Client Difference Log
API Changes
Added Class ViewportFrame : GuiObject
Added Property Class<Camera> ViewportFrame.CurrentCamera
Added Property bool BasePart.Massless
Added Property int BasePart.RootPriority
Added Property int TextBox.CursorPosition
Added Function Class<Instance> LocalizationService:GetTranslatorForPlayerAsync(Class<Instance> player) [Yields]
Added EnumItem StudioStyleGuideColor.Midlight : 82
I have a quick question regarding this : will particles/trails render inside of viewport frames? E.g. if I was making a shop UI and wanted to have a 3D, animated preview of a particle, would the particle render/animate inside of the viewport frame?
both of these features are gonna be amazing
Surprised to see it on the release notes this early considering the current state.
With the version on GameTest2 (with a fast flag enabled) as a reference, the following arenāt implemented:
- Neon glow
- Shading (lighting or ambient occlusion)
- Anti-aliasing
- BillboardGui and SurfaceGui rendering
- Particles
- Beams? (I didnāt test this)
- Post processing effects? (I didnāt test this)
- Skyboxes? (I didnāt test this)
- Terrain? (I didnāt test this)
Do particles/trails render/animate? And are you able to modify the CFrame of the object to get it to rotate and whatnot?
Forgot to list that. Particles donāt render (yet?).
Yes. The current implementation uses the geometry parented to the frame and a CurrentCamera like Workspace. All properties of the Camera object are functional as well.
Hopefully theyāll add particle+trail support. If they do I can make my shop UI look 
My guess is they will come in time. I plan to release Module3D V6 when ViewportFrames are enabled.
I know developers will use it for features in their games, but itās also useful for developer tools (e.g. preview your animation from first person while making it, or give a preview of a zombie when I select the zombie object in the explorer, so I know what it is). All of the features you mentioned arenāt really necessary for developer tools, so it will be tremendously useful as-is. Iām sure there are plans to expand upon it though.
Iām so glad that Roblox actually considered massless objects after all, Iām also excited for ViewportFrames but it still sounds fairly limited (in terms of visual quality) so it doesnāt seem much more preferable over current methods yet. To note, Iām referring mostly to games that display objects close to the camera, such as in inventory systems. I agree that it will open doors to exciting new game features regardless of how it currently appears.
A cool plugin idea that I could see someone trying is multiple viewports. You could modify a part of a city and see in real time how it appears from a far-off point. Obviously, it would be for higher-end systems and require a lot of the limitations to be addressed.
The main advantage I can see is performance. Existing methods require moving models for every frame and rendering it. With ViewportGuis, nothing needs to be actively moved, and I would assume some sort of caching of the rendering is done until there is a geometry update. No clue how they will compare in terms of GPU and Memory since I havenāt profiled them.
I can honestly see some really cool stuff being done with the ViewPortFrame, such as a DOOM clone where the āspritesā are image labels, and will also make developing Redshift Arenaās customization much easier in my opinion.
As for the weird errors such as lighting not showing or AA not showing, I believe thoseāll be fixed when F.I.B. comes out.
Added a writable TextBox.CursorPosition property.
Lowest position 0 or 1?
If this feature ever reaches a point where itās indistinguishable from the main default viewport, maybe it wonāt be such a bad idea to convert the default viewport to one of these guis as well, allowing for more control.
ofc I have doubts about backwards-compatibility
The viewport frame is not only cool but will save me loads of time uploading pictures of all the models I need.
Is the ViewportFrame not enabled? I was really looking forward to using it :c
Rest in peace CloneTrooper1019ās 3D Module. Could this also be the fresh sight of Camera-in-Camera-esque APIs or something similar? Iād like to see that.
So can I stop setting my part densities to 0.01 and scream at a few other developers to use this?
Here are a few things I made with the ViewportFrame when I found it.
That tardis effect reminds me so much of this:
Now Iām hoping youāll be able to walk through the viewportframe part, or have a seameless transition from one to another.
I also just realized this opens up the door to actual real-time reflections (as thatās pretty much all reflections are in video games.)
If only surface guis wrapped properly to geometry like Decals. 
((This could also potentially remove the problem FPS games have had for a log time where weapons would clip through other objects.