A sandbox where you build the game, not just play it
Modbox is a multiplayer game creation sandbox from Alientrap, running on Desktop and VR. You get editor tools, physics objects, voxel terrain, meshes and a visual scripting language called MBScript, and you use them to assemble an actual playable game rather than a static level. MBScript works two ways: a drag and drop node view through the Wiring tool or a desktop window, and a Blocks/Scratch style interface for bigger logic, plus an in-game text editor with autocomplete for when you want to type directly. The same type system as C# backs it, so scripting can cover gameplay, AI and physics. On PC, the C# Compiler mod lets you write your own code, add new entity components or editor tools, and compile while the game is running to see changes immediately. The full C# source of Modbox's own game and editor tools ships as reference you can open and edit in-game.
Playing and building with friends
Everything you place and edit syncs to other online players in real time, so a group can build the same creation together and switch between editing and playing without leaving the session. You can mix VR and Desktop players in one game, and combine online, local and split screen play: up to 4 local players share the screen with keyboard or gamepads, optionally alongside a player in VR, and local players can also join online sessions. A server can be started at any point, whether you are playing or editing, and its permissions system decides who can administer, edit or just play. Creations go out through Steam Workshop, or cross-platform through Mod.io. Prefabs turn parts of a creation into reusable pieces that can nest inside other prefabs and be shared with other creators, including assets, visual scripting and C# projects.
Physics, destruction and worlds
Modbox does not use a physics hierarchy the way most level editors do. Instead you make Connections between physics objects while editing, and those join up with physics in play mode, which gives you realistic destruction and environments that fall apart as you play. Voxel Editing lets you carve terrain during play, with smooth worlds or cubic blocks for a Minecraft-style look, and mesh tools build models out of primitives. VR interaction was the design starting point: reloading clips into guns, pulling bows, full body simulation and physics based locomotion, with procedural animation letting Desktop players and AI perform the same actions. UI Entities use the same wiring systems to build HUDs, menus and new tools.
Before you start
Everything in Modbox is itself a mod, including VR support, Steamworks, Mod.io uploading, liquid and soft particles, and the mesh and voxel editors, so the toolset is meant to be extended. Mods can carry assets that players download to run a creation, or be local mods that only add options for you, like a VR spectator camera. Importing 3d models, humanoid models, textures and sounds happens at runtime while playing, and the ModboxSDK Unity package is used to build mods in the Unity Editor. The game is in Early Access and tagged experimental, and the C# Compiler mod is PC only.