Explore the Engine - s&box Documentation

Explore the Engine

Learn how s&box works by exploring the testbed and understanding the core concepts.

Play Testbed

Start s&box (not the editor) and find the game called testbed. This game exhibits and tests engine features.

When you enter the game you'll find a menu of scenes. Each scene tests a different engine feature:

• Physics scenes
• Rendering tests
• UI demonstrations
• Audio examples

The Scene System

The testbed demonstrates s&box's scene-based architecture:

Scenes

Scenes are JSON files that store GameObject hierarchies. They're fast to load and switch between.

GameObjects

GameObjects are the basic building blocks. They have transforms and can contain Components.

Components

Components provide functionality to GameObjects. The developer creates games by programming new Components and configuring scenes.

Source Code

Download the testbed source from GitHubopen_in_new:

1. Clone the repository
2. Open the .sbproj file in s&box editor
3. Explore the different scenes in the Asset Browser
4. Edit and play with them locally

Next Steps

• Scenes & GameObjectsopen_in_new — Deep dive into the scene system
• Codeopen_in_new — C# programming in s&box
• Editoropen_in_new — Learn the editor tools
• Gameplayopen_in_new — Input, navigation, terrain, VR
• Networkingopen_in_new — Multiplayer systems
• Graphicsopen_in_new — Shaders, effects, post-processing