Re: Ramps
 

Rich,
There is but it depends on what part of the rules you discussing. Fabricated parts whether assembled or not, must fit into the 30 lb. withholding allowance if brought in by the team at load in. If a team makes parts at the event and gives these parts to another team to assemble (in this discussion, cut aluminum, pvc, lexan, etc.) and the receiving team then must build a mechanism from those parts, I believe that satisfies R1. The Team built it. Parts are not assemblies or mechanisms. Gracious Professionalism demands that we assist other teams whenever needed.
A bag of parts may or may not be COTS. If they are COTS they are not part of the withholding allowance. If they are assembled into a mechanism(s), then they are modified and are part of the withholding. If it is pre-cut parts for a particular assembly then it is not COTS. If it is just raw aluminum of random length and must still be cut to be used for an assembly than it is COTS material. Teams have been able to get under the 30 lbs, by leaving COTS parts unmodified, carrying them into the venue and assembling the remainder of the mechanism at the event which is legal.

Re: Ramps
 

Quoted from http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...135836&page=15
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Wow!...."Change is REALLY coming", in fact it is here all over again! (I'll remind some, that part of this years Game Reveal video was the FORMER FIRST FRC RULEBOOK being recycled ~actually thrown in the trash can or recycling can/bin)....Along with "NO Required Bumpers." (Yet many keep referring to previous years rules in arguments about the 2015 FRC Rules Interpretations).

We each, must take the things we like about that situation of "Change is Coming", and understand there will be changes we like, and changes we don't necessarily like. Games we like, and games we don't like as much necessarily. Rules we like, and rules we sometimes absolutely hate, usually because it does not fit our personal ideas of how we wish the game to be played, usually to our own personal design advantages.

I'm sry to have caused a crapstorm by asking a few honest questions about legality of play already completed w/ the existing 2015 ruleset a week ago, but, I'm not sorry with the actual ending results folks.

I spent the majority of my time since Game Release Day this year parsing the game (researching what it is that "the elite winning teams do differently", than most other teams (my youngest Son graduated and headed off to college last summer, and I have taken a break from hands on mentoring this year),...So, I read/watched a lot of 1114 & 254 Mentor input out there too!),...And spent a ton of time just thinking of what I personally would do, to build a robot that would contribute highly to a winning Alliance in Recycle rush. Then I went and watched the game actually played.

What I saw and then read here on CD, happening in Weeks 1~3 (were what appeared to be massive unintentional published rules violations IMO only, and I could only see that it was going to continue, and possibly get even worse as the season progressed), as wins were often the result. So, I asked a few very detailed questions in this thread.

It wasn't because I personally believed people or teams wanted to intentionally violate the "as published 2015 ruleset." It was IMO because FIRST FRC is a culture & has set traditions, the culture is to help themselves, and other teams WIN matches, titles, awards, and Championships and grow through the use of STEM together as a community, and change is also never easy for most people.

I am glad that, as of now, all teams that already played weeks 1~3, and those left to play Weeks 4~the last match at the Championships in 2015, will all be playing on the same level playing field now, due to the actual rule changes instituted by the rules jury (The GDC), today.

But, as Gee Two so eloquently put it in the other thread (& quoted above), that (I think), helped the jury (GDC), reconsider the existing ruleset, and the original "No, No, No Answer" to Karthik's 1114 Team Q & A 3 part Question(s) posed to the GDC in Q461. And, with the GDC taking into account the CD/FRC community input, the revised answer of now "Yes, Yes, Yes (With specific limitations)", seems to be fairer to all....Actually levels the playing field throughout all the gameplay.

My hat is off to all participants on CD, and the GDC and Frank.

Once the original Q & A Question(s) (Q461) were posed, I went about my daily work, checking in occasionally to see if it (they), was answered, got busy, and actually missed the original Q461 answers, and the resulting mess.

Tonight, I checked back in to CD (said WOW!), and had a lot of reading to catch up on (the balance of the RAMPS thread here), the previous GDC A461 & the revised A461 answers, the recent UPDATES today, and the entire thread at; http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=135836
then thought a lot, before posting this input.

Nobody can say that FIRST, Frank and The GDC do not take input from the FRC & CD communites as a whole. They certainly do! (The Jury spoke, they marched the condemned robots to the gallows, along the way, gears started grinding very loudly the closer to the gallows they got, and then all those grinding gears were greased heavily, and The Jury reconsidered & simply changed the 2015 rules to fit the very well & long fostered community culture & traditions in the FIRST FRC Community....The playing field was again leveled in 2015 for all.

Amazingly I find, some parties are still arguing about the (re-weigh/re-inspection), ruling (that has been the same year in/out lately, BTW), and those arguing "it is just a formality" are arguing (IMHO urinating), into the wind!....It is THE RULE, and is REQUIRED for many good reasons. Get over it. (Examples; You do not want to get caught unaware later overweight, do you?, Or, out of legal specs?...It could possibly invalidate all your matches that came before, or since that allowed robot change). That would not be good for anyone.

Like I said earlier...I like the changes made today (the rules are now more in line w/ the traditions and culture fostered greatly in the FIRST FRC Community), and wish all teams competing good luck!

3 major issues (major non-littering noodle agreements~solved before week 1, game pcs. both on/off field & robots touching them~solved before week 1, now major team contributions to other teams~solved after week 3), this year were solved by the GDC (w/ their very careful consideration, & much CD community input).

Let's hope no more serious ones are found in 2015. (Though, always thinking outside the box, will absolutely always do that to a community!)

Teams....Go have fun!

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Everything I do or say here on CD (or elsewhere), represents only my personal opinions...Not any team whatsoever. The rules are what they are...work within them, or if you don't like them, work to get them changed (I can fully respect that).