Mikeybox creator guide

Build inventions that move together

Arrange real Animal Company items, choose where children attach, preview the result, and send the JSON to Mikeybox. This guide works for Prime and Fabrication, including the Quest browser.

Quick start

  1. Pick the first item. Search for an item ID in the left catalog, select it, and press Root. The first item is the parent of the invention. It can be a backpack, joystick, weapon, or another spawnable item.
  2. Add children. Select the parent in the Hierarchy, press Use Selected under Add Parent, choose the next item in the catalog, and press Child. Repeat to build the stuck graph.
  3. Arrange the parts. Select an item in the scene or Hierarchy, then use Move, Rotate, Scale, or the numeric fields in Properties. A child's position and rotation relative to its parent are saved in the JSON.
  4. Check and deliver. Read the Validation panel, then Download the JSON or use the site's Send action to queue it for an in-game delivery.
Where did my root pose go? Moving or rotating the root moves the whole invention in your editor workspace. Invention JSON has no root world position: the game chooses where to spawn it, and reopening recenters the preview. Move or rotate a child to change its saved attachment pose.

Attachment edges: base or moving part

A child is stuck to a parent item. Some parent items have more than one part it can attach to. Select the child, then use Attach to (parent sub-part) in Properties to choose that part. The selector does not choose a different parent item; Use Selected sets the parent for children you add next.

Parent itemEdge in selectorWhat happens in game
Most items0: BaseChildren stay attached to the item's ordinary root. This is the only editable edge on most prefabs.
item_joystick and item_joystick_inv_y0: BaseChildren stay on the housing while the stick tilts.
item_joystick and item_joystick_inv_y1: StickChildren follow the moving stick. The Hierarchy marks these children @1.
item_robot_arm_left, item_robot_arm_right, item_robot_arm_left_galaxy, and item_robot_arm_right_galaxy0: RootChildren attach to the arm item's ordinary root.
1: ArmChildren follow the upper arm.
2: Lower ArmChildren follow the lower arm.
3: HandChildren follow the hand.

Joysticks are one item with two attachment edges, not two separate items. The regular joystick and inverted-Y joystick share the same base/stick edge choices; the inverted variant changes its response to controller input. Switching an existing child between Base and Stick preserves its current visible rest pose while changing which part carries it in game.

The robot arm variants have moving-part edges @1, @2, and @3. Their frames have not been measured, so the editor preserves imported edges verbatim and locks placement editing; it cannot safely create a new child on those parts. Avoid changing the parent item of a locked child: guessing an edge frame would change its placement in game. An edge number that the parent does not actually have can make the game silently attach the child to Base with the wrong coordinates; heed the Validation panel.

Build with joysticks

Housing decoration

Attach a child to 0: Base to decorate the joystick body. It stays still when someone moves the stick.

Moving payload

Attach a child to 1: Stick to swing it with the stick. This works for pointers, lights, letters, or another joystick.

Inverted control

Use item_joystick_inv_y when you want the opposite Y tilt. Its attachment edge numbers remain Base 0 and Stick 1.

Put a child on the stick

  1. Add item_joystick or item_joystick_inv_y as Root or Child. Select that joystick in the Hierarchy and press Use Selected.
  2. Choose a payload item in the catalog and press Child. Select the new child in the Hierarchy.
  3. Set Attach to (parent sub-part) to 1: Stick. Confirm its Hierarchy row shows @1.
  4. Use Snap to stick tip for a starting position near the tip, then Move/Rotate the payload as needed. Snapping preserves the child's current rotation. The editor converts your metre-based pose into the stick's scaled coordinate frame when saving.

Daisy-chain joysticks

Joystick base→ stick edge @1 →Next joystick base→ stick edge @1 →Next joystick
  1. Select the joystick that should carry the next link in the Hierarchy.
  2. In Selection, choose Normal or Inverted Y as the link type. Press Add aligned link on stick. The editor adds a new joystick as a child of the selected joystick, attaches it to 1: Stick, and aligns its base at the carrying stick's tip.
  3. The new link becomes selected and becomes the Add Parent. Press the button again to extend the chain. Attach a payload to the final link's Stick edge if it should move with that last joint.
  4. Review the Hierarchy: each chain link after the first should show @1. Download a JSON backup, then deliver a test copy in game.

You can also build a link manually: select the current joystick as Add Parent, add another joystick as Child, change the new child's edge to 1: Stick, and use Snap to stick tip before fine tuning its rotation. Snapping a manually rotated child keeps that rotation. Each link has its own moving stick, and controller input passes through the held stuck graph.

Preview shows the stick at rest. The editor does not animate thumbstick input, so a chain's moving range must be checked in game. Snap to stick tip is a placement aid; the @1 edge is what makes the child move with the stick.

Select, move, and copy items

Choose a selection

Click an item in the viewport or Hierarchy. Ctrl/Shift-click to select several. Subtree selects a branch and All selects the invention. The Selection list shows which item is active; click a row there to make it active.

Move and rotate together

Drag a Move or Rotate handle to transform multiple selected items as a group. Selected descendants move with their parent once. If the root is selected, it carries the entire invention in the workspace.

Use exact fields

The X/Y/Z, rotation, scale, and color controls in Properties currently edit the active item only, even if several items are selected. Click a different row in the Selection list to edit that item. Use the transform handle for a shared move or rotation.

Converge selected origins moves at least two independently selected child items to their shared center while keeping their rotations and child graphs. It ignores the root and any locked imported edge. Use this when several pieces should meet at one point.

ToolUse it forWhat it makes
DuplicateAnother identical child or selected child groupA copy at the same pose, including each selected item's stuck subtree and contents. The root cannot be duplicated.
PatternsWords or shapes made of item “pixels”New stuck children under the current Add Parent. Each pixel is a real item and remains editable afterward.

Make words, laser arches, and other patterns

  1. Select a parent in the Hierarchy and press Use Selected. Open Patterns and choose Text, Arc, Line, Circle, Square, Triangle, Grid, Wave, Spiral, or Helix.
  2. Enter one or more valid pixel item IDs. The tool cycles through the list as it places pixels. Text uses a 5×7 font; its Words field accepts up to eight lines.
  3. Choose a plane: XY stands vertically, XZ lies on the ground, and YZ faces sideways. Set size/radius, pixel spacing, scale, and offset. Arcs also have start and sweep angles; spirals and waves have turns or cycles.
  4. Choose how pixels face: fixed forward/backward, up/down, tangent to the curve, inward, or outward. For a laser arch whose beams all point ahead, choose Forward +Z. Optional roll/yaw, scale taper, and rainbow hue let you shape the result.
  5. Press Build pattern and review it in the viewport and Validation panel. The builder refuses unknown/banned item IDs and a pattern that would exceed the 512-descendant budget.
Stuck child or contained item? Child glues an item outside its parent and saves a pose. Put inside adds it to a backpack or quiver inventory; on a crossbow the button becomes Load into crossbow for its single held-item slot. Contained items have no editable placement pose. A backpack or quiver can discard a contained item's stuck descendants, so attach a complete invention to the outside instead.

Color, scale, and wearable preview

Hue and Saturation

Select an item and drag its Hue and Saturation sliders. The preview shades the exported texture using the game's HSV offset rule: Hue adds an offset to the texture hue; Saturation adds an offset to its saturation. High positive saturation can clip channels, so a gold item can turn red in game. Check the rendered item, not just the slider number.

Jelly and size

Jelly writes the item's jelly strength into the JSON, but the editor does not currently simulate its in-game material or motion effect. Scale Modifier runs from -128 to 127; the physical size range is shown below the slider and can vary by item prefab. Keep the root at scale 0 when possible because the spawner can stack root scale onto its children.

Ghost animal

In Wear and aim preview, turn on Show ghost player, choose an animal, and anchor the invention to back, left/right hip, or left/right hand. This is a preview beside the editable original. Hand placement is a sample pose because actual hands follow VR tracking; the preview does not save a root world pose.

Turn on Forward sight line and laser rays to inspect the player's forward view and mining-laser directions. Set Look target distance, select one or more mining lasers, then press Aim selected lasers at look target to rotate their +Z firing axes toward that marker. This does edit the selected lasers' saved rotations; merely showing the ghost does not. Game lighting and material effects can still differ from the browser preview.

Check whether it can spawn

The Validation panel updates as you edit. It reports errors, warnings, and notes, plus node count, stuck-child count, depth, and empty guns. Fix errors before sending a package; hosted send actions refuse a file with validation errors.

The game's goop machine has smaller save limits than Mikeybox's JSON loading path. Validation may show a note about machine-save limits even when menu or pad loading is otherwise usable.

Save, send, and load

Keep a JSON copy

Download saves a JSON file through your browser. Load file opens one. In the local PC editor, Save can write to goop_captures; on a hosted site, save is a browser download. Use Child to add another catalog item to the invention currently open.

Send to the game

On Prime, choose Send to Mikeybox bot; on Fabrication, choose Send to Fabrication pad. Enter your full account display name and an optional four-digit PIN using digits 1–4. A PIN package can be requested from the empty Prime or Fabrication pad with those four drum hits. In MIKEYBOX, you can also ask the voice bot to deliver it and say the PIN.

Load a pad or bot scan

On the Prime or Fabrication pad, put an item on the plate and tap four drums to set its scan PIN. Use Load from Mikeybox bot or Load from Fabrication pad with your full account name and that code. Prime voice scans use the eight-digit code the bot reads to you. Each new scan replaces your earlier one; scans expire.

A PIN package is indexed by account name and PIN, so use the same four digits on the site and pad. The optional no-PIN slot is unlocked only after a PIN package from that browser was successfully delivered; then one drum hit on an empty Prime or Fabrication pad requests it. Room names and available actions depend on the site you opened.