Common functions

Built-In Functions

There are many pre-made functions in the Object Browser, but this page will be going through the most-used ones. Most of these functions either use a pre-existing brick or delay something from happening. A final note before you start, all built-in functions start with a ":" and end with a "()".

The "delay()" Function

The delay function waits a certain amount of seconds and then executes a function on a new thread.

Example

print("Hi!")
delay(3, function()
    print("Bye!")
end)

The "wait()" Function

The wait function will delay, or wait, by a number of seconds.

print("Hi!")
wait(3)
print("Bye!")

In the output, this prints the word "Hi!", waits three seconds, then prints the word "Bye!".

See this page for more details on these functions.

Useful methods

The ":Clone()" Method

This method does it what it says - clones, or makes a copy of, an object. When an object is cloned, the result will have no Parent, so the clone won't exist until you "parent" it to another object.

game.Workspace.Brick:Clone().Parent = game.Workspace

If you are creating a script that makes a Part that has a Decal on it, the easier thing to do is to clone the brick, define its position, then parent it.

The ":FindFirstChild()" Method

This method is used to find a child object with a certain name. This is very useful for determining whether something is there or not.

You might think you could write a script like this:

script.Parent.Touched:connect(function(part)
    local humanoid = part.Parent.Humanoid
    if humanoid then
        --The part was touched by a player
        print("Hello, player!")
    end
end

However, this will error if the part's parent doesn't contain a humanoid. In the following code, humanoid will be nil if there is no humanoid in the part's parent, but it will not error.

script.Parent.Touched:connect(function(part)
    local humanoid = part.Parent:FindFirstChild("Humanoid")
    if humanoid then
        --The part was touched by a player
        print("Hello, player!")
    end
end

The ":GetChildren()" Method

This method returns a table of the object's children. The following code shows how it can be used to count all the parts in the workspace

bricks = 0
for object in ipairs(game.Workspace:GetChildren()) do
    if object:isA("BasePart") then
        bricks = bricks + 1
    end
end
print(bricks)

The ":Remove()" Method

The Remove function changes the Parent of an object to nil, and also calls Remove on all of its children.

game.Workspace.Brick:Remove()

This method should not be used any more, since there are better alternatives, whatever you want to do. If you want to temporarily take the object out of the game's hierarchy, use ".Parent = nil" to take the object out of the game in a way that you can get it back later. If you want to completely take it out of your game, use the Destroy method.

The ":Destroy()" Method

Unlike the Remove method, the Destroy method completely removes an object. Destroy removes all connections, and locks the object so that it can't be put back into your game. This method is better then :Remove() because it cleans up the memory used by the object.

game.Workspace.Brick:Destroy()

The ":MakeJoints()" Method

MakeJoints forms a bond (a joint) between touching bricks if they have the required surfaces types:

SurfaceType	Weld	Universal	Studs	Inlet	Glue	Smooth
Weld	Weld	Weld	Weld	Weld	Weld	Weld
Universal	Weld	Snap	Snap	Snap	Glue	No Joint
Studs	Weld	Snap	No Joint	Snap	Glue	No Joint
Inlet	Weld	Snap	Snap	No Joint	Glue	No Joint
Glue	Weld	Glue	Glue	Glue	Glue	Glue
Smooth	Weld	No Joint	No Joint	No Joint	Glue	No Joint

It can be invoked on both parts and models:

brick = game.Workspace.Brick
brick:MakeJoints()

model = game.Workspace.Model
model:MakeJoints()

The ":BreakJoints()" Method

This method breaks all joints already made. Running this on a building grouped into a model might cause it to crumble, although bricks stacked on each other will be unaffected until another force acts on them. Once again, this method can be invoked on both models and parts

brick = game.Workspace.Brick
brick:BreakJoints()

model = game.Workspace.Model
model:BreakJoints()

The ":GetMass()" Method

So, ever wondered how heavy a brick is in ROBLOX? The GetMass() method is just for that! It is the same as multiplying all the components of the size of the brick together. NOTE: Editing mass is not possible, as it is a returned value from a method, not a property.

brick = game.Workspace.Brick
print(brick:GetMass())
--This is the same as...
brick = game.Workspace.Brick
print(brick.Size.X * brick.Size.Y * brick.Size.Z)

If density existed in ROBLOX, GetMass() would multiply the size components and the density. For the time being, all parts in ROBLOX have a density of 1.

The ":MoveTo()" Method

The MoveTo() function has two different uses. The first is usable on a Model or any type of Part (see BasePart.)

Example

--Used on a model...
model = game.Workspace.Model
model:MoveTo(Vector3.new(0, 0, 10))

--Used on a Part...
brick = game.Workspace.Brick
brick:MoveTo(Vector3.new(0, 0, 10))

The second use of MoveTo() is to force a Humanoid to walk to a location to the best of its ability. The Humanoid will continue to walk in that direction until it reaches the destination.

This version of MoveTo() requires three arguments, the first is given by the : operator, and is the Humanoid. The second is the target location, and finally, the third is the BasePart the Humanoid is walking on to get to the destination.

Example

Character = game.Workspace.SomePlayer.Humanoid
Base = game.Workspace.Base --Assuming your baseplate is named "Base"
Character:MoveTo(Vector3.new(15, 0, 10), Base) --Tell Character to talk to (15, 0, 10) on Base.

The ":GetPlayerFromCharacter()" Method

Ever needed to find out what player(not character) touched your brick in you button script? The ":GetPlayerFromCharacter()" Function makes it easier than actually searching the players with the previous ":FindFirstChild()" and ":GetChildren()" functions. What it does is automatically search an area for a the player that represents the character. If an Instance's "Controller" is "Player", you can use this function.

Example

DB=false
function onTouched(hit)
    if DB==true then return end --if debounce is active then end the function
    DB=true
    if hit.Parent:FindFirstChild("Humanoid")~= nil then --If touched by a player then
        if game.Players:GetPlayerFromCharacter(hit.Parent)~= nil then --If there is a player that goes with the character then
            local player = game.Players:GetPlayerFromCharacter(hit.Parent)
            player.LocalStats.Cash=player.LocalStats.Cash + 5 --add 5 more cash
        end
    end
    wait(1)
    DB=false
end

script.Parent.Touched:connect(onTouched)

That script will change give 5 cash to the local stat of cash if you touch it.

The "lookVector" Property

There actually is a CFrame function to find which way you are looking. What this function does is find exactly which way your front is facing. The "lookVector" function can be used for several different situations, e.g., tools, planes, robots, cars, etc.

Example

while true do
    wait()
--[[ print(game.Workspace.Player.Torso.Velocity) If you want to print the velocity of your player as you go
 along, use this.  Change "Player" to your username. --]]

--[[ print(game.Workspace.Player.Torso.CFrame.lookVector) If you want to see the lookvector of your player 
printed out as you go along, use this.  Change "Player" to your username. --]]

    game.Workspace.Player.Torso.Velocity = game.Workspace.Player.Torso.CFrame.lookVector * 60 --[[Change "Player" 
to your username --]]

end

First is 'while true do' loop. Then is the 'wait()' function. The script finds 'game.Workspace.Player,' (or game.Workspace.(yourusername), then it finds my Torso and sets its velocity to the way my Torso is looking by sixty. This means this character will go at the speed of 60 units per second by the way it is facing.

See Also

Function Dump