Re: Defense comprimise ideas
 

After coming back from my own regional this past weekend I had some thoughts on this too. These are ways this game could have incorporated more teamwork and defense against the other alliance.

1. Either lose the step or make an open middle gap to allow other teams to block robots from gaining access to the totes and bins.
2. Make all the resources open access so that people have to compete. (OP: I know you already said this, but it works.)
3. *probably the craziest idea* Maybe robots could have been allowed to steal stacks from their opponents. If you made it back to your side and put the stack on your platform you got the points. However, if you knocked it down while stealing it or they fell off your robot, the original alliance retains the points and/or you get fouled thus providing a possible high risk/high reward scenario for teams willing to steal a maximum stack.

I think any of these ways would have made the game more exciting. Several of my teammates were bored with the game and felt that the structure seemed to make it so either one robot could do everything or nobody could do anything about a high alliance scoring. With defense, everyone could have a part to play.

Re: Defense comprimise ideas
 

I was merely using previous games to illustrate that it's up to the GDC to design the defense into the game. That's the best way to get defensive strategies that don't fall within those three. As soon as you come up with a "novel new" way to play defense that translates to all games, it will just be added to your list of common defensive strategies or it will be disallowed per the rules (intentionally tipping robots, blocking the view of opposing drivers, etc.)

The most interesting defensive strategies will be unique from year-to-year and almost every game has the potential for such strategies. The only question is whether these strategies are worth the effort.

Re: Defense comprimise ideas
 

Check out Einstein Finals match 3 from 2007. 987 makes one of the greatest defensive plays in FIRST history, at least in my opinion, by placing a tube on 71's ramp to block 179 from getting up.

Re: Defense comprimise ideas
 

I am beginning to think that no defense rule probably nudged some teams to build a working, even if scoring one game piece at a time. Unlike in previous years, some robots (not talking about dedicated defense bots) just come with drive and keep bugging the other robots. At least now the newer teams will not be coerced into playing defense all the time. Hats off to many rookie teams who have built some amazing machines.

Re: Defense comprimise ideas
 

I've been saying something like this recently. One good thing about no defense is it is forcing some teams that would have given up on their manipulators to actually use them. You are seeing teams attempting to score totes and RC's instead of just giving up and playing defense as they would have in previous years.