Trail

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The Trail object is used to create a trail effect between two attachments. As the attachments move through space, a texture is drawn on their defined plane. This is commonly used to create effects that visualize movements like tracer trails behind projectiles, footprints, tire tracks, and similar effects.

See Trails for more information.

Code Samples

Creating a Part with a Basic Trail

local TweenService = game:GetService("TweenService")
-- Create a parent part
local part = Instance.new("Part")
part.Material = Enum.Material.SmoothPlastic
part.Size = Vector3.new(4, 1, 2)
part.Position = Vector3.new(0, 5, 0)
part.Anchored = true
part.Parent = workspace
-- Create attachments on part
local attachment0 = Instance.new("Attachment")
attachment0.Name = "Attachment0"
attachment0.Position = Vector3.new(-2, 0, 0)
attachment0.Parent = part
local attachment1 = Instance.new("Attachment")
attachment1.Name = "Attachment1"
attachment1.Position = Vector3.new(2, 0, 0)
attachment1.Parent = part
-- Create a new trail
local trail = Instance.new("Trail")
trail.Attachment0 = attachment0
trail.Attachment1 = attachment1
trail.Parent = part
-- Tween part to display trail
local dir = 15
while true do
dir *= -1
local goal = {Position = part.Position + Vector3.new(0, 0, dir)}
local tweenInfo = TweenInfo.new(3)
local tween = TweenService:Create(part, tweenInfo, goal)
tween:Play()
task.wait(4)
end

Summary

Properties

Methods

  • Clear():void

    Clears the segments of the trail.

Properties

Attachment0

read parallel

A Trail starts drawing its segments at the positions of its Attachment0 and Attachment1. When the trail is Enabled, it records the positions of its attachments every frame and connects these positions to the attachments' positions on the previous frame, creating a polygon that is then filled in by the trail's Color and Texture.

Changing the attachments of a trail while a trail is drawing will remove all of the segments the trail has already drawn.

Attachment1

read parallel

A Trail starts drawing its segments at the positions of its Attachment0 and Attachment1. When the trail is Enabled, it records the positions of its attachments every frame and connects these positions to the attachments' positions on the previous frame, creating a polygon that is then filled in by the trail's Color and Texture.

Changing the attachments of a trail while a trail is drawing will remove all of the segments the trail has already drawn.

Brightness

read parallel

Scales the light emitted from the trail when LightInfluence is less than 1. This property is 1 by default and can set to any number within the range of 0 to 10000. Increasing the value of LightInfluence decreases the effect of this property's value.

read parallel

Determines the color of the trail throughout its lifetime. If Texture is set, this color will tint the texture.

This property is a ColorSequence, allowing the color to be configured to vary across the length of the trail. If the color changes after some of the trail segments have been drawn, all of the old segments will be updated to match the new colors.

Code Samples

Creating a Trail with a Color Gradient

local TweenService = game:GetService("TweenService")
-- Create a parent part
local part = Instance.new("Part")
part.Material = Enum.Material.SmoothPlastic
part.Size = Vector3.new(4, 1, 2)
part.Position = Vector3.new(0, 5, 0)
part.Anchored = true
part.Parent = workspace
-- Create attachments on part
local attachment0 = Instance.new("Attachment")
attachment0.Name = "Attachment0"
attachment0.Position = Vector3.new(-2, 0, 0)
attachment0.Parent = part
local attachment1 = Instance.new("Attachment")
attachment1.Name = "Attachment1"
attachment1.Position = Vector3.new(2, 0, 0)
attachment1.Parent = part
-- Create a new trail with color gradient
local trail = Instance.new("Trail")
trail.Attachment0 = attachment0
trail.Attachment1 = attachment1
local color1 = Color3.fromRGB(255, 0, 0)
local color2 = Color3.fromRGB(0, 0, 255)
trail.Color = ColorSequence.new(color1, color2)
trail.Parent = part
-- Tween part to display trail
local dir = 15
while true do
dir *= -1
local goal = {Position = part.Position + Vector3.new(0, 0, dir)}
local tweenInfo = TweenInfo.new(3)
local tween = TweenService:Create(part, tweenInfo, goal)
tween:Play()
task.wait(4)
end

Enabled

read parallel

This property determines whether the trail will be drawn or not.

If set to false while a trail is drawing, no new segments will be drawn, but any existing segments will be cleaned up naturally when they reach the end of their Lifetime. To forcibly clean up existing segments, call the Clear() method at the same time.

FaceCamera

read parallel

A Trail is a 2D projection existing in 3D space, meaning that it may not be visible from every angle. The FaceCamera property, when set to true, ensures that the trail always faces the CurrentCamera, regardless of its orientation.

Changing this property immediately affects all existing and future trail segments.

Lifetime

read parallel

The Lifetime property determines how long each segment in a trail will last, in seconds, before it disappears. Defaults to 2 seconds but can be set anywhere between 0.01 and 20.

The lifetime of a trail is also used by that effect's Color and Transparency properties to determine how each segment is drawn. Both of these properties are sequences, meaning that they define their values at certain keypoints in the segment's lifetime and then interpolate between the values as the segment ages.

If a trail's lifetime changes, existing segments will immediately behave as if they always had the new lifetime, meaning that if they've existed for longer than the new lifetime, they will be removed immediately.

LightEmission

read parallel

Determines to what degree the colors of the trail are blended with the colors behind it. It should be set in the range of 0 to 1. A value of 0 uses normal blending modes and a value of 1 uses additive blending.

This property should not be confused with LightInfluence which determines how the trail is affected by environmental light.

Changing this property immediately affects all existing and future segments of the trail.

This property does not cause the trail to light the environment.

LightInfluence

read parallel

Determines the degree to which the trail is influenced by the environment's lighting, clamped between 0 and 1. When 0, the trail will be unaffected by the environment's lighting. When 1, it will be fully affected by lighting as a BasePart would be.

Changing this property immediately affects all existing and future segments of the trail.

See also LightEmission which specifies to what degree the colors of the trail are blended with the colors behind it.

MaxLength

read parallel

This property determines the maximum length of the trail, in studs. Its value defaults to 0, meaning that the trail will not have a maximum length and trail segments will expire in their Lifetime.

This property can be used alongside the MinLength property which determines the minimum length a trail must be before it's drawn.

MinLength

read parallel

This property determines the minimum length of the trail, in studs. If neither of the trail's attachments have moved at least this value, no new segments will be created and the endpoints of the current segment will be moved to the current position of the attachments.

Note that changing this property will only affect new segments that are drawn; any old segments that have already been drawn will maintain their current length.

This property can be used alongside the MaxLength property which determines the maximum trail length before its oldest segments are erased.

Texture

read parallel

The content ID of the texture to be displayed on the trail. If this property is not set, the trail will be displayed as a solid plane; this also occurs when the texture is set to an invalid content ID or the image associated with the texture has not yet loaded.

The appearance of the texture can be further modified by other trail properties including Color and Transparency.

Scaling of the texture is determined by the distance between Attachment0 and Attachment1, as well as the TextureMode, TextureLength, and WidthScale properties.

Code Samples

Creating a Trail with a Paw Print Texture

local TweenService = game:GetService("TweenService")
-- Create a parent part
local part = Instance.new("Part")
part.Material = Enum.Material.SmoothPlastic
part.Size = Vector3.new(2, 1, 2)
part.Position = Vector3.new(0, 5, 0)
part.Anchored = true
part.Parent = workspace
-- Create attachments on part
local attachment0 = Instance.new("Attachment")
attachment0.Name = "Attachment0"
attachment0.Position = Vector3.new(-1, 0, 0)
attachment0.Parent = part
local attachment1 = Instance.new("Attachment")
attachment1.Name = "Attachment1"
attachment1.Position = Vector3.new(1, 0, 0)
attachment1.Parent = part
-- Create a new trail with color gradient
local trail = Instance.new("Trail")
trail.Attachment0 = attachment0
trail.Attachment1 = attachment1
trail.Texture = "rbxassetid://16178262222"
trail.TextureMode = Enum.TextureMode.Static
trail.TextureLength = 2
trail.Parent = part
-- Tween part to display trail
local dir = 15
while true do
dir *= -1
local goal = {Position = part.Position + Vector3.new(0, 0, dir)}
local tweenInfo = TweenInfo.new(3)
local tween = TweenService:Create(part, tweenInfo, goal)
tween:Play()
task.wait(4)
end

TextureLength

read parallel

Sets the length of the trail's texture, dependent on TextureMode. Changing this property immediately affects all existing and future trail segments.

TextureMode

read parallel

This property, alongside TextureLength, determines how a trail's Texture scales, repeats, and moves along with the trail's attachments. Changing this property immediately affects all existing and future trail segments.

Scale and Repetition

When TextureMode is set to Enum.TextureMode.Wrap or Enum.TextureMode.Static, the TextureLength property sets the length of the texture as it repeats across the trail's length.

TextureMode diagram with Wrap mode

When TextureMode is set to Enum.TextureMode.Stretch, the texture will repeat TextureLength times across the trail's overall length.

TextureMode diagram with Stretch mode

Movement

The TextureMode property also affects the movement of the trail's texture as follows:

  • If set to Enum.TextureMode.Stretch, the texture will stretch out based on the lifetime of the trail, and shrink inwards if the trail's attachments stop moving.

  • If set to Enum.TextureMode.Wrap, the texture will be tiled as the length of the trail changes, but the textures will remain stationary relative to their attachments.

  • If set to Enum.TextureMode.Static, the texture will be rolled out as the attachments move, and they will remain in place until their lifetime is met. This setting is ideal for trail textures that should appear "stamped" where rendered, such as paw prints or tire tracks.

Transparency

read parallel

Sets the transparency of the trail's segments over its Lifetime. This value is a NumberSequence, meaning it can be a static value or can change throughout the lifetime of the trail segments.

WidthScale

read parallel

This property is a NumberSequence that scales the width of the trail over the course of its lifetime. Values can range between 0 and 1, acting as a multiplier on the distance between the trail's attachments. For example, if the trail's attachments are 2 stud's apart and the value of this property is 0.5, the trail's width will be 1 stud and the trail will be centered between the two attachments.

Methods

Clear

void

This method immediately clears all segments of the trail and is useful for cleaning up trails with longer lifetimes or for cases where the trail should be removed because of a specific action.

Calling this method only affects existing segments. To clear existing trail segments and temporarily prevent new segments from being drawn, toggle the trail's Enabled property to false at the same time.


Returns

void

Events