Building
A world is built from parts: blocks, balls, wedges and cylinders, and MeshParts that show a 3D model. This page covers putting them in, shaping them, and keeping a big world in order.
Inserting
- The + on the tool dock, a right-click in the view, or a Hierarchy row's +, all open Insert Object: one searchable list of everything. Type a few letters and press Enter.
- From the view, a new part goes in the middle of the view. From a Hierarchy row, whatever you pick goes inside that row.
- The list's groups: Parts (Part, Sphere, Wedge, Cylinder, MeshPart, Spawn), Organize (Model, Folder), Scripts, then everything a part can carry - effects, sounds, prompts, gameplay objects, joints, movers - and UI.
- Insert in the top bar has the common ones, and Assets > Models > KHIM has ready-made trees, rocks, bushes, crops and more.
The tools
| Tool | Key | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Select | Ctrl 1 | Click to select, drag to box-select |
| Move | Ctrl 2 | Arrows move along an axis, the middle square moves freely |
| Scale | Ctrl 3 | A round handle on each face. Drag one: that face moves, the opposite face stays. Ctrl grows both sides, Shift keeps the proportions |
| Rotate | Ctrl 4 | Rings turn about each axis |
- Ctrl L switches the handles between the world's axes and the part's own.
- Ctrl R turns the selection a quarter; Ctrl T tilts it a quarter.
- While dragging, the amount shows beside the pointer. Esc mid-drag puts everything back.
- With several parts or a Model selected, Scale scales them all together, keeping their shapes and places against each other.
Snapping
Click the magnet on the tool dock to turn snapping on or off. Its menu sets the Move step (0.125 to 4 units) and the Rotate step (1 to 90 degrees), and what several parts turn about: the middle of their box, or the part picked last.
Alt G shows or hides the ground grid (4-unit cells).
Properties of a part
Select a part and look in the Inspector:
| Section | Properties |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Color, Material, Transparency, Reflectance |
| Behavior | Anchored (stays where it is; turned off, the part falls and can be pushed), CanCollide (off: walked through), CollisionGroup |
| Part | Shape - Block, Ball, Wedge, Cylinder (a MeshPart has Mesh instead) - then Size, Position and Orientation (degrees) |
| Data | Name, Parent |
A new part is anchored. Untick Anchored for anything that should fall, roll or be pushed.
Materials change how a part looks and how it behaves - its weight, grip and bounce: Plastic, Smooth, Neon, Glass, Metal, Wood, Grass, Brick, Concrete, Sand, Rock, Water, Leaves, and more. Neon glows; Glass and Water are see-through; Leaves sway in the wind and let light through. Use Smooth for walls and floors built of several parts that should read as one surface.
Under Color is a Recent row of the last colours you used. Copy Look / Paste Look (Ctrl Alt C / V) copy colour, material, transparency and reflectance from one part to others.
Duplicating
Ctrl D puts a copy on top of the original. Move that copy, then press Ctrl D on it again: the next copy goes as far again in the same direction. Stairs, a fence or a row of pillars is one drag and a few presses.
Ctrl C / Ctrl V copy and paste beside the original; Ctrl Shift V (Paste Into) pastes inside the selected row.
Organising
- Model (Ctrl G groups the selection, Ctrl U ungroups): parts that move and copy as one - a house, a car, a tree.
- Folder: a group for keeping things tidy.
- Hide (H) a part to get it out of the way while editing; Alt H shows everything again. Lock a part so a click in the view doesn't pick it - handy for floors and big walls. Neither changes the game: Play always shows the world as players get it.
- View > Collisions outlines every part players can walk through.
Linked models
Build a Model once, place copies, change one, update the rest - KHIM's take on prefabs.
- Select the Model and press Link its copies on the Inspector's Linked row.
- Copies made from then on (Duplicate, Copy and Paste) are linked. The Hierarchy says "linked" after their names.
- Change one copy - recolour, resize, add parts, edit its scripts - then press Update copies. Every other copy becomes the same, keeping its own place, turn and name.
Unlink makes one copy a model of its own again.
Spawns
A Spawn (Insert > Spawn) is where players appear when they join and after they die. A Checkpoint (see Touch, prompts and zones) changes where one player comes back after dying.
Lighting
Select Lighting in the Hierarchy to set the time of day (ClockTime), Brightness, Ambient and OutdoorAmbient, Fog and GlobalShadows. The sky, sun, moon and clouds follow the time of day by themselves. Scripts can change it too: Sounds, lights and effects.
Big worlds
- A world holds up to 10,000 parts (Models and Folders count). The status bar turns orange past it.
- F3 shows how heavy the world is to draw: frames a second, milliseconds of work, parts drawn and draw calls.
- Prefer one big part to many small ones where you can, and Smooth for large flat surfaces.