Install and first prop

PartScript is one program, partscript, written in Rust with no other dependencies. Install it with Cargo (from rustup):

cargo install --locked --git https://github.com/meowers-dev/partscript partscript-cli
partscript ref | less               # the whole language on one page

Or, working from a clone of the repository:

git clone https://github.com/meowers-dev/partscript
cd partscript
cargo run --release --locked -p partscript-cli -- ref | less

You do not need to install anything to try it: the playground runs PartScript in your browser.

A first prop

Make a folder called props and a file in it called crates.parts:

prop crate_stack "Crate Stack"
  box size=.6,.45,.4 mat=crate_wood
  box at=0,0,on(.4) size=.6,.45,.4 mat=crate_wood turn=0,0,8
  bottle = cylinder at=.12,.05,on(.8) radius=.04 height=.28 mat=glass_opaque sides=6

Three lines, three shapes:

• A box .6 metres wide (x), .45 deep (y) and .4 tall (z), in the library's crate_wood. A shape with no at= stands at the origin, on the floor.
• A second box sitting on top of the first: on(.4) means "with its bottom at .4", and it is turned 8 degrees about the vertical.
• A bottle on top of that, named bottle so later lines could place things against it.

Check it, then build it:

partscript check props/          # parses everything, counts triangles; no building, instant
partscript build props/ -o out/  # writes out/crate_stack.glb

out/crate_stack.glb opens in Blender, Godot, three.js, any glTF viewer. It is 44 triangles with two small textures.

Units and directions

• Lengths are metres, angles are degrees.
• X is right, Y is back, Z is up (Blender's axes). A prop's front faces -Y.
• A prop stands on the floor at z = 0, its origin at the middle of its footprint.
• In the .glb, positions are converted to glTF's Y-up axes (see what the .glb holds).

Next

The tour builds one prop ten ways, a new idea each time. Tools covers the command line, the formatter, the preview and the playground.