A roblox billboard gui script is honestly one of those "make or break" things when you're trying to add some extra life to your game's world. If you've ever walked up to an NPC and seen a floating name tag, or hovered over a treasure chest and saw a "Press E to Open" prompt that follows your camera, you've seen a Billboard GUI in action. It's a UI element that exists in the 3D world but behaves a lot like the 2D menus on your screen.
The cool thing about scripting these is that they aren't nearly as intimidating as they look. Once you understand how the GUI container interacts with a Part in the workspace, you can start doing some really creative stuff. We're going to walk through how to set one up, how to make it dynamic with code, and some tricks to make it look smooth.
Getting the Basics Down
Before we even touch a script, you need to understand the hierarchy. Usually, you'd place a BillboardGui inside a Part or an Attachment. Inside that GUI, you'll have your TextLabel, ImageLabel, or even Buttons.
But if you want to do this the "pro" way—generating them on the fly—you'll need a solid script. Why would you want to script it rather than just dragging and dropping? Well, imagine you have a game with 100 enemies. You don't want to manually paste a GUI into every single one. You want a script that handles it for you.
Here's a simple way to think about it: the script's job is to create the object, tell it which part to "stick" to, and then update whatever information it's showing.
Writing a Basic Billboard GUI Script
Let's say you want a floating label over a part that says "Click Me!" and changes color when you get close. Here is how you might approach a basic roblox billboard gui script in a LocalScript or a Script depending on your needs.
```lua local part = script.Parent -- Assuming the script is inside the part local billboard = Instance.new("BillboardGui") billboard.Size = UDim2.new(0, 200, 0, 50) billboard.Adornee = part billboard.AlwaysOnTop = true billboard.Parent = part
local label = Instance.new("TextLabel") label.Size = UDim2.new(1, 0, 1, 0) label.BackgroundTransparency = 1 label.Text = "Hello World!" label.TextColor3 = Color3.new(1, 1, 1) label.TextScaled = true label.Parent = billboard ```
It's pretty straightforward, right? You're just instancing the objects and setting their properties. The Adornee property is the most important part here—it tells the GUI exactly which 3D object it should be hovering over. If you leave that blank but parent it to a part, it usually defaults to that part, but setting it explicitly is a good habit to get into.
Making the GUI Dynamic
Static text is fine for a signpost, but the real power of a roblox billboard gui script comes when you start pulling data from the game. Think about player health bars. You don't want it to just stay at 100%; you want it to shrink as they take damage.
To do this, you'd hook into an event like Humanoid.HealthChanged. Instead of just setting the text once, you set up a function that listens for changes.
I've seen a lot of beginners try to use a while true do wait() loop to update their GUIs. Please, don't do that! It's a total resource hog. Using events is much cleaner and won't make your game lag when things get busy. When the health changes, the event fires, and your script updates the Size of a health bar frame or the Text of a label. It's efficient and looks way more professional.
Handling Visibility and Distance
One thing that drives players crazy is a screen cluttered with floating text from objects that are miles away. If your roblox billboard gui script doesn't account for distance, your game world will end up looking like a messy spreadsheet.
The BillboardGui object has two really handy properties: MaxDistance and DistanceDisplayMode. * MaxDistance: Set this to something like 50 or 100. This way, the GUI just disappears when the player walks away. * AlwaysOnTop: If this is set to true, the GUI will show through walls. This is great for teammates' names but terrible for immersive world objects. Use it sparingly.
If you want to get fancy, you can even script the transparency to fade out as the player walks further away. You'd use a RunService.RenderStepped loop on the client to check the magnitude between the player's head and the part, then map that distance to the TextTransparency property.
Interactive Billboard GUIs
Did you know you can put buttons on these things? It's a bit of a "hidden" feature because, by default, Billboard GUIs don't always register clicks well in the 3D world unless you set them up right.
If you want a button on your Billboard GUI to work, you need to make sure the Adornee is set and that the GUI is parented to PlayerGui (for local interactions) while still being "adorned" to the part in the workspace. This sounds a bit confusing, but it's the standard way to handle interactive 3D UI. When it's sitting in the PlayerGui, the game treats it like a normal menu, but it visually stays pinned to the part in the world.
This is perfect for "Shop" buttons that float over a merchant's head. You click the button, a script triggers, and boom—the shop menu opens.
Styling and Aesthetic Polish
Let's talk about the look. A basic white box with black text looks well, a bit 2012. To make your roblox billboard gui script feel modern, you should look into UICorner and UIGradient.
You can script these additions just like anything else. Adding a UICorner with a CornerRadius of 0, 8 immediately makes the GUI look like a modern mobile app interface. Throw in a UIGradient to give it a subtle color shift, and suddenly your game looks like it had a massive budget.
Another tip: use LightInfluence. This property is usually set to 1 by default, meaning the GUI will get dark when the sun goes down. If you want it to look like a neon sign or a glowing hologram, set LightInfluence to 0. It will stay bright and vibrant regardless of the game's lighting settings.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
I've spent way too many hours debugging UI, and usually, it comes down to a few small things. First, check your StudsOffset. If your GUI is stuck inside the middle of a part, it might flicker or look weird. Use StudsOffset = Vector3.new(0, 2, 0) to move it up so it floats cleanly above the object.
Second, be careful with ExtentsOffset. It's similar to StudsOffset but it scales based on the size of the model. If you're putting a name tag over a giant boss, ExtentsOffset is your best friend because it ensures the tag stays above the head regardless of how big the character is scaled.
Lastly, watch out for the "Server vs. Client" trap. If you create a Billboard GUI in a regular Script on the server, everyone sees the same thing. If you want a GUI that only shows one player their specific quest progress, that roblox billboard gui script needs to be a LocalScript running on that player's machine.
Wrapping it Up
At the end of the day, mastering the roblox billboard gui script is just about experimenting. Start with a simple text label that follows a part, then try making it change color, then try making it interactive.
It's one of the most versatile tools in a Roblox developer's kit. Whether you're building a hardcore RPG with complex stat displays or a simple hangout game with cool name tags, these scripts do the heavy lifting. Just remember to keep your code clean, use events instead of loops, and always keep an eye on how much "clutter" you're adding to the player's screen.
Go ahead and give it a shot. Once you see that first bit of text floating perfectly over your game objects, you'll realize just how much it adds to the whole experience. Happy scripting!