Roblox features
This section will talk about some of the new features and tools Roblox has introduced since the last edition of this book.
Group name changes
In January 2022, Roblox announced that developers would be getting the ability to change the name of a group. This had been a long-requested feature, and many expressed their appreciation for its release. If you own a Roblox group, you can change the name of it every 90 days for 100 Robux, assuming the name you wish to change it to is not already in use.
Free badge creation
In February 2022, Roblox announced that developers would now be able to create badges for free, instead of the 100 Robux required before. In order to prevent abuse, developers can upload five badges in a 24-hour period for free and then any additional badges in that same time period will cost the original price of 100 Robux. As mentioned in Chapter 5, Creating an Obby, badges are another way to make players feel rewarded and further encourage competition among players of your experience.
Spatial voice
Spatial voice (voice chat) was a highly anticipated new Roblox feature that was first released to developers in September 2021. With this feature, players who have access to spatial voice can talk to one another in any experience with the feature enabled. Unlike talking to someone on the phone, players speak from their character and how loud they are to you depends on how close they are, just like real life! Roblox being a social platform means that this feature can really improve interactions between players across different experiences, especially hangout games and similar experiences discussed. For most users, you need to confirm you are 13 years old or older by verifying your age with Roblox to get access to spatial voice. You can learn more about spatial voice and how to get access to it at the following page:
https://devforum.roblox.com/t/spatial-voice-developer-beta/1479160
Mesh deformation
In late 2020, Roblox announced the introduction of skinned MeshParts. Previously, parts were rigid and Roblox characters, joints, movement, and other manipulation could only be represented by a separate part.
Skinned MeshParts allow for smooth and more realistic-looking behaviors. You can see an example of this in Figure 8.10:
Figure 8.10: Mesh deformation allows for more realistic, polished character design
Mesh deformation works through a series of “bones” around which the mesh forms itself. As these bones move, the mesh and textures move and bend with them. You can see an example of these bones as highlighted in Figure 8.11:
Figure 8.11: Bones allow for mesh deformation and can be manipulated in Studio and other apps
Mesh deformation can be a tricky concept to learn, especially at the beginning. If you’re interested in learning how to use mesh deformation in your own experiences, you can visit the following article:
https://devforum.roblox.com/t/skinned-meshparts-are-live/831011
Since the first release of the technology, Roblox has added more features such as new underlying deformation techniques and expanded on its applications including layered clothing, which we will discuss next.
Layered clothing
In October 2021, Roblox announced 3D layered clothing would become available for Roblox avatars. Layered clothing is a way to customize Roblox avatars with clothing that looks and moves more like real fabric than the simple textures used before. Layered clothing fits and forms over avatars and accessories because of additional geometry that is created during the modeling process. You can see examples of layered clothing in Figure 8.12:
Figure 8.12: Some examples of layered clothing
If you want to learn more about layered clothing and the special instances associated with this new technology, you can visit the following link:
https://devforum.roblox.com/t/3d-layered-clothing-is-now-available/1517745
Flipbooks
In March 2022, Roblox announced flipbooks. Flipbooks, or animated textures for particle emitters, allow you to create more detailed and animated particle effects. A flipbook is a sprite sheet, that is, a series of images or frames in a grid that are shown successively.
For example, if you wanted a single particle to show the beginning of an explosion before fading away to smoke, you can do so through this newly added feature. If you want to learn more about flipbooks, you can follow the link below:
https://devforum.roblox.com/t/animated-particles-with-the-particle-flipbooks-beta/1718023
Custom materials
In December 2021, Roblox announced that they would be creating MaterialService for developers to create their own materials for terrain and BaseParts. This was a long-requested feature as many developers had felt that the Roblox-created materials simply did not always have the ability to convey their aesthetic decisions. You can see an example of legacy terrain materials and a user-created material in Figure 8.13:
Figure 8.13: Custom materials can allow for different aesthetics than legacy Roblox materials
If you want to learn more about MaterialService and its uses, visit the DevForum article linked here:
https://devforum.roblox.com/t/upload-custom-materials-in-the-new-material-service-beta/1583158
Talent Hub
In August 2021, Roblox announced Talent Hub, a new resource where developers can hire other developers or advertise themselves to be hired. In the past, Roblox developers looking for work would often post their portfolios on the DevForum but there was not a dedicated section for this. As such, finding work or other developers qualified for your job was difficult and frustrating. With the creation of this site, you can quickly look for developers or find work by using filters that sort by development type, compensation type, job type, and more.
Additionally, developers can go through a process to be “verified,” which means Roblox reasonably thinks that the developer is a real person and is who they claim to be. You can find Talent Hub here:
