🔹Using Blocks

Blocks form the terrain of your experience with a variety of textures and transparencies.

Learn how blocks are made in VoxEdit's 🔹Block Editor.

Block Properties

Size

Blocks are the terrain in The Sandbox Game. Each block is 32 by 32 by 32-pixels, which equates to 1-meter by 1-meter by 1 meter in the real world.

Colour, Animation & Collisions

• Blocks are not affected by gravity or physics.

• An object with a behaviour that includes walking can move up or down 1 block at a time.

• Avatars can swim liquid blocks 2 or more blocks deep if swimming is enabled.

• Blocks must exist in an Experience to place Assets, but may be removed after.

Currently, only the player's Avatar can walk on the surface of objects.

Blocks can be varied to have:

• Solid or Liquid collisions (if liquid, an animation is applied)

• Normal or Emissive colours

• Transparency in increments of 20 0% transparency is opaque, and 100% transparency is invisible

A comparison of blocks in Game Maker

Access Blocks

Open the Library and filter to only show Blocks.

Click with the Left Mouse Button to select a Block for short term use or drag and drop it into your shortcuts Toolbar for repeated use.

Place and Remove Blocks

After you select a Block from the Toolbar or the Library, your cursor will switch to Brush Mode and display additional brush options in the top right corner of the screen.

A block must be selected from the Library to perform the actions below in Brush Mode.

The Brush Mode works based on the location of the mouse cursor to allow you to build easily in 3 dimensions.

Move the cursor to touch the surface of an existing block that you want to add to, remove from, or replace.

Undo block placement by pressing press CTRL + Z or the Undo arrow on the Top Bar.

Place

Left Click to place a single Block.

To place blocks over a larger rectangular area, hold the Left Mouse Button, drag, and release.

Remove

Right Click to remove a single block.

To remove blocks over a larger rectangular area, hold SHIFT and the Right Mouse Button, drag, and release.

Replace

Replace in any direction

Position the mouse pointer on a face of the block to replace

Replace a larger area of blocks easily

Hold CTRL and Left Click to replace a single block.

To replace blocks over a larger rectangular area, hold CTRL + the Left Mouse Button, drag, and release.

Place Vertically

For a single vertical column of blocks: Hold the Left Mouse Button, then hold the SHIFT key and drag the mouse upward.

For a rectangular vertical column of blocks: Hold the Left Mouse Button, drag the mouse to the desired shape for the base of your column, then hold the SHIFT key and drag the mouse upward.

This will NOT work if you press SHIFT first.

Place in the Air

The location of the camera determines where the block is placed.

1. Use camera controls to position the camera where you want a block to be placed (in front of your field of view).

2. Press the INSERT key to toggle this mode on. You will notice the cursor changes to a white square outline.

3. Left Click to place a block directly in front of your camera.

Repeat this step and then use the left mouse button to left click and drag from one block to another to place a large number of blocks quickly in the air.

Place a Full Layer

Hold RIGHT CTRL and Click on a surface to place a layer of blocks.

Brush Tools to Vary Shape

The examples above introduce controls using the Free brush, but they apply for each brush tool below.

The position of the mouse cursor is relative to the center of the brush shape when you place, remove, or replace.

Free

Free is the default brush, demonstrated in the above examples, which allows you to place blocks as small as a single cube or over a larger area by clicking and dragging a selection.

Diamond

With the Diamond brush, you can only adjust the size, not the shape. Modify one of the parameters and the others will auto adjust to match.

The diamond brush creates an appealing shape that is also easy for players to walk or run up or down.

Square

With the Square brush, you can adjust parameters individually to change size and shape.

PLANNING TIPS The Square brush is helpful for "greyboxing," or blocking out large areas of your Experience to plan how you'll use the 3D space before you add any assets. Measure areas by selecting a block with a grid design like the ones show above. Then adjust the Square brush size to be able to place flat squares or lines of blocks.

Sphere

With the Sphere brush, you can adjust parameters individually to change size and shape.

The Sphere brush can be useful for creating natural shapes like mountains.

Blocks and Logic

You can't apply logic to blocks, but you can apply logic to Objects to add or remove blocks nearby (currently not synchronised for all players, but client only).

• Void Behaviour allows you to remove specified blocks in a defined area.

• Multi Behaviour allows you to add a 3x3 or larger group of specified blocks in a defined area.