2014 Championship live thoughts & reactions

[cmrnpizzo14]

Unfortunately some of us are stuck unable to watch CMP this year. Everyone who is watching, keep us updated and let us know what you're thinking!

[cmrnpizzo14]

Can someone explain to me how 27 has racked up 820 assist points so far? That's incredibly far above the 2nd highest total for all of the divisions. Do they have a unique strategy?

[Jacob Bendicksen]

27 adds an extra assist to each cycle by receiving the ball from a human player and immediately giving it back. It's so successful that other teams have started emulating it.

[stingray27]

27 adds an extra assist to each cycle by receiving the ball from a human player and immediately giving it back. It's so successful that other teams have started emulating it.

The origin came from team 2851, Crevolution. Its not the same strategy, but that is where the original idea came from

[Navid Shafa]

27 adds an extra assist to each cycle by receiving the ball from a human player and immediately giving it back. It's so successful that other teams have started emulating it.

It was used a bit at the MAR Championship, and I just watched it happen on Newton now. It certainly surprised me, these teams are definitely using their brains.

[PVCpirate]

Team 16 is an extremely good finisher. Their auto is great, and their drivers are experts with the swerve drive, getting around defenders and scoring with ease. They are certainly one of the top teams and I'm sure we'll see them late tomorrow afternoon.

[Navid Shafa]

Team 16 is an extremely good finisher. Their auto is great, and their drivers are experts with the swerve drive, getting around defenders and scoring with ease. They are certainly one of the top teams and I'm sure we'll see them late tomorrow afternoon.

There are plenty of strong teams on Newton, but their driving definitely puts them a step ahead of most teams. With many strong teams that will likely not seed in the top 8 tomorrow, 16 might not have an easy fight to make it out of divisions.

[Navid Shafa]

Even though matches are done for the day, the FMS data is not up to date on most divisions...

Archimedes (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Archimedes/rankings.html): Match Results and Rankings display current as of Match 120.

Curie (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Curie/rankings.html): The only division that is truly current, maybe the curse is spreading.

Galileo (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Galileo/rankings.html): Match results only current to 148, Rankings apparently say 150.

Newton Rankings (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Newton/rankings.html): Matches and Rankings say current as of Match 144.

*Sigh*

[kenavt]

Even though matches are done for the day, the FMS data is not up to date on most divisions...

Archimedes (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Archimedes/rankings.html): Match Results and Rankings display current as of Match 120.

Curie (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Curie/rankings.html): The only division that is truly current, maybe the curse is spreading.

Galileo (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Galileo/rankings.html): Match results only current to 148, Rankings apparently say 150.

Newton Rankings (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Newton/rankings.html): Matches and Rankings say current as of Match 144.

*Sigh*

Doesn't help that Archimedes has been showing 6-22 teams for at least half an hour either...

[CTbiker105]

I saw 33 utilizing a killer strategy today, no pun intended. The ball never touched the ground, all 3 robots were stationary the majority of the time, and it was a 3-assist cycle every time.

33 would inbound, truss shot it to the HP, HP would inbound it to a bot, the bot would shoot it horizontally across the field to the other HP, that HP would inbound it to the third bot, who would finish the cycle with a high shot.

Very impressive to watch.

[orangemoore]

Even though matches are done for the day, the FMS data is not up to date on most divisions...

Archimedes (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Archimedes/rankings.html): Match Results and Rankings display current as of Match 120.

Curie (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Curie/rankings.html): The only division that is truly current, maybe the curse is spreading.

Galileo (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Galileo/rankings.html): Match results only current to 148, Rankings apparently say 150.

Newton Rankings (http://www2.usfirst.org/2014comp/events/Newton/rankings.html): Matches and Rankings say current as of Match 144.

*Sigh*

All divisions are updated through Match 150 except Galileo is still missing the scores from the last 2 matches

[cmrnpizzo14]

I saw 33 utilizing a killer strategy today, no pun intended. The ball never touched the ground, all 3 robots were stationary the majority of the time, and it was a 3-assist cycle every time.

33 would inbound, truss shot it to the HP, HP would inbound it to a bot, the bot would shoot it horizontally across the field to the other HP, that HP would inbound it to the third bot, who would finish the cycle with a high shot.

Very impressive to watch.

Video?!?

[Navid Shafa]

All divisions are updated through Match 150 except Galileo is still missing the scores from the last 2 matches

Thanks, glad to hear they are up to date now. I'm surprised it took so long.

[Navid Shafa]

Newton match results not posting this morning, Newton FMS not updating again.

[dodar]

Newton match results not posting this morning, Newton FMS not updating again.

Its something wrong with Spyder because the FIRST website is updating.

EDIT: Atleast it was earlier, now its back to match 150...

[Basel A]

FIRST just tweeted about the issue: https://twitter.com/FRCTeams/status/460061446974758912

We know that the website & Spyder/Tracker aren't updating automatically. We are manually updating every 3-5 matches. #FIRSTChamp #omgrobots

[Navid Shafa]

Its something wrong with Spyder because the FIRST website is updating.

EDIT: Atleast it was earlier, now its back to match 150...

It was not, match results have not been updated all day for Newton. Even if Rankings say they are current (which is incorrect).

[dodar]

It was not, match results have not been updated all day for Newton. Even if Rankings say they are current (which is incorrect).

Well it has updated atleast once today because it shows us playing 10 matches.

[Basel A]

Well it has updated atleast once today because it shows us playing 10 matches.

The rankings on every division are more current than the match results (all rankings have been updated at least once today). I don't think the rankings for any division are actually current though.

[The Lucas]

Couple of tidbits about the schedule:
3 HOF 365 (Galileo) & 103 (Archi) have the first and last (167) qual matches in thier division (which is a record of course since there have never been 167 quals before)
In Curie another HOF 359 is in the the last match
Perhaps this is a good omen for 1983 Skunkworks (last match in Newton). Good luck to our friends and hotel mates in joining the club.

[Mike Marandola]

Anyone know where the smoke came from that is over Galileo/the Einstein stage? I can't see from Curie.

[cgmv123]

Anyone know where the smoke came from that is over Galileo/the Einstein stage? I can't see from Curie.

My guess is testing for Will.I.Am's show tonight.

[Chris is me]

In the Curie final match just played, red pushed a blue ball in a blue goal and it was counted as scored. This is the incorrect call and it might have decided the match. Interested to see how it plays out.

[BBray_T1296]

Who else is going ballistic screaming their head off? (not in anger but excitement)

[BBray_T1296]

In the Curie final match just played, red pushed a blue ball in a blue goal and it was counted as scored. This is the incorrect call and it might have decided the match. Interested to see how it plays out.

I think it was corrected for. Final score Red 231 Blue 226

Who am I kidding, we are ALL watching right now :P

[Tyler2517]

The Cheesy Poofs have a great robot. That 3 ball auto is amazing.

[pmangels17]

How about these Archimedes finals....

[Nebster]

Will.I.Am's performance is not very flattering watching on the livestream... was it any better being there in person?

[Answer42]

And massive "Paper Airplanes are super immature and not GP" thread starting in 3. 2. 1....

[Jibsy]

And massive "Paper Airplanes are super immature and not GP" thread starting in 3. 2. 1....


As rude as it is to interrupt a speech with one, I can't help but laugh every time it happens :o

[cgmv123]

Will.I.Am's performance is not very flattering watching on the livestream... was it any better being there in person?

A bit, but it was rather unimpressive.

[plasma_54]

Will.I.Am's performance is not very flattering watching on the livestream... was it any better being there in person?

Yeah the audio mixing sounded a little off on the live stream.

Here it is for reference: http://youtu.be/zkJ48YjPnM4

[Nebster]

Also it seems like people cheered louder for when the paper airplane flew on stage than during the matches themselves, is that actually the case?

[Steven Donow]

This stuff in between matches is pretty good. Better than the usual stuff.

EDIT: I take it back. Badly mixed music isn't fun.

[dodar]

They copied Crowd-A-Tron from Orlando and it was a pretty good Championship version. I do think they went a little fast on the history sequence though.

[Jay O'Donnell]

I'm very disappointed by the video quality of these matches once again. I can't even see what's going on most of the time because it's obscured by a ref or part of the goals. Why can't we just have one stationary full-field view? That's all most of us want.

[Jibsy]

I'm very disappointed by the video quality of these matches once again. I can't even see what's going on most of the time because it's obscured by a ref or part of the goals. Why can't we just have one stationary full-field view? That's all most of us want.


Agreed... especially towards the end of the match when there are potential buzzer beaters at both ends of the field and you can only watch one (if that). At least there's a functioning scoreboard.


Congrats to Curie moving to the finals!

[Steven Donow]

I'm very disappointed by the video quality of these matches once again. I can't even see what's going on most of the time because it's obscured by a ref or part of the goals. Why can't we just have one stationary full-field view? That's all most of us want.

The problem with that is it's not good for actually being at the venue. Also full-field view is very bad for people who don't know much about FRC/Aerial Assist.

It's an unfortunate fact. Also, the full-field view in Autonomous isn't ideal at all for the entirety of the match.

[sanddrag]

This Macy's parade woman is hilarious!

[Jibsy]

The problem with that is it's not good for actually being at the venue. Also full-field view is very bad for people who don't know much about FRC/Aerial Assist.

It's an unfortunate fact. Also, the full-field view in Autonomous isn't ideal at all for the entirety of the match.


Another stream with a stationary camera would be fantastic!

[dodar]

2015 WATER GAME!!!

Did anyone else catch that subtle hint?

[Marc S.]

254 vs 1114. Battle for most blue-banners goes all the way to Einstein! :p

[Basel A]

It's basically a 50-50, but I think Curie will break the curse.

[dodar]

Looks like the curse has been broken.

[Cataclysmatic]

That 254 auto vs 1114....

[billylo]

OMG. That 254 auton is ?!?!?! Jaw dropped.

[Tyler2517]

That 254 auto vs 1114....

What happen i did not get to see the auto.

[Jibsy]

254's 3-ball hot goal auto all from one side was really nice - kept them away from 1114's blocker. 1114 appears to be using CheesyVision to tell the bot which side to defend on too!

EDIT: To give more detail for those who missed it, 254 shot all 3 balls into one side, from the low-goal sweet spot. This prevented 1114 from blocking them.

[cgmv123]

Time for Dave's Top 10 list!

[ErvinI]

What happen i did not get to see the auto.
1114 tried blocking 254's auto. 254 still scored. At least, according to the announcer, the camera focus was on the other side for some reason...

[dodar]

Or maybe the curse is rearing its head....

[SkittlesCharge]

Those auto misses really hurt the Poofs this match...

[cgmv123]

1114 tried blocking 254's auto. 254 still scored. At least, according to the announcer, the camera focus was on the other side for some reason...

254 adjusted their path to move in front of the low goal instead of just turning.

[Jibsy]

Or maybe the curse is rearing its head....


Things just got interesting!

[Marc S.]

Looks like the curse has been broken.

#jinxed_it

[frasnow]

Gah! NASA channel on Roku dropped the feed in the middle of the second finals match on Einstein. Good thing I had a PC close.

[dodar]

254 adjusted their path to move in front of the low goal instead of just turning.

And 1114 countered with their own blocker using 254's own code.

[April_robo]

THE CURSE IS REAL!!!!!

[MikeE]

One auto block and one miss from what I could see on the feeds.

Also enjoying the post-match analysis from Blair & Andy.

[Navid Shafa]

Video quality = HD Potato
Poor switching often leaves the stream with this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-epo9YROgwJM/TmI6f1ctlpI/AAAAAAAAATU/rFpoC69QKdE/s1600/emergency+broadcast+system.gif
NASA, please bring on some high school students from FiM or PNW to help you with streaming...

[DampRobot]

Go 1678!

By the way, anyone archiving Einstein and the divisions?

[RC3]

Video quality = HD Potato
Poor switching often leaves the stream with this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-epo9YROgwJM/TmI6f1ctlpI/AAAAAAAAATU/rFpoC69QKdE/s1600/emergency+broadcast+system.gif
NASA, please bring on some high school students from FiM or PNW to help you with streaming...
While they're at it they should bring in the video equipment from the PNW as well :D

-edit-
For those who don't know, this is what the PNW streams all looked like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPTlLturzFE&list=PLwES-SbpsnxwTcII58ywmgAzJAK-O9QNx&index=140

[dodar]

Video quality = HD Potato
Poor switching often leaves the stream with this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-epo9YROgwJM/TmI6f1ctlpI/AAAAAAAAATU/rFpoC69QKdE/s1600/emergency+broadcast+system.gif
NASA, please bring on some high school students from FiM or PNW to help you with streaming...

Why cant they just use the broadcasting equipment the Rams use?

[arizonafoxx]

Video quality = HD Potato
Poor switching often leaves the stream with this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-epo9YROgwJM/TmI6f1ctlpI/AAAAAAAAATU/rFpoC69QKdE/s1600/emergency+broadcast+system.gif
NASA, please bring on some high school students from FiM or PNW to help you with streaming...

I second this motion. I have been spoiled this season with great Streaming from many different FRC teams hosting the stream during regionals. Now it comes to Champs and we are given choppy video, bad camera view choices, and over all, in my opinion, bad coverage of the most important event.

Note to FRC. Please step up your game when it comes to streaming or let high school students take care of it.

[cgmv123]

DOWN GOES THE CURSE!

[Mike dennis]

The curse is broken!!

[orangemoore]

Go 1678!

By the way, anyone archiving Einstein and the divisions?

FIRST Records and posts all matches from each division, Einstein and all of the ceremonies shortly after the event.

[plasma_54]

It's just live stream quality but here are the final matches:

F1-1: http://youtu.be/jdJutaggCMk
F1-2: http://youtu.be/Mf816DZU__Q
F1-3: http://youtu.be/xvEq4IMirZ4

[Marc S.]

254 wins Einstein for the second time in 4 years, their 6th time being on Einstein and their 36th Blue banner ever!

469, after a close loss in the finals in 2013, 2010 and 2004, finally takes home their second Championship win! Their 24th Blue banner in FIRST!

2848 makes their first ever appearance on Einstein with an intense fury, earning them a Championship Win, and their 3rd ever Blue Banner.

74 Becomes the first team to win Champs as a backup (in the new system), earning them their 4th blue banner and a spot in history!


1678 takes the number one seed and a ticket to Einstein for a second year in a row. 69-7-0 is one of the most impressive and respectable win-loss ratios I have ever seen.

1114 proves that reverse engineering doesn't always work, for a design to be reused properly it must be evolved.

1640 also makes their second trip to Einstein in a row, with more vengeance than last year! I'll be keeping my eye on them in the future to go all the way.

And our friends, 5136 become dangerously close to being the first rookie team to ever win Einstein! We knew they were a strong team after competing with them at CVR, but now we know that they truly mean business!

[AlexD744]

[B]
1114 proves that reverse engineering doesn't always work, for a design to be reused properly it must be evolved.


I don't think it didn't work. Championship finalist is not too shabby in my opinion. This robot was only one match away from matching it's predecessor.

[Answer42]

So. After being almost completely ignored all season, the goalie zone suddenly became very important during champs eliminations. Surprising. Did 469 or 1114 have blockers before champs? Also shout out to 973 for playing goalie before it was cool.

[Marc S.]

I don't think it didn't work. Championship finalist is not too shabby in my opinion. This robot was only one match away from matching it's predecessor.

This was a play on words relating to the name of 1114's robot, Simbot (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=803408646340362&set=a.336493256365239.98114.164422480238985&type=1&theater) Evolution (https://www.facebook.com/frc1114/posts/803298313018062?stream_ref=10).

[Navid Shafa]

So. After being almost completely ignored all season, the goalie zone suddenly became very important during champs eliminations. Surprising. Did 469 or 1114 have blockers before champs? Also shout out to 973 for playing goalie before it was cool.

1114 debuted their blocker on Newton. With a lot of teams implementing cheesy vision or some form of vision-based commands, it became easier and certainly more viable in play if you can block a 2 or 3 ball auto.

[Don Wright]

So. After being almost completely ignored all season, the goalie zone suddenly became very important during champs eliminations. Surprising. Did 469 or 1114 have blockers before champs? Also shout out to 973 for playing goalie before it was cool.

Cheezyvision made blockers MUCH more effective.

[AlexD744]

This was a play on words relating to the name of 1114's robot, Simbot (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=803408646340362&set=a.336493256365239.98114.164422480238985&type=1&theater) Evolution (https://www.facebook.com/frc1114/posts/803298313018062?stream_ref=10).

got it. Sorry!

[PVCpirate]

That was a real fun Finals series, 254 and 1114 battling in auton. 1114 was able to turn the tide in match 2 by getting the block in, but 254's alliance came up with a solution to score their autonomous balls and edge out the win. Great job by all 8 teams for a great show!

[Richard Wallace]

..., 254 and 1114 battling in auton. 1114 was able to turn the tide in match 2 by getting the block in, but 254's alliance came up with a solution to score their autonomous balls and edge out the win. Great job by all 8 teams for a great show!
Auton on the blue end was like watching two grandmasters play chess.

[DohertyBilly]

1114 was able to turn the tide in match 2 by getting the block in

We were high up, but it looked like 1114 didn't touch those auto balls. It looked like 254 just misaligned their robot or something of the sort.

[Abhishek R]

We were high up, but it looked like 1114 didn't touch those auto balls. It looked like 254 just misaligned their robot or something of the sort.

Yeah, I think they didn't get blocked but it did force them to use that secondary auto which was slightly misaligned. 1114 was thinking ahead with that goalie autonomous mode, but 254 just seemed to always be a step in front.

I also found the semifinals pretty exciting, especially the Archimedes v Curie ones. Well played by all the Einstein teams. The 118-359-4334 alliance was quite scary too, with their amazing defensive play they took a match off of 254, 469, and 2848.

[PVCpirate]

Ok, so either way, 1114 forced the missed auto balls. The stream didn't show that side for all of auto, so wasn't quite sure if there was contact.

[audietron]

Ok, so either way, 1114 forced the missed auto balls. The stream didn't show that side for all of auto, so wasn't quite sure if there was contact.

On the stream pretty sure the first ball hit the blocker and sprung back and the second one grazed it in a way that made it bounce out of the goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf816DZU__Q&feature=youtu.be

[Mike Marandola]

1114 debuted their blocker on Newton. With a lot of teams implementing cheesy vision or some form of vision-based commands, it became easier and certainly more viable in play if you can block a 2 or 3 ball auto.

Also, teams did what they needed to do to help the alliance win since they didn't need to worry about their rankings.

[Nyxyxylyth]

Did 469 or 1114 have blockers before champs?469 did not have a blocker at the Michigan State Championship.

[evanatch]

On the stream pretty sure the first ball hit the blocker and sprung back and the second one grazed it in a way that made it bounce out of the goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf816DZU__Q&feature=youtu.be

We were sitting fairly close to the field on that side and that's what appeared to happen from my perspective.

It was an incredibly exciting competition to watch, both on Einstein and in the Archimedes division elimination matches. I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to go for the first time in my senior year - the matches were incredible. Congratulations to the winning alliance, and thanks for the show!

[themccannman]

1114's blocker was not what stopped those auto shots. It was them hitting 254 in the goalie zone that causes them to go out of alignment and miss. Also, it was just our luck that the hot goal that lit second every auto was on the claw side (not blocker side) of 1114. That third final match was unbelievably close. If anyone was going to break the Curie curse 254 and 469 would be the ones to do it.

[SharonO]

1114's blocker was not what stopped those auto shots. It was them hitting 254 in the goalie zone that causes them to go out of alignment and miss. Also, it was just our luck that the hot goal that lit second every auto was on the claw side (not blocker side) of 1114. That third final match was unbelievably close. If anyone was going to break the Curie curse 254 and 469 would be the ones to do it.

Our team also noticed that the hot goal was always in the same sequence on the blue side in both SF & F matches. (We never paid attention to red) It would have been interesting to see 254's move in the other direction and see how it played out.

Amazing programming by both teams. Truly Inspiring!

[micro]

I saw 33 utilizing a killer strategy today, no pun intended. The ball never touched the ground, all 3 robots were stationary the majority of the time, and it was a 3-assist cycle every time.

33 would inbound, truss shot it to the HP, HP would inbound it to a bot, the bot would shoot it horizontally across the field to the other HP, that HP would inbound it to the third bot, who would finish the cycle with a high shot.

Very impressive to watch.

Yep, that marinara sauce worked very well. We will post video as soon as we can.

[Michael Hill]

I feel like Cheesyvision was an elaborate Trojan horse. 254 knew teams would implement it, but they always had something up their sleeve knowing they could defeat it. They duped 1114 into believing that they (1114) could block 254's automode, taking away 1114's scoring in autonomous.

There seems to be something not so straightforward with 254's release of Cheesyvision.

Has anyone seen my tinfoil hat?

[DampRobot]

I feel like Cheesyvision was an elaborate Trojan horse. 254 knew teams would implement it, but they always had something up their sleeve knowing they could defeat it. They duped 1114 into believing that they (1114) could block 254's automode, taking away 1114's scoring in autonomous.

There seems to be something not so straightforward with 254's release of Cheesyvision.

Has anyone seen my tinfoil hat?

I believe 254 always shot their auto balls over the low goal. They didn't change it to fool 1114 or anyone else.

I don't think 254 would do something like that... they want to win on the field, not by "tricking" you. And in any case, 1114 is not a team that can get easily "duped."

[donald_pinckney]

I feel like Cheesyvision was an elaborate Trojan horse. 254 knew teams would implement it, but they always had something up their sleeve knowing they could defeat it. They duped 1114 into believing that they (1114) could block 254's automode, taking away 1114's scoring in autonomous.

There seems to be something not so straightforward with 254's release of Cheesyvision.

Has anyone seen my tinfoil hat?

The statement "taking away 1114's scoring autonomous" isn't quite applicable, because 254 should expect that Einstein level alliances should be capable of scoring a consistent 3 ball auto even without one of their best shooters shooting. Team 1640 was offensively amazing capable considering they were 3rd robot of 1st seeded alliance.

[Michael Corsetto]

I feel like Cheesyvision was an elaborate Trojan horse. 254 knew teams would implement it, but they always had something up their sleeve knowing they could defeat it. They duped 1114 into believing that they (1114) could block 254's automode, taking away 1114's scoring in autonomous.

There seems to be something not so straightforward with 254's release of Cheesyvision.

Has anyone seen my tinfoil hat?

1114 uses the Kinect, not Cheesyvision...

1114 was not duped, they disrupted 254's 3-ball auto in Einstein F2, a huge reason we won that match.

[Gregor]

Even if 1114 wasn't able to block any shots, the only harm it did was costing them 5 mobility points, due to 1678's solid 2 ball, and 1640's solid 1.

[Siri]

1114 uses the Kinect, not Cheesyvision...

1114 was not duped, they disrupted 254's 3-ball auto in Einstein F2, a huge reason we won that match.They also didn't take away 1114's scoring in auto, considering there was never a match in which our alliance couldn't score all 3 of our auto balls. (We did choose to run just 2 in semis, but not for technical reasons.)

I love CheesyVision, but it's also worth noting that 1114's Kinect offers significantly more hybrid control than just the left/right choice of the former.

[Citrus Dad]

1114's blocker was not what stopped those auto shots. It was them hitting 254 in the goalie zone that causes them to go out of alignment and miss. Also, it was just our luck that the hot goal that lit second every auto was on the claw side (not blocker side) of 1114. That third final match was unbelievably close. If anyone was going to break the Curie curse 254 and 469 would be the ones to do it.

Note that 2 of 254's shots deflected off 1114's goalie post in the 3rd match. If 1114 had been able to move over a couple more inches, those balls would have been on the floor...

[Citrus Dad]

I believe 254 always shot their auto balls over the low goal. They didn't change it to fool 1114 or anyone else.

I don't think 254 would do something like that... they want to win on the field, not by "tricking" you. And in any case, 1114 is not a team that can get easily "duped."

See 254's explanation of their response to 1114 after the second match in the Einstein thread. They had to come up with an innovative counter strategy on the spot.

[Citrus Dad]

The statement "taking away 1114's scoring autonomous" isn't quite applicable, because 254 should expect that Einstein level alliances should be capable of scoring a consistent 3 ball auto even without one of their best shooters shooting. Team 1640 was offensively amazing capable considering they were 3rd robot of 1st seeded alliance.

Exactly one of the reasons why we chose 1640--the reliability of their auto shot.

An interesting sidenote--we had to radically change our draft strategy for Champs vs Regionals because we realized we were going to get very high quality offensive-capable robots. No modifications to catapults like we had done on our third robots in the regionals. It was much more fun picking among the amazing robots that we knew would be available. 1640 easily could have been a first draft for any other alliance in our division.

[AdamHeard]

Cheezyvision made blockers MUCH more effective.

We were driving our blocker via kinect at our 2nd regional.

It'd have been under kinect at our debut regional too if we weren't chasing down massive controls/comms gremlins all weekend.