Pathing
BeginnerThe Pathing shape covers flat ground-cover surfaces, walkway structures, and the border edging system. It's the right tool for laying down paths, decking, walkways, bridges, and any flat decorative ground layer.
Switching to Pathing
Select Pathing in the Shape section of the sidebar. The material palette switches to Pathing-compatible materials. All pathing pieces are flat — they sit in a single layer and don't occupy height the way a Block does.
Ground-Cover Path Materials
These materials are standard flat single-cell surface pieces. Place them anywhere on the grid to cover the ground:
| Material | Description |
|---|---|
| Wooden Path | Horizontal wooden planks — a classic boardwalk look. |
| Stepping Stones | Irregularly shaped flat stones spaced with gaps. |
| Walkway | A solid, smooth paved surface. |
| Bridge Planks | Planks with visible gaps between them — good for jetties and elevated walkways. |
| Grate Flooring | An open metal grid — lets you see through to the layer below. |
| Concrete Slab | A uniform flat slab — clean and minimal. |
All of these materials place, paint, and erase like any other block. Use Placement Size to cover large areas quickly — set Width and Length to match the dimensions of your path and place it in one tap.
Multi-Cell Path Structures
Some Pathing materials occupy more than one cell and place as fixed-appearance structures:
| Material | Footprint | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Arch Bridge | 2 wide × 2 tall × 1 deep | A fixed arched bridge span. The arch geometry is built into the piece — you can't adjust its shape. Use Rotate (R) to orient the bridge so the arch spans the correct axis. Good for crossing rivers and gaps. |
| Floating Log | 2 wide × 1 deep | A freestanding rounded log section for building walkways over water. Place several end-to-end to create a log bridge. |
As with all multi-cell pieces, nothing else can be built in the reserved footprint until the piece is erased.
Border Edging
Four Pathing materials are border materials that reveal a Border section in the sidebar when selected, with three sub-style buttons:
- Wooden Border — supports colour tinting
- Concrete Border — supports colour tinting
- Brick Border — fixed colour, no tinting
- Pathway LightDLC 1 — supports colour tinting
Selecting any of these swaps the material palette for those border options and reveals the Border section with three sub-style buttons:
| Sub-style | Shape | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Line | A straight edging strip running the full length of one cell edge. | Straight runs along the sides of paths and decks — the main workhorse style. |
| Single | A shorter, self-contained edging piece. | Short isolated edges, end caps, or accent pieces. |
| Corner | An L-shaped piece that turns 90°. | Wherever the path turns — place one at each corner. |
For a full guide to the Border system see the dedicated Borders guide.
Rotation
Most flat path surfaces are symmetric and don't need rotating. Exceptions:
- Arch Bridge — rotate to set which axis the arch spans.
- Floating Log — rotate to align the log along the correct axis.
- Border Line and Corner — rotate to orient the edging piece along the correct wall.
- Wooden Path and Bridge Planks — have a visible grain/plank direction, so rotation affects the appearance even though it doesn't change the footprint.
Press R or tap the Rotate button to cycle through orientations.
Layering Paths with Other Shapes
Pathing pieces are flat and sit at the base of their cell. This means:
- You can place a Block on top of a path cell — the block sits above it without replacing it.
- Liquid placed on a path cell fills the same cell — both render together (the path shows under shallow liquid).
- You can Paint an existing path cell with a different Pathing material to change its surface without rebuilding.
Typical Workflow
- Select Pathing shape and a ground-cover material (e.g. Walkway).
- Set Placement Size Width and Length to the footprint of your path and lay the surface in one or two taps.
- Use Erase to carve out curves or gaps if needed, or set Placement Size back to 1×1 for detail work.
- Switch the palette to a Border material (e.g. Wooden Border) — the Border section appears.
- Trace the perimeter with Line pieces, place Corner pieces at each turn, and use Single for short end sections.
- Add multi-cell structures (Arch Bridge, Floating Log) where paths cross water or gaps.