase the width of the volume outline, which makes it so difficult to select in a busy level/scene.
It would be fantastic to have the volume part that I’m hovering over become highlighted, so I know for sure that I will select it when I click LMB. Right now, it’s a guessing game.
This is not currently something that we have implemented; however, what I would recommend, and what I normally do when working with volumes or other hard to select objects, is to select them in the World Outliner instead. This ensures that you don’t have to worry about accidentally clicking another asset in your level.
Unfortunately, selecting the volume in Outliner does not resolve the issues with selecting volume parts–edges, verts, and faces. I highly recommend that the tools team look into improving volume editing functionality; I’ve experienced the suggestions above and they improve volume workflow exponentially, both in time spent and user clarity.
I just had to click 5 times to select a volume edge in the center of my screen, with UE, because it kept selecting the faces at either side of the edge. Any one of these things can at least move volume editing in UE4 forward substantially, speaking from experience:
User can adjust thickness of volume edges
Mouse-over highlights volume part (user can see what they are about to select)
User can freeze objects they do not want to select
User can Snap area part (ie. a face) to Object----ridiculously helpful when combined with axis constraints
The UE4 documentation itself recognizes the importance of volumes in level design; I hope Epic can improve the workflow. We should be able to shape a volume to the geometry, consistently, within minutes. Right now, the biggest blocker is selection, specifically in regards to volume parts–edges, faces, verts.