Remove experimental mode

[Extuls]

For upcoming Roblox developers, experimental mode is currently too confusing and useless

Experimental mode has been around for a long time on Roblox, so far back it used to be the only way to do things. With the introduction of FilteringEnabled mode, experimental mode was just a ‘simpler way of doing things.’ (not my personal opinion) Over the past year, Roblox has been making efforts to have experimental mode games not played by users, starting with under 13 users, and now users over13.

These efforts started by phasing the games out of any form of sorts for users under 13, followed by users above 13. Then, after a long time of it remaining like that, we were told that experimental mode games were going to become unplayable, which now they have. Given this change, I don’t see a reason to continue support for experimental mode.

Something I have noticed a long time on Roblox is learning programmers treating non experimental mode as if it’s a huge obstacle to overcome, as if it’s the ‘next step’ in the learning process. This is far from true, and making a game in experimental mode gives you no further knowledge to bring you closer to an understanding on how things work with experimental mode off. The two different modes are just entirely different ways of doing things, where one is obviously better than the other. I’ve visualized the idea a lot of upcoming programmers seem to have of non experimental mode vs. what it actual is below.

If Roblox is able to address this issue, it would greatly improve the experience for newer/learning developers as well as an issue some developers are having with their games

Due to the fact that experimental mode offers no knowledge towards protecting your game and no longer serves as a legacy feature or method of quickly releasing a game, I see no reason to keep it around. Having experimental mode leaves the opportunity open for newer/learning developers to make their game using it, only to find out they have to redo a big chunk of the work because they can’t directly move over to non experimental mode from what they have. Not having experimental mode should make the learning experience going forward much more simple, and clear up any confusion over which mode should be used, as only one of them can be used now.

On top of clearing up confusion for learning developers, removing experimental mode as a whole would get rid of the broken process used for the Roblox site to decide whether a game is experimental mode or not. Seeing as this issue has been around for a long time with no good fix, it seems clear that there’s no good way about solving the issue currently. However, by getting rid of the (now useless) experimental mode, the Roblox site would not need to worry about whether or not a game is experimental mode or not, as they all would not be. Thus, anyone having issues with this bug could have their game opened to be played once again, wihout worries of the bug occurring again in the future.

[PeZsmistic]

I agree. It’s time to rip the band aid off.

This would also completely negate the primary issue introduced by today’s update - thousands upon thousands of games being potentially locked forever.

[EmeraldSlash (Rio)]

I do believe the ‘wrong’ way is actually how people learn it.
The basic learning process is learning experimental mode first (in fact, it’s not something you learn, it’s just the result of knowing basic scripting stuff). Learning to work with FE is what you do next, and requires the basic scripting knowledge people would use in experimental mode. It’s not split.

As for the goal of the post, this does not work. Experimental mode is actually new – I think it came out late 2017. Experimental mode is good – Roblox’s execution of it and and the features surrounding it are what are arguably lacking in quality.
Having games that can be exploited easily off the younger playerbase (at least) is a really good idea.

Filtering is not something that’s hard to learn either – it’s actually quite simple when it comes down to it. The client can’t making changes to the server except in a few certain cases, and to communicate between the client and server, you use RemoteEvents and RemoteFunctions (which aren’t hard to learn either since they’re basically just signals).
It comes down to how it is being taught, I believe.

The problems you are describing are simply issues with the implementation of the feature and not the feature itself. Maybe a more constructive topic would be about improving experimental mode instead of removing it entirely.

[Extuls]

@EmeraldSlash

I do believe the ‘wrong’ way is actually how people learn it.
The basic learning process is learning experimental mode first (in fact, it’s not something you learn, it’s just the result of knowing basic scripting stuff). Learning to work with FE is what you do next, and requires the basic scripting knowledge people would use in experimental mode. It’s not split.

‘Learning non experimental mode’ is just learning how to use remote functions and remote events. Communicating between client and server without these involves using value objects or some other hacky solution, which doesn’t work with experimental mode off. My points was that experimental mode isn’t part of the learning process, it was just something available to release games with a lesser understanding of how non experimental mode works. Users don’t need experimental mode to learn how to use remotes, and it doesn’t offer any support in making them easier to understand.

@EmeraldSlash

As for the goal of the post, this does not work.

Doesn’t work for what?

@EmeraldSlash

Experimental mode is actually new – I think it came out late 2017.

Experimental mode was a rebranding. What I said in my post meant the behavior of experimental mode has always been around, and used to be the only way to do things. Eventually, they released ‘FilteringEnabled’ as basically a higher class of games; better protected games. Last year they decided ‘FilteringEnabled’ is how games should be, so by rebranding non-FE places as ‘experimental’, it drives the point across that it is not the way to do things. It’s only for experimenting. The issue is that it doesn’t help experiment at all, as anything you make there that won’t work with experimental mode off will have to be executed a different way in the final product anyway.

@EmeraldSlash

Experimental mode is good – Roblox’s execution of it and and the features surrounding it are what are arguably lacking in quality.

I’m not sure how experimental mode can be good. All it does is makes the server listen to any changes the client makes. That’s exactly what you shouldn’t do.

@EmeraldSlash

Filtering is not something that’s hard to learn either – it’s actually quite simple when it comes down to it. The client can’t making changes to the server except in a few certain cases, and to communicate between the client and server, you use RemoteEvents and RemoteFunctions (which aren’t hard to learn either since they’re basically just signals).
It comes down to how it is being taught, I believe.

Which is why it shouldn’t matter if experimental mode is removed or not. It isn’t the big obstacle learning developers seem to think it is. If they are forced to learn it, they can learn it by just putting effort in. It isn’t like experimental mode is going to get them anywhere at this point.

@EmeraldSlash

The problems you are describing are simply issues with the implementation of the feature and not the feature itself. Maybe a more constructive topic would be about improving experimental mode instead of removing it entirely.

What do you mean by problems with the implementation of the feature? All experimental mode is, is auto replication from client to server, which again, you should not be doing under any circumstance. Experimental mode is that, and that only. Any ‘improvement’ wouldn’t be experimental mode anymore, it would just be a completely new feature.

[EmeraldSlash (Rio)]

Oh, I misunderstood your post sorry. Throughout the entire time reading this, I thought you were meaning removing Experimental Mode as a feature and just returning the platform back to its original state.

I support this, I think, because like you said it makes things more confusing and now it doesn’t have any use.

[Extuls]

Experimental mode has been removed.