Coordinate System

Every object in your HELIX world has a position, and that position is described with three numbers: X, Y, and Z. Before you move, spawn, or place anything, you need to know how space works in Unreal Engine.

The Axes

• X — Forward/backward (red arrow in HELIX Studio)
• Y — Left/right (green arrow)
• Z — Up/down (blue arrow) — Z is up in Unreal Engine

The unit of measurement is centimeters. A value of 100 means 100 cm, or 1 meter. A doorway is roughly 200 units (2m) tall. A character stands about 180 units.

Vectors — Position and Direction

A Vector (FVector) holds three floats: X, Y, Z. Use it for positions, directions, velocities, and scales. FVector(0, 0, 100) points straight up, one meter.

Rotators — Orientation

A Rotator (FRotator) describes orientation using three angles in degrees:

Component	Axis	What it does
Pitch	Y	Tilts up/down (nodding your head)
Yaw	Z	Turns left/right (shaking your head)
Roll	X	Tilts sideways (tilting your head to your shoulder)

FRotator(0, 90, 0) means no pitch, rotated 90 degrees to the right, no roll.

Transforms — The Full Package

A Transform (FTransform) bundles position + rotation + scale into one structure. Every Actor in the world has a transform. It fully describes where an object is, which way it's facing, and how big it is.

Code Examples

Blueprint

// In Blueprints, use "Make Vector" and "Set Actor Location" nodes
// Use "Make Rotator" and "Set Actor Rotation" for facing direction

// C++ equivalent:
FVector NewPosition(500.0f, 200.0f, 100.0f);
SetActorLocation(NewPosition);

FRotator NewRotation(0.0f, 90.0f, 0.0f); // Face right
SetActorRotation(NewRotation);

// Get distance between two actors
float Distance = FVector::Dist(ActorA->GetActorLocation(), ActorB->GetActorLocation());

Lua

-- Create a vector and move an actor
local new_position = Vector(500, 200, 100)
self:K2_SetActorLocation(new_position, false, nil, true)

local new_rotation = Rotator(0, 90, 0) -- Face right
self:K2_SetActorRotation(new_rotation, true)

-- Get distance between two actors
local dist = self:GetDistanceTo(other_actor)

JavaScript

// Create a vector and move an actor
let newPosition = new Vector(500, 200, 100);
this.K2_SetActorLocation(newPosition, false, undefined, true);

let newRotation = new Rotator(0, 90, 0); // Face right
this.K2_SetActorRotation(newRotation, true);

// Get distance between two actors
let dist = this.GetDistanceTo(otherActor);

Quick Reference

Real-world thing	Approximate size in UE units
A coin	2-3 cm
A door	100 x 200 cm
A character	~180 cm tall
A car	~450 cm long
A football field	~10,000 cm

tip

When something looks off — an object floating, clipping through the floor, or wildly oversized — check your units. A misplaced decimal can turn a coffee cup into a building.