Your First Script

This is the moment it gets real. You're about to write code that runs inside a multiplayer World. Let's start with the classics — print a message, then spawn something.

Create a Package

Scripts live inside Packages. Let's make one:

1. Open HELIX Studio from the Launcher
2. Go to File → New Package
3. Name it my-first-package
4. Choose Script Package as the type
5. Hit Create

Your Package folder is now set up with the right structure, and a starter script file is waiting for you.

Hello HELIX!

Open the main script file in your Package. Let's make sure everything works:

Blueprint

// In your Blueprint Event Graph, add a Print String node
// connected to Event BeginPlay:

// Event BeginPlay → Print String ("Hello HELIX!")
// This prints to the screen and output log when the Package loads.

In HELIX Studio, open your Package Blueprint, find Event BeginPlay, and wire it to a Print String node with the message Hello HELIX!.

Lua

-- my-first-package/Server/Index.lua

print("Hello HELIX!")

JavaScript

// my-first-package/Server/Index.js

console.log("Hello HELIX!");

Run your World with the Package loaded. You should see "Hello HELIX!" in the output log. If you do — congratulations, you're a HELIX scripter now.

Spawn an Actor

Printing is great for debugging, but let's do something visible. Here's how to spawn a prop in the World when the script loads:

Blueprint

// In your Blueprint Event Graph:
//
// Event BeginPlay
//   → Spawn Actor from Class
//       Class: StaticMeshActor
//       Spawn Transform: (Location: X=0, Y=0, Z=200)
//   → Set Static Mesh (mesh: /Engine/BasicShapes/Cube)
//
// This spawns a cube 200 units above the origin.

Drag out from Event BeginPlay, add a Spawn Actor from Class node, set the class to StaticMeshActor, and configure the spawn transform. Then set its mesh to a basic cube.

Lua

-- my-first-package/Server/Index.lua

-- Spawn a cube prop 200 units above the origin
local myProp = Prop(
    Vector(0, 0, 200),           -- location
    Rotator(0, 0, 0),            -- rotation
    "helix::SM_Cube"             -- static mesh asset
)

print("Spawned a cube at: " .. tostring(myProp:GetLocation()))

JavaScript

// my-first-package/Server/Index.js

// Spawn a cube prop 200 units above the origin
const myProp = new Prop(
    new Vector(0, 0, 200),       // location
    new Rotator(0, 0, 0),        // rotation
    "helix::SM_Cube"             // static mesh asset
);

console.log(`Spawned a cube at: ${myProp.GetLocation()}`);

Run the World again. You should see a cube hovering above the ground. It's not much to look at — but it was conjured into existence by your code, in a multiplayer World, running on Unreal Engine 5.

What happened here?

• You created a Package to hold your scripts
• You wrote a server-side script that runs when the Package loads
• You spawned an Actor (a physical object in the World)

Server-side scripts run on the server and control the authoritative game state. Later you'll learn about client-side scripts for UI, effects, and input handling. But the server is where the real game logic lives.

What's next?

You've got a World with objects and scripts. Now let's publish it so other people can see what you've built.