Module 1 - Setup
Note: This content is intended as a companion to the tutorial world of the same name, which you can access through the desktop editor. When you open the tutorial world, a copy is created for you to explore and leverage, and this page is opened so that you can follow along. For more information, see
Access Tutorial Worlds.
This tutorial covers the process of creating a starting lobby area in a Meta Horizon Worlds game. Meta Horizon Worlds is a multiplayer environment where players can drop in and out of a game at any time. It’s likely that the next world you build needs to accommodate such player behavior. The finished scripts and functionality from this tutorial can be used in your next project. Key game development areas:
- Track all players and their game statuses
- Enable players to manually trigger a new game to start
- Communicate to players that a new game is starting
- Teleport all lobby players into a new game automatically
- Return all players to the lobby when the game is over
- Move players to different locations in a world
- Respond to events when players join and leave
- Utilize the Meta Horizon Worlds pop-up UI
You can create a world based on a tutorial world from either the desktop editor or from the headset. For more information on this workflow, see
Access Tutorial Worlds.
Since this game experience is designed for use in multiplayer environments, you may want to grab some friends to help test your work.
To begin, open your new version of the tutorial world in the desktop editor.
- Open Meta Quest Link (formerly, Oculus) on your desktop.
- In the Library tab, select the Meta Horizon Worlds application.
- From the context menu, select Start in Desktop Mode.
- In the Creations Home page, select your copy of the tutorial template.
Your world should now be opened in the desktop editor, and should look something like the following:
Build mode and Preview mode
When you open your world, it is in
Build mode; to explore the world and playtest it, click the
Preview mode button. For more information on the various modes, click
here.
In Preview mode:
- Use the mouse and WASD controls to move in the world.
- In Preview mode, you move at a single speed.
- To jump, press SPACEBAR. It’s a good idea to test any required jumping distances in Preview mode.
- To leave Preview mode and return to Build mode, press ESC.
Note that exploring the world in Preview mode is not the same thing as playing the game experience. In the toolbar, next to the mode controls, you can see the simulation playback controls.
Tip: You can also explore the world in VR mode from the desktop and through the VR headset itself.
When you are testing your TypeScript, you must press the Play button to start the simulation, which activates and executes your TypeScript scripts. You can also use the Stop button and Reset button for your playtesting.
At the bottom of the desktop editor screen, you can see two tabs:
- Assets: This tab provides access to all assets in your Asset Library, which includes all assets that you own or that have been shared to you.
Note: In some cases, you may be interacting with entities in a tutorial world to which you do not have access through your Assets tab. This is ok.
- Console: Click this tab to review messages that are generated from errors executing scripts or from messages that you push to the console from your TypeScript. This is an invaluable debugging tool.
In this module, you have:
- Verified prerequisites
- Opened the tutorial world in the desktop editor
- Tested your world
- Switched between Build mode and Preview mode
- Checked out the Assets and Console tabs
The next module will look at the included TypeScript scripts.
