2008 New Jersey Regional

[Spikey]

http://www.flip4mac.com/ you can get it there.

They must be having trouble with inspection, I have seen the same 10 teams:( Me wants variety.

[Tottanka]

i've been waiting for someone to do that:D Pretty sweet

P.S. Is anybody else getting a green screen for the first part of the match?

i am...

[Vikesrock]

i've been waiting for someone to do that:D Pretty sweet

P.S. Is anybody else getting a green screen for the first part of the match?

Yep, I'm definitely not digging the green screen hybrid mode. I want to see what robots are doing in hybrid too!

[BoyWithCape195]

Yet another song with vulgar language..

[Laaba 80]

Who is this DJ? Are they actually playing this music at the competition:confused:
Joey

[Tottanka]

seems like one bot broke it's flag holder...i wonder what the Ir lap counters gonna do about that...

[Justin Montois]

Is this song for real? Wow.

[James1902]

:confused: FIRST approved song list??? :confused:

[Mr. Lim]

Yet another song with vulgar language..

Hahaha, tell me about it! No doubt, this guy or girl is getting sacked.

I just got F-BOMBED!

But what can you do? That's right.. keep rollin' rollin' rollin'...

[Justin Montois]

The Ball Randomizer graphic is cool

[James1902]

The Ball Randomizer graphic is cool

Indeed, so is the live scoring thing at the bottom of the screen

[Elgin Clock]

Yet another song with vulgar language..

ZOMG!!!!! Call the music police!!! We have a Code Red Alert on our hands!!!
Bring home the troops from overseas, and deploy them to Trenton to deal with this calamity!!!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Anywho...

Indeed, so is the live scoring thing at the bottom of the screen
I wish the word "Laps" was a little larger though. Thart's my only complaint about that. The rest of it is very nicely set up (albeit a little small on a tv screen/computer monitor) and very intuitive for what the icons stand for.
It probably looks fine from an audience looking at a 20' screen though.

[hipsterjr]

I spy a shooter!!! All you arm guys watch closely:cool: :P

[DanDon]

Who was the yellow/black team with mecanums (?) that scored a few "launched" hurdles last match? Was that M.O.R.T.?

[T3_1565]

do you call him a shooter though?? hes much like 25 and he for sure doesn't have a low CoG :p:p:p which is what the streotype seems to be

[Cynette]

:confused: FIRST approved song list??? :confused:

Hahaha, tell me about it! No doubt, this guy or girl is getting sacked.

I just got F-BOMBED!

But what can you do? That's right.. keep rollin' rollin' rollin'...Oh, yeah there is an approved list...remember the whole acting like your Grandma is watching thing? Well the regional music selection has the same standard - playing music like Grandma is listening.

I've collected the names of a few of the songs that were recently played that may have been less than appropriate (Thanks Ben!) If there are others, pm me and we will make sure NJ gets the feedback tonight before the audience grows tomorrow.

[jax1488]

well i didnt hear this vulgar song.. my laptop keeps shutting off at random times.. only songs ive been hearing is metal songs and beasty boys =D

[hipsterjr]

my pastor is coming to my regional, so I hope this kind of music doesn't continue:o. Although, for the most part, the music is pretty ( I haven't heard "Cotton Eye Joe" yet:P )

[JaneYoung]

I've collected the names of a few of the songs that were recently played that may have been less than appropriate (Thanks Ben!) If there are others, pm me and we will make sure NJ gets the feedback tonight before the audience grows tomorrow.

It may be the song list for all the regionals though?

I remember this happened last year and by Lone Star, we had a pretty clean list.

Also, it's awesome to read good complimentary posts - any FIRST surfers will probably appreciate them.

[Laaba 80]

well i didnt hear this vulgar song.. my laptop keeps shutting off at random times.. only songs ive been hearing is metal songs and beasty boys =D

Not this vulgar SONG, those vulgar SONGS. I've heard at least 3 so far. It will not look good for FIRST if there are some VIP's there today.
Joey

[Elgin Clock]

well i didnt hear this vulgar song.. my laptop keeps shutting off at random times.. only songs ive been hearing is metal songs and beasty boys =D

As much as I'd hate to sidetrack the conversation about some good music, or the regional music in general...


Who were the good performers today?

I was able to see only one half of a match all day.

I take it from this thread 2016 was good, 25 was good, and 1547 has a silly-sick drive team & speeds that allow for 6-7 laps? Nice.

Any other standouts so far?

[hipsterjr]

Not again.:mad:

[jax1488]

ijust would like more metal and rock, the majority of people in FIRST like that genre.. that i know of.. lol

[DanDon]

Uh ohs! Dead cast?

[pentau]

Not this vulgar SONG, those vulgar SONGS. I've heard at least 3 so far. It will not look good for FIRST if there are some VIP's there today.
Joey
That seems why they usually stick to inoffensive classic rock...

[Justin Montois]

Back

[slickguy2007]

How did 1403 do today? I have been in class all day and I am not sure if they are up again today.

[jax1488]

Uh ohs! Dead cast?

DARN.... my plans for world domination have failed.. er...world scouting! gr..lol

[Daniel Collotte]

DARN.... my plans for world domination have failed.. er...world scouting! gr..lol

You should have thought twice before sending your proverbial marshmellow peeps into our microwave. ;P

[Barry Bonzack]

As much as I'd hate to sidetrack the conversation about some good music, or the regional music in general...


Who were the good performers today?

I was able to see only one half of a match all day.

I take it from this thread 2016 was good, 25 was good, and 1547 has a silly-sick drive team & speeds that allow for 6-7 laps? Nice.

Any other standouts so far?

I really like that scissor lift on the field right now on the blue alliance... man reading team numbers is hard with the camera this far zoomed out. Bumper team numbers just aren't large enough.

[JaneYoung]

y'all need to come to Austin. I haven't had one dead cast yet.
Clean as a whistle, clear as a bell.

[jax1488]

You should have thought twice before sending your proverbial marshmellow peeps into our microwave. ;P

AHHHH FOILED AGAIN!

[BoyWithCape195]

The bot that has stood out to me the most is the scissor lift bot! (Team # ?)

[Spikey]

Anyone have a list of robots inspected and working?

Also I am amazed at the good quality of the cast considering I am in London England right now!!!

[Vikesrock]

As much as I'd hate to sidetrack the conversation about some good music, or the regional music in general...


Who were the good performers today?

I was able to see only one half of a match all day.

I take it from this thread 2016 is good, 25 ia good, and 1547 has a silly-sick drive team & speeds that allow for 6-7 laps??

Any other standouts?

There have been a couple other robots that have managed 2 hurdles in a match (as far as I've seen this is a standout) but I'm not sure what numbers :(

There is a tall inclined elevator/launcher with holonomic drive and a scissor lift (75?) that have both gotten at least 2 hurdles in a match.

[Barry Bonzack]

The bot that has stood out to me the most is the scissor lift bot! (Team # ?)

Its 1563 after watching the "laps" closely

[jax1488]

OH YES METALLICA! ... =D

[DaveF]

I am pretty flexible on music, but the stuff that is being played over the webcast is really shocking. :mad: An hour ago I sent the URL out to a bunch of my group's kids, of which some in elementary school - encouraging them to chack it out, trying to convince them to go to Chesapeake.:ahh: Now I had to send them an apology. :(

Is this a FIRST-provided DJ? Or is the music being inserted by another party for the web feed? This does not look good.

[Vikesrock]

we have a one in three chance that its either 2140, 1672, or 1563

Except for the filler line, which means that it could be any team at the regional that wasn't already on the other alliance.

[gurellia53]

I agree that the music is a problem. The f-bomb isn't very gracious and profanity in general isnt very professional.



I dig Trapt though.

[RoboMom]

I am pretty flexible on music, but the stuff that is being played over the webcast is really shocking. :mad: An hour ago I sent the URL out to a bunch of my group's kids, of which some in elementary school - encouraging them to chack it out, trying to convince them to go to Chesapeake.:ahh: Now I had to send them an apology. :(

Is this a FIRST-provided DJ? Or is the music being inserted by another party for the web feed? This does not look good.

Dave, this is a contractor that reports to the event management. I'll send a heads up.
Or is it coming from the feed? Is the music coming from SOAP?

[Barry Bonzack]

Mort (11)'s roller arm is pretty slick. grabs the ball quickly and hurdles well.

[hipsterjr]

ooh, last match of the day. I'll be fun to see qualifying tomorrow.

[Laaba 80]

Music seems to be getting better - Tom Sawyer, Rush Maybe someone from the comp said something.
Joey

[DanDon]

OOO....robot tips, and procedes to right itself.

[Justin Montois]

Robot down......and back up,lol. Slick move

[Mr. Lim]

I am pretty flexible on music, but the stuff that is being played over the webcast is really shocking. :mad: An hour ago I sent the URL out to a bunch of my group's kids, of which some in elementary school - encouraging them to chack it out, trying to convince them to go to Chesapeake.:ahh: Now I had to send them an apology. :(

Is this a FIRST-provided DJ? Or is the music being inserted by another party for the web feed? This does not look good.

Yeah, around this time of the year, I used to have webcasts up on the projector in the office's conferencing area. They were pretty innocuous, and good conversation starters for passers-by. Muting it means none of us can hear what's going on now =).

I can understand many people don't realize that wedo stuff with these webcast where even questionable dialog is bad, but it DOES make a difference.

Other than that:

A few good bots, I expected to be a bit more hurdling than I've seen, but it's certainly not bad.

Rooting for our fellow Canadians on 1547, I think they've built the perfect speedster, and am impressed. Unfortunately, I think they might get stung by the serpentine on Saturday...

[Vikesrock]

That red alliance robot looks like a toddler trying to walk for the first time, it just can;t stay upright.

Midwest webcast is also running for the moment for those of you who just can't get enough

[hipsterjr]

I've never seen a bot tip over 15 times in a match:eek:


Well...thats all folks.

[Barry Bonzack]

that was painful to watch. Go little robot, you can do it.

[neoshaakti]

good game...good moves by the robot that tipped and picked itself up

[Justin Montois]

A few observations from the hour I watched.

-Filler line worked great, a lot of full matches.
-3 Hurdles Per ALLIANCE is good, much less per Robot.
-Laps make HUGE difference because of the few hurdles

Granted its practice day and a lot of team arent going all out but the scores were in the 20's. High thiry's and forty's is a great score.

[Laaba 80]

Who was the robot that got caught on the overpass?
Joey

[Scott Carpman]

Which bot was that? I just got home from school and my first impression of Overdrive is a bot righting itself 15 times...oy vey.

[BoyWithCape195]

I think they kept tipping because their arm wasn't made to be on that side. When trying to lift themselves up, the arm was on the opposite side they use it on. They would right themselves and then try to pass the arm over the top to the other side, it was to heavy and caused them to fall...again...

[Barry Bonzack]

Who was the robot that got caught on the overpass?
Joey

That was Mort, team 11. They did excellent in other matches

[Matt Keller]

I am pretty flexible on music, but the stuff that is being played over the webcast is really shocking. :mad: An hour ago I sent the URL out to a bunch of my group's kids, of which some in elementary school - encouraging them to chack it out, trying to convince them to go to Chesapeake.:ahh: Now I had to send them an apology. :(

Is this a FIRST-provided DJ? Or is the music being inserted by another party for the web feed? This does not look good.

We are not inserting the music in the webcast. The DJs are outsourced, usually from local companies and hired by the production crew, not directly by FIRST. From what I understand, they are given a thick binder with songs approved by FIRST. I thought FIRST also might have supplied the music to avoid uncensored music, but I must be wrong. At FL and LV last season, the SOAP table was right next to the DJs, and they were quite restricted to what they were allowed to play and when. (we talked a bit)

Someone is getting yelled at tonight...

[JaneYoung]

Practice days may not be the FIRST playlist, it may be people's CDs being played. I've read that from past threads in previous years. But I could very well be wrong. Either way, it is bad.

DaveF, I'm sorry you had to apologize to a group that you sent the URL to. That's really bad.

Jane

[RoboMom]

We are not inserting the music in the webcast. The DJs are outsourced, usually from local companies and hired by the production crew, not directly by FIRST. From what I understand, they are given a thick binder with songs approved by FIRST. I thought FIRST also might have supplied the music to avoid uncensored music, but I must be wrong. At FL and LV last season, the SOAP table was right next to the DJs, and they were quite restricted to what they were allowed to play and when. (we talked a bit)

Someone is getting yelled at tonight...

Thanks for the great service provided by 108!

[Tim Arnold]

Was working earlier with great quality but periodic drops... but now I can't connect at all :(

[Vikesrock]

Was working earlier with great quality but periodic drops... but now I can't connect at all :(

I'm assuming they shut off the feed. Practice is over for the day for both webcasted regionals.

[TheOtherGuy]

Was working earlier with great quality but periodic drops... but now I can't connect at all :(

Practice matches are over for the day, I'm sure they disconnected the stream ;)

[Tim Arnold]

Ah, thanks.

[waialua359]

I only got to see 3 sets of matches. I noticed that teams were not really hurdling. If they did 2, it seemed like a lot.
Bots making laps made a difference in the score, but only because hurdling wasn't really taking place.
Was it really that hard to do with traffic?
I didn't get to see team 25. How'd they do?
There was a post earlier that if an alliance can do 3 hurdles in a match, that's good.
I find it hard to believe that only 3 can win a match.

Comments from teams that competed today??:D

[Chris Marra]

We are not inserting the music in the webcast. The DJs are outsourced, usually from local companies and hired by the production crew, not directly by FIRST. From what I understand, they are given a thick binder with songs approved by FIRST. I thought FIRST also might have supplied the music to avoid uncensored music, but I must be wrong. At FL and LV last season, the SOAP table was right next to the DJs, and they were quite restricted to what they were allowed to play and when. (we talked a bit)

Someone is getting yelled at tonight...

At the regionals I was at last year, I am pretty confident they did not have DJs on Thursdays. However, it simply doesn't make much sense to hire a DJ for a day when not everyone is there and the event has not 'officially' started (referring to opening ceremonies / competition play, I know they've started). Most likely, some member of the production crew set up his laptop without thinking just so there would be music. If I recall correctly, this is exactly what they did last year at NJ, as a team member and I were running the webcast next to an empty DJ table, which was filled the next two days (even if they refused to play the FIRST theme songs...)

[Elgin Clock]

I think they kept tipping because their arm wasn't made to be on that side. When trying to lift themselves up, the arm was on the opposite side they use it on. They would right themselves and then try to pass the arm over the top to the other side, it was to heavy and caused them to fall...again...

Sounds like us in 2001 in Hartford!! Oh what bad memories. :ahh:

[JaneYoung]

Be the music situation as it may - the robots were awesome.
It is wonderful to finally see 6 robots take the field...just wonderful!
Kudos to all the teams!

[Joe Matt]

If I recall correctly, this is exactly what they did last year at NJ, as a team member and I were running the webcast next to an empty DJ table, which was filled the next two days (even if they refused to play the FIRST theme songs...)

You mean they didn't take those songs out back and shoot them?

uuughhh *shivers remembering the horrible song*

[wilsonmw04]

Wow, the first real look at the new game. it was impressive! Congrats! to all the teams who have taken the field. I was surprised how difficult it was to hurdle. I think the highest score i saw was 58 with 3 hurdles for the winning team.

My biggest impression so far: hybrid is going to be HUGE this year.

[mtaman02]

Well after practice day and as a queuer I can honestly say today was confusing... partly b/c of something new that FIRST is trying out. If there was a no show team another team that was fully & passed inspection could take that spot. Nevertheless everyone by the end of the day had been on the field at least once :)...

Alot of good hurldlers, racers.... not many IR users though:confused:

Aside from that I can't wait to queue up you guys this year...

Good Luck to all the teams and Don't forget

1) MAKE SURE ALL BATTERIES ARE SECURED & CONNECTED
2) ROBOT IS ON
3) YOUR CONTROLS ARE PLUGGED IN
4) and most important of all

BE GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISTS & BE SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!

CYA alll bright and early tomorrow

[Akash Rastogi]

The bot that has stood out to me the most is the scissor lift bot! (Team # ?)

449

btw, any comments on how we did? I'd love to hear them. Hope everyone had an awesome first day:D

[George A.]

Ok boys and gals, here's my .02

I'm surprised no one's mentioned 103 yet. IMO they're by far the team to beat. 449's scissor lift is pretty slick, and 102, 1547, and 303 are just speed demons.

It'll be interesting to watch tomorrow, I can tell you right now that there are going to be some matches that will drop jaws.

With that said, I'm off to get some dinner and bed, because tomorrow is going to be nuts.

[Alexa Stott]

Obviously the music selection is more important than making sure the field is set up properly... :rolleyes:

[Athleticgirl389]

Ok boys and gals, here's my .02

I'm surprised no one's mentioned 103 yet. IMO they're by far the team to beat. 449's scissor lift is pretty slick, and 102, 1547, and 303 are just speed demons.

It'll be interesting to watch tomorrow, I can tell you right now that there are going to be some matches that will drop jaws.

With that said, I'm off to get some dinner and bed, because tomorrow is going to be nuts.


Not being biased or anything, but I must agree that I am surprised no one commented on the speed of 102 (except for George - thanks!! haha). But according to my team's scouting, 102 is by far the fastest robot on the field at 27fps - next closest was about 22fps.

I also must agree with George that was 103 was very good as well - they are very good in hybrid mode. Matches will be shocking tomorrow... many surprises might show up that you didn't expect.

Hopefully you all watching the webcast get a good show tomorrow :)

[Akash Rastogi]

Not being biased or anything, but I must agree that I am surprised no one commented on the speed of 102 (except for George - thanks!! haha). But according to my team's scouting, 102 is by far the fastest robot on the field at 27fps - next closest was about 22fps.

Oh, well, nobody is doubting it was by far the fastest and perhaps coolest bot out there. :D

A few members of our team affectionately nicknamed it "Plungy" and "Speedy" haha:p

[Branden Ghena]

27 fps :ahh: Thats over 18 mph!

I can't wait to see 102 in action tomorrow!

[Chrisms]

Ok boys and gals, here's my .02

I'm surprised no one's mentioned 103 yet. IMO they're by far the team to beat. 449's scissor lift is pretty slick, and 102, 1547, and 303 are just speed demons.

It'll be interesting to watch tomorrow, I can tell you right now that there are going to be some matches that will drop jaws.

With that said, I'm off to get some dinner and bed, because tomorrow is going to be nuts.

103 is the team to beat by far, but we'll see how things play out tomorrow+sat, maybe we're in for some surprises.


I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but what is up with all the control boxes being knocked off!? did they change the driver stations? I don't think I've ever seen one knocked off from a blow to the wall. I guess it's just a higher speed impact in this game? I'm not sure, but I think ref's should allow teams to catch their boxes... or we might have a very boring finals of whoever has controls left...

On that note, anyone notice the amazing catch by the team in the second to last round? it almost hit, and they caught it with an inch to spare! it was beautiful. Kudos to those reflexes!

[Joe Ross]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but what is up with all the control boxes being knocked off!? did they change the driver stations? I don't think I've ever seen one knocked off from a blow to the wall. I guess it's just a higher speed impact in this game? I'm not sure, but I think ref's should allow teams to catch their boxes... or we might have a very boring finals of whoever has controls left...

I assume that means that people did not take advantage of the velcro on the driver stations?

[flamefixed]

I assume that means that people did not take advantage of the velcro on the driver stations?


some did, some didnt. i saw teams with and without velcro have it fall.

[George A.]

103 is the team to beat by far, but we'll see how things play out tomorrow+sat, maybe we're in for some surprises.


I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but what is up with all the control boxes being knocked off!? did they change the driver stations? I don't think I've ever seen one knocked off from a blow to the wall. I guess it's just a higher speed impact in this game? I'm not sure, but I think ref's should allow teams to catch their boxes... or we might have a very boring finals of whoever has controls left...

On that note, anyone notice the amazing catch by the team in the second to last round? it almost hit, and they caught it with an inch to spare! it was beautiful. Kudos to those reflexes!

Just an FYI people...if your wall is hit and your control board is falling you ARE allowed to catch it. Don't just stand there and watch it shatter, lest you be out the rest of the regional

[Danny McC]

Yeah ours started to fall off but we are going to have it fixed by tommorow. Good practice matches today all.

[ShaneP]

Yep, do catch the OI if it's about to fall. Read the last line:

<G47> TEAM Positions During HYBRID PERIOD – During the HYBRID PERIOD, the DRIVERS
and COACH must stand behind the PLAYERS LINE within their ALLIANCE ZONE. During
the HYBRID PERIOD, the ROBOCOACH must stay within one of the two designated
ROBOCOACH STATIONS (either local or remote). Each violation (stepping outside the
designated area, or stepping across the PLAYERS LINE) will result in a PENALTY.
Exceptions will be made in cases involving personal or OPERATOR CONSOLE safety.

[s_forbes]

Yep, do catch the OI if it's about to fall.

Heh, I remember having to do this when I drove in the finals at Davis in 2006. Except I missed the oi and the plexiglass case broke when it hit the ground... that was fun.

[Ben Mitchell]

I think it's going to be interesting to see how useful speed becomes with 6 robots on the field.

One of my earliest thoughts about this game is that speed may not be as big a factor as it may seem from the onset due to traffic jams.


We'll see! Good Luck everyone!

[ks_mumupsi]

2016 driver coach here,

Sorry about that guys, my driver and operator are still getting used to the controls. I am trying to get him to be a little more evasive than bump and go. We will try to do better today :)

Cya there.

[Tottanka]

Anybody knows when does the webcast begin?

[Spikey]

Anyone know if the match list is out yet?

Cheers

[Spencer E.]

Is the webcast not working for anyone else? I'm having troubles connecting :ahh:

[DUCKIE]

I'm having the same problem. I caught part of the drivers meeting, and then lost connection.

[Vince lau]

not working for me either..
spencer any pics of 1305 bot :P

[Spikey]

Nothing is working:( Have matches started yet?
Scores?

[Alex Cormier]

not working for me either..
spencer any pics of 1305 bot :P

same here, i hope it gets fixed soon!


Spikey:

matches will start at 9:30, right now we are missing the opening ceremonies.

[Matt Keller]

I just got off the phone with our team... they are currently without internet down on the field. Things are being sorted out with the production crew. It should be up and running soon. Sorry!

Update: Stream is UP!

If it goes down today and you don't see me reply, IM me and I'll make sure everything is sorted out.

[Daniel Collotte]

Up!

[Alex Cormier]

It's back! :)

[soap108]

I just got off the phone with our team... they are currently without internet down on the field. Things are being sorted out with the production crew. It should be up and running soon. Sorry!

Update: Stream is UP

Back up

[Vince lau]

thanks for all the hard work SOAP

[Spencer E.]

not working for me either..
spencer any pics of 1305 bot :P

Not JUST yet but we will have some photo's up on our website soon :P. Vova and Jenn have a photo, I'm sure if you bug them enough you could get it :D

[Barry Bonzack]

Not JUST yet but we will have some photo's up on our website soon :P. Vova and Jenn have a photo, I'm sure if you bug them enough you could get it :D

Could you get them to take pictures of the match list for us?

[Vince lau]

Could you get them to take pictures of the match list for us?

none of them are at New Jersey

[Nawaid Ladak]

anybody got a match list

i wana see 25 v 75

[Tom Bottiglieri]

Big Mike is a ref. Heh.

[wilsonmw04]

Sigh, nothing but a blank screen for me.

[Spikey]

YAY SKY MOOREHOUSE!!! He's one of our mentors and supporters! I expect you will see a fairly reffed game from him and the crew.

The stream is great!! Thank you SOAP, the quality is amazing even here in England!

Thanks!

[Spikey]

Oh no the stream just died:(

[Storcky]

It's gone :'(

[MrForbes]

Oh no the stream just died:(

yeah...right in the middle of the Safety Video! (not that we would know about that...)

[Spencer E.]

Died again for me too :( Hopefully we get to see some robots soon :yikes:

[Vince lau]

its up again

[Barry Bonzack]

Nooo! Now I'll never know what happened to that poor safety robot

[Josh Murphy]

It's back

[Spikey]

ITS BACK!

[Spencer E.]

Hooray! Just in time :D

[Vince lau]

204,224,293 vs 834,41,25

[Storcky]

Never mind. It's back up!!!

[Roy Shaul]

is it down again or it's just me?

[Vince lau]

it just died for me

[Spencer E.]

Looks like too many people are trying to watch and are killing the server cause it's down again :p

[Spikey]

Died again, dang mid match and my team was in it..

[StephLee]

And here I thought it was just my school computer being funny...I hope it comes back, I have 5 minutes left to watch before study hall is over!

[BoyWithCape195]

Is it still down for everyone else?

[Spencer E.]

Yup, still down here unfortunately. :(

[Martino]

still down for me...:(

[sebas2mil]

it's down for me too

I'm using windows media player

midwest will be starting soon though

[Crebb]

def hasn't worked since ~29 sec into first match. This is starting to ruin my day.

[Maggie27]

Ours is out completely.
It won't reload & it's driving me CRAZY!:ahh:

[The Lucas]

Not working from my CA hotel room and I have to check out soon :(

[Spikey]

Anyone know scores of the matches?
The dead link is eating me.

[MrForbes]

match results are being posted by FIRST

http://www2.usfirst.org/2008comp/events/NJ/matchresults.html

[Dan Richardson]

is it possible we are accidently DNSing their servers? 1000 people clicking refresh every 10 seconds may not be helping.. Tho for some reason I doubt thats the problem.

[Matt Keller]

Back up. Sorry, crazy things going on today.

[BoyWithCape195]

BACK!

[MrForbes]

is it possible we are accidently DNSing their servers?

You think, maybe? :)

[Dan Richardson]

naw b/c it just came back woot.

[vhcook]

Thank you, Matt. We appreciate the SOAP webcasts and all the work it takes to make them happen.

[BoyWithCape195]

And......its gone again...

[T3_1565]

yep... and i just got here... :(

[Alex Cormier]

and its out again.... cmon'

[Dan Richardson]

haha as sooon as I post that it shows up and says it can't respond because the server is busy

ok... this deffinately has to be our fault so stop clicking play I want to watch
!!!!

[Chuck Glick]

ARGH! Keeps giving me "An error occured".

I NEEEEED robots!

[Spikey]

Maybe we should be more gentle to the server. However when it does work the quality is quite good.

[BoyWithCape195]

And...its back...again :yikes:

[suequilter]

Many thanks to SOAP for their efforts to bring the webcast to all of us, who can't be there.

Sue
Team 103
Cybersonics
Alumni-Mom

[Roy Shaul]

nooooooooo not again!!!

[Spikey]

I am getting 2 minute bursts of video when I do get it, oh well I will enjoy what I can get.

[T3_1565]

blast it all :(:(:(

[Dan Richardson]

next time its back don't post it because everyone scrambles to click just let them find out on their own.. because its out again....

[Scott Carpman]

Bah! Lousy internet.

[Bongle]

The midwest regional needs to start playing games, then there should be a bit less load on the NJ webcast.

Edit: The midwest regional has started playing games.
Edit2: It'd be really cool if they got Obama to speak in Chicago, but he's probably busy in Ohio/Texas.

[MrForbes]

when it comes back up after going going, down, it tries a couple times to play the last bit that it showed before....instead of starting off at the current position.

[T3_1565]

no kidding I want to see something today!!!

[Scott Carpman]

Does anyone know if FIRST will be releasing an online version of the match schedule?

[Scott Carpman]

Everyone who doesn't entirely need NJ: Switch to Chicago!

[T3_1565]

I don't have realplayer at school.... :(

[Bongle]

I don't have realplayer at school.... :(

If you can install stuff on the PC, try Real Alternative, it's a codec that allows windows media player to play real streams.

[BRAVESaj25bd8]

I know times are tough with the webcast, but while we wait for it to get better, let's talk about the few matches that have been played so far. Anyone surprised to see Team 25 be a part of the highest score so far? How about Team 103 being a part of the second highest? Did you guys think the scores would be this high?

I know everyone wants to watch the webcast, but let's just make the most of it for the time being.:)

[soap108]

So what other first regionals have taken place on the 29th of Feb?

KA

[T3_1565]

what happen to 103's launcher.. it doesn't seem to be working during that match

[Jonathan Norris]

So what other first regionals have taken place on the 29th of Feb?

KA

BAE (New Hampshire)
St. Louis
Midwest (webcasted)
Oregon
New Jersey

[Tom Bottiglieri]

BAE (New Hampshire)
St. Louis
Midwest (webcasted)
Oregon
New Jersey
I think he meant throughout history, not this year. 'Tis a Leap year.

[pafwl]

team 25 like that autonomous. very nice

[BoyWithCape195]

The NJ crew is exceptional at field reset / turnover time!

[Bongle]

The NJ crew is exceptional at field reset / turnover time!
Wow, you're right. Looking at the results, they're getting a match running every 5-6 minutes. Midwest is taking 8-10 minutes per match.

[andrew348]

Did you see that last play!!!! Wow!!!

[Scott Carpman]

And it's down again.

[Joe Matt]

Down with pants, up with webcast!

[Spikey]

Bah not again, at least it was up for an hour or so.

[Chris Marra]

Too bad its not on ustream.tv so we could all make witty jokes in the chat while we waited for their computer to get the stream back up.

[hipsterjr]

:mad: I spy something black and reectangular. Can anyone guess what it is?

[Branden Ghena]

I guess "not a webcast"

[Joe Matt]

and we're back!

[Scott L.]

web cast is back up:D

[Daniel Collotte]

It's Back up!


Technical side:
The MDF here in NJ kept dropping us after a few minutes - I think I tracked the computer down to the computer automatically assuming that our subnet mask is class a, whereas it's class c. All problems should be fixed, but I offer no guarantees. :o

[Joe Matt]

It's Back up!


Technical side:
The MDF here in NJ kept dropping us after a few minutes - I think I tracked the computer down to the computer automatically assuming that our subnet mask is class a, whereas it's class c. All problems should be fixed, but I offer no guarantees. :o

WE LOVE YOU DAN!

*gives dan a cookie*

[James1902]

wow, did 25's hurdle get blocked?:ahh:

[Jonathan Norris]

25's pickup system showed its weakness in that match, those rolling track balls can have a mind of their own some times.

edit: yea 25 hit their teammate who was stuck on the overpass.

[Tottanka]

25 just lost :O

[James1902]

103 looked pretty good that match, 3 hurdles and they seemed to control the trackball well. Good match

[Spikey]

103 has a pretty efficent hurdling system. Lunch break boo, I want more robots.

[gdawg116]

Did they just break for Lunch
im not recieving anything except a title screen

[Joe Matt]

Did they just break for Lunch
im not recieving anything except a title screen

Yes, they're actually on schedule.

[Matt Keller]

UPDATE!

I just whipped up some reasonably simple gameday page with a nifty automatic score caching system that will auto update on the screen. Scores update in the cache every couple of minutes. Your screen will update at about the same time.

Its ugly and insanely simple, but I wanted to release this now. I will be improving it throughout the day.

http://nj.webcast.soap108.com/gameday.php (http://nj.webcast.soap108.com/gameday.php)

If I make any major updates, I will note them in the chat, and you can refresh if you would like.

[vhcook]

Yes, they're actually on schedule.

Hurrah for the volunteers!

[hipsterjr]

I'm to lazy to look at the schedule, when is lunch over?

[Martino]

1 PM their time... i think...

[T3_1565]

its back, but it crashed again :(


EDIT:its back

[Cory]

It worked all through lunch when nothing was happening...and now its broken again :rolleyes:

[TheOtherGuy]

UPDATE!

I just whipped up some reasonably simple gameday page with a nifty automatic score caching system that will auto update on the screen. Scores update in the cache every couple of minutes. Your screen will update at about the same time.

Its ugly and insanely simple, but I wanted to release this now. I will be improving it throughout the day.

http://nj.webcast.soap108.com/gameday.php (http://nj.webcast.soap108.com/gameday.php)

If I make any major updates, I will note them in the chat, and you can refresh if you would like.

Thank you so much for that! I can't watch the stream on this school computer, so this helped a lot!

[Tim Delles]

That stinks... losing a match because your robot moves backwards in auto mode....

[PrincessJae]

That stinks... losing a match because your robot moves backwards in auto mode....

so is it working now?

[chaoticprout]

ugh, hannah montana.

[BoyWithCape195]

1279 shows some real promise!

[PrincessJae]

anyone care to help? is this link working on media player for everyone but me?

mms://a3.l1856956002.c18569.n.lm.akamaistream.net/D/3/18569/v0001/reflector:56002

[Martino]

it is working for me... you can try and go here and see if you can see it... http://nj.webcast.soap108.com/

[BoyWithCape195]

75 has just been having bad luck all day...

[hipsterjr]

102's last sec hurdle was awesome!!


way more action today:D :D

[Freddy Schurr]

Does anyone on the forum have a match schedule?

[Joe Matt]

I'll say it.... Wayne is a better MC than Shanequa IMHO. There.

*backs out*

[Lea103]

Hey, does anyone know how mac users can watch the webcast? i tried using safari and opera, its not working for me.

[hipsterjr]

:ahh: Cotton EYE JOE!!!!!!!:ahh: :eek: :P ewww

[Joe Matt]

Hey, does anyone know how mac users can watch the webcast? i tried using safari and opera, its not working for me.

download Flip4WM
install
open url in quicktime
watch
profit?

[hipsterjr]

102 looks like the quickest bot at NJ

[JaneYoung]

YMCA let me hear ya sing it YMCA

woohoo

[Joe Ross]

What happened in the last match. I looked up and there was 45 seconds left and 80 points scored. How much of that was autonomous?

[Joe Matt]

100 points for the 25 alliance... very impressive...

[GBilletdeaux930]

that was an amazing match...50some points in hybrid then 40some in teleoperated...geez

[neoshaakti]

hey, sorry if someone asked this already
but, are there reruns? as in, has someone been uploading matches onto a website?

[Vikesrock]

hey, sorry if someone asked this already
but, are there reruns? as in, has someone been uploading matches onto a website?

SOAP is going to start uploading the videos as soon as awards are done.

They will be uploaded to http://soap108.com

[Joe Matt]

Firday Award Winners

Autodesk Visualization Award: 303 Panther Robotics
Imagery Award: 223 Xtreme Heat
Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control Award: 103 CyberSonics
Xerox Creativity Award: 219 Team Impact
Delphi Driving Tomorrow's Technology Award: 449 Blair Robot Project Wrenchman
Klein Parker Caufield and Byers EntrepreneurshipAward: 75 RoboRaiders
Judges Award: 102 Gearheads
Website Award: 1089 Team Mercury
Regional Woodie Flowers Award: Bill McGowan

[SteveJanesch]

Hey, does anyone know how mac users can watch the webcast? i tried using safari and opera, its not working for me.

There is a Mac version of Windows Media Player, downloadable from Microsoft. (It works as well as...well...other Microsoft products.) I use it at home on an Intel IMac running OS 10.4.8.

- Steve

[Laaba 80]

Was the music better today? When I got home the competition was over.
Joey

[hipsterjr]

Was the music better today? When I got home the competition was over.
Joey

much better:D (minus cotton eye joe)

[thefro526]

So did anyone actually notice us on the webcast? we were doing pretty good all day and are ranked right behind the cybersonics

[Brandon_L]

As odd as this may sound, team 2495 wants to thank team 25 for completely destroying our arms. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have hit 15th place!!!!!!!!

WOOOOO ROOKIE TEAMS!!!!!!!!!!

[Sean Marks]

Awesome Day of Competition. Personally we had a big turn around in the afternoon. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! :D

[Danny McC]

Yeah. Great matches today everyone. We did A LOT better than I thought we were going to. Hope to keep our streak going tommorow. And best of luck all in the Eliminations tommorow.

[SmithWest]

What a fun first (ever) day of competition. We saw some very impressive machines today. Congratulations all around to the talented students and thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers. Special congrats to the students of Hamilton High West on Team 2495, great job today.

I think the game designers did a great job, this is a challenging game for the teams as well as an exciting game for spectators.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Get some sleep Brandon.

[Danny McC]

I agree 100% with what you said about the game designers. I didnt like this game at first but after seeing the fast paced action and the intesity of the matches in Jersey today I think its one of my favorite games so far.

[mtaman02]

What a first great day of competition. We were ahead of schedule by about 6 minutes which is why we started to drag our feet a bit towards the end. Queuing was working so well this year that 99% of the robots made it to the field on time w/o really being too naggy about your on time appearance. Hoefully Us Queuers will continue to build on that and not lose track of our goal that we're all here to have fun and we want to try *keyword on try* and get you on the field as quickly, timely and safely as possible and to make things run smoothly by announcing upcoming matches evenly and not have teams w/ their robots Queued up 5 matches early and be in the way of other teams heading to the field :)...

It really worked out well today - Thanks Ash and Jess.

I like to thank all the teams for their first day of cooperation and understanding it was well appreciated and the team queuers had a much easier job to do.

Congrats to all the teams who earned their first set of awards today... you deserve it!

Oh well, gotta get rest, wake up hit the job and then hit up NJ at 7:20A

CYA in the AM :) Tomorrow will be a blast!!!

[coldfusion1279]

Our programmer has been trying so hard to get our gyro working again... hopefully tomorrow...

How are the teams looking? (i don't get to see much since I am in the pits mostly), and theres about 38094328 pages on this thread, almost impossible to read them all haha.

[Zakkaz]

My team (1807) has a camera on our robot. We captured some video of the matches from the robot's point of view. This is our third match of the day (2/29/08).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRqJT67cHQI

Enjoy! (And more are on they way.)

[Parth Oza]

Here is a link to the 2008 NJ Regional Award Winning Website: www.mercury1089.com

We are very proud of our Website team that worked extremely hard to create the amazing website.

[nuggetsyl]

I feel really ripped. I am looking at the other regionals and they have 8 and 9 games played already.

[waialua359]

after watching matches.
Conclusion: Exceptional autonomous play wins matches.
When I saw the last match, how can you overcome a team that scores 50+ during autonomous while the other scores 16 (I think). The other team could stop playing during teleop period and still win.
The game was more fun to watch than I earlier thought or expected.
Other observations:
Team 25 had no problems loading up a ball, and without a manipulator. Impressive. If either they or team 103 are the #1 seed, and pick each other, oh boy!??!!
The best team to watch was 102! Its the coolest robot out there, picking its way around those larger bots. You gotta love it.
Robobees-great performance today. good luck!
We really miss playing here.

[Wayne Doenges]

Great matches all. I hope it goes better tomorrow for some.
Question. I just watched the YouTube match. Does the chain link fence go all the way to the floor or is there something clear and solid if front of it near the floor?
Good luck all :)

[Laaba 80]

I feel really ripped. I am looking at the other regionals and they have 8 and 9 games played already.

If you look at the number of teams at each competition, most are at about 45 teams. NJ has 63! That is why others are getting more matches.
Joey

[Danny McC]

I remember last year with less we had less matches. I don't know why we have more this year. It could just be because of easy the field is to reset.

[Tapoore]

If you look at the number of teams at each competition, most are at about 45 teams. NJ has 63! That is why others are getting more matches.
Joey

There is about 6 inches of snow forecasted for Friday night in the New Hampshire area. Because of this, Friday lunch break was cut to a half hour instead of the usual hour and the pits closed a half hour later too. The opening ceremonies will start an hour later, but the pits will still be open at 8:00. This is quite nice because my team (1519) has only one qualifier to play tomorrow and we also get an extra hour in the morning. :D

[Akash Rastogi]

Team Standings from Day 1 of competition
(http://www2.usfirst.org/2008comp/events/NJ/rankings.html)

Day 1 Match Results (http://www2.usfirst.org/2008comp/events/NJ/matchresults.html)

Day 1 Awards (http://www2.usfirst.org/2008comp/events/NJ/awards.html)

Great to see our mentor and amazing teacher Bill McGowan win the WF Award :D

[BandChick]

I remember last year with less we had less matches. I don't know why we have more this year. It could just be because of easy the field is to reset.

Last year you had fewer matches because there was an error with the scoring system. Each year we try to base around 8 matches. =)

[Athleticgirl389]

A few people posted earlier (last night) that they were hoping to see 102 in action today... hopefully you were able to catch it :P and thanks to waialua359 for commenting on 102... I will pass the word on to them. And to Mike, the queing was easy :P hahaha. Hoepfully it goes well tomorrow.

I wish all the teams the best of luck tomorrow. About 20 matches remain so we'll see what can happen :) I hope yall at home get a great show to watch :D

And I must say, your team should never leave until the end of the day (aka after EVERYTHING is done) or else you end up like 102 and having 1 mentor and 1 student there to accept the =/ haha.

[Mike Schroeder]

I'll say it.... Wayne is a better MC than Shanequa IMHO. There.

*backs out*

I disagree while i think Wayne is a very good MC, Chaniqua shows a level of excitement and energy on par with Mark Leon.

[Wayne C.]

after watching matches.
Conclusion: Exceptional autonomous play wins matches.
When I saw the last match, how can you overcome a team that scores 50+ during autonomous while the other scores 16 (I think). The other team could stop playing during teleop period and still win.
The game was more fun to watch than I earlier thought or expected.
Other observations:
Team 25 had no problems loading up a ball, and without a manipulator. Impressive. If either they or team 103 are the #1 seed, and pick each other, oh boy!??!!
The best team to watch was 102! Its the coolest robot out there, picking its way around those larger bots. You gotta love it.
Robobees-great performance today. good luck!
We really miss playing here.

Thanks for the kind words. Overall our experience this competition has been inconsistent at best and knocking the track ball down has been an unanticipated challenge. We think we have that beat.

103 is certainly the hottest team on the floor this week. Ive watched them catch and settle a bouncing trackball and then quickly pop it off. They did a great job. And we owe them a lot for advice on repairing our ball knocker as well as giving us the key to solving the IR riddle yesterday. They are good friends.
Another team to watch is the rookie Robbinsville. They have been on fire with their auto mode and knocking the balls down. Great job for a first year team.

And congrats to 1089 (my family's team) for winning the web page award. They have worked incredibly hard against some ridiculous odds against them this past year. They deserve the recognition.

WC:cool:

[Wayne C.]

I disagree while i think Wayne is a very good MC, Chaniqua shows a level of excitement and energy on par with Mark Leon.

They are BOTH wonderful emcees and I think the field staff should buy them both Evil Sundaes tomorrow when it is all over.

WC

[Zakkaz]

Another video from our onboard camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ajikaezrGQ

[Scott L.]

Nice video. How are you recording it, are you using the cmucam, what recording media, etc.

:D :D

[Zakkaz]

Our robot has an on board webcam and an embedded PC (mini-itx board). it isn't the cmucam. we use it to track the ball in autonomous. we record on a compact flash drive.

[Akash Rastogi]

Another team to watch is the rookie Robbinsville. They have been on fire with their auto mode and knocking the balls down. Great job for a first year team.

WC:cool:

Totally agree. Those guys are a sure bet for Rookie All-Star. Very impressive performance for a rookie team..heck, any team for that matter. Way to go 2590!!!!:cool:

[galewind]

So I'm enjoying the NJ regional so far. There are glitches, sure, but that often happens at a week 1 regional. What's upsetting is that some teams are still having trouble driving around the track, which makes it harder to enjoy the game. I am sure it's incredibly frustrating for those teams.

Obviously I was expecting 103 and 25 to be the two big "Contenders" at NJ, but some teams have really shown their stuff!!

The Panthers (816) have been wrecking house and hurdling quite consistently.
The Gearheads (102) are quite a blur at times.... I don't know how they packed all that speed into that itty-bitty box, but man, does it move!
Another good hurdler was 449, and another was the yellow one with the big silver claws (I'm sorry I don't remember your number).
Cold Fusion (1279) was also hurdling exceptionally well, and had pretty good control.

Some teams are doing rather well without the ball, and one team I saw that I think really does that well is Killer Kardinals (136). Just like the Tornadoes (381), they've got a smart boat-like bumper design which helps them push and squeeze in between obstacles, but I noticed that 136 really realizes that they just need to ignore everything and keep driving, and their drive system is holding up and functioning rather well.

I've seen some great hybrid drives out there too. I haven't had the chance to see a lot of them, but the ones I noted the best were Raider Robotix (25) and rookie team Nemesis (2590). Nemesis crossed 3 lines and knocked 2 balls off for a 28-point start during at least one of their hybrid attempts. From what I was told, 25 scored 40 points in hybrid mode in one match.

Good hybrids are now starting to hit the 3-line mark, and some even all 4.

Oh, and I had a lot of fun subbing in for Georga A. on game announcing today. My apologies to Iron Devils, Mid Knight Inventors, and Blair Wrench Project for butchering your names or just plan getting them wrong. That's what I get for not knowing you all.

[Akash Rastogi]

Also, a little tip for teams in upcoming regionals: If the elevator or end effector of your alliance partners' robot gets stuck on the overpass and the robot tilts, please help them out to get the robot back on the ground if you are close enough to help right away. I saw some robots helping their alliance partners with this and some that didn't. Overall, its a principle of gracious professionalism and I would like to see it happen more often at upcoming and even tomorrow's competitions. :)

Just something that may help out.

[BandChick]

Not sure but I think it was 1089. And yes, they were good at hurdling.

Galewind is the advisor for Team 1089, so I'm guessing it wasn't us he was talking about!

[Akash Rastogi]

Galewind is the advisor for Team 1089, so I'm guessing it wasn't us he was talking about!

Oh, wow, i totally overlooked that.:o I guess too many hours of scouting can mess with your head:p Sorry.

[nlknauss]

Absolutely excellent job everyone! NJ is an awesome place to compete not only because of the teams in and around our state but because of the teams that come in from far beyond.

Oh, and I had a lot of fun subbing in for Georga A. on game announcing today. My apologies to Iron Devils, Mid Knight Inventors, and Blair Wrench Project for butchering your names or just plan getting them wrong. That's what I get for not knowing you all.

Don't sweat it Chris! You did an excellent job stepping in just as you did at Garden State Rumble!

Good luck everyone, looking forward to an exciting last day!

[Scott Carpman]

I'll be down at Trenton tommorrow with a few other SciBorgs. Anybody have any buttons left to gve out?

[Nawaid Ladak]

The midwest regional needs to start playing games, then there should be a bit less load on the NJ webcast.

Edit: The midwest regional has started playing games.
Edit2: It'd be really cool if they got Obama to speak in Chicago, but he's probably busy in Ohio/Texas.

I think thanks to my other thread, he deserves to speak at the Championship event...

103 looks really good, and whats up with 25

[Wayne C.]

103 looks really good, and whats up with 25

just keeping it exciting..... (pulls pins out of voodoo doll)

WC :D

[thefro526]

The Panthers (816) have been wrecking house and hurdling quite consistently.



Lol I thought we went totally unnoticed this weekend!!!

[galewind]

it's hard to be unnoticed when you're currently seed #2 :).

[Matt Keller]

The new spot for the NJ GameDay is http://gameday.soap108.com/?evnet=nj.

Enjoy!

[Brandon Martus]

Bill Miller from FIRST asked me to post this on behalf of FIRST:

TO: The FIRST Community
FROM: Bill Miller, Director FIRST Robotics Competition
RE: FIRST Principles


At FIRST we aspire to some important goals. One of the most important is to change our culture. We try to achieve our goals by operating according to a different set of principles and imbedding them in everything about FIRST - including what we celebrate and what it’s like to attend our events.

Yesterday, music that violated those principles was played at one of our events. The music reflected things in our culture we want to change, not celebrate. It had no place at a FIRST event.

I apologize to the members of the FIRST community who had to hear it. I also want to assure you it won’t be played again at one of our events.

Thank you for your understanding and best of luck in the season.