Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: October 20th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - October 20, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our community, our technology and our place in the gaming and technology industries. For those of you who catch up with ROBLOX over the weekend, the Weekly ROBLOX Roundup collects the best stuff to hit our various avenues of publication in the last week. This time: our latest adventures in the world of groups, a recap of last week’s many BLOXtober festivities, the implementation of our new water, City of Boston, 1775, Truss Bust, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day blog recap

Adventuring with groups, big and small

Last month, Alan embarked on a journey into the world of ROBLOX groups. For the uninitiated, groups are sub-communities that are focused on just about any interest you can imagine — pets, music, game development, building and more. One of the hottest aspects of groups is competitive military-themed gaming. In the first edition of Group Dynamic, that’s what we explored. More recently, we dove into a variety pack of smaller groups doing exciting things, from samurai-style training to large-scale naval battles to community-based gaming events. While the groups explored share little in common other than being groups, they all come together to illustrate the depth of social interaction and the emergent gameplay that comes to be on ROBLOX.

The Implementation and Effect of New Water

By Max Volkov - October 19, 2013

“Terrain” water has existed in ROBLOX for the last year and a half and, while the physics have always behaved in satisfyingly realistic fashion, the appearance left something to be desired. Last week, we turned on a new look for our water, bringing waves, reflections, and blue underwater “fog” to ROBLOXian H2O. The feature is primarily eye candy, but it fits in our grand rendering overhaul that started with improved performance and lead to dynamic lighting, part outlines, and in the near future new building material textures.

Promote Your Costume Contest Entry and Win Prizes!

By Andrew Haak - October 18, 2013

Today, hot on the heels of the early-access period for The Witching Hour, we have even more exciting BLOXtober news to share: the costume contest is now open for voting! With hours upon hours of adventure waiting to be unlocked in The Witching Hour and more than 17,000 entries in the costume contest, there is absolutely no shortage of Halloween festivities this weekend.

Introducing ROBLOX Halloween 2013: The Witching Hour!

By Sorcus - October 17, 2013

We’re proud to present the official game event of BLOXtober 2013: The Witching Hour! The game is available with Paid Early Access starting today for the price of $1,000 ROBUX–early access means you’ll get the jump on collecting items and gear, and receive exclusive in-game benefits. The game will be open to everyone soon and running for the next couple of weeks, so don’t fret if you miss out on the early access period.

Group Dynamic: Samurai, Light Fights, Naval Warfare and More!

By Alan Fackler - October 15, 2013

The world of groups within ROBLOX is ever-expanding. I’ve always known groups as a large part of the ROBLOX experience, but I had no idea how deep the rabbit hole went until I started investigating them in the first entry of this series. Suffice to say, the investigation continues! There isn’t a strict theme for this edition of Group Dynamic; instead, I tried to keep away from the military and competition-based theme of the first article and participate in other types of events and activities. I trained with the Serenity Samurai. Piloted massive pirate ships through cannon fire with the RBRN. Got into some Light Fights with the Klam Knights. Talked with a key member of the X-101st about ranks. All of this is ahead in this edition of Group Dynamic!

Get Creative in the BLOXtober Costume Contest!

By Andrew Haak - October 14, 2013

BLOXtober continues today with the launch of a costume contest! This is your chance to piece together a creative Halloween costume for your character and, using the new outfits feature, enter it to win a yet-to-be-announced virtual item. While we’re not revealing what the prize is just yet, we will say that the top three costumes will be integrated into our Halloween game, which launches later this week, with a mid-event update. Anyone who wears that costume into the game will receive a useful item.

Here’s how it works.

Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: October 13th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - October 13, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our community, our technology and our place in the gaming and technology industries. For those of you who catch up with ROBLOX over the weekend, the Weekly ROBLOX Roundup collects the best stuff to hit our various avenues of publication in the last week. This time: two great articulated physics demos, an inside look at the creation of crazyman32′s Nuclear Simulation, games taking advantage of the sounds feature, a dodgeball-themed Crossfire, a Spotlight on starmarine614, body packages for everyone, Laserbike Racing, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day blog recap

Exploring articulated physics, part two

In our second look inside the development of our new articulated physics engine, we went big — with a towering mech and robust tank. Both demos serve to push the limits of the articulated physics engine and highlight areas for improvement. They look solid in their current state, so head over to the original blog article to view them in full.