Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, and I don't usually muddle over game hints, but I'll give this one a shot.

The picture is held up with push pins.
The lyrics read Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down.

In 2002, Zone Zeal, alliances played a tug of war with movable goals, pushing them across the field and battling for them with grippers, as if to never give them up.

The lyrics also work in another regard, in that if 2013 was a rehash of 2002, we wouldn't be giving up on the original game.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Maybe we shouldn't jump to the 3 CIM motor conclusion too fast. The VersaPlantetary, which is run by either a FP, BB550, or BB775 motor, is designed to mount anywhere a cim motor is mounted and there is an option to have a cim output shaft, making it nearly identical to a cim as far as output goes with the right gear ratio.

Perhaps VexPro didn't want to add the possibility of a smaller motor reduction to the gearbox and instead gave us the option of mounting a 3rd CIM or using a separate gearbox to interface with a non-CIM motor.

On the other hand, the idea that this year's game could warrant a 6 CIM motor drivetrain is very exciting as well.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

The most logical conclusion (seeing that it appears multiple times for multiple different reasons) would be that the game something to do with the number 3. Whether this is a 3-way match between 3 alliances, triple sided game pieces, or 3:00 matches, we don't know yet. Also, a water match has been brought up several times in this thread, and we are going off of one Facebook post for that.

Reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PSueHOY-Jk ;)

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

I'm sure I'm wrong, but like everyone else, I like to speculate.......

I agree with others here who think we'll have a 3 minute game. The hint may mean nothing more than that. Just like FIRST to float a tiny tidbit. A longer game may mean a more complicated task, like gathering and/or stacking.

I did a little research into early PC games looking for anniversaries. Turns out that the predecessor to Minesweeper was called "Mined Out" and released 30 years ago, in 1983. So, there's your "water" reference :D

Some might say we're due for a unique gamepiece, maybe like the tetras from the past, or another shape constructed from PVC. Imagine collecting or stacking gamepieces for points, while avoiding the "hot" mines. If you really want to get crazy, you could make the "hot" mines a Roomba. Contact with a "hot" mine would mean having your robot disabled (by means of the infrared remote) for a period of, say, 15 seconds. Another good reason for a longer match?

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Many, many teams have built 6 motor, tank drive, systems in the past. I can think back to 494 in 2004 I believe (2 drill, 2 CIM, 2FP), and there was probably one before that. We did one ourselves in 2008 using 4CIM + 2FP.

This is more of a feature thats moderately easy to include, so why not offer it?

I personally read nothing into it.

-Brando

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

I didn't know that teams did do 6 motor tanks. It makes sense to do if you can spare the motors. Guess that means there won't be uber powered 6 CIM drives. Darn.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Many teams in the past few years have built the capability into their drive as well, however to save weight or to use the 5th and 6th drive motors elsewhere, didn't implement them.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

I don't believe that the clue is hinting towards 3 CIM motors. This is enough information for teams to start designing drive trains and other various parts of their robots. FIRST would not let out such a clear hint hinting something as large as that because they do not want teams to start designing things before build season, and as proven on Einstein last year, honor systems aren't fool proof. I still strongly believe that his hint is showing 3 minute matches for the increase of strength by using strategy. If you have no idea what were talking about with 3 minute matches and strategies, or how we came to these conclusions, check a few pages back :)

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

You know you guys are talking about different clues, right? (They're talking about the VEXpro transmission; you're referencing the 3 minute screenshot. Not that the transmission is actually a game hint.)

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Okay lol I've read enough, time for my opinion.
I find the repetition of the number three to be interesting. I think that the 3:00 match idea could be plausible.
Through my own deduction I find it very likely that FIRST will give us some sort of stacking game this year. They've done many games with shooting/herding balls and hanging tubes recently, I think it's fairly likely that we will see some sort of stacking game. The idea of the returning tetras could be the case.
As to the song title, I had the crazy idea that maybe this game will have something to do with robots attaching to each other. I also think that the possibility of having another endgame that involves lifting/positioning your robot could also be likely.

As to the pushpin/thumb tack observation, you are mistaken, they are all the same it's just that the one on the lower left is lined up with the camera. So I don't think that there is anything there.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Well this is the thread for the rick astley pic, so as far as I know we are all referencing the rick astley photo. But yes, I believe they were talking about the transmission when they referenced the 3 CIMs.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Dean Kamen has got to either be laughing his head off at all these inferences...or genuinely impressed.
To me, probably the hint would be in the thumbtacks. Which, as readers have noted, include one yellow thumbtack. Could the game this year be a 2 Red vs. Blue + Yellow? Maybe the yellow team will be a wildcard that enjoys special privileges?

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Also, the game that had lifting of robots was called Rack and Roll, which sounds very similar to rick roll. Im on board with this.

Aren't we due for the "real" (as some describe it) hint soon?

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Having robots elevate each other is very possible as an endgame. The GDC loved making it the endgame in FIRST's earlier years, and we haven't seen robots elevating each other since 2007. Sometimes it's nice to go back to the basics.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Depends:
- For 2012 it was actually a like week before this: 2 Dec, which was a Friday
- For 2011 it was actually December 21: 2nd-to-last Tuesday in December; the 18th this year
- For 2010 it was the 24th: 2nd-to-last Thursday; 21st now
Kickoffs were 7-Jan-2012 (1st Saturday), 8-Jan-2011 (2nd), and 9-Jan-2010 (2nd). This one is 5-Jan-2013 (1st).

So we're overdue by 2012 standards... but relative to 2010-2011, we could even have like 2 weeks left. No worries, we can enjoy the annual red herring thread until then!
On the note of 'this is the rick roll thread'--creating new threads for every red herring--the IR remote, the clear-sensing sensors, the 3-motor gearbox, and whatever else comes out--is a little overkill, isn't it? We've traditionally co-located these up until now.