ROBLOX Reviews: John's Winter Getaway [BrickBattle]

Edition #6

Welcome to the Christmas Edition of ROBLOX Reviews!
Today I am going to review a festive place. Yes only ONE. This was meant to come out on Christmas Eve, but there as a startling lack of places!
I want to talk about the fate of ROBLOXia Today slightly first. Our priority has been first and formost getting news and reviews to you. But we just aren't getting the page views anymore. That is why I am desperately trying to acquire new writers for us. Expect more interviews soon too.

Anyway, lets get on with todays review!

John's Winter Getaway [BrickBattle] by sharpTH

Idea: 10/10

This game is very original and creative. Its a huge room and you are a small player and you can explore what presents John (Or Telamon) is getting. Its wonderfully detailed and very Christmassy. The element of the Brickbattle makes it very fun and cool indeed.

Gameplay: 8/10

In the game, you kill people using a Candy Cane or Snowball Gun and collect badges which are presents. It is fun trying to get these and trying to stop people from getting them also, but the game does get a bit boring after you have collected all the badges. Unless you like fighting of course.

Scripting: 7/10

Even though there looks like there is ambient lighting, there isn't. Its just cleverly placed decals. Still cool though. What? You didn't think Ambient Lighting existed on ROBLOX did you?

Anyway, the game isn't that scripted, but the quality of the scripting that is here is awesome. You can find mystery gifts that give you an item and presents that heal you. All very nice.

Enviroment: 8/10

The enviroment is very large (or you're just very small!) and is full of detail. From cookies to the fireplace; everything here works really well and looks great.

Enjoyment: 7/10

Collecting badges and bloxxing others is really fun but can get boring when you have all the badges. This game needs something to keep you playing. The BrickBattle seems to be an attempt to keep people playing but it too gets boring.

Welcome back!

Hello everyone and welcome back to Robloxia Today! We hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and got what you wanted. I definitely did! So, as I said in my previous post, we will be posting more content over the next year so be sure to check that out. And also, I've been thinking about talking to MasterDaniel about adding a sponsor/affiliate section of the blog where other blogs can join together with us and maybe we do some collaborations with them and such. Who knows? But here is my main question for you guys:
What do you want to see from ROBLOXia today over the next year?
Post your suggestions in the comments below!
So, I'll see you guys next time! Until then, Happy BLOXING!!!

Its official!

Yes, it is now official! I am the blog's graphics designer! After talking with MasterDaniel on twitter, we finally came to the conclusion that I can be the graphics designer. That means I will be in charge of all the graphics on the blog such as the title I think and the images in the posts and other stuff. So yeah... nice way to end 2011, right? Anyway... I'll see you guys soon! =D

Merry Christmas from Robloxia Today!

Merry Christmas from everyone here at Robloxia Today! We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! Hope to see you all again next year. We will be producing more content over the next year so make sure you tune back in to Robloxia Today back in 2012!
From all the staff at Robloxia Today!

Site Upgrades

We've added a few more features onto the site today. Our background is the most noticeable difference. I think it looks alot better than before, but what do you think? Leave a comment.

Also we now have a "Videos" tab where you can watch videos related to ROBLOX. Our advertisement is there currently.

Finally, we have a fansite page where you can look at all the fansites we think are worthy of a look at. We tell you whats good about them, what they specialise in and give them a score. Why not take a look!

ROBLOX Reviews: Kingdom Life II vs TŞ Professional Soccer 2012

Edition #5

Hello and welcome to ROBLOX Reviews! Christmas is just 5 days away right now! And, there will be a post on Christmas Eve that will review some Christmassy places!

Lets get stuck into todays reviews now.

Kingdom Life II by Boopbot

Idea: 8/10

The idea is fairly simple: Roleplay in a medieval setting. It seems fairly original and is by far the most popular game of its type on ROBLOX, with over 2.8 million visits.

Gameplay: 7/10

You start the game above the map. You pick a class, confirm and then you are plunged into a town. After that, you just roleplay. If you can keep roleplaying fresh, you can have a ton of fun here, but it can get slightly repetitive.

Scripting: 7/10

There is not alot of scripting. The main things that are scripted are the GUI's and class GUI. There are some other things too but the place is not overlaoded with them which is a good thing in my opinion.

Enviroment: 9/10

The eviroment could be bigger, but because the game lags a fair bit to begin with, anymore enviroment would make it lag more. Thats bad. However, what is in the game is greatly detailed and looks really nice.

Enjoyment: 9/10

The game can be enjoyable when you are roleplaying and exploring, but if this gets repetitive, it can become very boring very quickly.

 TŞ Professional Soccer 2012 by TAYFUN7 

Idea: 9/10

The idea is also quite simple. You play soccer! (or football if you're from the UK like me)

Gameplay: 7/10

The gameplay is fairly fun. You just play soccer. However, this can quickly get boring; its very repetitive. Even though the game looks huge, there is no lag at all!

Scripting: 10/10

There is alot of great scripting in this game. From the scoreboard and scoring, to the things you can do (i.e Kick the ball long, Pass etc.)

Also there is a really complex opening GUI, which is well scripted. Theres some data persistance used!

Enviroment: 7/10

The enviroment is everything you would expect it to be; theres a football stadium and changing rooms. But that is about it. The stadium isn't greatly detailed either but it does suffice.

Enjoyment: 7/10

This game can be really enjoyable when playing with your friends and it feels really realistic which makes the game all the more fun to play. It can get a bit repetitive but with your friends it should be alot more fun!

FINAL SCORES.

        KLII       TSPS
Idea: 8/10 vs 9/10

TŞ PROFESSIONAL SOCCER 2012 WINS! 

Gameplay: 7/10 vs 7/10
TIE!

  Scripting: 7/10 vs 10/10
TŞ PROFESSIONAL SOCCER 2012 WINS! 

  Enviroment: 9/10 vs 7/10
KINGDOM LIFE II WINS!

  Enjoyment: 9/10 vs 7/10
KINGDOM LIFE II WINS!

TIE!

Again, its ended in a tie. These are both great games and are well worth a play. Please leave a comment on what your favourite is!

New Feature: New Blocks and Material Painter.

New Blocks and a Material Painter!

The image, courtesy of Roblox Developers Journal, shows how to get to the new painter.

New things with this release.

16 Block types (Up from 14)
List:

Grass
Sand
Brick             Previous Blocks
Granite
Asphalt
Iron Plate
Aluminum Plate
Gold
Wood Planks
Logs                         New
Gravel
Cinderblock
Mossy Rock
Concrete
Red Plastic
Blue Plastic

New 2d/3d dragability added to High Scalability parts, so making a large flat area from the parts is now easier than ever!

And inside the Spearmint Gift of Attendence...

is a Runic Helm!

In addition to this a new gift was brought out last night for people who have an add with over 25,000 impressions AND a CTR (click-through-rate) of at least 1%!

ROBLOX Reviews: Hospital Nightmare Before Christmas 3 vs Paintball!

Edition #4!
Welcome to Saturdays edition of ROBLOX Reviews. Our flagship post series. This series is our most popular with around 99% of our traffic reading these reviews.

Lets dive in and review todays two games!

Hospital Nightmare Before Christmas 3 by adrian928

Idea: 9/10

The idea is a very solid one. It seems fairly original, but it is a game that features pop-up decals and AI's that appear out of no-where and lead you on through the game; I have seen this done before. As the game suggests, you are in a hospital, before Christmas and there is something strange happening. 

Gameplay: 9/10

The game is very good, with some amazing scripting (but shh, thats the next bit) There are AI's that make you jump and this game is very scary. The game is very fluid and works really well. You will rarely get stuck. It is full of mystery and sometimes you have to look up to find the way out. You will literally find yourself looking everywhere for an exit. But you will find it. There is very eerie backing music too!

Scripting: 9/10

The scripting in this game is great. There are floating AI's which can really scare you, and there are invisible triggers that send pictures of Michael Jackson at you! The music is very ambient and scary and there are some great swirling portals which look really good! Alot of the beauty in this place comes from the building however.

Enviroment: 7/10

The enviroment in this game is fairly good. It definately gives the feel of a hospital.However, alot of this game is in tunnels and such, so there isn't much enviromental detail. But there are some cave bits which look very good.

Enjoyment: 8/10

The game is very enjoyable, but once you've played it once, you probably won't play it again. 

Paintball! by daxter 33

Idea: 7/10

There are a few paintballing games but this seems to be the most popular (in favourites) It is well executed and has some features which make it better than the rest.

Gameplay: 8/10

The gameplay is exactly what you would expect from a paintballing game; you play paintball. You can rank up and earn XP. There is also some hidden secrets on this map which can get you closer to their base. Capture the most flags to win.

Scripting: 10/10

The game is very well scripted. There is a countdown. A kill reporter, a kill cam of sorts (which is very awesome) and also, the game forces you into first person which, while annoying sometimes, does make the game better.

Enviroment: 8/10

The enviroment is very small, but it is well detailed. It has castles and rivers, and this was in one map. I am told there is more than one, but I have only ever seen this one. So I don't know if what people say is true. Nevertheless, it is a great enviroment, if only if where a bit bigger.

Enjoyment: 8/10

The game is very fun and ranking up gives you a sense of satisfaction. It is certainly a great game which would be really fun to play with your friends.

Final Scores!

Idea: 9/10 vs 7/10

Hospital Nightmare Before Christmas 3 wins!

Gameplay: 9/10 vs 8/10

Hospital Nightmare Before Christmas 3 wins!

Scripting: 9/10 vs 10/10

Paintball wins!

Enviroment: 7/10 vs 8/10

Paintball wins!

Enjoyment: 8/10 vs 8/10

TIE!

ITS A TIE!

These are two great games, and I am not suprised they have tied. One makes up for what one doesn't have and this makes them both great games. You should check them out!

The Gift Roundup: 15/12/11

Hello there! This is the most up to date guide so far on the Christmas Gifts.

Of 12 gifts that have been confirmed 10 have been made available for gaining.

The most recent ones are:

Remarkable Gift of Experience

How to: Get 5000 experience in Welcome to ROBLOX Building.

Badger Badger Badger Gift

How to: Have alot of badges with a rarity of more than "easy" You can see this next to the badge and how many have won it.

Epic Builder Present

How to: Own one of the top 100 most visited places of the last week when the gift is handed out.

Orchid Gift of Alliances

How to: Have alot of allys of your group. It is unsure how many but to have a good chance, have about 20 - 30.

ROBLOX Reviews: Natural Disaster Survival vs DriveBlox Unlimited

Hello and welcome to another ROBLOX review. If this works correctly, this post should come out on its own on Wednesday. Is it a Wednesday? Alot of these posts will have been written in advance, so they can go out when I am not online and cannot do one.
So, lets drive straight in!

Natural Distaster Survival by Stickmasterluke

Idea: 7/10


The idea behind this game has been done before many times. Its a survive the disasters game. However, there is a twist; these are natural disasters and they are perfectly executed.


Gameplay: 9/10


The gameplay is very fun indeed. You have to survive very cool disasters, and most of the time you find yourself running around like a maniac! Its very fun and because this place is mega, you can have a great time with loads of other people! As long as you don't die. That would be the worst thing ever.


Scripting: 10/10


Stickmasterluke is well known for his scripting talent and this game does nothing but improve that reputation. The game is very very well scripted. The disasters are really good, theres a very good statistics tab and theres even a fall damage script.


Enviroment: 7/10


The enviroments in the game are okay. Some have good features such as some huge tanks, and a huge office in one level, but they are still fairly boring. However, there is a script in the game which randomises which level you get, and this makes the game very varied.

Surf Central Map

Enjoyment: 9/10


Everything in this game works well. The scripting, the idea and the gameplay are amazing. The only thing which might want to make you stop playing is the similarity of levels. There are only five levels and a handful of maps. This makes for not much variety, but sometimes it gets very varied!

Driveblox Unlimited by nfsboy

Idea: 7/10

The game idea is not that original; you buy a car, and a house and wait for money to accumulate at that house. It is a mix between a tycoon and a roleplaying game.

Gameplay: 5/10

The gameplay is not that great. You buy a car and wait for money. You can drive and explore a map, but it isn't that good either, and is quite boring. The steering is really hard too. The cars are easy to loose control of.

Scripting: 6/10

There is some scripting here and there, but it is not very good. The house/tycoon cross seems to be just another tycoon and buying a car uses some scripting but just seems to be a regular regen and shop button. However, the car does appear futher away, and I haven't seen this combination before therefore the creator has scripted this well. There are some basic GUI's too.

Enviroment: 6/10

The enviroment is quite large and has alot of bricks. So many that uploading it is a problem (Source: Starting GUI) The enviroment has lots of things to visit, but once you have visited them, there might not be a reason to revisit them.

Enjoyment: 5/10

The game is not very enjoyable: It is fairly laggy, the enviroment easily gets boring and there isn't much when it comes to gameplay. Some people may find it enjoyable, but I don't.

FINAL SCORES.

           NDS     DBU
 Idea: 7/10 vs 7/10
TIE!

 Gameplay: 9/10 vs 5/10
NATURAL DISASTER SURVIVAL WINS!

 Scripting: 10/10 vs 6/10
NATURAL DISASTER SURVIVAL WINS!

  Enviroment: 7/10 vs 6/10
NATURAL DISASTER SURVIVAL WINS!

 Enjoyment: 9/10 vs 5/10
NATURAL DISASTER SURVIVAL WINS!

 And the winner, with 4 wins out of 5 is:

NATURAL DISASTER SURVIVAL! 

Site Redesigns

Hi there fellow readers of this blog!
There are a few things being changed about this site. The first being the background. Expect a new one soon! (Maybe even later today)

Also, I have a small schedule. Our most popular feature, Reviews, are coming on a Wednesday and Saturday. There are already some scheduled for release, so you should always get one!

In addition, we are hiring writers and right now need one to do hat reviews. Contact me on twitter @MasterD_RBLX or ROBLOX: MasterDaniel

ROBLOX Reviews: Welcome to ROBLOX Building vs Sandbox

Hello and welcome to another review! This is by far the most popular set of reviews, and I am enjoying building a vast catalog of game reviews. Last review, traffic to the site was over 200!
This review compares two game greats. ROBLOXs "Welcome to ROBLOX Building" and its apparant clone "Sandbox" by REDALERT2
But which is better? Continue reading!

Welcome to ROBLOX Building by ROBLOX

Idea: 10/10

The idea behind this place is very original. It was the first place of its kind. A place where you could play with your friends and build together. The game also includes testing of new featureson ROBLOX. So players test while having fun.

Gameplay: 7/10

The idea behind the game is great, however, the gameplay isn't amazing. You just build, and only on your plot at that. However, you can have great fun with wiring and also trap people in your place. Though that is a tad mean. You can create amazing structures here. 

One problem is however, theres is a block limit, and this can reduce what you can build if you want to use alot of blocks.

Someone built Santa and an Elf

Scripting: 9/10


There is alot of scripting in this place. The helper bot can lead you to your baseplate. You can "like" someones plot, and clear your own. There is an experience system which awards you for placing and clearing blocks (with a few points for staying online)
Wiring works perfectly, it is well coded, but not especially scripted for this game, which is also the same for the stamper parts. Data persistance is used here so your creations are saved.


Enviroment: 4/10


The enviroment is pretty basic. There are baseplates. However, you are in a room with a door and a window. Thats pretty cool, but doesn't reall add much in the way of an enviroment.


Enjoyment: 7/10


Playing with your friends makes this game so fun. If you're not playing with your friends, then experimenting with wiring and building great creations is also fun.

Sandbox by REDALERT2

Idea: 8/10

Even though the game looks alot like Welcome to ROBLOX Building. It is not entirely the same. When you enter; theres a dedicated chat. ROBLOX chat is gone. Theres a similar stamper tool, but it has different functions. However, there is not doubt that this was based of WTRB. It came out at the same time.

Gameplay: 7/10

The gameplay is very similar to WTRBs gameplay. The insert tool is called "Shovel" and the delete tool is called "flatten". The game is fairly easy to use, and the GUI's are good.

Building is easy, and in a building game: thats important.

Building is easy!

Scripting: 9/10

This game does not have core ROBLOX elements in it. No chat for a start. The stamper tool is not the same and neither is the delete tool. There are many configurable options. These were all scripted really well by the games creator, and there is much more scripting going on here. Best of all; it works, which is incredible for so much of it. There are some things which break a bit, but they don't hinder gameplay.

Enviroment: 2/10

The enviroment is very bad. Its just a box, with sand. Hence the name. There is a bucket in the middle, but it is still a very boring world.

Enjoyment: 5/10

This game is quite boring, there aren't as many stamper tools, and the enviroment is quite dull. It is still a fairly good experience, but it isn't amazing.

FINAL SCORES.

         WTRB SBOX

 Idea: 10/10 vs 8/10
WELCOME TO ROBLOX BUILDING WINS!

Gameplay: 7/10 vs 7/10

TIE!

Scripting: 9/10 vs 9/10

TIE!

 Enviroment: 4/10 vs 2/10
WELCOME TO ROBLOX BUILDING WINS!

Enjoyment: 7/10 vs 5/10
WELCOME TO ROBLOX BUILDING WINS!

And the winner, with 3 wins out of 5 is:

WELCOME TO ROBLOX BUILDING! 

New Feature: Recently Played Games

Another new feature was recently released. Recently Played Games

There are two ways to see your recently played games. One is to go to the games page and click recent games, as seen above. The other is to go to your My ROBLOX homepage. The one on your homepage tells you how many people are currently online. Sort of helpful.

From which ever you click, you are greeted with your recently played games!

Then you can play. Do you find this feature helpful? If so, leave a comment!

New Feature: Fog

Last night, a new feature was released on ROBLOX.

This new release adds alot of depth into games and it will be great to see what players can do with it.

For scripters and builders alike, there are some new properties to experiment with. These are all located in Lighting:

FogStart – This is where, in your map, the fog begins to fade in. Anything that is inside this will not be affected by fog.

FogEnd – This is where, in your map, the fog completely engulfs your screen

FogColor – This is the colour of the fog. Perhaps use a grey colour, or the colour of your skybox.

People have been busily posting screenshots on the ironnoob forums. Heres a selection:

Hat Review: Abominable Snowman

Abominable Snowman

Price: R$: 350
Availability: Builders Club Only


Price: 7/10


The price is fairly good for the texture on this hat. Its 350 Robux, which is quite expensive but because its BC only, it is quite affordable for many a BC member.

Colours: 8/10

The colours at first seem boring. Its fairly white and grey. However, the grey is used to a good effect around the eyes, and the face is generally darker. The mouth has a nice tongue colour, and the teeth are also very nice indeed.

Mesh: 10/10

This is very unique, and personally its a really good wintery item. It has a long face which looks really good and it has very nice eyes and teeth.

Overall: 9/10

This item is very good, it has a great texture and has some nice colours. It has a good price for BC members, but this would be cool for everyone. Though it is hats like these that might tempt someone to buy BC.

(Robloxia Today is Hiring a Hat Reviewer who would release daily articles much like these. To be one, tweet me @MasterD_RBLX or send me a PM on Roblox - MasterDaniel)

Lack of posts

Sorry guys for the lack of news recently. I seem to be the only one on the site, and until we can get some active authors, news will be few and far between.
If you want to become a writer, then please tweet me @MasterD_RBLX

ROBLOX Reviews: Survival 303 vs WWII - Battle for Carentan

Welcome to another ROBLOX review!
This time its Survival 303 vs WWII - Battle for Carentan
Basically in these reviews, two places are put together and marked, the winner is the one that wins the most rounds! Since the last time some updates have been made to the system. Overall has been replaced by Enjoyment. Also Playability has become Gameplay.

Survival 303 by davidii2

Idea: 8/10


In this game you go around foraging for things and then crafting items with them. Its a nice idea for a game and certainly very original. It is a breath of fresh air.


Gameplay:  7/10


The game GUI is very intuitive though I found it took some time to craft good items. There is a nice thirst, hunger and health GUI. But I will get onto that soon. Crafting is a real pain for beginners like me. I couldn't seem to make anything. Thirst was quite hard to work out until I clicked on a river and drank. This game is so complicated that beginners can feel slightly dwarfed, but once you get the hang of it, it is fun to play.

Scripting: 10/10

The scripting in this game is very, very good. The health and hunger guis work perfectly and there is a great chat rather than the normal one. The game is very well scripted and all the scripts seem to work perfectly, which you would expect from such a popular game, a prequel to the very famous Survival 404, which has over 1,000,000 visits.


Enviroment: 5/10


The enviroment in the game isn't great unfortunately. While it seems most of the time has been spent on scripting the game, the enviroment is certainly showing that its been neglected. The trees are very basic, and so is the sea. The game is very varied, as you can see below.

Enjoyment: 7/10

The game is fun when you have got alot of things, but when you are just starting out it can be difficult to learn how to play. So overall, it is quite fun when you have crafted enough, but in the first few minutes, it can be quite boring and repetitive.

WWII - Battle for Carentan by brayden99

Idea: 7/10

The game is a war game, and there has been alot of those in the past, so it's not entirely original.

However, the game setting is new and what it contains makes it a rather enjoyable game.

Gameplay: 9/10

Its fun and easy to play, just enter the game and choose your class, there are many available. Personally, I think the recon class is very overpowered, you can easily no-scope people with it. There are control points to capture, and this makes for very entertaining gameplay.

Scripting: 7/10

There is some scripting in this game. The guns are scripted, the Capture Points are scripted and so are the game rounds (which finish after 50 kills) However, it is not script heavy and does use alot of textures to make the game good. There are not many GUI's and this makes a nice clean interface which is easy to use. 

Enviroment: 9/10

The map is rather small, and that is all I have to say about what is wrong with it. Apart from that the game is amazingly detailed. Theres been a very high use of decals and this makes for a great gameplay experience, and feels super-realistic.

Realistic war torn village.

Enjoyment: 8/10

The game is really enjoyable. It is very easy to start playing and you feel a sense of acomplishment when you kill that enemy, or you win the game. However, there are only 8 players per game; which makes it fairly quiet at times. Also, the map is fairly small and can become boring after a while.

FINAL SCORES.

            S303   BFC

Idea:  8/10 vs 7/10

SURVIVAL 303 WINS!

Gameplay: 7/10 vs 9/10

WWII - BATTLE FOR CARENTAN WINS!

Scripting: 10/10 vs 7/10

SURVIVAL 303 WINS!

Enviroment: 5/10 vs 9/10

WWII - BATTLE FOR CARENTAN WINS!

Enjoyment: 7/10 vs 8/10

WWII - BATTLE FOR CARENTAN WINS!

And the winner, with 3 wins out of 5 is:

WWII - BATTLE FOR CARENTAN!

Christmas Gifts in November!

There has been several items released recently, and they are Christmas themed! In November?! This is outrageous!

You can now buy:

Santa Claus Body
Snowflake Winter Cap
Winter Warrior and
Hunter Snow Cap

Have a great Christmas season!

Black Friday coming soon!

Welcome to the  blog post about Black Friday! Its coming, and heres what you can expect!

Expect a new game for 200R$

All of the following items are going to be reduced by 25%. 

The following items will have special discounts and offers.

Crimsonwrath Lord of The Ashes
1000 on sale @ 1000R$

Mr Tentacles:
Reduced by 40% to 4545R$