Especially with arrays of bigger objects, it is (too) hard to place them orderly aligned, especially in big maps.
What I'm thinking of is:
Give us the option to :
* mark a point (a) on the border of the editor window
* mark another point (b) on any other border of the editor window
* and draw a line from (a) to (b) across the editor window, along which objects can then be placed or re-orientated "in line".

This would be much better than a simple grid, because the positioning of aligned objects would be possible at arbitrary angles across the window.
The lines don't need to be saved with the map, in my opinion, because, IF there are already saved objects aligned along them , after a reload of the map, the aligning line can easily be reconstructed, if NOT, then a new aligner lign can simply be set.

If the idea of aligner lines should be adopted, in the long run, it would also be desirable to be able to have simple geometric shapes such as rectangles, circles, ellipses as aligners on the map window, and possibly even have objects "snap" to them while the aligner exists.

I might be missing the point but I use waypoints and their paths to do this. Gets a straight line in the editor on the map to use as a reference line for placing items. Perhaps not ideal for edge of map to another edge though.

Cheers.

Hmmm... not sure , but maybe, i am only looking through my special goggles , sorta.

First of all, for what I'm intending, I would have to zoom out fully, place the two waypoints to get the general line, then, when zoom in to do the detail work andif I decided to then change the angle/direction I'd have to zoom out again, move the waypoint, ....
Not really attractive, really, no. Sorry

Could you not place the objects next to each other to easily align them, then click on them, press G to go into top view, and use the widget arrows to slide them to where they need to be, that would keep them nicely lined up with each other.

No worries just a suggestion as I think this may qualify as a niche requirement. I may be wrong .

Cheers.

Thanks Belidos, but that reads even more cumbersome than Cybernescense's, especially if I find I have to adjust the guiding line's angle/direction for a reason. I've come across this when I tried to build a redux version of the real life landscape where I live, but I also have other landscapes in mind, inspired by SF/Fantasy stories and the likes. The longer the range, the higher the probability that I don't get it right the first time and have to adjust, on either end, or both.

Place a wall where you want the things to go, rotate the wall to the required angle, now scale up the wall to the length you want. Then place the entities against the wall and finally delete the wall.

Amen Moses , I'm ( also ) talking of longer ranges, you know, possibly and specifically crossing valleys, chasms and the likes.


I'm really puzzled (and admittedly, I'm slowly, but surely starting to get annoyed with this) why people suggest such "workarounds" when a simple line drawn between two deliberately selected points on the edges of the editor window would do a perfect job, also covering zooming out / in with absolutely no extra effort.

Believe it or not, I'm asking for this with efficiency in mind.

i don't think i would ever need such a feature in GG personally but it's a good idea, i use the same thing in 2D animating all the time to keep the animation in the desired area so i can definitely see the advantages of it and it wouldn't really be that hard to implement.

it would even be very useful if it came with scaling rulers on the side that return the actual distance in GG - even if it's a top down view only feature for simplicity of getting it implemented - would make judging distance's between objects much more precise etc

Thanks, smallg. Of course, I also had scaling in mind, but did not want to request it right away, in orderto make the request as basic as possible, and as easy as possible to implement.

Hi Guys, its a bit rudimentary but I use this to align my buildings, its 100 metres long and 1 metre intervals if I need longer lengths I just put another one in.
I also use it to scale my buildings by standing it on its end.

like I said its very basic but you are welcome to have it