Help with Scripting for a Game World

Hi All,

I'm creating a Giant Skee Ball game using the Desktop Editor. I've been using the AI generator to create scripts and connect them to game assets, but after many attempts, I can't get the core mechanics working. I'm not a scripter - I'm learning as I go with this project, so I could really use your advice!

Game Overview

• Duration: 2-minute rounds
• Scoring Methods: Player catapult (self), skee ball throw, player-on-ball throw…into scoring zones
• Game Modes: Single Player, Multiplayer, Teams (Silver vs Gold)
• Scoring Zones: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 100 points

Scripts Created (I’ve listed out the core functions of each script, if anyone wants to see)

1. Game Manager (Main Controller)
2. Scoring Zone
3. Score Tracking
4. Ball Management
5. Gravity Zone
6. Team Selection (for Teams Mode)
7. Scoreboard Display
8. Start Game Broadcaster
9. UI/Menu 

Here are some of the current problems:

1. Start and Game mode buttons not working: when these buttons are pressed, the game is supposed to start. And you know it’s started because the timer is supposed to begin counting down from 2 min. The low and high gravity fields are supposed to activate. But none of this happens.
2. Gravity Issues: while the game is set up for the altered gravity modes to function only when the game is in play, even without the game starting, the gravity modes do work intermittently – sometimes there’s a low gravity field over the board; sometimes the gravity is normal. 
3. Untested Scoring System: I haven't been able to test the scoring components yet because the above issues prevent gameplay.

So far, I’ve tried using the AI generator to fix the problems, but honestly, even without much experience, I feel like the AI generator is making matters worse. There were several instances where more than one script couldn’t find the GameManager script, and the AI generator’s solution everytime was to update the other scripts to find the GameManager, which never worked. I’ve also gone through the hierarchy and troubleshot issues that made some headway, but nothing that ultimately gets the darn game to start! For example, when it was clear that the scoreboard display was having a hard time finding the startgame_trigger, I realized that I still had the trigger grouped with other elements that comprised the physical in-game scoreboard. Once I ungrouped all of the components and then connected the script to the triggers, I stopped getting that error message in the console. 

I could really use help with the following:

• Getting the start button to function properly
• Making gravity work consistently
• Understanding how to properly connect scripts to game assets
• Once those work, testing and fixing the scoring system

Questions for the Community

1. Are there common mistakes with button scripts in Horizon Worlds that I should check?
2. What are best practices for physics/gravity settings in Horizon Worlds?
3. Are there any debugging tools or methods I can use to identify what's failing?
4. Would anyone be willing to take a look at my world to help troubleshoot?

Thank you in advance for any help! I'm eager to learn and get this game working.