Roblox Advanced DMX
NOTE: This has not be released yet this is just to get some feedback about my current project
DMX or Digital Multiplex is a network used to connect real life stage lighting to program them to make advanced shows. I have always loved making stages and lighting shows on roblox but the current ecosystem did not allow for much customisation, I was left pre-made often boring movement cues, these never matched the music and made the lights feel tachy.
So to fix this I started working on my own Roblox DMX programmer, DMX is not particular user-friendly it is the industry standard and allows for some much customisation. If you want some more info on the DMX protocl Understanding DMX: Explained - FAQ techformusic here is a good article.
The App
Beginning - Proof of concept
This app was a quick proof of concept I threw together while sat in satbucks thinking about my college exams.
Currently
Post exam me (same starbucks) wanted to recreate the app but make it native, cause faster and it means I don’t have to own a server so I can run the project for free and make it free for everyone else. Note this app was created 3 days ago and so is missing some features from the proof of concept.
Note: The map is auto generated the light tell the application there starting DMX address and Universe and position and the map is auto created.
Features
Bold is current features, italic is planned
- Multiple Universes
- Auto Map Generation
- Timeline + Audio Cues - Not in new app yet
- Build to Production File - Not in new app yet
- Public API
- Proxy for live roblox servers
- Scenes + Chases
- Native Application
- DMX to USB for external real life consoles
- More when I think of it…
Can I add my own lights?
Absolutely I will release a guide on how to and the system is incredibly simply, a basic non moving light is less than 100 lines of code and moving head is just under 200., nothing will be obfuscated so it won’t add confusing bloat to your games.
Who is this for?
This is not for everyone this is for Theater Groups, Concert Games, Church Groups and Balls, there are many other uses cases but this is not a tool for someone who just wants to light up their stage.
But what about latency?
For making your scenes and timecodes, we recommend doing it in studio where the latency on localhost is sub ms, I am working on a system to work out the ping to the server and fire lights early to remove latency, but for production concerts the songs will compile down to a build file that is in locally in lua with no web requests.
How do I live control lights on a public game?
The system comes with inbuilt proxy server using localtunnel another free open source project, a touch unreliable but thats what you get for free server hosting I guess, I do not control this but just utilise it. If you are an advanced user you can port forward your application through your router (only really for experts cause opening ports can leave your vulnerable if you are not careful).
Whats the cost?
Nothing :), It costs me nothing to run and I wanted to build the software anyway, that being said it will be released under a GNU General Public License v3.0, this because I do not want large lighting groups to take this code modify it and charge people access to their modified improved version.
Feedback and thoughts greatly appreciated,
– Gerald 
