Newbie question: how do I create this wall?

Hello! I’m fairly new to ProBuilder and general 3D modelling terminology. I think what I want to do is fairly simple, I just lack the basic understanding of how to manipulate the geometry.

I just want to extend my mesh to add an outer wall as shown in red below.

I’ve tried selecting each of the edges and using Extrude Edge but it always says “Extrude Empty Selection”.

I’ve also tried splitting the vertices and moving them manually but it just seems to create a mess of interconnected faces and doesn’t seem like the clean way to do it.

Please help an idiot. Thanks! :slight_smile:

Hi there! :slight_smile:

The problem here is that those edges (the two on the right or the one on the bottom) are connected to faces on both sides. So, extruding them out would create “impossible geometry”, infinitely thin planes extending from each edge. Technically, you can do this by enabling “Allow Non-Manifold Extrusion” in the ProBuilder Preferences…but we don’t recommend it :stuck_out_tongue:

The better option is too pick a path: Blocky with thickness, or pure edge extrusion.

Blocky with thickness: in this modeling style, every shape has full 3D thickness, like in real life. So, instead of thinking about edges, select the face below lower edge, and extrude that whole face outward (any amount), to create a surface that you can then extrude upward, creating the wall. This should do it, however you could also do the same for the side on the right, then delete the occluded faces, and weld verts, maybe even miter the corners… This method requires more cleanup, is less efficient, but can feel more “real-worldy” for some.

Pure edge extrusion: start by deleting any and all faces that the player will never see. Now you’ll have lots of “open” edges, ie edges that are only connected to a face on one side- leaving them open for extrusion. Select the lower edge on that floor, hold SHIFT and extrude it upward to the first cut in the wall, release. Then hold SHIFT and extrude it upward again to the top of the wall. Now drag select all the verts we just overlaid, and hit “ALT V” to weld them (or, click “Weld” in the PB toolbar). This method will be much more efficient (fewer faces to render and lightmap), and can be more flexible. If it works for you, it’s what I’d recommend :slight_smile:

Note: if “ALT V”/weld doesn’t do anything, try opening the settings for Weld (alt-click on the button if in Icon mode, or click the + button), and set the Weld Threshold to something like “.01”, it’s a known bug in older versions that Weld might default to incorrect value).

Hope that helps! :slight_smile:

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The edge extrusion method worked. Thank you!

I did have a problem welding the vertices, it said “Nothing to weld” but I found that actually moving my verts apart by 0.5, then setting the weld distance to 1, and then resetting their position afterwards did the trick.

Thank you for the help!

Hey! Hmm, that shouldn’t happen. If you have time, could you send more info, maybe even a zipped scene, with that issue? Thanks, glad I could help!