Blog
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Presenting the Winners of the BLOXcon Poster Contest
In the ROBLOXian spirit of creativity and participation, we decided not to make our own posters for the fast-approaching BLOXcon, but leave it in the hands of our community.
| June 07, 2013 -
Scaling Thumbnail Dependencies with a Rapidly Growing User Base
ROBLOX allows users to upload images in order to create unique avatar clothing and environments. If you’ve ever uploaded a custom asset, you’ve undoubtedly come across a thumbnail image that says “Review Pending.” That’s because every si...
| June 6, 2013 -
Bay Area After School Initiative STEM Goes Behind the BLOX
When it comes to developing ROBLOX, we take to heart specific and constructive feedback from our community. That’s why we started Behind the BLOX, a chance for builders to come and play test with us every Friday right here at ROBLOX HQ. In our l...
| June 5, 2013 -
Get Summer Hats When You Redeem ROBLOX Cards in June
Every month, we release a new set of gear and hats you can only obtain by redeeming ROBLOX cards from particular retailers around the world. That means when you’re turning your prized red slice of ROBLOXia into a Builders Club subscription or Robux, you’re snagging yourself a stylish virtual good at no extra cost. With summer just around the corner, our latest round of hats lets you prepare for fun in the hot ROBLOXian sun. No, we’re not talking about virtual sunscreen; this is the hippest of eye protection.
| June 3, 2013 -
Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: June 2nd, 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: Virtual BLOXcon this September, the creation of Apocalypse Rising’s v5.0 update, a spotlight on UlrichStern25′s impressive pirate ships, impending contest deadlines, a ROBLOX build of Minas Tirith, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy.
| June 2, 2013 -
Developer’s Journal: The Biggest Apocalypse Rising Update Yet
Hey guys, a here to talk about our most successful update yet, Apocalypse Rising v.5.0.0. a and I have been hard at work for the past 11 months, developing improvements for Apoc (sorry, I call it that in short) since its release in July, 2012. When I launched the game, I never thought I’d end up spending so much time on one ROBLOX project. I’m fascinated at Apoc’s popularity–why has this game maintained popularity for such a lengthy period of time? What are the most important factors in development of gameplay? What makes Apocalypse Rising special? With this Developer’s Journal article, I’ll answer these questions.
| May 31, 2013 -
Our Summer Interns Have Names You May Recognize
Last week, we brought on four up-and-coming engineers to join us in our never-ending quest to make ROBLOX better, faster, and more streamlined.
| May 30, 2013 -
Last Weekend to Submit Your Film Fest and Poster Contest Entries
Attention, directors and designers of ROBLOXia: we have arrived at the final weekend for submitting entries to the a and the a! Both contests close on Monday, June 3rd at 11:59 p.m. PT – if you’re planning to enter, now is the time to get creating. Polish what you’ve already started, or set aside some time to start something from scratch. It’s not too late. The Film Festival has been open to submissions for just under a month. While we’re seeking films within five categories, we have still received very few speed-building showcases and city-themed films. If you want to get noticed, The Film Festival has been open to submissions for just under a month. While we’re seeking films within five categories, we have still received very few speed-building showcases and city-themed films. If you want to get noticed, go for one of those categoriesgo for one of those categories ..
| May 30, 2013 -
Spotlight: Highly Detailed Pirate Ships With UlrichStern25
a has always had a fascination with pirates–like many of our intrepid builders, that passion eventually manifested itself in ROBLOX. Turns out he’s been hard at work creating some of the most detailed watercraft we’ve ever seen on ROBLOX, based primarily on his fascination with the high seas. aa is a good place to start–this is where UlrichStern25 painstakingly recreated every major ship in the movie franchise, and the detail in each of the ships is mind blowing. Whether it’s from afar, or right there on deck, these massively detailed ships look like photographs of real life sea craft. Masts and sails shoot majestically into the air, cannons are tucked away in compartments in the decks below, some battle-torn and withered, some new and shiny. Make sure to use the Teleport tool to move quickly between each ship, and to explore all they have to offer. is a good place to start–this is where UlrichStern25 painstakingly recreated every major ship in the movie franchise, and the detail in each of the ships is mind blowing. Whether it’s from afar, or right there on deck, these massively detailed ships look like photographs of real life sea craft. Masts and sails shoot majestically into the air, cannons are tucked away in compartments in the decks below, some battle-torn and withered, some new and shiny. Make sure to use the Teleport tool to move quickly between each ship, and to explore all they have to offer.
| May 29, 2013 -
Can’t Go to BLOXcon? Think Again!
Only a small fraction of ROBLOXia’s current population will actually get to attend the sold-out a in person this summer. As much as we’d like to show up in every town and throw a live BLOXcon for you and your friends, we haven’t yet mastered the technology or hired the couple thousand minions we’d need to make that possible. Instead, we’re going to show up via the series of tubes that are The Internet this September for a virtual BLOXcon! While we hammer out the details of the event, save this date: Saturday, September 21st.
| May 28, 2013 -
Five Ways to Keep Busy on ROBLOX as Summer Starts
For many, today marks the unofficial beginning of summer. School is either done or about to be done for the year, and that means you’ll be able to celebrate three glorious months of freedom from the daily grind. That doesn’t mean there isn’t...
| May 27, 2013 -
Weekly ROBLOX Roundup: May 26th, 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.
| May 26, 2013 -
Enter the BLOXcon Poster Contest Today
We’re already running a contest to collect submissions for the ROBLOX International Film Festival, but we thought it only fair to give the graphic designers of ROBLOXia an equal opportunity to make their mark on our upcoming BLOXcon events.
| May 24, 2013 -
Enter the BLOXcon Poster Contest Today
We’re already a to collect submissions for the a, but we thought it only fair to give the graphic designers of ROBLOXia an equal opportunity to make their mark on our upcoming BLOXcon events. To that end, we’ve launched a poster contest, where you have a chance to design a BLOXcon poster and win fantastic prizes! Here’s how it works: starting immediately, you can design and submit a BLOXcon poster for BLOXcon Chicago, BLOXcon London or BLOXcon New York City. We’ll be collecting submissions through June 2nd at 11:59 p.m. PT, and will select winners during the following week.Here’s how it works: starting immediately, you can design and submit a BLOXcon poster for BLOXcon Chicago, BLOXcon London or BLOXcon New York City. We’ll be collecting submissions through June 2nd at 11:59 p.m. PT, and will select winners during the following week.
| May 24, 2013 -
Condense and Compress: Our Custom Binary File Format
Think about the performance improvements and rendering features we’ve brought to ROBLOX in the last year. Among them are a, a, a and a. These improvements have crushed the limits – on part count, physics simulation and aesthetic flexibility – builders once encountered and opened doors to a world of possibilities. They’ve also exposed new limits as builders have pushed the boundaries further than ever. In this article, we’ll explain how we’ve achieved an approximately 100x reduction in the file size of ROBLOX places and a 5-10x reduction in load/save time.
| May 23, 2013 -
Sneak Peek: Memorial Day Sale
Happy (upcoming) Memorial Day! We’ll be having a massive sale to celebrate the holiday weekend, and each and every item were voted into the sale by users! We’re going to go over some of the discounted items in this article, but not all of th...
| May 22, 2013 -
Aperson1890 Proves Building is Constructive at Maker Faire
Looking back, there are a lot of a stories to tell. I talked with independent game developers about the potential of distributing a game on ROBLOX. I talked with parents who were looking to guide the play habits of their children down productive paths. I talked with former ROBLOX builders who, after witnessing dynamic lighting and other modern features, headed home to revive their dormant accounts. I saw a maker wearing a 3D-printer backpack buy a ROBLOX fedora before striking a pose for me (I was photographing the booth). But probably the most memorable story was that of a, a longtime ROBLOX builder, 2012 RGC 2012 a winner, and up-and-coming programmer who was in the booth all weekend.
| May 21, 2013