How do I build my place?

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Outdated Page This article has outdated information. Please update this page to fit our current standards! Specifically: Writes about website features. Also, the article is generally just outdated, talking about using the Move tool to build maps. This can still be done, but the Studio toolbar tools should be the focus.

Introduction

Making levels in ROBLOX is simple. Making good ones is not as simple. This tutorial covers how to make a level. For a tutorial on how to make a good level, see Design Tips for a Fun Multiplayer Map. Please note that the Community Guidelines have some rules on what you can put in a map.

Resetting the Level

If you ever want to reset your room or map, go to the My ROBLOX tab and click on the Place you would like to change. Click Configure this Place and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on reset place. Once you've done that, click on either Happy Home In Robloxia, Starting BrickBattle Map, or Empty Baseplate. Once you've done that, click on Update at the bottom of the screen. When you've done that you have reset the room to the Selected template. (see example pictures below)

Building the Level

In the user page, click on "Build". This will start ROBLOX, and allow you to edit your place. An easier way to edit your level is to go to directly to the Roblox Studio, from Start > All Programs > ROBLOX > Roblox Studio. The studio is a little more advanced, but it is also much easier to work with bricks without having to move a player around. If you want to learn how to build things, then go to the Roblox Studio page.

Creating New Bricks

In the upper-left corner of the screen, click on "Insert". In the right of the screen, a box will appear. In the drop-down menu, select "Bricks". Click on a brick with the appropriate color.

Moving Bricks

The Game Tool, used for moving bricks

Select the Game Tool. To move bricks, click on them, and, with the mouse cursor held, move the mouse. To rotate the brick, press "R". To tilt the brick, press "T".

That's about all you can do outside of the Studio editor. If you really want to make something cool, then go to the Roblox Studio and continue your work.

Editing Bricks

For this, the Roblox Studio is needed. The studio can easily be accessed by starting it from the start menu, or by clicking on the "Edit Mode" button in the toolbar. When the studio appears, there will be a window titled "Explorer" in the right of the screen. This window contains a list of every object in the game. To edit blocks, open the "Workspace" group (press the "+" to the left of its name). Click on the name of an object you would like to modify. From here, you can now change the properties of the object. Editable properties of bricks include size, shape, and color. To change shape, press resize.

Insert Premade stuff

Using insert you can insert premade models and put them in your place. You can also choose skyboxes that allow you to change the sky, tools, scripts, and other objects. Also from insert. You must click the down icon. Many choices will pop up.

Saving the Level

Click on the toolbar button in the upper left side of the screen that says "Edit Mode". Once that finishes opening, click on "File", then "Publish to ROBLOX". This will save your place to the Roblox server, where others can go to your place. You can also just click "Save" and save your map on your computer, so you can edit it later without people playing your half-done work.

Saving Frequently

You must save frequently. Be cautious of crashes in Roblox Studio. Try to avoid this by making backups of your creations to your harddrive as well. If you save to the server in Roblox, it's possible that if Roblox Studio crashes a certain amount of times, your place might dissappear completely.

Crashes

And yes, Roblox will crash. When working in Roblox Studio, and you are going to ungroup an object, in the 'Explorer' Menu, make sure that the object you're about to ungroup is the only highlighted object. If not, and you ungroup, Roblox Studio will crash. Also, Roblox Studio will crash if you cut Workspace, put Workspace into Lighting, or any other place for that matter, try to ungroup Workspace, or basically anything else that has to do with Workspace. Don't mess with Workspace unless you know what you're doing. Sometimes, the Studio will just crash on its own. It doesn't have anything to do with your computer, so don't worry. Just restart Studio, and try again. It is recommended that you save all your changes to a place, to your computer first. If the studio crashes while you're uploading, you can't get your changes back. Save often if you want to keep your models or creations.

Publishing models

You may also publish models into your profile when in studio mode in your place. To do this you must select the items in Explorer, then go to File > Publish Selection. You can type the name of the model, then a description. You can select to hide it or show it publicly. Showing it publicly allows people to use your models, so if you don't want them used, then hide them, or don't publish them at all.

Inserting models

Make sure you are in Roblox Studio.

There are two ways to insert models. One way is a categorized search of preexisting objects within the game. Near the top of your screen, you see "Tools, Insert, Fullscreen, Help, Exit". When you click on insert, it will show 20 types of bricks. The pulldown menu has: Bricks, Vehicles, Tools & Weapons, Furniture, Scenery, Traps, Small Buildings, Ramps, Robots, Game Objects, Disney XD Skatepark Elements, Disney XD Skatepark Decals, My Decals, Free Decals, My Models and free models on it. Click on a category specific choice pertaining to your search to find something you wish, some you can even search through! If there is a search, type in a keyword for what you want to find, and click "search". Once you find it, click on it and it will appear on your map.

Another way is if you already have a model saved to your computer. To insert such a model, click on the "insert" pulldown menu at the top of your screen, and then click "models". You can find this "insert" menu at the fourth button on the left, at the top of your screen. This "Insert" menu is next to "File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, Window, Help". A screen will open, asking for the location of the saved model file from your computer, with an .rbxm extension. Find the location of that file, and click "open".

Saving your Place to your Computer

Make sure you are in Roblox Studio first.

To save your place to your computer, which is recommended before uploading, click "File", then "Save As...". Save the file somewhere where you'll remember where you put it. Name it something that you'll remember too. It is highly recommended to save your place(s) because it is a safe-guard to prevent loss-of-data. If your upload fails, and your changes get deleted, you can just re-enter the place and try to upload it again. Without saving your place(s) to your computer, though, this will be impossible. Not only that you can have the real copy, if someone gets into your ROBLOX account and deletes your place(s), you can simply upload it again.

Publishing your place to ROBLOX

Make sure you are in Roblox Studio first.

To publish your place to your ROBLOX account go to File -> Publish to ROBLOX..., select Update, and click on the right place name. Note that any objects that are NOT archivable will not be saved. Keep in mind that this overwrites the data contained in the last version, but can be reverted.