Forbidden Box - Gear Review!

Hey it's your catalog reviewer, alexkylerock, here again with another gear review, the forbidden box! Before I start this review, I'd just like to say that if I don't post as frequently, it's because I can't find the free time to write posts because of school, my social life, or my extracurricular life. But without further ado, on with the review!

Abilities/Powers: 9/10

This gear is insanely powerful and a must-buy if you are in it for the abilities. When you activate this gear, your character puts the box in front of his body as if he were going to crush it, but he cranks an imaginary handle, somewhat like a grenade, and then throws the box on the ground. The box then emits a yellow ring that explodes around the box with about a 10 pixel radius and then the box emits a huge yellow beam from the top of the box to the sky. When this happens, four "ghosts" appear and attack your enemies. This is an overpowered gear and if you like making your enemies run, this is a must-buy. I only have a few concerns for this. 1) It takes too long to crank the box and throw it on the ground and if you are being chased with someone with a sword, you probably won't survive. The GOOD thing though, is that even if you die and the box is already on the ground, the ghosts will still come out and avenge you. 2) Once you use the box once, you can't pick it up again. I don't know if this is just a catalog heaven glitch or a glitch with the gear entirely but it is still a must-buy for those who want to send your enemies running.

Appearance: 10/10

The box's colors fit exactly with the color of the beam that the box emits, yellow. Yellow is also one of those colors that your enemies aren't scared of but when they see a bright yellow glowing beam in the middle of the sky at dark, they'll be wondering what the heck is up. I also love the intricate designs on the box. The front seems to be a spider web of some sort and it is somewhat scary. One of the sides has one big circle on it with three smaller circles and one of those circles looks like it has a "gear" shaped thing inside of it. The top is harder to make out from the icon that is given by ROBLOX but it seems to be some circle with very intricate designs on it. It makes this a threatening but lovely box. 

Pricing: 9/10

This item was priced at a flat 1.5k R$ when it was first sold. Now this item didn't sell very quickly, not like the Amethyst Periastron or anything like that. Obviously because people didn't know what the heck this was and they didn't know if this would win/fail in price. This is now priced at 2.1k R$, a 500R$ increase but actually it isn't that much if you think about how much this SHOULD be worth. If I made a gear this insanely powerful, I'd price it around 10k AT LEAST. I won't be buying this because I won't make much profit, personally. It has made a 500R$ increase over a 2 week period, and the graph shows that it is kinda iffy, but  it's up to you. With a gear this powerful, I don't think it honestly matters.

Recommendations: 

1. Make the box bigger.

2. Fix everything I wrote in the "Abilities/Power" section.

3. Change 1 with 2.

4. Delete 3.

6. Did you notice there wasn't a 5?

7. Make more minions come out of this.

8. Make bigger minions come out of this.

10. Make the minions faster and more powerful.

11. I bet you didn't notice the missing #9.

As always, this is alexkylerock wrapping up another gear review. I probably won't be writing as much because of all of the things as written above, but please stay in contact with me via twitter, @ledubstepmixr.

"Authority" Early BETA Review

Authority

Version Reviewed: v0.19

Genre: FPS

Link: http://bit.ly/RtQNcn

DISCLAIMER: This is a review for a game currently in BETA, meaning everything in the game is subject to change, including, but not limited to, balance, content, thumbnail, concept, graphics, and availability. This review may no longer be valid later on and is accurate as of October 21, 2012.

I am probably the only person right now writing content for something other than Halloween Catalog content (I still love you guys Catalog team... maybe). Anyways, let me get started on talking about a game I took a look at before in Rapid Fire Reviews, "Authority," by Spookyfox and Logitech101, currently under a very early stage of open BETA.

Improvements, Polish, and Change

As we all know, constant positive change for the better is the name of the game. The shooter genre on Roblox hasn't had a successful new game in a while, and "Authority" could be the next big one.

If you've developed a game, written a novel, or created any "original content," you know that there needs to be an inspiration and not everything is truly original. And this goes for this game too, it doesn't provide much original ideas or innovative scripts because it bases most of its concepts on Call of Duty games. It doesn't mean its bad though, because it combines the awesome things from already popular games to make an even better game.

It's All About The Guns

It's a shooting game, it has guns, and they need to feel and fire nicely. If it doesn't, the whole game could fall apart quickly, like in Call of Robloxia 5 - Roblox At War. And let me tell you, the guns here feel pretty nice. 


The bullet holes left behind by the bullet impacts grants the user the feeling of excitement, whether shooting or being shot at. The sheer amount of firepower behind the guns are also expressed in the sound the gun makes. The thumps, bangs, and pews all please the ears and allows you to feel immersed and excited to fire the gun.

When fired, the guns have a good amount of kick but can feel floaty at times, like they are made of plastic. The random recoil pattern of the weapons means that when you know one gun, you know them all. I can see this as a real problem in gun variety, since the only thing you can mess with is some stats.

There is another complaint here however, even though it is most likely just unimplemented due to being in a development stage, the muzzle flare and tracer rounds from the guns simply do not exist. This presents some gameplay problems for the players. The muzzle flares serve as a feedback to pulling the trigger (for the shooter and the target), and the absence of them means that players with muted sound are not able to determine when the gun fires and will not be able to adjust their aim accordingly. Tracer rounds allow your opponent to identify the direction of fire as well as for you to see your aim, without them, it's the "whoever shoots first wins" game.


It's in beta so I'm not going to comment too much on balance right now, but I can say the maps allow many different types of weapons to be utilized; they achieve this by containing long, open, coverless areas alongside close quarter areas with blind corners. Although, I would have liked for the maps to be bigger, small maps result in spawn camping pretty quickly, killing the fun completely for one team.

Attention to Detail

The makers have obviously spent much time to make the game as cool as possible. From grenade pins flying off, to masks of dead bodies dropping off to create an unique aesthetic, the game is just really visually pleasing. You can tell the asset qualities in the game are really high, the GUIs, thumbnails, and gun models are all of high detail and also contribute to the beauty of the game.

One thing most creators and players overlook in a game is the sound effects, even though it is arguably the most important thing besides graphics and gameplay. The good thing is, this game has a plethora of quality sounds placed in proper places, which add up to give the game it's atmosphere and immersion. What I would like to see though is ambient sounds, such as car engine noise or plane engine sounds from overhead jets' passing by.

Combinations of Awesomeness

The game also features a metric ton of customization and progression. Guns can be outfitted with attachments and camos, players can be equipped with 3 different perks and 3 other perks to be unlocked as killstreak awards.

Attachments and camos are unlocked on a gun-by-gun basis, meaning it requires you to start over on every gun, something I'm not sure I like. There is a pretty good variety on weapons, attachments, camos, and perks to ensure you are always able to find a combination you enjoy playing with.

The progression system also seems to contain a level based system, possibly used for unlocking different grenades and weapons. This concept is well accepted in the Modern Military Shooter genre and is fine as long as weapons are unlocked fairly quickly (since they each also contain a progression curve).

 Verdict: 
7.5/10 Overall
A MUST TRY!
Just needs some polish and it has potential to be a great game.

New staff member!

Hey guys! I'm MagoStudio. I've just joined the Roblox news staff. I hope to contribute tutorials and other helpful post's to this wonderful blog.

I've been doing tutorials for some time now. Whether it's scripting, building or even getting your game on the front page, I make sure my tutorials are fun and easy to follow.

If you have any suggestions on what I should write about, please PM me! I read all my messages and reply to most of them.

-Mango

Edge-less Bricks Tutorial

Have you ever wanted to build something that looked really nice? Have you thought the bricks that were put together had an edge that showed the individual parts and ruined the atmosphere? Well, I'm here to teach you how to get rid of that.

First, let's take a look at the common methods of building a simple wall with windows.

1.

Using regular bricks and concrete material.

The first method we will take a look at is the most common way, using regular blocks and a material to build a window. As you can easily see, there are ugly white lines caused by "bevels" where the bricks end and start. They make the structure really unpleasing to look at  and is just undesirable.

2.

Using blocks with "BlockMesh"

The second method is what more advanced builders choose to use. They smooth out the obtrusive lines by using a thing called the "BlockMesh." However, there is a huge problem when using this approach, bricks with "BlockMesh" cannot use the Roblox materials. This downfall makes them bland when up close, which is undesirable for really detailed building.

The Solution

This is what I will teach you to do in this tutorial

As you can see from the example above, this method allows material textures to be used but conceals the "bevel" edges well enough so that they are unnoticeable.

Tools needed:

• CmdUtl v5.0.0 (Get it HERE, completely virus free.)
• Roblox Studio
• Basics of Roblox Studio
• This article

Installation

First off, you will need to download CmdUtl from the link above (don't worry, there is no virus). Next, you will need to open Roblox Studios. Now, you need to open the plugins folder by clicking the Tools dropdown menu at the top and then selecting "Open Plugins Folder." Now, extract the file you just downloaded into the folder and restart Roblox Studios. If you did this correctly, you should see the tool bar below on your studio.

The Set Up

You will need to click the first button from the toolbar above to open the CmdUtl GUI. Locate the blue menu which is circled for you in the image to the right. You will then need to change the number in the blue menu to 0.13 (number pad is not supported) and select the "Resize Object" tool.

Performing The Trick

Once you have everything set up, this part is the easy part. Find the parts that the ugly edge is touching and click on one of them:

A thing similar to the regular resizing tool will show up. Simply click and drag the dot like you are going to resize the brick into the other brick. Make sure to watch the "Resize" counter in the upper left corner to make sure it only resizes 0.13 studs.

If you followed the guide, you should get results like the wall at the beginning or like this:

If you still have any questions or didn't get results you wanted, message me on Roblox at yomamadude6, on Reddit at Sheep_Goes_Baa, or on Twitter @FatCakeCows. Have fun with this and build some awesome buildings!

Spooky Retextures 2012 Contest Winners!

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who sent in entries to us. It was extremely difficult to pick to the winners as there were so many great quality entries! After much deliberation however, IBarrageI and I (arbirator) picked three winners and 2 runners up listed below:

1st Place - Exorsus Prime king of the Pumpkins

Exorsus Prime king of the Pumpkins is the winning entry of the Spooky Retextures 2010 Contest! The retexture was created by Turtwigz. The design is made up of a very detailed hood with great shading and lightning shapes. There is also an interesting design on the face area, with glowing orange eyes and scratches/scars on the interior; Exorsus is a very spooky retexture indeed and a extremely suited winner! Turtwigz will receive a trophy and R$500 prize.

2nd Place -  The Messor Warrior

The Messor Warrior is the second placed entry in the Spooky Retextures 2012 Contest! This entry created by DarkGenex sports a highly detailed texture with an emerald-like appearance. The eerie red eyes are placed well on the inside of the helm giving it a demon-like feel. DarkGenex will receive a trophy for his efforts.

3rd Place - Halloween Bandit 

The Halloween Bandit is the third placed entry in the Spooky Retextures 2012 Contest! This entry was created by NARHAR. This retexture employs the use of an effective, simple colour scheme with a detailed pumpkin shaded region with a gradient filled mouth area. A very appealing retexture. NARHAR will also receive a trophy for his efforts. 

Runners Up!

These two entries although not making it to the final three, showed true flare and creatly and thus deserve an honourable mention:

Viridiwrath: The Molded Onee

This retexture by twintowers4u92 makes use of a good colour scheme smooth texture. The slit like eyes add an extra spooky feel to the entry.

The Crown of the Overseer Wizard



Linking with the recent Overseer items released, NonstopEpic (one of our very own staff) has created a real aesthetically pleasing retexture. It's simple recolour of green and added 'Overseer' eyeballs are perfect for any Halloween occasion!


-Arbirator
Editor and Owner of  Roblox News

Retexture Reviews #1

User Item Reviews has taken a leap into a new idea. I will be making reviews on retextures. Seeming you can say so much about them, but not a lot about other user items. For now on there will only be Retexture Reviews.

 The hat that intrigued me the most that was creative and showed so much detail was of the original Chicken Suit. But there's a twist. This hat is a zombified version of the Chicken Suit. Zombie Chicken Suit is an amazing retexture and the artist behind this retexture is warturtle2000. He's a bit of a retexturer, and a darn good one. He took time to make the chicken look historical, yet attractive. From the color to the detail. It just makes you feel like Roblox is still there.

Few people, like warturtle2000, put effort into making the game we all love bearable and puts the meaning to the word creative. A word Roblox was based off of. The hat itself is very creative, and shows skill.The "X" for eyes gives it the historical look as do the bullet holes. The greenish beak stitched on makes the hat blend with the skin tone it has been given.

Well done warturtle2000 and good luck in the future with more hats.

Build A Hideout and Fight RANT Review

Every once in a while you build something that could have been good. Then you dig a tiny bit below the surface and realize that it's really REALLY. Stupid. Then you look back at what you have and think "Well, it's too late to fix everything and I don't want to start over, so I might as well advertise it!" Then, miraculously your really stupid uncreative idea becomes #1 on the games page.

Gameplay 2/10
The basic goal of the game is to kill people. At least, that's all I really understand. You don't even get money for killing people, you get money by being in the game for a certain period of time. You get no weapons to start and no forcefields upon spawning which allow enemies to sit there and laugh at you while they kill you instantly upon entering the game. The "Building" part of the game is based off of the Welcome to ROBLOX Building game which is okay I suppose.

Effort 1/10
Not much effort. The whole building thing is copied from Welcome to ROBLOX. There's a gun shop but half of the weapons don't work. Nothing else is really there.

Creativity 1/10
Tons of these places. This idea isn't new or exciting and there's nothing in it at all that changes anything.

Overall 1.5/10

Suggestions

•  Have more distance between the baseplates.
• Add terrain between them
• Give a forcefield on spawn
• Fix the broken weapons
• Give me a cookie whenever I join

  If you want your place reviewed simply contact Banjobug on twitter or send me a private message on ROBLOX. The next post could be about your place! I'll be glad to give you ideas on your place and help make it better. Also, if you find a place that is absolutely awful and on the front page send me a PM and I might make a RANT about it!

Also, you should follow me on twitter even if you don't have a RANT or review request! Sometimes I invite my followers to go to places with me to help review them.

Place Reviewed: Build a Hideout and Fight
Reviewed by: Banjobug    

Gift Guesses Day 12: The Final Gift!

The Gift of Sinister Ascension is the 13th and final Halloween gift released this month and was priced at R$31,000 in reference to the date All Hallows Eve falls on. With only 526 sales, the gift is the rarest out all 13 gifts.

1. Similar to last year's Gift of the Dominator, the sinister gift's description reads 'This gift contains one of three things - a domino crown, a dominus or a flock of bats.' However, there is one small difference; the Domino Crown is listed first on the sinister gift whereas it featured second last year. The Dominus Messor was inside last year's 13th gift and thus leads us to believe whatever it listed first is most likely in the gift: a Domino Crown.

2. If you count the number of bats printed on the gift's design, you will find that there are the same number of bats are there are dots on the Domino Crown. Thus supporting the idea of a new Domino Crown inside.

3. Further asserting this theory is an interesting development on the forum owned by John Shedletsky, called 'Ironnoob'. On the ROBLOX section of the forum, a user named SharpTH - a well known ROBLOXian, posted a cake hat he had produced with 3DS Max (3D modelling software). He then went on to show John Shedletsky a new Domino Crown hat he had made, complete with a new mesh and texture. The pictures of which can be seen below:

Black Iron Domino Crown designed by SharpTH

The real interesting part however, is what John Shedletsky did next. On the second page of the Ironnoob thread, he posted:




This proves that John did indeed acquire the files for the Black Iron Domino Crown so ROBLOX artists could upload it to the catalog and use it as a gift. He mentions that he had been meaning to make one more for a while; so Halloween would be a perfect time to release this item in the form of the 'big gift'.

This pretty much solidifies the rumours surrounding the Sinister Gift and it's contents, highlighting the fact that the Black Iron Domino Crown is the most likely item to come out. Bear in mind, this is not a retexture - it is a completely new, slick mesh with no parts in the middle joining the three domino sections.

What ever is inside the gift, it is not set to disappoint  So let's all sit back and wait for the mystery item to finally be revealed!

Thank you everyone for following our Gift Guesses series this Halloween. It's been fun writing all these sets of predictions for the gifts. Please leave suggestions and comments below so we may provide even better information next time around. Thanks!

-Arb

Gift Guesses Day 11!

The Gift of Korbloxian went offsale yesterday and was the last available Halloween gift to purchase this year. The gift was priced at R$1000.

1. The gift's description reads 'Korbloxians are mean. They don't give gifts. So I'm not sure how much you'll like what's in there.' This could suggest the fact that the item inside the gift is unusual or unexpected. In the classic ROBLOX fashion the gift may likely be the opposite of what the description leads us to think. The gift will quite possibly be a very desirable item such a powerful Korblox gear.

2. From the gift's design, we can cleary spot the claw and the feet of some kind of bird petruding out of the gifts airholes. These air holes suggest there is some kind of animal or pet inside thus reinforcing the idea of a bird gear. However, the beak and claw of the bird have a sort of undead style to them, hinting that the gear inside may be made up of bones or not part of the living.

3. The gift box is quite small, however it's R$1000 price tag sugests that while the gift may be small in size, it makes up for it in usefulness or power - it could be some kind of small bird that circles around your character and defends you from your foes, similar to the phoenix gear released a month ago.

4. In-game, the gift box is called 'SkeleBirdPresent' reasserting the theory mentioned above that the item inside is some kind of undead bird, either one sitting on your shoulder as a hat, or a defensive gear that flies above your character.

Overall: For the price of R$1000, you should be expecting a high powered bird pet that will aid you in battles much like the phoenix gear. Provided our predictions are correct, then it is definitely worth the money.

-Arb

Programming: Is it Skill or Knowledge?

This is a kind of questiony/answery post. I'm investigating scripting. I am assuming that a lot of you who are reading this now know what scripting means; so I'm going to get on with the post.

It's been debatable by so many people whether being able to write code is an art or knowledge, and if you say "Oh anybody can learn programming". You're wrong. Because my Nan can't even change her home page, she's only 70. But lets get on.
    Knowledge and skill are completely different things. It's like being able to draw, it's not Knowledge, it's a talent you, and you alone were born with. For example, I'm awful at drawing, but my sense of Art is on the computer with Photoshop.

After reading that, what are your thoughts?

I mean, scripting could be knowledge, you learn it, you're not born knowing how to program, are you? But then again, you're not born knowing 1+1. Now you could work that out with your eyes shut. It's like saying that Maths is a skill. Or is it?

Maths has been an ancient subject because it's main, core. You can't have a planet without a core, you can't have a human without a heart, you can't have a Sun without a center. All those examples are things those individual objects need, like us, we need a heart and a brain. Maths is core, and it's also very attendant to programming. I just got a level 7c in my Maths Test, which is on course for A+/A*. Other people in my class got level 5c. So how is it knowledge? It must be skill. But it could be knowledge...

Cleverness, remember, all of you are born with a certain span your brain can learn, as you start to get older, you start to get wiser and it's harder to learn. As I said before, my Nan can't change her homepage on Chrome (You grow older and can't learn that easily).

My verdict is, debatable.
You can't choose between them, because each and every one of those reasons is valid, in their own way. You can't just blame age on bad-grade, and you can't blame skill on high-grade. It's just, you, and it's up to our generation to sort out our Nan's homepage's.

You must remember, we were born into a world of computers, our parents were not (unless you're reading this in ten years time or so!).

Another question for you:
What is the fastest travel?
Social Network..
e.g Twitter. Each tweet (if you're where I am) travels from UK to Canada back to UK every tweet I send, that means it's travelling faster than Concorde, Boeing, and Airbus. It's travelling at the speed of light. And that's what we were born into... The speed of light...