Setting up a custom roblox studio loading screen gui is one of those small touches that makes your game feel way more professional the second a player clicks "Play." Let's be real—the default Roblox loading screen is fine for testing, but it doesn't exactly scream "unique experience." If you want people to get hyped about your world while the assets are still downloading, you need something that reflects your game's vibe.
The cool thing is that you don't need to be a scripting wizard to get this working. It's mostly about knowing where to put your files and how to tell Roblox to hide its own built-in UI so yours can take center stage.
Why skip the default loader?
First off, branding. If you're building a horror game, having a bright, cheery default loading bar ruins the mood before the player even sees a jump scare. A custom roblox studio loading screen gui lets you set the tone immediately. You can use spooky fonts, dim lighting effects, or even a creepy progress bar that looks like it's bleeding.
Beyond just looks, a custom screen can actually be functional. You can use that time to show off your controls, give players a "Pro Tip" of the day, or even show a quick credits list. It fills that awkward silence while the high-res textures and sounds are being pulled from the cloud.
Where to start in the Explorer
Usually, when we make UI in Roblox, we head straight for StarterGui. But for a loading screen, that's actually the wrong move. If you put your UI there, it won't show up until the player has already basically finished loading. That defeats the whole purpose.
Instead, you're going to look for a folder called ReplicatedFirst. This is a special spot in the Explorer window. Anything you put in here gets sent to the player's computer before almost anything else. Since we want the loading screen to pop up instantly, this is its home.
Inside ReplicatedFirst, you'll want to create a ScreenGui. You can name it whatever you like, maybe "LoadingScreenUI," just so you don't lose track of it later. Inside that ScreenGui, you'll start building your actual visual elements.
Designing the look and feel
This is the fun part where you get to be an artist. Most people start with a Frame that covers the entire screen. Make sure you set its Size to {1, 0}, {1, 0}. That tells the UI to fill 100% of the screen regardless of whether the player is on a massive gaming monitor or a tiny iPhone.
A quick tip for sizing: Always use "Scale" instead of "Offset" for your UI positions and sizes. If you use Offset (the second number in the brackets), your loading bar might look perfect on your laptop but end up off-center or microscopic on a tablet.
Once you have your background frame, you can add: * ImageLabels: For your game's logo or some cool background art. * TextLabels: For the "Loading" text or those tips I mentioned earlier. * A Progress Bar: This is usually just two frames—one for the background and a thinner one inside it that grows as the game loads.
Don't go too overboard with huge images here. Remember, the point is to load the game, and if your loading screen itself takes five minutes to load because the images are 4K resolution, players are just going to leave. Keep it clean and optimized.
Making the script do the heavy lifting
Now, just having a GUI in ReplicatedFirst isn't enough. Roblox will still try to show its own loading screen right on top of yours. You have to tell the engine to back off. To do this, you'll need a LocalScript inside your ScreenGui.
The very first thing that script needs to do is call a specific function: game:GetService("ReplicatedFirst"):RemoveDefaultLoadingScreen()
This line is like a "hush" command. It tells Roblox, "I've got this, you can turn off the default stuff now." Once that's done, your custom roblox studio loading screen gui will be the only thing the player sees.
But you can't just leave it there forever. If you don't tell the script to go away once the game is ready, the player will be stuck staring at your beautiful loading bar while they hear their character jumping around in the background.
Tracking the actual loading progress
You've probably seen some games where the loading bar just "fakes" it—it moves at a steady speed regardless of what's happening. That's okay, but if you want it to be accurate, you should look into ContentProvider.
There's a handy function called PreloadAsync. Basically, you give it a list of the most important things in your game (like your main lobby or your character models), and it tells the script to wait until those specific things are fully downloaded. While it's working through that list, you can update the width of your progress bar.
It looks something like this in your head: "Okay, I have 100 items to load. Every time one finishes, move the bar forward by 1%." It's satisfying for the player to see that progress actually moving in chunks.
Adding some polish with TweenService
A static loading screen that just disappears instantly feels a bit jarring. You want it to feel "premium." This is where TweenService comes in. Instead of just setting the visibility to false, you can make the entire GUI fade out smoothly.
You can also "tween" your loading bar. Instead of it snapping from 10% to 20%, you can make it slide smoothly to the next position. It makes the whole experience feel much less "Roblox-y" and much more like a standalone game.
I usually like to add a little rotation to a loading icon too. If you have a small circle or a gear icon, you can use a simple loop in your script to keep it spinning. It lets the player know the game hasn't crashed; it's just busy thinking.
Common mistakes to watch out for
I've seen a lot of people get frustrated when their roblox studio loading screen gui doesn't work right. Usually, it's because of one of these three things:
- Forgetting ReplicatedFirst: If it's in
StarterGui, it'll flicker for a split second before the game starts, which looks messy. - Infinite loading: If your script has an error and never reaches the line that destroys the GUI, players are stuck. Always wrap your loading logic in a way that it eventually times out or forces the screen to close after a certain amount of time, just in case.
- Ignoring Mobile: Always use the "Device" emulator in Roblox Studio to check your UI. Buttons and text that look great on PC can overlap or become unreadable on a phone screen.
Final touches and testing
Before you call it a day, playtest your game a few times. Since you're likely testing on your own computer, the "loading" might happen so fast you can barely see your screen. You can simulate a slower connection in the studio settings if you really want to see how the bar behaves for someone with slower internet.
Another nice touch is to add a "Press any key to continue" button once the loading is actually finished. This ensures the player is actually at their desk and ready to go before they get dropped into the action. It also gives them one last look at your cool UI.
Creating a roblox studio loading screen gui isn't just about technicalities; it's about the player's first impression. It takes maybe twenty minutes to set up a basic one, but it makes your project feel like a "real" game rather than just another random place on the platform. So, go ahead and experiment with some designs—your players will definitely notice the effort.