Roblox custom tooltip system script creation is honestly one of those little details that separate a "meh" game from something that feels professional and polished. We've all played those games where you hover over an item in your inventory and nothing happens. You're left guessing what the "Orb of Mystery" actually does. By building your own system, you aren't just giving players info; you're adding a layer of UX (User Experience) that makes your world feel reactive and alive.
The default Roblox tooltips are fine for basic stuff, but they're pretty rigid. You can't really style them to match your game's aesthetic, and they don't always behave the way you want them to. If you're aiming for a specific "vibe"—whether that's a gritty sci-fi look or a bubbly simulator feel—you're going to need a custom solution.
Why Bother With a Custom System?
You might be thinking, "Is it really worth the effort?" I'd argue it is. Think about the last top-tier game you played on the platform. Every button, every icon, and every hover state was likely handcrafted. A roblox custom tooltip system script allows you to control everything: the fade-in speed, the font, the background transparency, and even dynamic content like showing an item's stats or a preview image.
Also, accessibility is a huge factor. Sometimes the default text is too small or the contrast is terrible. When you write your own script, you can ensure that everyone can actually read what's on the screen. Plus, it's just a great way to practice your Luau skills and understand how UI positioning works in a 2D space.
Setting Up the UI Foundation
Before we even touch a script, we need a place for the tooltip to live. You'll want to head over to your StarterGui and create a ScreenGui. Let's call it "TooltipGui." Inside that, you'll need a Frame (the container) and a TextLabel (the actual info).
A pro tip here: set the Frame's AnchorPoint to something like (0, 1) or (0.5, 0). This helps a lot when we start positioning it relative to the mouse cursor. If the anchor point is off, the tooltip might end up hiding under your mouse, which causes this annoying flickering effect as the mouse enters and leaves the frame constantly.
- TooltipFrame: This is your background. Give it some nice rounded corners using a
UICornerelement. - TooltipText: Make sure
TextWrappedis on. You never know how long your descriptions might get. - Visibility: Keep the main Frame's
Visibleproperty set tofalseby default. We only want it showing up when we tell it to.
The Logic Behind the Script
Now, let's talk about the heart of the matter: the roblox custom tooltip system script itself. We want this to be efficient. You don't want a separate script inside every single button in your game. That's a nightmare to maintain. Instead, we'll use a single LocalScript that listens for events or looks for specific tags.
The most robust way to handle this is by using CollectionService or simply looping through your UI elements. However, for a straightforward setup, we can just use a function that we call whenever a mouse enters a specific UI element.
Handling the Mouse Position
The trickiest part of a tooltip is making it follow the mouse smoothly. You have a few options here. You can use GetMouse() and track the x and y coordinates, or you can use UserInputService:GetMouseLocation(). I personally prefer UserInputService because it's more modern and tends to play nicer with different screen resolutions.
Inside a RunService.RenderStepped connection, you'll want to update the tooltip's position to match the mouse coordinates. But don't just set it exactly to the mouse position. Add a small offset—maybe 15 pixels to the right and 15 pixels down. This prevents the tooltip from being buried under the cursor.
Writing the Core Script
Let's look at how we might actually structure this. We want a script that can handle any UI element we throw at it. A good way to do this is by using Attributes. You can add a "TooltipText" attribute to any button in your game, and the script will automatically pick it up.
```lua local UIS = game:GetService("UserInputService") local RunService = game:GetService("RunService") local players = game:GetService("Players") local player = players.LocalPlayer local mouse = player:GetMouse()
local tooltipGui = player.PlayerGui:WaitForChild("TooltipGui") local frame = tooltipGui.TooltipFrame local label = frame.TooltipText
local function updateTooltip() local mouseLocation = UIS:GetMouseLocation() -- We subtract the GuiService inset if necessary, -- but usually, simple offsetting works fine. frame.Position = UDim2.new(0, mouseLocation.X + 15, 0, mouseLocation.Y + 15) end
-- This is where the magic happens local function showTooltip(text) label.Text = text frame.Visible = true
-- Update position every frame while visible RunService:BindToRenderStep("FollowMouse", 1, updateTooltip) end
local function hideTooltip() frame.Visible = false RunService:UnbindFromRenderStep("FollowMouse") end ```
This is a simplified version, obviously, but it gives you the core workflow. You detect the hover, you update the text, you turn on the visibility, and you start a loop to follow the cursor. When the mouse leaves, you shut it all down.
Making it Fancy with TweenService
Static tooltips are okay, but animated tooltips are where it's at. Instead of just toggling Visible = true, why not use TweenService to fade the transparency? It makes the UI feel much more fluid.
You can create a simple tween that adjusts the BackgroundTransparency of the frame and the TextTransparency of the label. Just a quick 0.2-second fade makes a world of difference. It feels "premium." When you're writing your roblox custom tooltip system script, keep in mind that timing is everything. If the fade is too slow, it feels sluggish. If it's too fast, you might as well not have it.
Dealing with Screen Boundaries
Here is a common headache: what happens when the player hovers over a button at the very bottom right of the screen? If your script just adds +15 pixels to the mouse position, the tooltip is going to be cut off or disappear off-screen entirely.
To fix this, you need a bit of math. You'll want to check the AbsoluteSize of the screen and the AbsoluteSize of your tooltip frame. If MouseX + TooltipWidth is greater than the screen width, you flip the offset so the tooltip appears to the left of the mouse instead of the right. It sounds complicated, but it's really just a couple of if statements. It's these small fixes that make a script feel robust.
Dynamic Content and Stats
If you're making an RPG or a complex simulator, your roblox custom tooltip system script might need to show more than just a string of text. You might want it to show a "Rarity" color or a list of stats like "Damage" and "Weight."
The best way to handle this is to pass a table or an object to your tooltip function instead of just a string. Your script can then parse that data and format the TextLabel accordingly. Maybe you use Rich Text to highlight specific words in different colors—like making "Fire Damage" appear in red. Roblox's support for Rich Text is actually pretty great now, so definitely take advantage of that.
Optimization and Clean-Up
One thing people often forget is cleaning up connections. If you're binding things to RenderStepped, make sure you're unbinding them when they're not needed. You don't want your game's performance to tank because you have fifty different tooltip loops running in the background for no reason.
Also, consider using a "delay" before showing the tooltip. Sometimes players flick their mouse across the screen, and they don't want twenty different boxes popping up for a millisecond each. A tiny task.wait(0.1) or 0.2 before showing the tooltip can make the experience feel much less "jittery."
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, building a roblox custom tooltip system script is about improving the player's journey through your interface. It's a tool for communication. Whether you're explaining a complex game mechanic or just adding some flavor text to a collectible item, a well-coded tooltip system is an essential part of any developer's toolkit.
Don't be afraid to experiment with the design! Add some UIStroke for outlines, play with different fonts, or even add a little "shimmer" effect to rare items. Once you have the basic logic of following the mouse down, the creative possibilities are pretty much endless. Happy scripting!