Local vs world space

Learn the difference between local and world space.

Local and World Space

In Unity, World Space describes an object's position relative to the scene's global coordinate system. Local Space describes its position and rotation relative to its own parent. If an object has a parent, its local coordinates depend on that parent's coordinate system.

World Position: (10, 0, 0)
Local Position: (2, 0, 0)

These two values can differ for the same object because they represent different coordinate systems.

Parent and Child Objects

In Unity, one Transform can be a child of another Transform. A child object's localPosition is calculated relative to its parent, while position represents its world coordinates. When the parent moves, the child's world position can also be affected.

Parent
  Position: (5, 0, 0)
  └── Child
      Local Position: (2, 0, 0)
      World Position: (7, 0, 0)

This hierarchy allows objects to be organized in a connected structure.

Exercise Print Local and World Positions

Create a Start method in a Unity C# class. Print the object's world position first, followed by its local position relative to its parent, using Debug.Log. Use transform.position and transform.localPosition in that order.

Show example solution

using UnityEngine;

public class SpaceInfo : MonoBehaviour
{
    void Start()
    {
        Debug.Log(transform.position);
        Debug.Log(transform.localPosition);
    }
}

Test yourself

Which property represents an object's position relative to its parent?
- transform.rotation
- transform.localScale
- transform.position
- transform.localPosition
Show answer

transform.localPosition — localPosition specifies the object's position relative to its parent's coordinate system rather than world coordinates.

Read the Local Position

Vector3 relativePoint = transform.____;

Show answer

Vector3 relativePoint = transform.localPosition;

Coordinate Systems

World Space

The scene's global coordinate system
Local Space

Coordinate system relative to parent
position

Returns the world position
localPosition

Returns position relative to parent

Next lesson: Summary - Transform

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