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HELIX is in Early Access Preview. Some features and documentation may be non-functional or out of date.

Create Your First HELIX World#

A comprehensive guide to developing and publishing servers on HELIX. We'll cover core concepts such as Workspaces, Packages, Worlds, Creator Kit, Blueprints, Build Mode, and more.

1. Introduction to Core Concepts#

  • A Package is a modular bundle of assets (Lua scripts, Blueprints, UIs, meshes, textures, etc.) that can be combined together with other Packages (via dependencies) to form a playable World. It is comparable to a resource in FiveM.
  • A World is a special type of Package that contains main gameplay logic (Lua scripts, Blueprints) and a list of package dependencies to form a playable, editable experience in HELIX. It is comparable to a recipe in FiveM.
  • A Server is an instance of a World that multiple players can connect to and play in. Unlike FiveM, servers do NOT contain any logic or assets - instead, they are contained within the World. Read more about this concept and how to host a Dedicated Server here.
    • Local (Listen/P2P) Servers
      • Peer-to-peer hosted.
      • Free to use but non-persistent (when the host leaves or crashes, the server ends).
    • Dedicated Servers
      • Hosted on a dedicated machine, connect via IP address.
      • Persistence, higher player counts.
  • The Vault is the centralized package manager in HELIX. Packages (including Worlds) are uploaded, versioned, and downloaded from Vault and cached/updated locally. It is comparable to npm in NodeJS or pip in Python.
  • The Creator Kit is an Unreal Engine plugin released by HELIX to package custom assets to be imported into HELIX worlds. You can download it and get started here.

Key Differences:

Feature Package World Server
Purpose Modular building blocks (assets) Bundled game experience Joinable instance of a World
Playable No Yes (via servers) Yes
Editable No Yes (via workspace) No (update World instead)
Publishing As package As world package As server instance
Dependencies Yes Yes No

A World contains:

  • Package dependencies list, including a default map package and imported assets (textures, meshes, etc.)
  • Lua scripts – defines game logic
  • Optionally, a dynamic map editable in Build Mode (explained later)

2. Creating Your First World & Server#

Create New World#

A Workspace is a local folder that stores all files for a World you are editing. During development you will primarily be editing files in your workspace. You can connect this folder to version control such as Git.

  1. Press Create World from Client > Worlds tab, select map image.png
  2. Press the Code button in Build Mode ("N" key to activate) toolbar to open local workspace folder
  3. Press the Save button to keep saves locally

Add Gameplay Logic#

You can use Lua or Blueprints in your workspace to add gameplay logic to your world. Follow this guide to get familiar with Lua scripting on HELIX and Get Started with QBCore to start with the QBCore RP server template. Blueprint scripting guide will be coming soon.

Add Package Dependencies#

You can add packages (including frameworks such as QBCore) to your world to extend its functionality. Press the Vault button on bottom navbar to browse and add packages. You can see the download progress in the Downloads UI.

Any package you add from Vault is not directly editable. Only files within your workspace are editable. You can reference and call classes, functions, assets from added packages in your own gameplay logic, as well as pass data and variables to/from them.

Import Custom Assets from Creator Kit#

You can import and use any type of custom asset (Blueprints, Classes, UIs, meshes, textures, materials, etc) in your world by following these guides.

Publish World#

You can publish your world as Public or Private. Once published, users with permissions will be able to see and join your world in the Client > Worlds tab or see it in helixgame.com/worlds.

/// Warning! IMPORTANT! If your world contains imported custom assets from the previous step, you must publish those local packages to the Vault first and add them as dependencies before being able to publish your world. Follow this guide to publish packages to Vault. ///

Press the Publish button in Build Mode (rocket icon) to upload latest changes to Vault, and select Public/Private. This automatically zips up your local workspace and uploads it to Vault.

If set to Private, you can grant access to specific users from Creator Hub > Manage Worlds > Grant Access.

Manage Draft Worlds#

You can see and edit your local draft worlds in Client > Worlds tab > Drafts filter.

Host Dedicated Server#

Follow this guide to host a Dedicated Server of your world. This guide will soon be updated to cover HELIX Instant Hosting.

Update World / Server#

To update your world, press the Publish button and select "publish as new version" or "replace existing version". This will update your world with the latest local workspace. Make sure to restart any Dedicated Servers of this world for it to receive the updates. If you are using HELIX Instant Hosting, the server will be restarted automatically.

3. Additional Help#

If you get stuck or need help at any stage of your HELIX development journey, feel free to ask for help on our Official Discord. Our staff and other creators will be happy to help you.