GRANDBLOX.RBXL
GrandBlox Canyon University
A Roblox recreation of a real university campus, generated from map, lidar and research data, then streamed in at extreme detail around the player.
- Type
- Roblox campus world & college sim
- Role
- World generation, Engineering, Research, Game systems
- Platform
- Roblox
- Stack
- Luau, Roblox Studio, Rojo, Python generators, OpenStreetMap, USGS 3DEP lidar
- Status
- In development
- Year
- 2026
Summary
GrandBlox Canyon University rebuilds Grand Canyon University’s Phoenix campus in Roblox, with a college sim on top: enroll, get a dorm, ride a scooter between classes, and watch NPC students go about their day.
The idea
The campus, generated.
Instead of modelling a campus by hand, GrandBlox generates it. Python scripts turn OpenStreetMap footprints, USGS lidar elevation and research notes into buildings, roads, landscape and terrain, then write the result into Roblox Studio.
The goal was extreme detail: grass blades, gravel, window slats, seats in the arena. Far too many parts for any device to hold at once, so the detail is generated on the fly, in rings around the player, and torn down as they move on.
The source map
What’s in the world
A campus that runs
- Terrain
Real ground
Roblox Terrain built from USGS 3DEP lidar relief, with lawns, berms and basins where they really are, and every object re-seated on it.
- Detail
Streamed detail
A client streamer builds fine detail in 48-stud cells across three rings, with a per-frame budget and gradual teardown.
- Interiors
Rooms you can enter
Client-streamed interiors, starting with the residence halls.
- Sim
College life
Pick a major, follow a calendar, furnish a room with a room builder.
- NPCs
Campus life
NPC students walk a generated path network and ride scooters between buildings.
- Ride
Scooters
A scooter game pass for getting across campus fast.
Development highlights
From data to world
- Studio rejects scripts over 200,000 characters, so big systems are split into modules
- Static parts were capped once A/B walks showed hitches came from static streaming, not detail
- InputsOpenStreetMap, USGS 3DEP lidar, campus map research
- GeneratorsPython: footprints, landmarks, street detail, interiors, path network, sim data
- Bulk buildJSON chunks pulled into Studio and turned into parts
- StreamersDetail and interior streamers in Luau, scanned into 153 region modules
- ScriptsSynced with Rojo, versioned in Git
My part
- Concept and the push for extreme, campus-accurate detail
- Directing the data pipeline and the generators
- Game systems: sim, NPCs, scooters, room builder
- Playtesting, visual passes and performance tuning
A fan project, not affiliated with Grand Canyon University. The game is not public yet.