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Stage 2: Sphere Staircase

Course progressStage 2 of 10
~35 min
Before you start

Make sure you've finished Stage 1: Ascending Walls first — Stage 2 reuses the checkpoint pattern we set up there.

Build

a staircase made from spheres

Learn

how shape, size, and placement change jump difficulty

Ship

a round-platform climb that connects to Stage 3


Stage preview
Stage 2
Preview the round-platform climb that turns simple jumps into a careful landing challenge.

Preview the round-platform climb that turns simple jumps into a careful landing challenge.

Build this stage below

The big idea​

Stage 1 used blocks. Blocks have flat tops — easy to land on. Today we switch to spheres, which are round on top. Players have to land near the middle of a sphere or they'll slide off the side.

The new design lesson is shape changes difficulty. The blocks and the spheres are the same Size — [4, 4, 4] — but the round shape forces the player to aim. Same Roblox tools, totally different feel.

We're also reusing the checkpoint pattern from Stage 1. After today, you'll have done it twice — once for Stage 2's start pad and once for Stage 3's pad — and the muscle memory will start to kick in.

Build it​

Step 1 — Build the sphere staircase​

Three spheres stacked as steps. Same idea as Stage 1's wall, but the round tops force careful jumping.

stage2Easy

1.1 Make three spheres​

In the Workspace, click + → Part → Sphere three times. You should now have three round balls.

1.2 Color them in​

Click each sphere and use Properties to pick a BrickColor and Material. Bright, fun colors look great here.

1.3 Set the size​

All three spheres should be the same size. Click each one and set Size to [4, 4, 4].

1.4 Stack them as steps​

Drag the spheres so each one sits a bit higher and a bit further than the last — like steps. Press ▶ Play in Studio and try to jump from sphere to sphere up to the top.

Spheres are trickier than blocks because they're round. Players have to land near the middle or they'll roll off.

Step 2 — Add the next checkpoint​

The Stage 3 checkpoint goes at the top of the sphere staircase. Same checkpoint pattern as Stage 1 — but with a fresh color so players know they reached a new stage.

2.1 Add another SpawnLocation​

In Explorer, right-click Workspace → Insert Object → SpawnLocation.

2.2 Set its properties​

  • BrickColor → a new color, different from your Stage 1 checkpoint.
  • AllowTeamChangeOnTouch → checked.
  • Neutral → unchecked.
  • TeamColor → matches the BrickColor.

2.3 Tag it with its stage number​

Same gesture as Stage 1. In the Attributes section of Properties, add a StageNumber attribute (number type) and set its value to 3.

2.4 Add a Team​

  • In Teams, insert a new Team named Stage 3.
  • Uncheck AutoAssignable — only Stage 1 is the team players start on.
  • Set TeamColor to match.

Drag the new SpawnLocation onto the top sphere.

Understand it​

A sphere is just a part with a round shape — Roblox treats it the same way it treats a block. The reason it feels harder is that gravity pulls the player toward the center of any surface they land on. A flat block keeps them on top; a round sphere lets them slide off.

We kept the size at [4, 4, 4] on purpose. A 4×4×4 sphere is the same volume as a 4×4×4 block, so the "platform" is the same width. Only the shape changed. That makes the difficulty come from one design choice — not from a confusing mix of "smaller and rounder."

The medium stretch asks campers to mix sphere sizes — that compounds the difficulty (smaller sphere + rounder edges = much harder to land). Two design knobs at once. A real game designer would tune one knob at a time to learn what each one does — that's a useful habit to start now.

Try this​

Learning beat

Try this

Three short experiments. Predict before you run, then test your guess.

Predict first

Change all your spheres to size [3, 3, 3]. Predict how that feels to play. Now try [2, 2, 2]. Were you right about which is hardest to land on?

Compare

Build a single block — [4, 4, 4] — right next to one of your spheres. Walk up to both. The "platform" is the same width, but landing on them feels different. Why?

Connect

Stage 3 swaps the round spheres for long thin planks. Look at your sphere staircase. Which part of jumping on a sphere — the round top, the small landing area, or the height — do you think makes plank-walking also feel scary?

Test your stage​

Before moving on:

  • Press ▶ Play and start from the Stage 2 checkpoint.
  • Jump across each sphere without skipping the challenge.
  • Touch the Stage 3 checkpoint, then reset your character and make sure you respawn there.
  • Design check. Do the spheres feel harder than Stage 1, but still possible after a few tries?

If it breaks​

  • My character keeps sliding off the spheres. That's the design — spheres are supposed to be tricky. If they're impossible (not just hard), move the spheres closer together so players don't have to leap as far.
  • I made a Sphere but it looks like a block. You probably clicked + → Part and forgot to switch to Sphere in the dropdown. Click the part, then in Properties find Shape and change it to Ball.
  • The Stage 3 checkpoint sends me back to Stage 1. Color mismatch — same bug as Stage 1. Open the new SpawnLocation, check BrickColor and TeamColor. Open the Stage 3 Team in the Teams folder, check its TeamColor. All three must match.
  • The spheres are rolling off into the sky on their own. Anchored is unchecked. Click each sphere, find Anchored in Properties, and check it.