If you're trying to get a roblox move script working properly, you've probably realized that while the default character movement is fine, it doesn't always cut it for specific game mechanics. Whether you want a part to float across the room or you're building a custom vehicle, getting that movement to look fluid and professional is a bit of an art form. It's one thing to make something teleport from A to B, but making it actually move requires a little more finesse with Luau.
I remember when I first started messing around in Studio, I thought I could just change the position property in a loop and call it a day. The result? A stuttery, flickering mess that looked like it was lagging through time. If you've been there, don't worry—it's a rite of passage for every developer. Today, we're going to look at a few different ways to handle movement so your game doesn't look like it's running on a toaster from 2005.
Why bother with a custom script anyway?
You might be wondering why you'd even need a custom roblox move script when Roblox handles most of the heavy lifting for you. For a standard obby or a hangout game, the default movement is great. But what if you're making a cutscene? Or what if you want a platform that moves back and forth in a specific pattern?
Custom scripts give you total control. You can decide if the movement should be instant, if it should have momentum, or if it should react to the environment. Plus, understanding how to move objects through code is the foundation for pretty much everything else in game dev, from projectiles to complex boss fights.
The basic way: Using CFrame
If you just want something to move in a straight line, the easiest method is messing with the object's CFrame. CFrame stands for Coordinate Frame, and it's basically a fancy way of saying "where is this thing and which way is it pointing?"
Here's the thing about CFrame: it's very precise. If you tell a part to move three studs to the left every frame, it's going to do exactly that. The problem is that if you do it too fast or without any smoothing, it looks jittery.
A simple loop can handle this, but you have to be careful. You don't want to use a while true do loop without a task.wait(), or you'll crash your Studio session faster than you can say "Luau." Using RunService.Heartbeat is usually the better move here because it syncs the movement with the game's frame rate, making it look much cleaner.
Making it look professional with TweenService
If you want your roblox move script to look high-quality, TweenService is your best friend. I can't stress this enough—if you aren't using Tweens, you're making life harder for yourself.
Tweening is basically the process of "in-betweening." You tell the script the start position, the end position, and how long you want it to take to get there. Roblox then fills in all the frames in the middle. The coolest part? You can add "Easing Styles."
Instead of a part just starting and stopping abruptly, you can make it "Elastic" so it bounces a little at the end, or "Sine" so it starts slow, speeds up, and then slows down again. It adds a level of polish that makes your game feel like a "real" game and not just a tech demo. It's perfect for sliding doors, moving platforms, or even UI elements popping onto the screen.
Physics-based movement
Sometimes, you don't want to manually set the position of an object. Sometimes, you want the game's physics engine to do the work. This is where things like LinearVelocity or VectorForce come in.
Let's say you're making a car. If you use a roblox move script that just changes the CFrame, the car won't actually "drive"—it'll just slide through the world. It won't care about gravity, it won't bounce over bumps, and it'll probably clip through walls.
By using physics constraints, the object becomes part of the physical world. It will bump into things, get pushed around by the player, and generally behave like a real object. It's a bit more complex to set up because you have to deal with attachments and balancing forces, but for vehicles or interactable objects, it's the only way to go.
Handling player input
What if you're not trying to move a part, but rather the player themselves? Writing a roblox move script for a character usually involves the UserInputService. You need to listen for when a player presses a key (like W, A, S, or D) and then translate that into movement.
Most people just let the Humanoid handle this, but if you're making a custom character controller—like for a bird that flies or a spider that climbs walls—you'll need to override the default behavior. This usually involves taking the player's camera direction into account so that when they press "forward," they actually go where they're looking. It sounds simple, but the math behind it can get a little trippy if you're not used to working with vectors.
Server vs. Client: The great lag debate
One thing that trips up a lot of new scripters is where the script should actually live. If you put your roblox move script in a ServerScript, everyone sees the object move at the same time. That sounds good, right? Well, not always.
If the server is lagging, the movement will look choppy for the players. For things that need to be super smooth, like a player's own movement or a visual effect, it's often better to handle it on the Client (in a LocalScript).
The downside is that if it's only on the client, other players might not see it, or they might see it in a different spot. Finding the balance between server-side authority (to prevent cheating) and client-side smoothness is one of the biggest challenges in multiplayer game development. For moving platforms, I usually suggest moving them on the server so everyone stays synced, but for purely aesthetic things, keep it on the client.
Common mistakes to avoid
We've all made them, but here are a few things to watch out for when writing your roblox move script:
- Forgetting to anchor: If you're moving something via CFrame and it's not anchored, physics might fight you. The part might fall through the floor while your script is trying to push it forward.
- Ignoring DeltaTime: If you're using a loop to move something, always multiply your speed by
dt(DeltaTime). This ensures that the object moves at the same speed regardless of whether a player is getting 60 FPS or 20 FPS. - Over-complicating the math: Before you break out the trigonometry to calculate a curve, check if there's a built-in Roblox tool that does it for you. Nine times out of ten, there is.
Wrapping things up
Mastering the roblox move script is really just about picking the right tool for the job. If you need something simple and rigid, go with CFrame. If you want it to look pretty and smooth, use TweenService. If you want it to interact with the world and knock things over, stick with physics and constraints.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Break things, see why they flew off into space, and then fix them. That's honestly how most of us learned this stuff. Once you get the hang of moving a single block from one side of the baseplate to the other, you're well on your way to building much more complex systems. Keep at it, and before you know it, you'll be scripting complex cutscenes and mechanics without even breaking a sweat. Happy coding!