Support Bots?

[based_toat_goat]

Does anyone think there would be a niche role for a support robot that could do things like
-Hold open defenses to let others through
-Ferry and give boulders to shooter bots
-Defend only if needed
-Shoot olny if needed
or would this be made redundant by high-scoring, fast-loading bots?

[Anonymous_Sheep]

I think that this will be a very real possibility, however it is theoretically possible for human players to bowl the boulders fast enough to get them to the opposing courtyard, which would make the need for a support bot relatively nonexistent.

[based_toat_goat]

They may not be useful for collecting boulders, but it's possible that holding open defenses would be useful.

[Anonymous_Sheep]

True, but as time goes teams will add more mechanisms to their robots that allow them to traverse more of the defenses on their own. But it is a very good idea for rookie teams to consider over a defense bot.

[tindleroot]

I think that this will be a very real possibility, however it is theoretically possible for human players to bowl the boulders fast enough to get them to the opposing courtyard, which would make the need for a support bot relatively nonexistent.

According to G40, a Penalty will be given if a boulder crosses the Outer Works without a robot touching it while it goes through the Outer Works' volume.

[ATannahill]

I think that this will be a very real possibility, however it is theoretically possible for human players to bowl the boulders fast enough to get them to the opposing courtyard, which would make the need for a support bot relatively nonexistent.
Did you watch the field exploration video?

[Anonymous_Sheep]

G40 states:

A ROBOT may not cause a BOULDER to move from the NEUTRAL ZONE into the opponent’s
COURTYARD unless:
A. the ROBOT contacts the BOULDER within OUTER WORKS, and
B. the ROBOT completes its CROSSING (i.e. doesn’t completely back out of the OUTER
WORKS into the NEUTRAL ZONE)

It says nothing about the human player bowling or kicking a boulder to the opposing courtyard of the field

[Anonymous_Sheep]

And yes I watched the field exploration video, I said it was possible not easy.

[Tyler Olds]

This reminds me of the 2001 game where there were robots who only tilted the bridge for the rest of the alliance so their partners could get to the other side. This could be potentially done with some of the defenses this year. The question is to what effectiveness is it worth having 1/3 of your alliance's primary focus on this.

[bvisness]

This reminds me of the 2001 game where there were robots who only tilted the bridge for the rest of the alliance so their partners could get to the other side. This could be potentially done with some of the defenses this year. The question is to what effectiveness is it worth having 1/3 of your alliance primary focus on this.

I think that robots will definitely be playing "support" roles this year, but for most situations, I can't imagine the benefit of having a robot dedicated to it. In most cases I think support will be more situational.

For example, the defenses like the Drawbridge or the Sally Port could be activated by any robot who happens to be in the opponent courtyard.

[coachm]

A robot whose primary role is to cross defenses and breach while delivering boulders to alliance members is what we plan to do. That would allow alliance members to line up goals, retry misses, evade defense, etc... for multiple shots without having to exit the courtyard. Seems that is a viable strategy for acheiving BOTH breach bonus and capture bonus by an alliance. The thing is that 8 goals is a LOT and time is short... division of tasks within an alliance will be key to success, imo.

[Nuwanda]

Because breaching the defenses earns the alliance a ranking point, I can see robots who have the main goal of helping cross defenses ranking well. Especially in the early weeks, many robots won't be able to challenge all barriers, so a robot like this would be a massive help. My team has already been discussing scouting, and we know that we're going to be looking for teams that can do what we can't.

[Zebra_Fact_Man]

From my team's mathematical model, it should be quite easy for 2 robots to both breach the outer works and eliminate the tower's defense. That said, I am absolutely going to pick either a defender to hassle the other alliance's shooters or an offensive lineman to protect ours.

Don't need a door holder. We can do that by ourselves.

[Boltman]

Does anyone think there would be a niche role for a support robot that could do things like
-Hold open defenses to let others through
-Ferry and give boulders to shooter bots
-Defend only if needed
-Shoot olny if needed
or would this be made redundant by high-scoring, fast-loading bots?

"Ferry and give boulders to shooter bots"

Ejecting a boulder other than shooting or placing in a goal is a foul..... so only missed shots would "pass" to another bot

[tindleroot]

Ejecting a boulder other than shooting or placing in a goal is a foul..... so only missed shots would "pass" to another bot

Source? That's incorrect from my interpretation.

[coachm]

Source? That's incorrect from my interpretation.

G42 says you cant eject a boulder from the FIELD, but that doesn't mean you can't carry it over and drop it off, or even load it on an alliance robot.

[Boltman]

Source? That's incorrect from my interpretation.

You are correct I misread G42 I read to instead of from

G42 ROBOTS may not intentionally eject BOULDERS from the FIELD other than through the GOALS. Violation: FOUL per BOULDER ejected

[coachm]

From my team's mathematical model, it should be quite easy for 2 robots to both breach the outer works and eliminate the tower's defense. That said, I am absolutely going to pick either a defender to hassle the other alliance's shooters or an offensive lineman to protect ours.

Don't need a door holder. We can do that by ourselves.

I'd love to know more about your mathematical model, if you're willing to share. How did you set it up? What might we try to get started on some modeling of our own? Are there resources you could point us towards to get us started?

Much appreciated!