Roblox 2016 Updates: February Edition

Recently, ROBLOX went through several updates, deprecating events, and much more. In this post, M39a9am3R goes through all of the major updates, and how they benefit you.

Update Compilation

Hey guys, there have been many changes to the Roblox game and I thought it'd be great to make a compilation blog article about all of them. In order to make this compilation article I've searched through the DevForums, API Difference page, Roblox blogs, and even checked out RbxDevTips' Twitter page. This will basically be a compilation of updates regarding scripting and what we might see, what it might mean for the future. So without further ado let's get into wrap up.

VR Support Comes to Roblox

To start off the compilation Roblox is providing VR support to their engine. If you were to look through the API differences Roblox added two new properties to their engine UserInputService.IsVREnabled and UserInputService.UserHeadCFrame on February 4. Roblox made the statement official the following day saying they've provided support for Oculus Rift devices. Roblox will continue to work out the bugs on the devices, but it's cool they are broadening their horizons.

Names With Underscores

Just shipped today, Roblox is allowing users to have underscores in their names. This means games that base their players off of usernames should move toward using UserIds. This was a planned update back in December forewarned by ReeseMcBlox to get your games ready for the update. Developers who have not converted yet, you might want to get your game ready now.

Hideable Topbar

Finally, an update many people have been waiting for. Whether it's for those who did not appreciate the release of the topbar, or for those who would like more customizability to their games, Roblox has provided the option to hide it. The topbar can be removed with the SetCore function via LocalScript.

pcall(function()
        local starterGui = game:GetService('StarterGui')
        starterGui:SetCore("TopbarEnabled", false)
    end)

The only downside to disabling the topbar, is that it disables the ChatGui, PlayerList, and Backpack. So, if you plan on using it, be sure to plan ahead.

As of this time the pcall function is necessary to prevent the script from breaking if there is a rollback update. It's a nice addition Roblox has added but has the fallback as you would have to account for the Y axis offset in Gui as well as the fault of any buttons where the topbar would sit would be rendered unusable. However, there is a way around this flaw by using UserInputService's InputBegan/InputEnded events and using the Mouse's X and Y values.

Third Party Sales Disabled

Roblox has released a new property of Workspace to disable third party sales. This means those donation or product buying free models will no longer prompt you for a transaction. Of course developers can allow third party sales by going to Workspace and clicking AllowThirdPartySales.