I didn’t want to be too blunt in saying it, but a huge part of my reasoning for why RDC should stay in one place is because it is meant for developers who are contributing actively to the platform and making money from it. This is because these are the developers who are actively involved in the growth and betterment of ROBLOX and its platform. Even for a developer who makes a lot of money on roblox, the trip is expensive, and not everyone can go! But the power of making RDC right next to ROBLOX HQ is huge to those who are able to attend.
The argument that there should be local RDC events is not a bad argument, but it’s misdirected, in my opinion. Instead of advocating for a local RDC, advocate for non-RDC local events. It is entirely possible for an international company to host local events and just pull back the scale, and that’s the sacrifice that will have to be made if people want to have these events close to them. It’s not feasible to offer a huge event to a local area.
I feel it’s those like me who often contribute actively in the community providing resources, teaching, learning and developing neat systems whether through DevForums or discord but don’t profit of it who suffer the most if you’re right in saying it’s made for those who profit on the platform. I personally work in unreal engine, with Roblox as more of a fun sideproject, i’d love to flip this and RDC europe would have been an amazing avanue to explore this but money and obligations that make a lengthy trip that time of year to america, unlikely.
I personally see little reason as to why it wouldn’t be possible to host a RDC europe for a few days alongside US or, if it came down to it, swap year to year as their main reason against it seems to be targated around the RDC philophocy of bringing developers together under one roof but surely opening it up to more developers worldwide is more in line with their ideal of a international community.
Then again, if it’s made for already objectively successful developers, you may be right. I rest my case.
And thank you Roblox for making it possible in the first place as I do truly appreciate the effort they put into this community and the amount of my whining they put up with too .
I do 100% agree with you that people can contribute a huge amount of work to the community without getting paid for it, and that is definitely a harsh reality. (That they aren’t able to use finances from roblox to attend RDC due to their generosity to help the community for free or make showcases/open source projects.)
I dont get it though, if you want all of your developers in a room, why not include the ones that can’t afford to travel to the US? Sure some EU devs could come to RDC here, but not having an event exclusive for people in the EU is just… off…
Yes we get that we are a community, but the community has a large region gap, some of us just can’t go to San Fran, while some of us can go to the possible RDC in the EU. Please reconsider this decision
Honestly. If you’re below 16, I feel this becomes an irrelevant argument. If you’re below 16, the impact of the conference is not as good as when you’re older. And at that, 16-18 isn’t too great either. A lot of the developers at RDC are 18+ and will be freely going wherever, doing whatever, and thus having that personal freedom is very necessary to get the full effect of RDC.
So for all you youngins out there, trust me, I know it sucks being told to wait till you’re older. I’ve had it keep me out of many things in life, but just this once, if you’re from the EU, get to the point where you can come by yourself. It’s a soooo much better experience.
Hey, me too. But I’ve funded my past 2 RDC Adventures via some help from my parents and a lot of my money from working a job. It happens. If you don’t have the means to go this year, set your sights on NEXT YEAR. RDC isn’t going away any time soon and each year it just gets better. So focus up on saving enough and just go for 2021.
I can see what you mean, but you need to consider more aspects than just that.
A lot of the developers in the Community are 13 to 16. Not a majority, but there is those who are that young.
Some people might not want to travel over the ocean by themselves. Some of those people might never have traveled alone for their entire life, and just stand in America and say “Get over it” will not help those people. Some might even want to go alone, but can’t because their parents won’t let them go alone (Thinking of people between 13 - 18).
And when it comes to the money problems, that ain’t easy. Sponsorships from parents are great, that’s how I managed to go to RDC EU, but this is too much of a price picture. Many people lives with parents that doesn’t have the money to send their children to America. And working can be difficult. In slme countries you are not allowed to work until you are 18. Sometimes 16 if you find a summerjob, but it can be really difficult to obtain one as a lot of people apply for them. Some people can’t handle a job and studies on the same time as well. For me personally, I can’t due to health issues irl (Astma, Stress, and other health problems). My income for a whole year is barelly enough to go to RDC, and then I would have to save up and never do anything for a full year in order to go on a 3-day event.
But I really think that if so, you should choose a CENTRAL Location, i.e somewhere in the middle of the globe such as Europe which is an Ideal Place for everyone.
Blockquote That’s right - we outgrew the venue we’ve used for the past two years. That does mean that this year is going to be, as is tradition, the biggest RDC yet!
What part of this makes it the “biggest RDC yet” if a large amount of developers from the EU or some place far can’t make it, wouldn’t less tickets be sold because of the cost of plane tickets, transport, meals, etc.
You have to remember that each year, RDC usually sells out as they invite MORE than they can actually hold. So as the venue gets bigger, the convention is bigger, just by virtue of the amount of people they invite will be bigger and they will fill it up.
While I can consider all those factors, all of my points stand. You don’t need a structured job, you can look for odd jobs, mowing lawns, shoveling snow, etc etc.
Maybe you have some generous friends and family who are willing to help. Or consider money you earn from holidays/your birthday. Save that up.
A constant focus on “oh, woe is me, being back RDC EU, this is unfair” will not prove helpful to you. Work towards trying to figure out RDC US for yourself.
Like Chewbecca said as well, the big thing about the venue is location to the HQ. Consider this. Your flights to San Francisco are expensive, right? For Roblox staff to attend a RDC EU, which you would want to help make RDC EU a viable product, Roblox would need to pay those flights for all their staff and handle all the costs associated with room and board for them to stay for the convention and then at the end of the day, the RDC EU event would lack the shear number of employees as not all employees would be there, lack the HQ tours, lack the ability for Roblox to easily brings things from the HQ to the convention center and more.
I wanted to go to the Rooster Teeth Expo (RTX) for years when I was younger but never had the funds to do it because I was just too young. Rather than set energy complaining about it though, I just recognized that it’ll happen with time. I never did go to RTX, by the time I was looking to go I wound up doing RDC instead, but it’s the point. If you can’t now for whatever reason just set your sights to the future. Or, ya know, some of you from the EU could look to host your own meet ups. There’s no fee involved or meeting at a city park or plaza. There’s no fee to reserve some seats at a restaurant. The big thing everyone feels their missing out on at RDC is the ability to meet up. Make it happen on your own time.
There is a difference here. Roblox is a multibilion company. They only earn on hosting RDC.
I also don’t believe you would say the things you do right now if you were in our shoes. It is easy for you, that is already in America, to sit and write about us Europeans and complain about our complaints, but you can’t go into this with arguements that isn’t valid for everyone.
I understand that you probably view me and the other European developers as just complaining children, but trust me, if you were in our shoes, I can asure you that you would complain as well.
I’m not gonna argue the point or not of what Roblox’s motive is to do RDC, however, any earnings would be diminished on an RDC EU due to the high costs associated with it. It’s just not feasible.
I’m from New York. The scale of America is much larger than I believe you understand. NY to San Francisco is no small feat.
At this point we’ve had a lot of back and forth replies and I feel we’ve gone no where. If you want to continue this conversation it needs to be done in DMs as we are kinda taking over the thread.
Just understand, while many Americans on the east coast also complain about the massive distance needed to be covered to do RDC and the costs associated with such, it’s better to have just one RDC. I attended 2018 where there was a US & EU, and I attended 2019 with just a US. The atmosphere of US was improved significantly by the combining of all developers rather than Devs be split up by continent.
If you can’t do RDC this year, set your sights on the next, or the one after that. You’ll get here eventually.
Big shame about this, as many other devs have pointed out. Flights to SF and its surrounding areas are definitely expensive for Europeans (especially during the summer school holiday periods) and may not be a justifiable expense, even if you can afford to go - it’s a lot of money to spend for a weekend, and that cost increases - well into the thousands - if you wish to stay longer (likely, due to jetlag) or are forced to bring chaperones, to make it more worthwhile. I disagree with the point raised earlier in this thread that the event is not as beneficial for under 16/18s. This platform is full of young, bright minded individuals, many of whom are top developers and contributors to the developer community. These are people who would be great to talk to and hang out with in person.
Of course, you cannot replicate the exact same event and atmosphere there is at RDC US at a European event with the logistical issues surrounding it, however, even a viewing party like last year would’ve been better than nothing, a nice way to get together with other devs and some staff in an official Roblox event. European RDC events, especially 2018 Amsterdam and 2017 London have helped me open many doors and gain valuable connections, many of which I would not have otherwise gotten had I not attended. I really do hope Roblox can return a RDC event to Europe next year.
I understand the size of America, but remember that me as a Swede have to travel over 2 continents and a big ocean to get there, meaning my costs will be much higher.
Anyways, this is the seccond year that we have been arguing about RDC EU, and I think it is about time that we stop this argument and make peace with eachother.
.
I’m so happy!!