Possession of Multiple Balls
 

Can anybody find any rules stating that a robot cannot posses more than one alliance ball at any given time? Yes I know that at a certain point in a match that there will be only one alliance ball on the field.

Edit: Not talking about start of the match either

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

I see what you are talking about; when Auto starts there are three balls.
I don't know if there is a rule against possessing two or more at a time though. It'd be hard since they're so big.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

We haven't found anything prohibiting this yet. Here's hoping it remains legal.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

But what would you do knowing you can hold multiple? Those multiple balls can't get assist points and it would be difficult to hold both, so it seems pointless to try to possess multiple.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

Start of match, actually... At the very very start, you can't possess two. Once the clock is running, I can't find anything. (Other than the obvious going down to one ball, of course.)

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

Who says you're trying to get assists with those balls? There is another game task that if done quickly could have a very high reward.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

I'm saying it would be difficult to manage both balls at once.
However, I see your point. What if there is a robot who is over in the goal area and can't score? You can put the ball "staged between the TRUSS and the ZONE LINE and not contacting an ALLIANCE partner," then during auto, score one ball, then pick up the other and score it.
That would require quick and accurate scoring, because if auto ends before that second ball is scored, you lose those 5 auto points and waste time that could be used with a ball valid for assists.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

Once auto starts there is no rule (as of yet) saying you can't pick up your teammates balls and shoot them. Containing two balls is very plausible, however it's not possible to hold three without having appendages that expand your holding capacity.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

About picking up teammate balls:

On the subject of multiple balls, from intro para:

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

Strike one... and strike two.

Strike one: That rule is on OPPONENT balls. NOT teammate balls. Guess what, no penalty at all for handling any of your alliance's balls.

Strike two: You didn't read that post--we're not talking about after each alliance is down to one ball. We're talking before each alliance is down to one ball, while some of the up to 3 starting balls per alliance are still around the field.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

If you're thinking of what I think you're thinking of, remember that you can only score TRUSS points once per CYCLE. Therefore, the strategy that I'm thinking of with that question seems dubious at best.....

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

This is a very straightforward strategy. There's nothing strange here.

A robot blocking the goal leaves its allotted ball in the white zone next to one of its partners. That partner can start with a ball of its own, collect its partner's ball from the floor and score both during the autonomous period. This allows you to score up to three balls during auto while still playing defense. Nothing fancy.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

A dual-defender auton strategy is like a 90-point autonomous in 2013. It will be rare to see and even rarer to succeed, but success will be amazing to watch.

Re: Possession of Multiple Balls
 

I understand the strategy, I'm trying to understand why you'd design around possessing both balls instead of scoring, grabbing, scoring. Shorter range shooter than can't hit from the white zone? Dumper that herds or grabs a second ball and scores that way? Those are the two most likely scenarios I can think of. I'm unsure if the advantage is significant enough to outweigh any extra complication. Though if there isn't any extra complication, then it'd be a useful feature.