How to Fly in Roblox: A Beginner's Scripting Guide

Are you looking to add a flight mechanic to your Roblox game? Giving players the ability to soar through the sky can dramatically enhance gameplay and exploration. If you’re new to Roblox scripting and want to understand how to implement flight, this tutorial will guide you through the process step-by-step. We’ll break down the code and explain the core concepts you need to know to get your players flying in no time.

First, we need to access the UserInputService. This Roblox service is essential for detecting player inputs like keyboard presses and mouse clicks. Think of it as the listener that tells your game when a player interacts with their controls.

 ```lua
local uis = game:GetService("UserInputService")

This simple line of code retrieves the UserInputService and stores it in the uis variable, making it ready for us to use.

Next, we need to set up an event listener to detect when a player presses a specific key – in this case, we’ll use the spacebar to initiate flight. The InputBegan event of UserInputService is perfect for this. It fires whenever an input action starts, such as pressing a key.

 ```lua
uis.InputBegan:Connect(function(input)
    if input.KeyCode == Enum.KeyCode.Space then
        -- Do something when spacebar is pressed
    end
end)

This code snippet sets up a connection to the InputBegan event. Inside the function, we check if the KeyCode of the input is Enum.KeyCode.Space. Enum.KeyCode.Space represents the spacebar key. When the spacebar is pressed, the code within the if statement will execute. This is where we’ll trigger our flight function.

Now, let’s create the core of our flight mechanic – the fly function. This function will handle the physics and logic that allow the player to fly.

 ```lua
function fly()

end

This is currently an empty function. We’ll fill it with the necessary code to make our character take to the skies. To implement flight, we’ll use Roblox’s physics engine. We’ll need to manipulate the player’s character using BodyPosition and BodyGyro objects. Let’s set up the necessary variables first.

 ```lua
local myPlayer = game.Players.LocalPlayer
local myChar = myPlayer.Character
local myHRP = myChar:WaitForChild("HumanoidRootPart")
local bp = Instance.new("BodyPosition", myHRP) -- Body Position to control location
bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new()
bp.D = 10
bp.P = 10000
local bg = Instance.new("BodyGyro", myHRP) -- Body Gyro to control rotation
bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new()
bg.D = 10
local flying = false -- Track flight status
local rs = game:GetService("RunService") -- For RenderStepped event
local camera = game.Workspace.CurrentCamera
local speed = 0.5 -- Flight speed

Let’s break down these variables:

myPlayer: Gets the local player (the player running the script).
myChar: Gets the player’s character model.
myHRP: Gets the HumanoidRootPart of the character, which is the primary part we’ll manipulate for movement. WaitForChild ensures that the HumanoidRootPart is loaded before we try to access it.
bp (BodyPosition): Creates a BodyPosition object parented to the HumanoidRootPart. BodyPosition allows us to directly control the position of a part using forces.
- bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new(): Initially sets the maximum force to zero, meaning BodyPosition won’t exert any force yet.
- bp.D = 10: Damping factor for BodyPosition.
- bp.P = 10000: Proportional gain for BodyPosition.
bg (BodyGyro): Creates a BodyGyro object, also parented to the HumanoidRootPart. BodyGyro controls the orientation (rotation) of a part.
- bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new(): Initially sets maximum torque to zero.
- bg.D = 10: Damping factor for BodyGyro.
flying: A boolean variable to track whether the player is currently flying. Starts as false.
rs (RunService): The RunService is essential for frame-by-frame updates using the RenderStepped event, crucial for smooth movement in games.
camera: Gets the current camera in the workspace.
speed: Determines the flight speed, adjust this value to make flight faster or slower.

Now, let’s implement the flight physics within the fly function.

 ```lua
function fly()
    flying = true
    bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000)
    bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000)
    while flying do
        rs.RenderStepped:Wait()
        bp.Position = myHRP.Position + ((camera.CFrame.p - myHRP.Position).unit * speed)
        bg.CFrame = CFrame.new(camera.CFrame.p, myHRP.Position)
    end
end

Here’s what this code does:

flying = true: Sets the flying variable to true to indicate that the player is now flying.
bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000): Sets a high MaxForce for BodyPosition. This allows BodyPosition to exert strong forces to move the character.
bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000): Similarly, sets a high MaxTorque for BodyGyro to control rotation.
while flying do ... end: This is a loop that continues as long as the flying variable is true. This loop will run every frame, thanks to rs.RenderStepped:Wait().
- rs.RenderStepped:Wait(): Pauses the loop until the next frame is rendered, ensuring smooth, frame-rate dependent updates.
- bp.Position = myHRP.Position + ((camera.CFrame.p - myHRP.Position).unit * speed): This line is the heart of the flight movement.
  - (camera.CFrame.p - myHRP.Position).unit: Calculates the unit vector from the player’s HumanoidRootPart to the camera’s position. This gives us a direction vector pointing away from the player towards the camera.
  - ... * speed: Multiplies the direction vector by the speed variable to control the flight speed.
  - myHRP.Position + ...: Adds this directional vector to the player’s current position, effectively moving the player in the direction opposite to the camera (which often translates to forward relative to the player’s view).
  - bp.Position = ...: Sets the BodyPosition‘s target position. The BodyPosition will then apply forces to move the HumanoidRootPart towards this target position.
- bg.CFrame = CFrame.new(camera.CFrame.p, myHRP.Position): This line controls the player’s rotation.
  - CFrame.new(camera.CFrame.p, myHRP.Position): Creates a CFrame (coordinate frame) looking from the camera’s position towards the player’s HumanoidRootPart. This makes the player always face the direction of the camera.
  - bg.CFrame = ...: Sets the BodyGyro‘s target CFrame, making the player rotate to face the camera’s direction.

Currently, the fly function will make the player fly indefinitely once activated. We need a way to stop flying. Let’s create an endFlying function and integrate it into our input detection.

 ```lua
function endFlying()
    bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new()
    bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new()
    flying = false
end

The endFlying function does the opposite of the initial part of the fly function:

bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new(): Resets BodyPosition‘s MaxForce to zero, stopping its movement influence.
bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new(): Resets BodyGyro‘s MaxTorque to zero, relinquishing rotation control.
flying = false: Sets the flying variable to false, which will break the while loop in the fly function and effectively stop the flight.

Now, let’s combine everything and modify the InputBegan event to toggle flight on and off with the spacebar.

 ```lua
local uis = game:GetService("UserInputService")
local rs = game:GetService("RunService")
local myPlayer = game.Players.LocalPlayer
local myChar = myPlayer.Character
local myHRP = myChar:WaitForChild("HumanoidRootPart")
local camera = game.Workspace.CurrentCamera
local flying = false
local speed = 0.5

local bp = Instance.new("BodyPosition", myHRP)
bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new()
bp.D = 10
bp.P = 10000

local bg = Instance.new("BodyGyro", myHRP)
bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new()
bg.D = 10

function fly()
    flying = true
    bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000)
    bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000)
    while flying do
        rs.RenderStepped:Wait()
        bp.Position = myHRP.Position + ((camera.CFrame.p - myHRP.Position).unit * speed)
        bg.CFrame = CFrame.new(camera.CFrame.p, myHRP.Position)
    end
end

function endFlying()
    bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new()
    bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new()
    flying = false
end

uis.InputBegan:Connect(function(input)
    if input.KeyCode == Enum.KeyCode.Space then
        if not flying then
            fly()
        else
            endFlying()
        end
    end
end)

In the InputBegan event, we now check if not flying then fly() else endFlying() end. This creates a toggle: if the player is not flying and presses space, the fly() function is called to start flight. If the player is already flying and presses space again, the endFlying() function is called to stop flight.

To enhance the flight experience, you can add animations. First, you need to have an animation created in Roblox Studio and obtain its AnimationId. Then, you can load and play it when the player starts flying and stop it when flight ends.

 ```lua
local hum = myChar:WaitForChild("Humanoid") -- Get the humanoid
local animationTrack = hum:LoadAnimation(script.Animation) -- Load animation, assuming Animation object is a child of the script

function fly()
    flying = true
    bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000)
    bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new(400000,400000,400000)
    animationTrack:Play() -- Play flight animation
    while flying do
        rs.RenderStepped:Wait()
        bp.Position = myHRP.Position + ((camera.CFrame.p - myHRP.Position).unit * speed)
        bg.CFrame = CFrame.new(camera.CFrame.p, myHRP.Position)
    end
    animationTrack:Stop() -- Stop animation when flight ends
end

function endFlying()
    bp.MaxForce = Vector3.new()
    bg.MaxTorque = Vector3.new()
    flying = false
end

Note: You need to create an Animation object within the script and set its AnimationId to your desired flight animation.

Finally, to make the flight more realistic, you might want to automatically stop flying when the player touches the ground. A simple way to achieve this is by using the .Touched event on the HumanoidRootPart.

 ```lua
myHRP.Touched:Connect(function(hit)
    if hit.Parent:IsA("BasePart") and flying then -- Check if touched a BasePart and if flying
        endFlying()
    end
end)

This code adds an event listener to the Touched event of the HumanoidRootPart. When the HumanoidRootPart touches another part, the function checks if the touched part is a BasePart and if the player is currently flying. If both conditions are true, it calls endFlying() to stop the flight.

This comprehensive guide provides a solid foundation for implementing a flight mechanic in your Roblox game. Experiment with the speed variable and animation to fine-tune the flight experience to your liking. Remember to place this script in StarterPlayerScripts so it runs for every player when they join the game. Happy flying!

How to Fly in Roblox: A Beginner’s Scripting Guide

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