Chief Delphi - Defense in Ultimate Ascent

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregor (Post 1262884)

And by that point in time the match is over. In the time it took you to come to that conclusion, it would have been faster to go around.

I'm not sure about you or the drivers you're used to working with, but I know as a driver I was able to make this decision as quickly as I am able to make decisions when walking through a crowd of people. "Do I go to the left to get around this person? To the right? Do I stay behind them because there is another obstacle in the path around? "

Being able to make quick decisions as a driver is probably a subject for it's own thread though - so if there's a need to discuss it more, we can make one or take it to PM's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris is me (Post 1262891)

Well, maybe it takes two minutes to type all those words, but these kind of decisions can be made instantaneously in the drive box by experienced drivers or coaches. In the case of the coach, all the thinking can be done internally, but the command can be as simple as "go to the left" or "hit the right corner and push through".

The crazy micro-plays that are come up with in a moment's notice are some of the coolest bits of quick decision making in FIRST. I love looking for them in match videos.

The really interesting part is when you have to watch match videos 10 or 12 times before you can see what was done to avoid a situation. I'm convinced that there's a certain point where making these kinds of on the fly choices are so intuitive that they seem natural.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam_Mills (Post 1262892)

Dustin brings up a great point. Often times, it is possible to ram through defence. If you are driving full speed, and hit someones corner, they are likely to get spun out of the way.

There are many types of contact strategies, some better than others.

IMO, the best ones are the ones that can be executed quickly, since the goal is to save time. That usually means spinning and dodging instead of downshifting and pushing.

It all depends on the situation though.

Sam, agreed. There are usually a handful of 'obvious' moves around common defense, all of which will work well enough to get the job done. But occasionally, special situations will arise (you know this) that need to be addressed using non-conventional means... ;)