We’re taking a look back at all of the major events that took place within ROBLOX this past year. 2012 was big–between the release of water, the shattered 100K concurrent user benchmark, RGC 2012 and our recent launch to mobile, we’ve kept the pace of development moving at breakneck speed. We wanted to share some interesting stats we gathered from our company blog and list of some of our biggest stories of 2012.

The Numbers:

Below are our most popular stories of the year by page views, but in no particular order.

ROBLOX Studio 2.0 Beta Out Now – June 4, 2012
ROBLOX Black Friday Sale 2012 – November 22, 2012
The Future of Groups in ROBLOX – July 21, 2012
ROBLOX Mobile Gaming is Coming to iPad – November 13, 2012
Spotlight: Three Teens Use ROBLOX to Ignite Careers – July 23, 2012

The most feedback we received from a single article in 2012 was when we asked users to submit their top three ROBLOX requests–so many responses trickled in that this article became the foundation for our Responding to User Feedback series, which we publish on occasion.

The Milestones:

Water

The release of water to ROBLOX was a much anticipated and highly advanced feature that has changed ROBLOX. The water in ROBLOX comes with its own comprehensive physics system that actually simulates real water. Some things float, some things sink, and propellers create velocity. In other words, if you wanted to make a boat float in ROBLOX, you’d follow the same principles you would use to make one in real life.

Featherweight Parts

Featherweight parts introduced “super light” blocks and pieces to build with. It lightened the memory of ROBLOX parts so you can use more without sacrificing performance. We’re planning on implementing this feature for more ROBLOX materials and parts in the future, though for now you can already harness it to build dramatically larger worlds.

Mobile Launch

Far and away the biggest thing to happen to ROBLOX this year, our platform expanded to iOS devices, including iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch (5th Gen and up). We documented the entire process–the planning, the implementation, and the eventual release–and we’re super excited to see what types of games are users develop with touch controls in mind. We’re looking into porting ROBLOX to as many mobile devices as possible, so stay tuned for more mobile news.

Engineering ROBLOX for the iPad series:

Part 1: Setting the Stage / Part 2: Memory Optimization / Part 3: Performance Optimization / Part 4: Control Design / Part 5: User Interface

The Future Look of ROBLOX

Far and away one of our most popular blog articles of the year, this article had Client Engine Lead Simon Kozlov show off five new videos showcasing the potential look of the future ROBLOX. This wasn’t a broad overview either–he looked in depth at how the graphical infrastructure changes would apply to lighting, water, and materials. The videos are brief, but they’re a really exciting glimpse into the potential future of our platform. Check it out.

RGC 2012

Our annual ROBLOX Game Conference continues to grow in scope. RGC 2012 was a phenomenal success, thanks to you, our users. Over 800 users gathered at the Santa Clara Convention Center to talk to ROBLOX staff, participate in our first ever Hackathon, and listen to exclusive presentations about all things ROBLOX. We photographed the event and posted the gallery to our blog for those around the country (and world, for that matter) who couldn’t make it.

Trading System

The release of our trading system changed the way the ROBLOX economy operates, as Builders Club members could now trade their limited items with other users. We’ve enhanced the system since then, adding the ability to add Robux to your trades in order to make more equitable transactions.

100K Concurrent Users

This past November we hit a new a new milestone:100,000 authenticated players were playing games, building in Studio and browsing Roblox.com at the same time. The number doesn’t take into account every visitor at our site or guests (which, we guess, would add another 20,000 or so). This was a huge achievement for many of us who were around when we had 100,000 users total.

TIME Magazine

In September, we were named one of TIME Magazine’s 50 Best Websites of 2012. That pretty much explains itself, but feel free to check out the blog article for a link to TIME’s list.