Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

Very cool rule change! Another clarification, does this mean that if you have 1 robot on the co-op bridge it is a solid 10 points or do you have to have 2 on your alliance bridge?

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

I feel like this will definitely impact qualification rounds, considering some teams may go for the extra 10 points instead of getting co-operitition, and this will probably lead to higher scores. I think it'll be interesting to see what alliances do during eliminations, by either attempting a triple balance or double balancing and trying to get an extra 10 points on the co-op bridge. Sounds like this will be a great event can't wait until Saturday!

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

This should clear things up:

If all three robots of an alliance are balanced on a bridge, the alliance will receive 10 bonus points.
A true triple balance on the alliance bridge will give the alliance 20 bonus points, in both qualification and elimination rounds.
So to summarize:
1 robot on alliance bridge = 10 points
2 robots on alliance bridge = 20 points
3 robots, split between alliance & co-op bridge = 30 points
3 robots on alliance bridge = 40 points, in both qualification and elimination

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

So if you have one robot balanced on the coopertition bridge but none on an alliance bridge you do not get 10 points?

Also, will there still be coopertition points?

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

Yes.

and the coopertition points are not being changed.

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

In past years at Mayhem in Merrimack with the 2v2 format when there have been only 16 teams in attendance, alliance selections have been done 1-8, with the top 8 teams excluded from making "in picks" of other teams seeded in the top 8. This has worked well for the 2v2 format with only 16 teams in attendance. However, in some cases, it has led to concerns of "sandbagging" (losing matches on purpose) by teams seeded in the middle of the pack which might find it highly preferable to be seeded 9th and below (and eligible for picking by a high seed), rather than be seeded 5th through 8th.

I'm curious how alliance selections will be done this year in a 3v3 tournament with only 24 teams in attendance. There are lots of options:
1 - Standard serpentine draft; 1-8, 8-1
2 - Standard serpentine draft, no in-picks; 1-8 (no in-picks), 8-1
3 - Old-style top-down draft; 1-8, 1-8
4 - Old-style top-down draft, no in-picks; 1-8 (no in-picks), 1-8
5 - BattleCry-style draft; 1-8, lottery for 2nd pick

When trying to consider how each of these would work out, I think that the standard serpentine draft is actually likely to work out the best at making fair, competitive alliances, while still giving top seeds an edge, which helps encourage all teams to play their best in every match.

What are some of the merits / drawbacks of each draft style?

1 - Standard serpentine draft; 1-8, 8-1: Rewards top seeds with 1st pick of all available teams. Discourages sandbagging. However, since 2nd pick is made in reverse order, lower alliance captains get to make an earlier 2nd pick, allowing them to avoid broken robots. Top seeds should have the firepower to compensate for a damaged or limited-capability robot being the 3rd alliance member.

2 - Standard serpentine draft, no in-picks; 1-8 (no in-picks), 8-1: Encourages sandbagging, but at least doesn't highly penalize the 5-8 positions, as these alliance captains get to make an earlier 2nd pick.

3 - Old-style top-down draft; 1-8, 1-8: Would lead to very strong #1 and #2 alliances. Highly favors the top seeds, but makes the elimination rounds very lop-sided. I think this style of draft only works well in very deep fields; in small tournaments the top seeds just have too much of an advantage. However, this style of draft definitely encourages all teams to play their best all the time -- sandbagging doesn't make sense with this draft style!

4 - Old-style top-down draft, no in-picks; 1-8 (no in-picks), 1-8: At first glance, the lack of in-picking would seem to make this arrangement less lopsided than the regular 1-8,1-8 draft, but in practice, it is even worse! Most of the better teams end up in the top 8, but inevitably one or two of the good teams ends up seeded in the middle of the pack. The #1 and #2 seeds get to pick these "diamonds in the rough" making their alliances significantly better than the rest of the elimination alliances which end up having only middle-of-the-pack robots (at best) on their alliance. The #7 and #8 seeds get stuck with their 2nd pick being the robots nobody else selected. Greatly rewards sandbagging.

5 - BattleCry-style draft; 1-8, lottery for 2nd pick: Still gives an advantage to the top seeds by allowing them to make a pick from any robot. Avoids the stigma of a team needing to be the very last pick (the robot that nobody wanted on their alliance) since the lottery puts the last 8 picks all at the same level. The lottery can be vitally important though in this year's game, where triple-balancing can be critical in elimination rounds -- with a lottery for the 2nd pick, can't really plan alliances for triple balancing. May actually make the lottery the most important part of the draft.

I think my preference would be for a standard serpentine-style draft, as it seems like the best balance of the alternatives. The BattleCry-style draft is a close second; avoiding the "last pick" problem is good so that no teams have to be embarrassed that they were last. (Although the serpentine draft avoids the stigma, too, as the last-picked team gets the reward of being on the #1 alliance!) The classic 1-8,1-8 draft just gives too much of an edge to the #1 and #2 seeds, leading to elimination matches that are steamroller events until the finals. I really don't like the "sandbagging" that comes from precluding in-picks, so I'm highly biased against those options.

Has a draft style been chosen yet by the Mayhem in Merrimack committee?

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

WIWI has opted for the eliminations rounds to be a double elimination style. That is, two losses puts you out, but you don't play the same alliances against each other until one wins. In a small tournament, with a wide range of performance, this seems like a good choice. I guess we'll know by next Saturday afternoon if it works.

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

This was a great event! A huge thanks to team 166 for doing a fantastic job with this competition! Congrats to teams 1519 and 1073 for winning and thanks to team 1922 for picking us to work with them in eliminations! I hope to come back in the future for another fantastic event!

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

I really want to personally thank the Mayhem crew for making this a fun event. I achieved my dream of emceeing in heels, but even more important is I got to meet a lot of the future of FIRST and learn about what they think about the program...we're both learning at the same time. Thanks again!

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

Jess thank you and Andy for emceeing this event it was such a treat to see/hear you two working together. Also, thanks for snapping a photo of doing our "thing" on the bridge! ;)

Another shout out to the emcee game which was a neat twist for an off-season event allowing students and some adults to try emceeing. Our team mascot tried it out and he had a blast! Thank you Jess and Andy!

This was actually my first Mayhem In Merrimack tournament and I was blown away by how smoothly and awesome the event was. No technical issues, a great game change, and a 2v2 game complimented teams using new drivers so it was easier for them to get a hang of the game with less traffic on the field. I am extremely excited for MIM12!!!!

Thank you to all the volunteers and team 166 for hosting such well run event!

A huge shout out to team 238 for joining our alliance! Your team was such a joy to work with and you had so many tricks up your sleeves every match! We couldn't have made it all the way to the finals without you guys and we look forward to working with you in the future!

Congratulations to 1519 & 1073 you guys fought hard throughout the finals! It was a shame we had to meet 1519 again but our team holds you with such high respect we have been honored to play with and against you over the past two seasons! What is ironic is that 1519 came to our shop a few days before the event to practice balancing and the finals ended with a close battle for the coop bridge between our two teams! :yikes:

I hope everyone enjoys their summer and hope to see everyone at River Rage!

Re: MAYHEM in Merrimack 2012
 

For someone who sports safety glasses so stylishly, we are not surprised to find you in closed-toe shoes, high-heels notwithstanding. I hope you didn't have metal cleats on them. You know the rule about metal contact with the field carpet. :D