Roblox Beginner Scripting Tutorial - Episode on Functions

Instructor: Balev
Topic: FindFirstChild and WaitForChild functions in Roblox

Overview

• Purpose: Learn to locate objects in Roblox and understand game structure.
• Game Structure:
  • Games are composed of different folders and objects.
  • Parent-Child Relationship:
    • The Workspace is a parent to all visible parts in the 3D world.
    • Each object, like a base plate or a texture, has a specific parent-child relationship.

Organizing Objects in Roblox

• Two main ways to organize objects:
  • Models: Groups parts together as a single unit.
    • Example: Creating a model with parts named "Part1", "Part2", "Part3".
  • Folders: General organization for parts, scripts, and other assets.
    • Allows dragging individual parts or the whole folder.
• Recommendation: Use models for grouping parts; use folders for general organization.

FindFirstChild Function

• Purpose: Safely locate an object without causing errors if the object doesn't exist.
• Example Usage:
  • Syntax: local part1 = model:FindFirstChild("Part1")
  • If part1 exists, actions can be executed (e.g., changing its color).
  • If it doesn't exist, no error is thrown, and the script continues.

Implementation Example

1. Insert a Script in Model.
2. Locate the Model:
   • Use script.Parent to reference the model directly.
3. Locate Part Using FindFirstChild:
   • Syntax: local part1 = model:FindFirstChild("Part1")
4. Color Check Example:
   • If part1 exists, change its color.
   • if part1 then part1.BrickColor = BrickColor.new("Cocoa") end

WaitForChild Function

• Purpose: Wait for an object to be added to the game for a specific period before continuing execution.
• Allows the script to handle situations where an object may not be immediately available.

Implementation Example

1. Use: local part2 = model:WaitForChild("Part2")
2. Print Confirmation:
   • print("Part two has been detected")
3. Handle Delays:
   • If part2 is missing, the script waits and checks for it.

Practical Example: Creating a Kill Brick

• Objective: Create a part that kills the player when touched.
• Steps to Create:
  1. Insert a Part: Name it "Kill Brick" and assign it a red color.
  2. Insert Script into the Kill Brick.
     • Find Kill Brick Reference: local killBrick = script.Parent
  3. Handle Player Touch Event:
     • killBrick.Touched:Connect(function(otherPart) ...
  4. Find Humanoid: Identify if the touched part is part of a player character.
  • Use local humanoid = otherPart.Parent:FindFirstChild("Humanoid")
  5. Set Health to Zero:
     • if humanoid then humanoid.Health = 0 end
• Testing: Test the game to see if touching the brick resets the character.

Conclusion

• Learning Goals: Experiment further with FindFirstChild and WaitForChild.
• Encourage sharing code snippets in comments for community learning.

Next Episode: Stay tuned for more scripting tutorials!
Take Care!