If you've been trying to figure out how to get a roblox studio overhead gui rank working for your game, you're in the right place because it's actually way easier than it looks. Most of the popular games you see on the front page use some version of this to show off who's a developer, who's a VIP, or what level a player has reached. It adds a layer of polish that makes a game feel "official."
Honestly, when I first started messing around in Studio, I thought you had to be some kind of math genius to get UI to hover perfectly over a player's head. It turns out, it's mostly just understanding one specific object called a BillboardGui and a tiny bit of scripting to glue it all together. Let's break down how to get this running without any headaches.
Creating the BillboardGui
Before we even touch a script, we need to actually design what the rank is going to look like. In your Explorer window, you're going to want to create a BillboardGui. You can just stick this in the Workspace for now so you can see what you're doing while you edit it.
Inside that BillboardGui, add a TextLabel. This is where the actual rank name—like "Owner" or "Member"—will show up. Now, here is a pro tip that'll save you a lot of frustration: don't use Offset for the size. If you use Offset (pixels), your GUI will look massive when you're standing next to a player and tiny when you move a few studs away. Instead, use Scale. Setting the size to something like {4, 0}, {1, 0} ensures it stays proportional.
You'll also want to play with the StudsOffset property of the BillboardGui. If you leave it at 0, the text will literally be inside the player's forehead, which looks pretty glitchy. Set the Y-axis of the StudsOffset to about 2 or 3. This pushes the UI up so it floats gracefully above the character's head.
Making it Look Good
A plain white box with black text looks a bit 2012. To make your roblox studio overhead gui rank actually look modern, you should mess with the TextLabel properties.
First, set BackgroundTransparency to 1 if you just want floating text. If you want a badge-style look, maybe give it a nice rounded corner by adding a UICorner object inside the TextLabel. I'm a big fan of using a slight stroke around the text too—just add a UIStroke and set it to a dark color. It makes the text much easier to read against the bright, chaotic backgrounds of a typical Roblox game.
Also, don't sleep on the fonts! Roblox has added a ton of great ones recently. Instead of the default SourceSans, try using something like GothamBold or FredokaOne for a friendlier, more professional vibe.
The Scripting Part
Once you're happy with how the UI looks, drag that BillboardGui into ServerStorage. We don't want it just sitting in the Workspace; we want the server to give a copy of it to every player who joins.
Now, create a Script (not a LocalScript!) in ServerScriptService. This is where we handle the logic of checking a player's rank and putting the GUI on their character.
The logic goes something like this: 1. Wait for a player to join (PlayerAdded). 2. Wait for that player's character to actually load (CharacterAdded). 3. Clone the GUI from ServerStorage. 4. Check the player's rank in a specific group or check their name. 5. Set the TextLabel's text to that rank. 6. Parent the GUI to the player's head.
You'll likely use the GetRoleInGroup function if you're making this for a group game. It's super handy because it automatically pulls the name of the rank you've set up on the Roblox website. So, if your rank name is "Head Moderator," the script grabs that string and slaps it onto the UI.
Why Scale Matters for Visibility
I mentioned Scale earlier, but it's worth doubling down on. A common issue with a roblox studio overhead gui rank is that it can clutter the screen. If you have 50 players in a server and they all have big, bulky GUIs above their heads, it becomes a mess.
To fix this, check out the MaxDistance property on the BillboardGui. By default, it's set to 0, which means you can see it from across the map. If you change this to something like 50 or 100, the rank will disappear once a player moves far enough away. It keeps the game looking clean and saves a little bit of performance for players on lower-end mobile devices.
Another cool property is AlwaysOnTop. If you check this, the rank will be visible even through walls. Most people leave this off because it feels a bit like a wall-hack, but for certain RPGs or team-based games, it's actually a pretty useful feature.
Customizing Ranks Based on UserID
Sometimes you don't want a group rank; maybe you just want a special tag for yourself because you're the creator. In your script, you can easily add an if statement that checks for your specific UserId.
If the player's ID matches yours, you can change the text to "Creator" and maybe even change the text color to a bright gold. It's a fun way to stand out. You can do the same for your friends or "donors" if you're tracking that through a Datastore or a Gamepass.
Speaking of Gamepasses, if you want a "VIP" rank, you'd use MarketplaceService to check if the player owns the pass ID. If they do, boom—they get a shiny VIP tag over their head the moment they spawn in.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
If your roblox studio overhead gui rank isn't showing up, don't panic. It happens to everyone. Usually, it's one of three things:
- The Adornee: Sometimes the BillboardGui needs you to manually set the
Adorneeproperty to the player's head. In your script, just add a line that saysclonedGui.Adornee = character.Head. - Infinite Yield: If your script is looking for "Head" before the character has fully finished loading, it might hang forever. Using
character:WaitForChild("Head")is the safest way to go. - Server vs. Client: Remember that if you put the GUI on a player using a LocalScript, only that player will see it. Everyone else will just see a normal player. Always use a Server Script for overhead ranks so the whole server can see who's who.
Wrapping Things Up
Adding a roblox studio overhead gui rank is one of those small touches that makes your project feel like a real game rather than just a test place. It's a great introduction to how the 3D world interacts with 2D UI elements.
Once you get the hang of the basics, you can start adding even more features, like health bars, level progress, or even little icons that show if a player is currently typing. The sky is the limit once you understand how to anchor UI to a moving character.
Just keep experimenting with the design and the offsets until it feels right for your game's style. Happy building!