diff --git a/BlockLua.dll b/BlockLua.dll
index 58d6e45..a11bb18 100644
Binary files a/BlockLua.dll and b/BlockLua.dll differ
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 1e5e5c2..e78f471 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ Lua scripting for Blockland
 `object:method(args)` - Call a Torque object method  
 `object[index]` - Access a member of a Torque set or group  
 `for childIndex, child in object:members() do` - Iterate objects within of a Torque set or group. Indices start at 0 like in Torque.
+`bl.isObject(object, objectID, or 'objectName')` - Check if an object exists  
+`object:exists()` - Check if an object exists  
 
 ### Timing/Schedules
 `sched = bl.schedule(timeMs, function, args...)` - Schedule a Lua function to be called later, similar to schedule in Torque  
@@ -101,10 +103,11 @@ When reading from outside ZIPs, binary files are fully supported.
 `bl.type('className::funcName', 'type')` - Register the return type of a Torque object method.  
 `bl.class('className')` - Register an existing Torque class to be used from Lua. Already done for all built-in classes.  
 `bl.class('className', 'parentClassName')` - Same as above, with inheritance  
-`bl.boolean(thing)` - Manually convert a Torque boolean (0 or 1) into a Lua boolean.  
-`bl.object(thing)` - Manually convert a Torque object reference (object ID or name) into a Lua object.
+`bl.boolean(arg)` - Manually convert a Torque boolean (0 or 1) into a Lua boolean.  
+`bl.object(arg)` - Manually convert a Torque object reference (object ID or name) into a Lua object.  
+`bl.string(arg)` - Manually convert any automatically-converted Torque value back into a string. This is not as reliable as using `bl.type` to specify the type as a string beforehand.  
 
-### Vectors
+### Vector
 `vec = vector{x,y,z}` - Create a vector. Can have any number of elements  
 `vec1 + vec2` - Add  
 `vec1 - vec2` - Subtract  
@@ -129,6 +132,9 @@ When reading from outside ZIPs, binary files are fully supported.
 `vec1:distance(vec2)` - Distance between two points  
 `vec2 = vec:copy()` - Clone a vector so its elements can be modified without affecting the original. Usually not needed - the builtin vector functions never modify vectors in-place.
 
+### Matrix
+WIP
+
 ### Extended Standard Lua Library
 `string[index]`  
 `string[{start,stop}]`  
@@ -163,12 +169,7 @@ When reading from outside ZIPs, binary files are fully supported.
 ## Type Conversion
 When a TorqueScript function is called from Lua or vice-versa, the arguments and return value must be converted between the two languages' type systems.  
 TorqueScript stores no type information; all values in TorqueScript are strings. So it's necessary to make some inferences when converting values between the two languages.  
-### From TorqueScript to Lua
-- Any numeric value becomes a Lua `number`, except as specified with `bl.type`, which may convert a value into a `boolean` or a Torque object container.  
-- The empty string "" becomes `nil`  
-- A string containing three numbers separated by spaces becomes a `vector`  
-- A string containing six numbers separated by spaces becomes a table of two vectors  
-- Any other string is passed directly as a `string`
+
 ### From Lua to TorqueScript
 - `nil` becomes the empty string ""  
 - `true` and `false` become "1" and "0" respectively  
@@ -178,6 +179,17 @@ TorqueScript stores no type information; all values in TorqueScript are strings.
 - Any `string` is passed directly as a string  
 - Tables cannot be passed and will throw an error  
 
+### From TorqueScript to Lua
+- Any numeric value becomes a Lua `number`, except as specified with `bl.type`, which may convert a value into a `boolean` or a Torque object container.  
+- The empty string "" becomes `nil`  
+- A string containing two or three numbers separated by single spaces becomes a `vector`  
+- A string containing six numbers separated by single spaces becomes a table of two vectors, usually defining the corners a bounding box  
+- (WIP) A string containing seven numbers separated by single spaces is treated as an axis-angle (a "transform" in TorqueScript parlance), and is converted into a `matrix` representing the translation and rotation.
+- Any other string is passed directly as a `string`  
+  
+For scenarios where the automatic TorqueScript->Lua conversion rules are insufficient or incorrect, use `bl.type`.  
+To convert objects by hand, use `bl.object`, `bl.boolean`, or `bl.string`.
+
 ## I/O and Safety
 All Lua code is sandboxed, and file access is confined to the default directories in the same way TorqueScript is.  
 BlockLua also has access to any C libraries installed in the `modules/lualib` folder, so be careful throwing things in there.  
diff --git a/src/bllua4.cpp b/src/bllua4.cpp
index c8955fe..5e1d94b 100644
--- a/src/bllua4.cpp
+++ b/src/bllua4.cpp
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileLuaEnv    , "lua-env.lua");
 INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileTsEnv     , "ts-env.cs" );
 INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileLuaStd        , "util/std.lua");
 INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileLuaVector     , "util/vector.lua");
+INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileLuaMatrix     , "util/matrix.lua");
 INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileLuaLibts      , "util/libts-lua.lua");
 INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileTsLibts       , "util/libts-ts.cs");
 INCLUDE_BIN(bll_fileLuaLibbl      , "util/libbl.lua" );
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ bool init() {
 	// Load utilities
 	BLL_LOAD_LUA(gL, bll_fileLuaStd);
 	BLL_LOAD_LUA(gL, bll_fileLuaVector);
+	BLL_LOAD_LUA(gL, bll_fileLuaMatrix);
 	BLL_LOAD_LUA(gL, bll_fileLuaLibts);
 	BlEval(bll_fileTsLibts);
 	BLL_LOAD_LUA(gL, bll_fileLuaLibbl);
diff --git a/src/lua-env-safe.lua b/src/lua-env-safe.lua
index c64a30e..adb5275 100644
--- a/src/lua-env-safe.lua
+++ b/src/lua-env-safe.lua
@@ -139,4 +139,5 @@ debug = {
 	getfilename = old_debug.getfilename, -- defined in lua.env.lua
 }
 
-_bllua_ts.echo('  Executed bllua-env-safe.lua')
+print = _bllua_ts.echo
+print('  Executed bllua-env-safe.lua')
diff --git a/src/lua-env.lua b/src/lua-env.lua
index f485ee2..e16f7c2 100644
--- a/src/lua-env.lua
+++ b/src/lua-env.lua
@@ -37,4 +37,5 @@ function _bllua_on_error(err)
 	return table.concat(tracelines, '\n')
 end
 
-_bllua_ts.echo('  Executed bllua-env.lua')
+print = _bllua_ts.echo
+print('  Executed bllua-env.lua')
diff --git a/src/util/libbl-support.cs b/src/util/libbl-support.cs
index c4032d0..873b50b 100644
--- a/src/util/libbl-support.cs
+++ b/src/util/libbl-support.cs
@@ -42,4 +42,26 @@ package _bllua_objectDeletionHook {
 };
 activatePackage(_bllua_objectDeletionHook);
 
+// Public Lua library for TS
+function luacall(%func, %a,%b,%c,%d,%e,%f,%g,%h,%i,%j,%k,%l,%m,%n,%o,%p) {
+	if($_bllua_active)
+		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_call", %func, %a,%b,%c,%d,%e,%f,%g,%h,%i,%j,%k,%l,%m,%n,%o,%p);
+}
+function luaexec(%fn) {
+	if($_bllua_active)
+		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_exec", %fn);
+}
+function luaeval(%code) {
+	if($_bllua_active)
+		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_eval", %code);
+}
+function luaget(%name) {
+	if($_bllua_active)
+		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_getvar", %name);
+}
+function luaset(%name, %val) {
+	if($_bllua_active)
+		_bllua_luacall("_bllua_setvar", %name, %val);
+}
+
 echo("  Executed libbl-support.cs");
diff --git a/src/util/libbl.lua b/src/util/libbl.lua
index efd5889..52195df 100644
--- a/src/util/libbl.lua
+++ b/src/util/libbl.lua
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@
 -- Main lua-side functionality of bllua,
 -- provided through the global table 'bl.'
 
--- todo: set
-
 local _bllua_ts = ts
 
 bl = bl or {}
@@ -18,7 +16,7 @@ local function map(t,f)
 	return u
 end
 local function isValidFuncName(name)
-	return type(name)=='string' and name:find('^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$')
+	return type(name)=='string' and name:find('^[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*$')
 end
 local function isValidFuncNameNs(name)
 	return type(name)=='string' and (
@@ -76,7 +74,7 @@ for k,v in pairs(tsTypesByName) do
 	tsTypesByNum[v] = k
 end
 
--- Type conversion
+-- Type conversion from Lua to TS
 local toTsObject
 -- Convert a string from TS into a boolean
 -- Note: Nonempty nonnumeric strings evaluate to 1, unlike in TS
@@ -100,21 +98,61 @@ local function valToTs(val)
 			-- box - > 6 numbers
 			return table.concat(val[1], ' ')..' '..table.concat(val[2], ' ')
 		else
-			error('valToTs: could not convert table', 3)
+			error('valToTs: cannot pass Lua tables to TorqueScript.', 3)
 		end
 	else
-		error('valToTs: could not convert '..type(val), 3)
+		error('valToTs: could not convert value to TorqueScript: '..tostring(val), 3)
 	end
 end
+
+-- Type conversion from TS to Lua
 local fromTsForceTypes = {
 	['boolean'] = tsBool,
-	['object'] = function(val) toTsObject(val) end, -- toTsObject not defined yet
-	['string'] = tostring,
+	['object'] = function(val) toTsObject(val) end, -- wrap because toTsObject not defined yet
+	['string'] = function(val) return val end,
 }
-local function convertValFromTs(val, typ)
+local function forceValFromTs(val, typ)
 	return fromTsForceTypes[typ](val) or
 		error('valFromTs: invalid force type '..typ, 4)
 end
+local function vectorFromTs(val)
+	local xS,yS,zS = val:match('^(%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+)$')
+	if xS then return vector{tonumber(xS),tonumber(yS),tonumber(zS)}
+	else return nil end
+end
+local function boxFromTs(val)
+	local x1S,y1S,z1S,x2S,y2S,z2S = val:match(
+		'^(%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) '..
+		'(%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+)$')
+	if x1S then return {
+		vector{tonumber(x1S),tonumber(y1S),tonumber(z1S)},
+		vector{tonumber(x2S),tonumber(y2S),tonumber(z2S)} }
+	else return nil end
+end
+local function multinumericFromTs(val)
+	local tsNumPat = '%-?[0-9]+%.?[0-9]*e?[0-9]*'
+	if val:find('^'..tsNumPat) then
+		local nums = {}
+		for _,part in ipairs(val:split(' ')) do
+			if part:find('^'..tsNumPat..'$') then
+				table.insert(nums, tonumber(part))
+			else
+				return nil
+			end
+		end
+		if #nums==2 or #nums==3 then
+			return vector(nums)
+		elseif #nums==6 then -- box
+			return {
+				vector{nums[1], nums[2], nums[3]},
+				vector{nums[4], nums[5], nums[6]} }
+		elseif #nums==7 then -- axis
+			return nil --return matrix(nums)
+		else
+			return nil
+		end
+	end
+end
 bl._forceType = bl._forceType or {}
 local function valFromTs(val, name, name2) -- todo: ensure name and name2 are already lowercase
 	if type(val)~='string' then
@@ -122,13 +160,13 @@ local function valFromTs(val, name, name2) -- todo: ensure name and name2 are al
 	if name then
 		name = name:lower()
 		if bl._forceType[name] then
-			return convertValFromTs(val, bl._forceType[name])
+			return forceValFromTs(val, bl._forceType[name])
 		end
 	end
 	if name2 then
 		name2 = name2:lower()
 		if bl._forceType[name2] then
-			return convertValFromTs(val, bl._forceType[name2])
+			return forceValFromTs(val, bl._forceType[name2])
 		end
 	end
 	-- '' -> nil
@@ -136,16 +174,9 @@ local function valFromTs(val, name, name2) -- todo: ensure name and name2 are al
 	-- number
 	local num = tonumber(val)
 	if num then return num end
-	-- vector
-	local xS,yS,zS = val:match('^(%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+)$')
-	if xS then return vector{tonumber(xS),tonumber(yS),tonumber(zS)} end
-	local x1S,y1S,z1S,x2S,y2S,z2S = val:match(
-		'^(%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) '..
-		'(%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+) (%-?[0-9%.e]+)$')
-	-- box (2 vectors)
-	if x1S then return {
-		vector{tonumber(x1S),tonumber(y1S),tonumber(z1S)},
-		vector{tonumber(x2S),tonumber(y2S),tonumber(z2S)} } end
+	-- vector, box, or axis->matrix
+	local vec = multinumericFromTs(val)
+	if vec then return vec end
 	-- string
 	return val
 end
@@ -189,13 +220,33 @@ setForceType = function(ftname, typ)
 end
 bl.type = setForceType
 
+-- Type conversion TS->Lua backwards, convert back to string
+local function numFromTsTostring(val)
+	-- todo: as-good-as-possible scientific notation for numbers
+	return tostring(val)
+end
+local function valFromTsTostring(val)
+	if type(val)=='string' then
+		return val
+	elseif type(val)=='number' then
+		return numFromTsTostring(val)
+	elseif type(val)=='table' then
+		if val.__is_vector then
+			local strs = {}
+			for i=1,#val do strs[i] = numFromTsTostring(val[i]) end
+			return table.concat(strs, ' ')
+		elseif val.__is_matrix then
+			-- todo: matrix back to axis-angle string
+			error('bl.string: matrix not yet supported', 3)
+		end
+	end
+	error('bl.string: cannot convert \''..type(val)..'\'', 3)
+end
 
--- Value detection
-
+-- Getting info from TS about functions and objects
 local function isTsObject(t)
 	return type(t)=='table' and t._tsObjectId~=nil
 end
-
 local function tsIsObject(name) return tsBool(_bllua_ts.call('isObject', name)) end
 local function tsIsFunction(name) return tsBool(_bllua_ts.call('isFunction', name)) end
 local function tsIsFunctionNs(ns, name) return tsBool(_bllua_ts.call('isFunction', ns, name)) end
@@ -204,27 +255,31 @@ local function tsIsFunctionNsname(nsname)
 	if ns then return tsIsFunctionNs(ns, name)
 	else return tsIsFunction(nsname) end
 end
-
+-- sanity check to make sure objects that don't isObject are always marked as ._deleted
+-- can be removed later
+local function assertTsObjectExists(obj)
+	local is = tsIsObject(obj._tsObjectId)
+	if not is then
+		print('Warning: TS object :exists or isobject from lua but no longer exists') end
+	return is
+end
 function bl.isObject(obj)
-	if isTsObject(obj) then
-		obj = obj._tsObjectId
-	elseif type(obj)=='number' then
-		obj = tostring(obj)
-	elseif type(obj)~='string' then
+	if type(obj)=='number' then -- object id
+		return tsIsObject(tostring(obj))
+	elseif type(obj)=='string' then -- object name
+		return tsIsObject(obj)
+	elseif isTsObject(obj) then -- lua object
+		if obj._deleted then
+			return false
+		else
+			return assertTsObjectExists(obj)
+		end
+	else
 		error('bl.isObject: argument #1: expected torque object, number, or string', 2)
 	end
-	return tsIsObject(obj)
 end
-function bl.isFunction(a1, a2)
-	if type(a1)~='string' then
-		error('bl.isFunction: argument #1: expected string', 2) end
-	if a2 then
-		if type(a2)~='string' then
-			error('bl.isFunction: argument #2: expected string', 2) end
-		return tsIsFunctionNs(a1, a2)
-	else
-		return tsIsFunction(a1)
-	end
+function bl.isFunction(name)
+	return tsIsFunctionNsname(name)
 end
 
 -- Torque object pseudo-class
@@ -350,7 +405,8 @@ local tsObjectMeta = {
 	-- Display a nice info string
 	__tostring = function(t)
 		return 'torque:'..t._tsNamespace..':'..t._tsObjectId..
-			(t._tsName~='' and ('('..t._tsName..')') or '')
+			(t._tsName~='' and ('('..t._tsName..')') or '')..
+			(t._deleted and '(deleted)' or '')
 	end,
 	-- #object
 	-- If the object has a getCount method, return its count
@@ -430,8 +486,10 @@ local tsObjectMeta = {
 		if t==nil then
 			error('ts object method: be sure to use :func() not .func()', 2) end
 		if t._deleted then
-			return false end
-		return tsIsObject(t._tsObjectId)
+			return false
+		else
+			return assertTsObjectExists(t)
+		end
 	end,
 }
 -- Weak-values table for caching Torque object references
@@ -464,7 +522,7 @@ toTsObject = function(idiS)
 	idiS = idiS:lower()
 	if bl._objectsWeak[idiS] then return bl._objectsWeak[idiS] end
 	
-	if not tsBool(_bllua_ts.call('isObject', idiS)) then
+	if not tsIsObject(idiS) then
 		--error('toTsObject: object \''..idiS..'\' does not exist', 2) end
 		return nil end
 	
@@ -560,6 +618,10 @@ end
 function bl.exec(file)
 	return valFromTs(_bllua_ts.call('exec', file))
 end
+function bl.array(name, ...)
+	local rest = {...}
+	return name..table.concat(rest, '_')
+end
 function bl.boolean(val)
 	return val~=nil and
 		val~=false and
@@ -576,18 +638,62 @@ function bl.object(id)
 		error('bl.object: id must be a ts object, number, or string', 2)
 	end
 end
-function bl.array(name, ...)
-	local rest = {...}
-	return name..table.concat(rest, '_')
+function bl.string(val)
+	return valFromTsTostring(val)
 end
-function _bllua_call(fnameS, ...)
-	local args = arglistFromTs('lua:'..fnameS:lower(), {...}) -- todo: allow this though bl.type
-	if not _G[fnameS] then
-		error('luacall: no global lua function named \''..fnameS..'\'') end
-	-- todo: library fields and object methods
-	local res = _G[fnameS](unpack(args))
+
+-- Lua calling from TS
+local luaLookup
+luaLookup = function(tbl, name, set, val)
+	print('lookup', tbl, name, set, val)
+	if name:find('%.') then
+		local first, rest = name:match('^([^%.:]+)%.(.+)$')
+		if not isValidFuncName(first) then
+			error('luaLookup: invalid name \''..tostring(first)..'\'', 3) end
+		if not tbl[first] then
+			if set then tbl[first] = {}
+			else return nil end
+		end
+		return luaLookup(tbl[first], rest, set, val)
+	elseif name:find(':') then
+		local first, rest = name:match('^([^%.:]+):(.*)$')
+		if rest:find('[%.:]') then
+			error('luacall: cannot have : or . after :', 3) end
+		if not isValidFuncName(first) then
+			error('luacall: invalid name \''..tostring(first)..'\'', 3) end
+		if not tbl[first] then
+			error('luacall: no object named \''..rest..'\'', 3) end
+		if not tbl[first][rest] then
+			error('luacall: no method named \''..rest..'\'', 3) end
+		return function(...)
+			tbl[first][rest](tbl[first], ...)
+		end
+	else
+		if set then
+			tbl[name] = val
+		else
+			return tbl[name]
+		end
+	end
+end
+-- Todo: similar deep access for luaget and luaset
+function _bllua_call(fname, ...)
+	local args = arglistFromTs(fname:lower(), {...}) -- todo: separate lua from ts func names?
+	local func = luaLookup(_G, fname)
+	if not func then
+		error('luacall: no global in lua named \''..name..'\'', 2) end
+	local res = func(unpack(args))
 	return valToTs(res)
 end
+function _bllua_getvar(vname)
+	return valToTs(luaLookup(_G, vname))
+end
+function _bllua_setvar(vname, valS)
+	return valToTs(luaLookup(_G, vname, true, valFromTs(valS, vname))) -- todo: separate lua from ts var names?
+end
+function _bllua_eval(code) return loadstring(code)() end
+function _bllua_exec(fn) return dofile(fn, 2) end
+
 
 -- bl.schedule: Use TS's schedule function to schedule lua calls
 -- bl.schedule(time, function, args...)
diff --git a/src/util/libts-lua.lua b/src/util/libts-lua.lua
index 96ef5fc..56f4a9d 100644
--- a/src/util/libts-lua.lua
+++ b/src/util/libts-lua.lua
@@ -192,12 +192,6 @@ function require(mod)
 	return _bllua_requiresecure(mod)
 end
 
--- Exposure to TS
-function _bllua_getvar(name) return _G[name] end
-function _bllua_setvar(name, val) _G[name] = val end
-function _bllua_eval(code) return loadstring(code)() end
-function _bllua_exec(fn) return dofile(fn, 2) end
-
 local function isValidCode(code)
 	local f,e = loadstring(code)
 	return f~=nil
diff --git a/src/util/libts-ts.cs b/src/util/libts-ts.cs
index 292c40e..63e03a7 100644
--- a/src/util/libts-ts.cs
+++ b/src/util/libts-ts.cs
@@ -49,26 +49,4 @@ function _bllua_set_var(%name, %val) {
 	return "";
 }
 
-// Public Lua library for TS
-function luacall(%func, %a,%b,%c,%d,%e,%f,%g,%h,%i,%j,%k,%l,%m,%n,%o,%p) {
-	if($_bllua_active)
-		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_call", %func, %a,%b,%c,%d,%e,%f,%g,%h,%i,%j,%k,%l,%m,%n,%o,%p);
-}
-function luaexec(%fn) {
-	if($_bllua_active)
-		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_exec", %fn);
-}
-function luaeval(%code) {
-	if($_bllua_active)
-		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_eval", %code);
-}
-function luaget(%name) {
-	if($_bllua_active)
-		return _bllua_luacall("_bllua_getvar", %name);
-}
-function luaset(%name, %val) {
-	if($_bllua_active)
-		_bllua_luacall("_bllua_setvar", %name, %val);
-}
-
 echo("  Executed libts-ts.cs");
diff --git a/src/util/matrix.lua b/src/util/matrix.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41a3542
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/util/matrix.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+
+-- todo
+-- Matrix class with math operators
+
+
+
+print('  Executed matrix.lua')
diff --git a/src/util/std.lua b/src/util/std.lua
index f1041cf..ca79eea 100644
--- a/src/util/std.lua
+++ b/src/util/std.lua
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ valueToString = function(v, tabLevel, seen)
 		return tostring(v)
 	else
 		--error('table.tostring: table contains a '..t..' value, cannot serialize')
-		return 'nil --[[ cannot serialize '..t..': '..tostring(v)..' ]]'
+		return 'nil --[[ cannot serialize '..tostring(v)..' ]]'
 	end
 end
 function table.tostring(t)
@@ -345,3 +345,6 @@ end
 function math.clamp(v, n, x)
 	return math.min(x, math.max(v, n))
 end
+
+
+print('  Executed std.lua')
diff --git a/src/util/vector.lua b/src/util/vector.lua
index f166719..bc92791 100644
--- a/src/util/vector.lua
+++ b/src/util/vector.lua
@@ -216,4 +216,7 @@ vector_new = function(vi)
 end
 
 vector = vector_new
+
+print('  Executed vector.lua')
+
 return vector_new