The Audience Agreement
 

Since the third obstacle is "audience decided," what if we all agree to always pick the easiest one?

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

Similarly, could a large enough student section swing the outcome?

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

I think that a relative easiest barrier would be debatable based on the area you're in and the designing process taken on by most teams, drawbridges would of course be easiest more than likely. seeing as it solely requires one to push on the obstacle.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

As coiner of "the noodle agreement' term from last year. This whole "loudest audience selection" thing concerns me just as much.

Small teams are not particularly 'loud', thus are penalized by this system.

One person with a Air Horn strapped to a megaphone could be pretty loud, and could probably decide the selection by himself.

Multiple people with Air horns, duct tape, and megaphones could cause damage to everyone's ears similar to Vogon Poetry.

So yea. I suspect this will have to change.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

I encourage everyone to thoroughly read section 5.5.10.

First, the audience doesn't get to pick any of the 8 available defenses. Each match will be assigned one of the four groups, giving the audience only 2 choices.

Second, this is only for one of the 5 defenses. The alliance gets to pick three of them, meaning if one particular defense is "easy" for that team, they should just pick that one for themselves.

Finally, as someone else pointed out, "easy" is subjective. What's easy for one team might not be easy for another.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

As someone who is poised to serve as Herald and / or Defense Coordinator (I am the queen of reset in Maryland) for various events, I am interested in this.

According to the rules, no later than the end of the match two prior to an alliance's match, they must report their defenses and positions. Then, they are given their alliance's defense plan so that they can make their strategy during the match prior to there's.

I thought there would be an issue with this but then I read further and saw that the Match List will inform teams which category is randomized for each match, respectively.

Teams just need to realize that it says one of each defense will be on the field so if your match says the audience is picking category A, you MUST set your three as B, C, and D defenses and hope the audience applause gives you what you wanted. Which means they'll need to have a strategy if they get one they want or if they don't...

Furthermore, the judge is the Head Referee so I'm not really worried about an air horn kid ruining it. It could encourage teams to invite friends and sponsors to come help them cheer.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

To the air horn comment: Violation of Admin Manual Section 3, could be classed as egregious behavior. I know I had a ref have a chat with someone using one at an offseason last year.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

Perhaps a stupid question. But do we pick the defenses our opponents cross or do we pick the defenses that our alliance cross?

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

You pick for your opponents.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

Who picks the defenses first, the audience or the alliances? Do the audience choose their defense first? Or do they pick whatever is not picked by the alliances?

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

It doesn't matter, since which category of defense is getting picked is predetermined based on the match schedule.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

Thank You! very helpful!

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

EDIT: The audience selection will be picked first. (Realized I was reading "Round" as "Match" in the manual which makes me MUCH less worried about cycle time than I originally thought.)

There are 4 categories of defense and one of each must be represented on the field. The match schedule will tell the teams A,B,C,D - which will be selected by the audience per round - cycle by which every team has played one match.

EX: ROUND 1 - B, then ROUND 2 will be C, ROUND 3 - D, ROUND 4 - A and so on...

The audience will have selected a piece that will last until all teams have played with it. Then it will get switched out. They will know to plan their strategy using the other three categories.

Then matches prior to a match (by the end of Match 2), teams must submit their defense selections from categories B, C, and D and positions to the Defense Coordinator. Then the Defense coordinator exchanges the information and teams have Match 3 to make a strategy knowing the other team's selections.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

My interpretation is the other way around.

Based on the definition of each alliance's CASTLE and SECRET PASSAGE (which are both on the same side of the field), I am assuming that the blue alliance's OUTER WORKS is on the same side of the field as the blue alliance's CASTLE and SECRET PASSAGE.

This means the rule 5.5.10:

Would indicate that the red alliance picks the defenses that are placed leading into the blue alliance's COURTYARD, and thus the defenses that they are going to traverse.

If it were the other way around (you pick the defenses your opponents need to traverse), the last sentence in the quoted piece of 5.5.10 wouldn't make sense- you wouldn't necessarily get the same defenses that you practiced with.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

Someone did not watch the video enough times (or read the rules deep enough yet).....Change "push" to "pull" please...not quite as easy to breach and defeat the defenses as first view would lead you to believe at first glance.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

I encourage you to think further about the drawbridge. Maybe consider the definition of crossing. Remember that each alliance has three robots.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

Isn't the section you quoted from the rules only for practice matches?

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

5.5.10 specifically calls out that it's PRACTICE matches.

Think about this: If you are picking your own crossings, why does the DC give you your opponents' selections? (5.5.10.2)

From the rest of the Manual, it is pretty clear to me that you pick your own Defenses.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

As far as I can tell, in PRACTICE MATCHES you choose for the opponent for the sake of practicing crossing them.

In QUALIFICATION MATCHES, Alliances pick their OWN defenses and then the DC exchanges the plans (with the audience selected section still unknown) so that you know what to expect and have one match's time to strategize how to capture your Castle in queuing!

Interestingly, teams should pay attention to Practice Matches to track what defenses teams prefer to cross... That will be a big scouting question that will later mess teams up because you've probably told the opponent which defenses you can't cross.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

Looking back at the start of section 3 of the manual, I agree.

I think you are correct that my original interpretation is only true of practice matches.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

So true (a little reverse help with either Sally Port or Drawbridge for many, may be fully appreciated on many alliances in StrongHold). But, I was attempting to point out that both defenses actually open toward the midline directions and not toward the Tower directions on each side of the field.::rtm:: ::rtm:: ::rtm:: ::rtm:: ::rtm:: Headache.

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

This is an incorrect understanding. The drawbridge is facing towards the neutral zone, meaning that it is easy to return from the courtyard to the neutral zone, but in order to damage it, you must pull the drawbridge down with some apparatus and cross it.

EDIT: The relevant line from the Game Manual, paragraph 1 of section 5.5.10.1 AUDIENCE SELECTION OF DEFENSES, page 100:

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

every team can start with a spy bot inside of the enemy defenses. push and let the other through man. just cycle all the defenses

Re: The Audience Agreement
 

i am referring to using the spy bot as a means of opening the gate for another team member to enter the courtyard.