Core Workflows
3D Viewport Navigation
Blender-style fly and orbit controls for navigating 3D models, scenes, and Gaussian Splats.
WorldEngen uses Blender-style navigation across its 3D viewers. There are two navigation modes depending on what you're viewing:
- Walk (Fly) mode — for GLB models and scene editing. First-person flight with mouselook.
- Orbit mode — for Gaussian Splats (SPZ files). Rotate around a fixed point.
Both modes are designed to feel familiar to anyone who has used Blender, Unreal, or similar 3D tools.
Walk Mode (3D Models and Scenes)
Walk mode is active when you open any .glb file or the scene editor. You fly through the scene in first-person, similar to Blender's Walk Navigation.
Mouse Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Right Mouse Button + Drag | Look around (mouselook) |
| Middle Mouse Button + Drag | Pan the camera |
| Scroll Wheel | Zoom forward / backward |
Hold Right Mouse Button and drag to freely rotate your view. A crosshair appears while mouselook is active.
Movement (WASD)
Hover over the viewport first, then use these keys to fly:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| W | Fly forward |
| S | Fly backward |
| A | Strafe left |
| D | Strafe right |
| Q | Fly up |
| E | Fly down |
| Shift (hold) | Move 2x faster |
Movement is smoothed with acceleration and deceleration — it eases in and out rather than snapping instantly.
Speed Control
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Numpad + | Increase base speed (x1.5) |
| Numpad − | Decrease base speed (÷1.5) |
Speed range is 0.1 to 500. Adjust when working with very large environments or small props.
View Snapping (Numpad)
Instantly snap to orthographic-style angles, just like Blender's numpad views:
| Key | View |
|---|---|
| Numpad 1 | Front |
| Ctrl + Numpad 1 | Back |
| Numpad 3 | Right |
| Ctrl + Numpad 3 | Left |
| Numpad 7 | Top |
| Ctrl + Numpad 7 | Bottom |
All view snaps animate smoothly over 0.25 seconds.
Framing
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Numpad . (Decimal) | Frame selected object (zoom to fit) |
| Home | Frame entire scene |
Use Home when you lose your bearings — it resets the camera to show everything.
Scene Editor Shortcuts
When editing scene.glb (the project scene file), you get additional controls for selecting and transforming objects:
Selection
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Left Click on an object | Select it |
| Left Click on empty space | Deselect |
| Right Click on an object (no drag) | Open context menu (Replace, Duplicate, Delete) |
Transform Modes
| Key | Mode |
|---|---|
| T | Translate (move) |
| R | Rotate |
| L | Scale |
After selecting a mode, drag the gizmo handles to transform the object. Navigation is temporarily disabled while transforming so your camera stays steady.
Other
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| P | Toggle object name labels |
| Delete | Remove selected object |
Orbit Mode (Gaussian Splats)
Orbit mode is active when viewing .spz Gaussian Splat files. Instead of flying through the scene, you rotate around a center point.
Mouse Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Left Drag | Orbit / rotate around the scene |
| Right Drag | Pan |
| Scroll Wheel | Zoom in / out |
Keyboard
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Home | Reset camera to default position |
Flip Button
If the splat appears upside-down or inverted, click the Flip button in the viewer toolbar. Camera orientation is saved automatically so it persists when you reopen the file.
Tips
- Lost in the scene? Press Home to frame everything and get your bearings back.
- Too fast or too slow? Use Numpad + / Numpad − to dial in the right speed for your scene's scale.
- Precision work on a small prop? Decrease speed with Numpad − and use scroll zoom to get close.
- Large environment? Hold Shift while flying and increase base speed with Numpad + for faster traversal.
- Snapping to views is great for aligning objects — snap to Top view (Numpad 7) to check layout from above, then Front (Numpad 1) to verify heights.
- Camera state is saved — both for 3D scenes and Gaussian Splats. When you reopen a file, you'll be right where you left off.
Help Overlay
Press the ? button in the top corner of any 3D viewport to open the built-in navigation help panel. It shows all available controls for the current viewer mode (Walk or Orbit).