If you've been looking for a roblox custom hint system script to give your players a bit of direction, you probably already know that the built-in "Hint" object is, well, pretty terrible. It's a relic from the early days of Roblox that throws a clunky grey bar at the top of the screen with zero styling options. It doesn't fit the vibe of a modern game, and honestly, it just looks unfinished.
Creating your own system isn't just about making things look pretty, though that's a huge part of it. It's about control. You want to be able to decide how long a message stays on the screen, whether it slides in from the side, and how it handles multiple messages popping up at once. In this article, we're going to walk through how to build a system that's flexible, looks professional, and—most importantly—is easy to trigger from any script in your game.
Why You Should Ditch the Legacy Hint Object
Let's be real for a second: the default Roblox Hint object hasn't changed in over a decade. It's fixed at the very top of the window, it uses a font you can't change, and it has no transparency settings. If your game has a sleek, sci-fi aesthetic or a cozy, rustic feel, that ugly grey bar is going to stick out like a sore thumb.
By building a roblox custom hint system script, you open up a world of possibilities. You can use TweenService to create smooth animations, use UICorners to get those nice rounded edges, and even add sound effects that trigger every time a new hint appears. It makes your game feel polished, and players notice that kind of attention to detail.
Setting Up the UI Framework
Before we even touch a script, we need a place for our hints to live. Since we're doing this the right way, we'll use a ScreenGui in StarterGui.
- Create a
ScreenGuiand name it "HintGui". - Inside that, add a
Framecalled "HintContainer". This container is actually really important—it acts as the "anchor" for where your hints will appear. I usually put mine at the top-center or bottom-right of the screen. - Make sure the
BackgroundTransparencyof the container is set to 1. We don't want to see the box; we only want to see the hints inside it.
Now, create a "Template" frame inside the container. This is what every hint will look like. Give it a TextLabel for the message, maybe a small icon image, and definitely a UICorner to make it look modern. Once you're happy with how it looks, drag that Template frame into a Folder in ReplicatedStorage (call it "Assets"). We'll use our script to clone this template whenever we need to show a hint.
The Core Logic: Using a ModuleScript
If you want to be efficient, you don't want to rewrite hint logic in every single part of your game. You shouldn't be copy-pasting code into every lava brick or quest NPC. Instead, we'll use a ModuleScript. This allows you to call a single function—something like HintModule.ShowHint("Watch out!")—from anywhere.
The roblox custom hint system script within this module needs to handle three main things: 1. Cloning the template UI. 2. Setting the text and duration. 3. Animating the entry and exit.
Using TweenService is non-negotiable here. You want the hint to fade in or slide into position. A simple for loop to change transparency is old school and usually looks jittery. TweenService is handled on the engine level, so it's buttery smooth even if the server is lagging a bit.
Handling the "Queue" Problem
Here is where most beginner scripts fall apart. Imagine a player finishes a quest, levels up, and finds a secret item all at the same time. If your script just spawns a hint at a fixed position, all three hints will overlap, creating a garbled mess of text.
To fix this, your roblox custom hint system script needs a queue. Instead of just "showing" a hint, the script should check if a hint is already active. If it is, the new hint should either wait its turn or, even better, push the old hint up.
A simple way to do this is to use a UIListLayout inside your HintContainer. When a new hint is added, the UIListLayout automatically stacks them. You just have to make sure your script deletes the oldest hint after a few seconds so the screen doesn't get cluttered.
Making the Script Versatile
A good hint system shouldn't just be for text. Sometimes you want a "Warning" hint (red) and sometimes an "Info" hint (blue). When writing your module, try passing a "Type" or "Color" argument.
For example, your function might look like this: HintModule.CreateHint(message, color, duration). Inside the script, you can use an if statement or a basic table to look up which color to apply to the UI background. This makes your game much more communicative. A player will learn that "Red means I messed up" and "Green means I did something right" without even reading the text.
Coding the Client-Server Bridge
Since UI is a client-side thing, your roblox custom hint system script will mostly live in a LocalScript. However, most events that trigger hints happen on the server (like a player touching a part or a server-wide announcement).
To bridge this gap, you'll need a RemoteEvent in ReplicatedStorage. Let's call it "NotifyPlayer". * On the Server: When something happens, you fire that event to a specific player or all players. * On the Client: A LocalScript listens for that event and calls the Hint Module we talked about earlier.
This setup is clean and follows Roblox's best practices for client-server communication. It keeps the heavy lifting on the server and the visual "eye candy" on the client.
Polishing the Experience with Sound and Motion
If you really want to go the extra mile, don't just let the hint sit there. Add a subtle "pop" or "ding" sound when it appears. It grabs the player's attention. Just make sure the sound isn't too loud or annoying, especially if hints pop up frequently.
Another trick is to add a slight "bounce" to your Tween. Instead of a linear movement, use Enum.EasingStyle.Back or Enum.EasingStyle.Elastic. It gives the UI a bit of personality. It feels less like a computer program and more like a cohesive game experience.
Performance Considerations
You might be thinking, "Does spawning UI elements constantly hurt performance?" If you do it poorly, yeah, it can. But if you're just cloning a small frame and destroying it after five seconds, the impact is negligible.
Just make sure you're using the :Destroy() method on your hint objects once they're done. Don't just set their transparency to 1 or move them off-screen. If you leave them sitting in the PlayerGui, you'll eventually end up with thousands of invisible frames slowing down the game. Always clean up after your scripts!
Putting It All Together
Building a roblox custom hint system script is one of those projects that seems small but makes a massive difference in how your game feels. It's the difference between a "hobby project" and a "polished game."
By moving away from the legacy system and embracing ModuleScripts, TweenService, and RemoteEvents, you're building a foundation that you can use in every single game you make from here on out. It's a reusable tool in your developer kit.
Once you have the basics down, you can start getting fancy—maybe add a progress bar that shows how much time is left before the hint disappears, or allow players to click the hint to dismiss it early. The sky's the limit when you're no longer stuck with the default tools!