Originally Posted by Chris is me (Post 1205063)

...we aren't certain the KOP chassis is smaller, we just know it all fits in a smaller box.

Originally Posted by jspatz1 (Post 1205048)

I guess I was remembering that they dramatically increased the allowance in 2009. At the time the reason given was to allow more time with the new control system, but they have continued the larger allowances. An even bigger change is that it used to be prohibited to work on actual robot components, upgrades, or software after build season. We were allowed two 5-hour "fix-it" work sessions after ship date, and between each regional, where we could build or repair spares or minor modifications, or work on software, but there was no on-going redesign and fabrication allowed after build season. Your robot was what it was at the end of build season, and that's what you competed with.

Originally Posted by F22Rapture (Post 1205084)

It's my understanding that 4" plaction wheels have been available on and from Andymark for years, the only new development this year is that they're offering a new tread for them similar to the 6" HiGrips

Originally Posted by DampRobot (Post 1205099)

Changing the withholding allowance wouldn't "level the playing field." Powerhouse teams don't just iterate heavily, they often just get how to play a game successfully because they've had successful designs in the past. Sure, all the best teams upgrade their robot, keep parts of it back for software, or just manufacture parts after build is over. But if they had to ship their final robot, it would be very good anyway. Eliminating the withholding allowance would hurt the teams who didn't get the robot right the first time (the non-powerhouse teams) a lot more than those who mostly did (the powerhouse teams).

Originally Posted by dotbran (Post 1205100)

In my experience it is the powerhouse teams who withhold the most weight and have the resources and expertise to take best advantage of the extra time.

Originally Posted by dodar (Post 1205090)

...yes, Andymark is now making robots with multiple sections where they have to bolt together instead of making sturdy, one-piece sides. I'm sorry, but that makes zero sense.

Originally Posted by Siri (Post 1205094)

I'm still waiting for traffic cones and nerf footballs. ...Just not simultaneously.

Originally Posted by inkspell4 (Post 1205110)

Has anyone else noticed this new product on andymark?

http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-2414.htm

Originally Posted by inkspell4 (Post 1205115)

Truthfully just making a robots control system accessible yet waterproof might be a challenge in itself not including the fact that it would most likely require some type of easily manipulated propulsion system.

Lastly would the venues used for the competitions even have a area where a water game could be played.

I believe first will stick to games based on land

Originally Posted by dotbran (Post 1205100)

In my experience it is the powerhouse teams who withhold the most weight and have the resources and expertise to take best advantage of the extra time.

Originally Posted by holygrail (Post 1204203)

Here are the things I think are important for the info we have so far.
1. I think the significance of the 12/21/12 release date is that if you add the 1s and 2s together you get 3/3/3. Three groups of 3.
2. This was game hint 3, even though you really have to stretch to assume that there were two other official hints.
3. Pi was the key to decoding the hint (a version of 3)
4. The Rick Astley video was from exactly the three minute mark
5. This doesn’t have to do with three, but the box dimensions on the chassis are smaller this year.

Okay, so here is what I think it all means.
I think we had correctly figured out that the 3:00 mark on the Rick Astley hint means that we will have 3:00 matches this year. This bothered me because I, like most people (I think) would rather play more matches rather than fewer.

But if there are 3 alliances of 3 robots each, you can still have each robot play about 10 matches in qualification rounds with only about 2/3 of the matches. Usually at a 60 robot regional, you have to play about 100 matches for each robot to be in 10 matches. With 9 robots on the field, you only need 67 matches to do the same thing. I don’t even want to think about what this means for scouting though.

Fewer, longer matches also means more time with robots on the field and less reset time. Also, more interesting for the spectators.

This also goes along with the smaller robot dimensions. To have more robots on the field, they need to be smaller.

3/3/3 – 3 robots, 3 alliances, 3 minute matches

As for the nature of the game, I feel like it is much more speculative. I do feel like there may be a big tower in the middle of the field for something, but I wouldn’t bet much money on that thought. I feel more confident about the idea that you will have to hold up something heavy since it is (kind of) in both clues. The Rick Astley song – “Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down” and in the cypher “A dinner missed, holding weight.”