Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: May 26th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - May 26, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our platform, 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 custom-built binary file format, the BLOXcon poster contest, level design expertise from MahPizzaIsHere, an inspiring story (and video) from our “mini-BLOXcon” at Maker Faire, the Memorial Day Sale, a roundup of recent ROBLOX press, Ye Olde’ Village by ClonedFett35, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day Blog Recap

Our custom-built binary file format

As our developers release new features that expand the limits of the ROBLOX engine, new problems occasionally surface. For instance, we’ve made it much easier for builders to create huge ROBLOX places with tens of thousands of parts, but the amount of data in such worlds tends to result in unwieldy file sizes. We tackled that problem head-first by not just improving the way we store ROBLOX place data, but completely rewriting our file format for efficient storage. Arseny devised brilliant methods to make our custom file format super efficient, and the benefits stand to make the entire ROBLOX experience better — in an intentionally subtle way. It’s a dense article, but, if nothing else, a good insight into the problems our developers encounter and solve every day.

Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: May 19th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - May 19, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our platform, 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: how to make your dynamic lighting and shadows look amazing, renting plots of land in KlamKnights City, our weekend at Maker Faire Bay Area, tips for submitting to the ROBLOX Film Fest, Team Zombie Defence Tycoon, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day Blog Recap

How to make your dynamic lighting look amazing

While there is a considerable benefit to simply enabling dynamic lighting in your place — that is, your parts immediately cast realistic shadows — ROBLOX builders have found many ways to manipulate the feature for much more impressive and immersive effects. In this article, we had four proven dynamic lighting aficionados provide tips, techniques and resources for creating amazing atmosphere. From beginner to advanced, there’s something for everyone who’s looking to make their mark with dynamic lighting.

Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: May 12th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - May 12, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our platform, 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: a whole bunch of dynamic lighting coverage, a day in the life of the Content Team, the development of Strobe (one of ROBLOX’s hippest games), a game-design showdown between competing FPS developers litozinnamon and Spookyfox, free gear bundled with ROBLOX cards for May, The Old Town by Aonux, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day Blog Recap

Dynamic lighting has arrived (and is quickly changing the look of ROBLOX)!

This week’s top story, by a long shot, was the official release of dynamic lighting. That’s not a surprise; dynamic lighting is a feature you’ve been requesting for years and we’ve been prototyping and developing for several months. Our announcement provides a detailed guide to enabling and implementing dynamic lighting in your ROBLOX place, so it’s worth taking a few minutes to learn the steps. The payoff is huge — in just the first 24 hours of dynamic lighting’s official existence, many cunning ROBLOX builders harnessed the feature to breathe new life, style and dynamics into their games and places. Keep up the great work and don’t hesitate to share your dynamic lighting creation with us and others — here or via ROBLOX on Twitter.

Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: May 5th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - May 5, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our platform, 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: the launch of the ROBLOX International Film Festival, the fantastic winners of our dynamic lighting video contest, the new in-game sales feature, ROBLOX’s booth at Maker Faire Bay Area 2013, crazyman32′s advice on getting your ambitious ROBLOX project off the ground, the first issue of Feedback Loop, Avert the Odds II, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day Blog Recap

ROBLOX International Film Festival now open for submissions

A few weeks ago, we announced the ROBLOX International Film Festival and, on Friday, we opened the doors to your submissions. We’re looking for films in five categories and you have until June 2nd at 11:59 p.m. PT to submit your entry. For complete details and a Film Fest FAQ, read our Friday blog announcement. A word of advice: use the time you have available to produce the best film you can. Test it out on friends and see what they think. After all, it’s a prized BLOXY Award and live screening at BLOXcon on the line!

Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: April 28th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - April 28, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our platform, 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: how to “win” at ROBLOX, a trading system strategy guide, a day in the life of a web developer, a Spotlight on manops5 and his virtual home, your chance to vote on our dynamic lighting contest, nostalgic ROBLOX memories, Aiedan Kemaneska, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day Blog Recap

Five ways to “win” at ROBLOX

In ROBLOX, there’s no real “endgame.” There’s no victory screen, nor final credits. So, how do you “win?” As it turns out, you have a lot more options here than in a traditional game.

Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: April 21st, 2013

By Andrew Haak - April 21, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our platform, 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: an opportunity for you to write for the ROBLOX blog, a dynamic lighting video contest, own and trade multiple copies of the same limited item, our latest Crossfire article (featuring Ozzypig and CloneTrooper1019), a showcase of excellent ROBLOX building, a New York apartment penthouse to explore, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day Blog Recap

Get published on the ROBLOX blog!

Last week, we announced an opportunity for you to have your writing published front and center on the ROBLOX blog. We’re not accepting just anything, though; right now, we’re keeping a keen eye out for technical articles about specific aspects of ROBLOX building in which the author has demonstrated expertise. We’ve received more than 400 pitches, so far, and we’ll be reviewing every last one of them in the coming week. While we haven’t started reaching out to anyone yet, I can say there are a number of great ideas and I’m very excited about the quality and robustness of articles we could be publishing in conjunction with you, the ROBLOX community. Thanks to everyone who has submitted ideas!

Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: April 14th, 2013

By Andrew Haak - April 14, 2013

Every week, we’re busy telling the stories behind our platform, 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 weekend tax holiday, the upcoming ROBLOX Film Festival, our conversation with talented builder asimo3089, a look at the games and places that are making money effectively, exclusive hats with ROBLOX cards, Strobe, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.

Seven-day Blog Recap

Take advantage of the tax holiday while it lasts

This weekend, in celebration of Tax Day — you know, the deadline for Americans to file their 2012 taxes, which is not something most people celebrate — we’re holding a “tax holiday” on ROBLOX. What’s that mean? If you’re a wheeler and dealer, this weekend is an optimal time to sell and/or trade items. Limited items are typically quite costly, so this could save you some big time Robux. The cut also applies to group store sales, game pass sales, and sales of all types of clothing. (Currency transactions, as always, are not subject to a marketplace fee.) Point is, if you’re looking to sell and/or trade, now is the time. Take advantage of it before the holiday ends!