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ROBLOX Forum » Roblox » Virtual BLOXcon 2013
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Re: BLOXcon London 2013: A guide and review

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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
27 Jul 2013 04:55 PM
As I pulled up in the car outside the conference center of the British Royal Air Force Museum in North London, I could barely contain myself with excitement. In-fact, if one part of me wasn't moving as I got my name badge and got my red bag of goodies I felt like I would explode with pure joy.

The first thing I noticed was the ROBLOX Staff T-Shirts. At this point, I though "Wow. This is real! This is really real! I'm really here and those are really ROBLOX staff!" The word excitement doesn't do my feelings justice.

As you walk towards the meet and greet area with the ROBLOX and ROBLOX News booths you can hear the sounds of air hissing and people cheering. Shedletsky's afoot. Not just a foot. Yes, the rest of him was there as well. Signing things, throwing paper airplanes, and laughing. My god. His laugh. A booming, cheery, hearty sound that throbbed in your ears. You know that one guy in TV shows that laughs louder than everyone else? That'd be him, but amplified. Don't get me wrong, though, it's not a complaint. His ear-splitting chuckle calmed down my hyped-up nerves and made me feel at home. Speaking of which, who was at home in Chicago, and who was here?

The staff at BLOXcon were as follows from the Blog:
Rbadam
Blockhaak
Noob007
BrightEyes
OnlyTwentyCharacters
Builderman
Shedletsky
OstrichSized
(The) Keith
Malcomso
Matt Dusek
Screenme
Totbl
Phil
ReeseMcBlox
ChiefJustus
MeektheGeek
Gemlocker
Aleverns
Cr3470r
VladTheFirst
Aceswayuphigh

There were some other staff attendees, not mentioned in the Blog, and I can't remember all their names. Apparently, Sorcus would have come, but they were worried he'd steal the luggage on the flight. Or the plane's fuel. Or the plane's oxygen. Or the plane. My favorite employee there? Cr3470r. The guy was amazing. In fact, all of the Hackathon and R&D guys were.

Let's talk ROBLOX schwag:
Unfortunately, the small and big bundle deal that was sent out via e-mail was cancelled. There are two theories: One is that they changed their mind at the last minute to get more cash, another is that there were two emails prepared: one with the deals, and one without. They decided to go with the one without, but sent off the wrong email by accident. In any case, I ended up minus one BLOXcon T-shirt and shortchanged. Ah well, 1 fedora, hoodie, and BLOXcon London pin to go please.

That kerfuffle aside, there really was a lot of stuff. if you spent £25 or more you get a cool ROBLOXian package!

The fancy red 'schwag bag' they gave you at the start contained:

A London BLOXcon 2013 poster, which you could get signed all over by your favorite staff.

9 out of 10 trading cards of all the same type (the aim was to trade with other players and force player-player IRL interaction) to trade. They were based on popular games. I'm down one #5 and one #8. Anyone want to trade for a #10 #9 and #1? The missing one was #5, based on CrazyMan32's free-flight adn given away by Shedletsky if you could beat his paper plane with yours (which wasn't that hard). I traded mine away for 3 cards. Yusss.

A guide to the BLOXcon containing a map, times of R&D slots, the hackathon, and more.

Not in the bag, but at the Staff booth, was your Stats sheet. This contained various statistics, some of which comparing you to the other attendees. Here's mine:

UserID: 9509309
Total Net Worth (R$): 18,303 (That was only at the time, when I'd spent a lot, and downgraded a lot, and only just got back my OBC, so don't laugh at me)
You are richer than...: 97% (It says of all users, but is actually only of the BLOXcon attendees. Apparently.)

You have been on ROBLOX longer than...: 79% (Same as above)

Account Age (days): 1, 082
Gameplays this year: 624
# Days Logged In: 755
Place Updates: 2,684

Nice, eh? It was on some fancy-looking recycled paper too. Posh and good for the environment. Like a hippy Sir Charles.

R&D:
I loved it. What I saw of it, that is. I didn't spend much time there, as I got in maybe 10 mins before the reservation people came in, and I didn't get a good reservation in time for alter that day. I had the presentation coming up, and there was the hackathon... I don't know... However, there was an amazing demo. I don't know if you saw the truck physics demo in the blog, but here's some early footage by Kevin He:

P1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKTjyhhjVqU
P2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtUuE_nkLp8

In the R&D lab were rows of laptops which had this truck loaded on. The devs even put the steering wheel on the other side for us in the UK! The aim was to drive the truck as fast as possible through the canyon racecourse. Unfortunately I couldn't finish! I did manage to edit some stuff and mess around with strings, axle instances, new motors, and tons of other stuff too. It was an exiting experience and a great sign of things coming soon to ROBLOX.

The Hackathon:
A sea of round tables, laptops, eager kids, helpful, insightful, funny staff, and withering parents. The challenges were two fold: Building and scripting. They ran parallel, you could come and go as you pleased, and participate in both, non, or one of whichever one was running. I went to the first and last sessions, and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Here are some of the challenges that I can remember (This is not an exhaustive list, and there are more) :

Scripting Challenges:
>Make fog that rolls in and out
>Make your arms turn into rockets and shoot off where you click
>Make a tool with multiple parts that stays welded
>Make the player run and jump by twice as much, glow, and sparkle
>Make the player jump forward 10 studs every 10 seconds
>Make a disco floor with DL
>Make a torch that when shone on a wooden part, it turns into rusted metal and blasts away
>Make a little GUI trail follow the user's cursor
>Make 2 parts. One that turns your character invisible, and the other visible (Remember T-shirts, faces and hats!)

Building Challenges:
>Make a bridge (with handrails)
>Make a house with a door and slanted roof (40 parts +)
>Make a tower that's all welded together (so it acts like one big part, 30 parts +)
>Make Stonehenge
>Make a (working) Sundial
>Make a windmill that turns when your player pushes it
>Make a Catapult on wheels that can be pushed around by a player
>Make a Diamond (had to be see through, and have 40+ parts)

Here's a demo of some of the things I built. See the place DESC for more information on it :)
http://www.roblox.com/Hackathon-2013-place?id=124248651

I believe I came 3rd, Ravenshield came second, and the guy I was sitting with in the last session came 1st (his name was too long for me to remember).

The Presentation:
I don't want to give away too much, but this had to be the highlight of the day (I would have been in one of the blog post pictures of the seating if it had been cropped slightly differently).

BrightEyes, Builderman, KEITH, Cr3470r, and more, all came on stage to talk to us about how ROBLOX started, their vision for the future, what's rolling out in the near and far future, have a little Q&A session, and to present some BLOXY awards! If you want to know more about this then please check out the ROBLOX blog!

The Staff:
I had the pleasure to meet Andrew Haak at BLOXcon. He pointed out both halves of TheGamer101 to me (but I never actually went and said hi, sorry Andrew) and we talked about the blog and stuff. He's... well... his pic on the blog represents him amazingly well. He's crazy-energetic and a great member of the ROBLOX team, and it was great to talk to him before he zipped off somewhere, camera in hand.

Not only that, but the Hackathon guys, especially Cr3470r, were awesome. They went around, checking out people's games and scripts, giving advice, helping out, having a laugh, and making the experience all that much more enjoyable.

The other staff members were kind, helpful, and laboriously patient. Each one of them could probably head up PR of a company on their own. From checking in to signing to question-answering to direction-giving to checking out, they were kind and insightful.

The end:
No-one wanted to leave. We had to be shepherded out by the RAF Museum and ROBLOX Staff, and it was a great end to an even better day. Laughs were had, demos were shown, amazing experiences were experienced, and, overall, the feeling at the end of the day was that of high hopes for the future and comfort in the knowledge that ROBLOX will be back next year.

That's right! I talked to the staff, for many of them it was their first time here in the UK, and they seemed to LOVE London. I think all of the Staff want to do it again, and they are having a serious discussion about doing it again. I, like all that attended, dearly hope they hop across the Atlantic next summer too.

If you attended, what were your thoughts? What did you enjoy? Who was your favorite staff member? What was your favorite part? The house building in the hackathon, the truck demo, thee ROBLOX News booth? I'd love to hear your thoughts about BLOXcon, and I hope that the virtual one will be just as good in a few weeks time.

Now, I'm going to bed. I got up at 7 to get to London, and I hope to see you all at the next;

ROBLOX Loncon BLOXcon!

【◄[ϟ]〓☜✪ xWOWZABOYx; FCOM, SQN COM, Scientist, Veteran, Visionary ✪☞〓[ϟ]►】
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alexrocks911 is not online. alexrocks911
Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Total Posts: 11546
27 Jul 2013 05:28 PM
holy guacamole
I'll try to read it all as I am going to BLOXcon NYC
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cocopop2000 is not online. cocopop2000
Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Total Posts: 1526
27 Jul 2013 05:33 PM
My highlight was seeing everyone meeting my best friend and When Reese actually recognised my username.
I felt loved.

AND... I didn't have a panic attack
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Tonitoni is not online. Tonitoni
Joined: 14 Mar 2009
Total Posts: 6429
27 Jul 2013 05:38 PM
I interviewed Cr3470r. He is a really cool guy.
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alexrocks911 is not online. alexrocks911
Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Total Posts: 11546
27 Jul 2013 05:45 PM
@ToniToni, when will your bloxcon london videos be uploaded?
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
28 Jul 2013 04:33 AM
Toni, were you there? If not: One of your vids won the BLOXY award and was showcased at the presentation there! Well done dude!

【◄[ϟ]〓☜✪ xWOWZABOYx; FCOM, SQN COM, Scientist, Veteran, Visionary ✪☞〓[ϟ]►】
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
28 Jul 2013 06:21 AM
How long was the journey there for some of you? One group of people came all the way from Sicily!

【◄[ϟ]〓☜✪ xWOWZABOYx; FCOM, SQN COM, Scientist, Veteran, Visionary ✪☞〓[ϟ]►】
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
28 Jul 2013 03:11 PM
*Bump

【◄[ϟ]〓☜✪ xWOWZABOYx; FCOM, SQN COM, Scientist, Veteran, Visionary ✪☞〓[ϟ]►】
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SmartHannah10 is not online. SmartHannah10
Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Total Posts: 1470
28 Jul 2013 03:43 PM
It was amazing.
I hope they return to London next year.
'Nuff said.
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worriorx5 is not online. worriorx5
Joined: 08 Oct 2010
Total Posts: 2368
28 Jul 2013 03:43 PM
@xWOW Yeah he was there lol, he was the guy filming everyone and doing interviews
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worriorx5 is not online. worriorx5
Joined: 08 Oct 2010
Total Posts: 2368
28 Jul 2013 03:44 PM
Same @Hannah
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
28 Jul 2013 04:05 PM
Well apparently they will do, so I an't wait for next year! :D
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alexrocks911 is not online. alexrocks911
Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Total Posts: 11546
28 Jul 2013 04:13 PM
I haven't been to BLOXcon NYC but I know it's going to be awesome.
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
29 Jul 2013 04:36 AM
It probably will be. There's always next year, and the virtual BLOXcon. It's gunna be funnnnn.

【◄[ϟ]〓☜✪ xWOWZABOYx; FCOM, SQN COM, Scientist, Veteran, Visionary ✪☞〓[ϟ]►】
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geckohero17 is not online. geckohero17
Joined: 27 Dec 2009
Total Posts: 1342
29 Jul 2013 07:19 AM
I was told I was in the top 3 for the Hackathon Building, or something like that.
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
29 Jul 2013 08:16 AM
Probs not. I was 3rd. Ravenshield was 2nd.

【◄[ϟ]〓☜✪ xWOWZABOYx; FCOM, SQN COM, Scientist, Veteran, Visionary ✪☞〓[ϟ]►】
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geckohero17 is not online. geckohero17
Joined: 27 Dec 2009
Total Posts: 1342
29 Jul 2013 08:19 AM
I know my name was called out for something at some stage, must have been something else then.
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BlabVoid is not online. BlabVoid
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Total Posts: 4932
29 Jul 2013 08:41 AM
I have no idea where I got in the hackathon.
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2tabbycat is not online. 2tabbycat
Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Total Posts: 1692
29 Jul 2013 09:47 AM
Pretty detailed review.
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Crovian is not online. Crovian
Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Total Posts: 321
29 Jul 2013 10:13 AM
I ended up creeping out most of the admins, And then slowly walked off...Yeah I'm not a people person :L
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2tabbycat is not online. 2tabbycat
Joined: 07 Sep 2010
Total Posts: 1692
29 Jul 2013 10:24 AM
I couldn't go to any BLOXcon's because I'm Canadian.
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
30 Jul 2013 04:12 PM
I guess the nearest one to you would have been NYC.

And thanks, tabby :D

【◄[ϟ]〓☜✪ xWOWZABOYx; FCOM, SQN COM, Scientist, Veteran, Visionary ✪☞〓[ϟ]►】
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pighead10 is not online. pighead10
Joined: 03 May 2009
Total Posts: 10341
30 Jul 2013 05:00 PM
I had a lot of fun at bloxcon too. I thought it was a bit stupid that they totalled the hackathon scores up throughout the day - to win, you would have to miss going around the museum or some other bloxcon activity while staying in the Hackathon.

I was only present at the last Hackathon, where unfortunately I found my Studio was incredibly old - that and my laptop was impossibly slow and continuously crashed - so I only managed to complete a few of the problems in the last session (the only one I attended). My Studio didn't have raycasting, fog, or GetMouse, and bugged up really weirdly with tools, so I couldn't do questions relating to them, and my Studio crashed on the plugin and step generating question.

There was a guy on the last Hackathon that completely some of the Hackathon problems very quickly, probably quicker than I would have done even without my Studio running like a snail and repeatedly crashing. Unfortunately I didn't catch his username (it might have been xwowzaboyx).

Also, gemlocker was awesome.
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pighead10 is not online. pighead10
Joined: 03 May 2009
Total Posts: 10341
30 Jul 2013 05:02 PM
Actually I think the person who answered the questions quickly was the person with the long name who came first. I got the impression he had entered all three sessions. They should have given different questions for all three Hackathons, but kept your best score - that way, you could still enter all of them if you wanted but you wouldn't get a distinct advantage by doing so.
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xWOWZABOYx is not online. xWOWZABOYx
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Total Posts: 2689
30 Jul 2013 05:03 PM
I only went to 2 and I came 3rd, so.... :/

I enjoyed all the other parts too! :D
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