Sure its not, but it was definitely the easiest way to do so. If there was another easier and more efficient way to view each surface of the part, no one would be here complaining since we would be using that method. Yet there isn’t. So even if it wasn’t meant for viewing orientation, it was still the best way to do so, and removing that feature as you can see has been a setback for many.
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How do I remove all legacy surfaces on my model? I’m trying to convert a Power Wheels thingy I made a few years ago to a new chassis using Constraints. But I have to get rid of all the legacy surfaces. How do I do this quick?
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I gotta be honest, I think this change was long overdue. Motors/Hinge SurfaceTypes were nice but now HingeConstraints seems simpler.
Glad I finally switched over.
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I don’t like how the Surface section of part properties have been hidden. I used this section a lot to check which side of a part I was looking at, and it was very helpful for me in all kinds of situations when I needed to know which face was the front etc. I’d love to see the surface properties unhidden.
Does the plugin work with studs and inlets? So can I use it to convert studs and inlets to valid WeldConstraints instances?
The racing community thanks you for this. Many of these people do not want to learn to code just to make a car move. 4 wheels, one part, and a vehicleseat has been their source of joy for years.
However I worry about the fact this only says existing VehicleSeat cars. From my interpretation of this, someone who goes out and makes a car “like the old days” is gonna run into problems, and they might not find this thread to help them understand why.
The VehicleSeat is still a nice way in my opinion for a developer to create a car with all platforms automatically working. I really do wish it was looked at some more to fix some of the weird issues it has… Also the automatic camera with VehicleSeats is a pretty effective one, however, it doesn’t quite work as good on Console as it does on PC. Quite unfortunate.
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Check the FAQ, there is a plugin for this. The plugin will set all surfaces to Smooth after converting any found legacy joint instances
Assuming the “stud” and “inlet” surfaces are already joined to create a “Snap” (or Weld) instance in the Workspace, the plugin will convert this to a WeldConstraint and set both surfaces to Smooth.
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It should be common sense for an engine to have a built-in visual orientation. The developers shouldn’t have to beg for a feature that vital to be made.
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There is no reason that something so fundamental in nature should require the use of a third party plugin. Such a feature should come standard with Studio. If this is something that’s worked easily for so many people for so many years, with its removal should come a replacement that is just as convenient and easily accessible as its predecessor.
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Thanks for checking – I own multiple games with tens of millions of visits total. 
I use a plugin to view part orientation because changing motor surfaces is too time consuming.
As mentioned before you should totally support the existing feature request on this. I did not say that this shouldn’t be in Studio. I only said setting hinge surface as a way of viewing part orientation is spacebar heating. So let’s keep things within context and not dismiss someone’s opinion as a lack of experience (especially since I have more experience with the engine than you do).
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They made it clear in the OP that they were already aware of this and planned to add a solution to the new lua draggers.
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Whelp… Hecc
I used Hinged and Motors to easily mark which face was the front face on parts…
is there anything i can use to replicate that behavior, without having to create instances?
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I guess the only way to know where it is facing is by putting a spotlight and know where the light goes.
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Wait don’t we need hinges to build cars? 
I mean I can kind of see why Roblox would remove this but at the same time not sure how I feel about this.
Edit: I also used hinges to mark where the part was facing and Tools.
This Change is Going to Kill Alot of Older Games. I Use Hinges on My Trains and This Means That I Will No Longer Be able to Make Trains Very Easily. I Hope an Alternative that is Just as Easy to Use Rocks up or I’ll Just Have to Give up On Roblox Development as All My Trains Rely On Hinges
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While it will never be quite as simple to use as Hinges were, the Constraint system lets you do everything you could with Hinges and more, see this tutorial for the basics: Documentation - Roblox Creator Hub
Also see the plugin linked in the original post, which will automatically convert your existing hinges, so you don’t even have to do anything manually to make the switch:
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I am pretty new to building and I use Surface Hinges to create vehicles for my games. Is there an easy way I can make vehicles? I haven’t used HingeConstraints or CylindricalConstaints, and my vehicles do not need very many features like suspension or left-right turning front wheels.
I have tried the CarKit from the Roblox Developer website, which uses those Constraints and also has a driving script I don’t really understand.
I want to keep making vehicles and would really like Part Surfaces, especially Hinges, to stay.
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Please give using Constraints a try, they are not that hard to use (and less finicky, as your wheels will never fall off just because they’re positioned slightly wrong with Constraints).
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Ok… which Constraint would I use for wheels? FYI: I use a VehicleSeat for the player to control the car and don’t have any sort of script for driving. I also never had problems with wheels falling off.
EDIT: I created a post for this: Help With Making A Basic Car
I also read some of other people’s questions and come up with some possible solutions for those.
For the textures such as studs/inlets, make them a new type of Material (like Brick, Concrete, and Plastic). Then people could still make parts with the original Surface textures.
For part directions, you can use a SurfaceGUI or decal, but a new feature on the studio draggers that could show part sides would be good.
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The second phase of this change is now enabled! From the original post, this means:
- The Studio move tool’s “Join Surfaces” option will ignore Hinge and Motor surfaces. It will create Weld instances on all SurfaceTypes when enabled.
- The
Workspace:JoinToOutsidersAPI will ignore Hinge and Motor surfaces. It will create Weld instances on all SurfaceTypes.
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