Importing Construct 2 projects

Construct 3 is backwards-compatible with Construct 2. You can import Construct 2 projects in to Construct 3 and it will open them so you can continue working on them in Construct 3. One easy way to do this is to drag-and-drop a Construct 2 .capx file in to the Construct 3 window.

This guide covers some points to be aware of when importing Construct 2 projects to Construct 3.

Functions are now built-in

In 2019, Construct 3 introduced a new built-in functions feature. This replaces the old Function plugin. This means in new projects you won't see the old Function plugin when adding a new object.

We recommend switching to the new built-in functions where possible. To help with converting to built-in functions, you can right-click an On function condition in the old Function plugin, and select Replace with built-in function. Note due to differences between the features, it may not always be possible to automatically replace the function, and you will need to do it manually instead.

For more information on built-in functions, see the manual section on Functions.

Setting effect color parameters

In Construct 2, some effects like Tint and Set color specified a color parameter as three separate parameters for the red, green and blue components. In Construct 3, these parameters have been replaced by a single color parameter. Construct 3 will show a color picker instead of three number fields for red, green and blue.

Construct 3 should correctly import the right color value. However if you use Set effect parameter in your events to change the effect's color, this will need updating. Previously you may have used actions like:

  • Set effect "Tint" parameter 0 to redAmount
  • Set effect "Tint" parameter 1 to greenAmount
  • Set effect "Tint" parameter 2 to blueAmount

In Construct 3 there is now only one parameter instead of three. So this action needs to be replaced by:

  • Set effect "Tint" parameter 0 to rgbEx(redAmount, greenAmount, blueAmount)

Physics behavior stepping mode

In Construct 2, the Physics behavior defaulted to fixed stepping mode. This meant simulations were deterministic, but also meant it assumed a fixed display rate of 60 Hz. This was a reasonable assumption in the early 2010s, but now devices with varying refresh rates are much more common, such as phones with 90 Hz displays, tablets with 120 Hz displays, and gaming monitors with 144Hz+ displays. On these devices the fixed framerate mode of the Physics behavior appears to run in fast-forward mode.

To avoid this, the Physics behavior in Construct 3 instead defaults to framerate independent mode. This ensures it works at the same speed on all displays, but means the simulation is no longer deterministic. If you want to restore a deterministic simulation you can use the Set stepping mode action to switch back to Fixed mode - but then note you will have the aforementioned problem of the gameplay running too fast on high refresh rate displays.

Third-party addons

If your project uses third-party plugins, behaviors or effects, these need to be available in Construct 3 as well before you can import a Construct 2 project using them. Note that Construct 2 addon files (.c2addon) cannot be used in Construct 3. The addon needs to be updated to work with Construct 3, and distributed as a Construct 3 addon file (.c3addon).

Note that third-party addon developers are independent of Scirra and we cannot provide support for their addons. If you need help with third-party addons you'll need to contact the addon developer.

The C3 runtime

Construct 3 comes with an all-new runtime, which is significantly faster and has major new features. When you import a Construct 2 project, it will automatically use the new runtime. There are also some other compatibility issues to be aware of when using the new runtime. For more information see the guide on the C3 runtime.

Construct 3 Manual 2022-07-13

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