2008 Game- Overdrive

[Jake177]

Originally Posted by SSMike

During the game practice, two red "bots" passed the trackballs back and forth. On would lift it over the bar and then the other would pass it back. Could you hypothetically do this the entire game, as long as you are not obstructing the path?

I didn't see the webcast, but as near as I can tell from reading the manual this is legal. The GDC definitely went through a lot of trouble to make sure one robot couldn't spend the entire match passing a ball back and forth over the hurdle (a la the 1995 game). The only problem I can see is that the robot on the far side of the hurdle would have to avoid breaking the plane of the finish line, violating G22.
<G22> Direction Of Traffic – ROBOTS must proceed around the TRACK in a counter-clockwise direction. Once a ROBOT has CROSSED a LANE MARKER or FINISH LINE, it shall not break the plane of the line by moving in the clockwise direction.

[Nicodemus]

I love the idea... it seems like a generally simple idea complex enough for a returning team to understand what they want but also what's more fun then building a robot that runs around really, really, fast. It's a good idea on their part... Keep up the good work GMC

[jason701802]

is anyone having problems downloading the sensor manual or the pneumatics manual. it just says 404 not found for me.

[Bongle]

I just thought of this:
Teams that have the capability to do a lot of driver training (read: can build a practice bot) will probably have a bigger advantage this year. Since it's all about speed and control, teams whose drivers have spent many hours on a robot will have an edge.

Think about it this way: Go try to play a challenging driving game like Forza, GT4, or Live For Speed for an hour, and note your times after an hour. Then continue to play it for 20 hours, and see how much better and versatile you've become. That's the kind of training difference you'd probably see in real life as well. A driver that is very familiar with how his/her robot behaves will have a big advantage going into a race like this.

[SSMike]

Originally Posted by jason701802

is anyone having problems downloading the sensor manual or the pneumatics manual. it just says 404 not found for me.

Yeah it said the same thing for me too, I don't know why though. I guess I'll try later.

[vivek16]

Originally Posted by jason701802

is anyone having problems downloading the sensor manual or the pneumatics manual. it just says 404 not found for me.

I am too. I dont think they uploaded it yet.

-vivek

[Petey]

I'm running on only about four hours of sleep after waking up early to see Obama's speech, so maybe I missed this, but:

Am I crazy, or is there no rule limiting the speed of projectiles this year?

[skrew-ball]

Originally Posted by Petey

I'm running on only about four hours of sleep after waking up early to see Obama's speech, so maybe I missed this, but:

Am I crazy, or is there no rule limiting the speed of projectiles this year?

My team is currently going over the rules now. I'll mention it and see what comes up.

[skrew-ball]

in section 8, <R59> it says you are aloud to use up to 4 of the 2-1/2" CIM motors, 2 are in the KoP

this makes me happy.

for the projectiles, I just did a Ctrl + F on the manuel setions that look like they would involve "projectiles".

Originally Posted by SECTION 8, <R05>

Reasonable efforts must be taken to remove,
mitigate, or shield any sharp edges, pinch points, entanglement hazards, projectiles,
extreme visual/audio emitters, etc. from the exterior of the ROBOT.

Now I don't know if this refrences the trackballs or not. I don't think it does, because the kick off animation showed a robot "kicking" a ball.

[MiniNerd24]

Frankly I think that it is fun and yet poses a challenge.

[skrew-ball]

well, where is the complex challenge that forces you to lose sleep and pop a bottle of Advil? This is a race. Build a fast robot, with an arm to grab the end pole of the divider and that's it. Once you grab the pole you are flung around the corner and race some laps. I like the racing concept, but this is FIRST. What is challenging you? I don't get it.

srry: there is no room for this "arm" to grab the wall. But you can still just race some 'bots.

[Ragnarokae]

Originally Posted by skrew-ball

well, where is the complex challenge that forces you to lose sleep and pop a bottle of Advil? This is a race. Build a fast robot, with an arm to grab the end pole of the divider and that's it. Once you grab the pole you are flung around the corner and race some laps. I like the racing concept, but this is FIRST. What is challenging you? I don't get it.

<G34> Arena Interaction - ROBOTS may push or react against any elements of the arena, provided there is no damage or disruption of the arena elements. ROBOTS may not grab, grasp, grapple, or attach to any arena structure.

It's more about turning ability, because it isn't allowed to slingshot around the pole.

[skrew-ball]

yeah i just read that.

But I still don't understand the "challenging" factors of this game. As others posted, this is a race. FIRST is supposed to be a challenge, not a display of simple skills.

[Petey]

Originally Posted by skrew-ball

yeah i just read that.

But I still don't understand the "challenging" factors of this game. As others posted, this is a race. FIRST is supposed to be a challenge, not a display of simple skills.

Mastering simple skills can be a complex challenge.

Ohm.

[Ragnarokae]

One thing is that if everyone just runs around, the scores will be very equal. So trackball use is essential (at least to my perspective) in order to win.

So you must have some bots with good racing skills, and others that can get the balls down, and then get them back up again to get the extra points.

Now, if someone were to be able to build a bot that was very good at racing AND could manipulate the ball...