Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

This is probably worthless, but I used a physics formula here.

If an object were in free fall, with an initial velocity of 0, and reached a max speed of 10 ft/sec (before hitting the ground) - I calculated it to mean that the object is 1.56 ft off the ground when it started. Here's what I did:

V1^2 = V0^2 + 2*a*delta y
10^2 = 0 + 2 * 32.15 * Y
Y = 1.56 ft

Again, this is probably worthless. But... this would be the first time there's stairs in a game - nothing says they have to go very high. There could be a ramp going up to a platform and a small staircase also going up to this platform. Maybe this platform is 1.56 ft off the ground? Not that high, but high enough so a normal robot can't just drive right onto it.

Maybe my math is wrong, maybe my guess is wrong. But there's been a lot of wrong guesses, and bad theories over the years, I'm entitled to make one too.

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

if you fall off a platform your speed is = A*T with A =32'/S and T= time of fall in seconds.

so a 'limit' of 10'/S = 32*T

T= 0.3125 S

the distance you would fall in a given time is

X= 1/2 A * T^2

= 16*0.3125^2

= 1.5625 feet = 18.75 inches

BTW 10'/S = 6.8 mph

tell you what I think

someone is an Evil Knevil fan and there is going to be a ramp that your bot has to jump off to get to the other side = 18.75 inches high

or you will have to go another way, like under the bar last year.

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

Vmax is also a type of motorcycle.

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

are there any teams sponsored by NSA? (National Security Agency)

they could bust the encryption in a matter of hours

but then again, they have rooms full of CRAY computers.

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

I think either Dean or Woodie were dissapointed last year

they expected bots to be hitting the ramp so fast that they got airborne

so this year, its not an option - you HAVE to go off the 18' ramp to get to the other side

or take the chicken path

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

On the whole idea of busting the code... lets not all forget about gracious professionalism!!!

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

Well it isn't a calculation. This is easy we are going to be dealing with an object that has a terminal velocity of 10ft/sec.

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

Exactly. I'm sure it can be done...but doing so would give your team an unfair advantage.

Come to think of it, FIRST would probably disqualify you for that. That's another issue, though.

At the very least, if anyone manages to crack the code, please don't post the game online. Some of us want to be surprised. :)

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

this is probably some crazy thought... but i am all confused right now ... atleast after reading these 37 different posts. what if there are two paths and both are stairs... on the top there is a platform where you have to reach and the game pieces are there which you have to grab to score points. two pathways... if the game is 2 vs 2 that means only 2 bots will be able to go by those two paths... i am going insane... :ahh:

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

I'm sure it's all in good humour.

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

it means if your robot is getting confused and doesnt know what to do, dont worry, your SW is just going through some changes - its a part of growing up :c)

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

Yeah! if you are smart enough to hack a governemt certified encription algorythm, you BETTER practice gracious professionalism

and share your results with the rest of us :^)

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

First off, Im going to have to agree with Raul. How many times has FIRST given us an "official game hint" and it's turned out to be nothing like what it seems? It is clear to me that FIRST wants us to focus on stairs, from the Stairway to Heaven reference. I am 150% sure that there is more than one meaning to this statement, perhaps, you can take the autonomous "path", or the human controlled path.

Why would FIRST take the chance that someone would guess the game? I doubt they would release any kind of information to help us guess. Perhaps theyre even covering for Dave :ahh:

Overall, I dont believe these hints for a second, and I am not going to waste my time pondering them. For those that do, have fun with the headache, and have fun when you find on Saturday that your guess was 180* off from the real game. Are you really going to get any insight into the game in the next four days by poring over these statements? Even if there are stairs, we have no idea what theyre to, and people are already talking about changing their drivetrain designs.

Enjoy the next four days,

Cory

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

I wouldn't worry about people decrypting the rule book early. If FIRST was worried any bit I'm sure they wouldn't have gone with this way to hand out the rule book.

What I get from these hints are, there is a stationary rotating goal that is open on top with a curved ramp leading up the side to it so robots can drive up the ramp to put something very heavy into the goal, but there is also another level on top of that you can only reach by lifting the object. So teams who can lift the heavy object high can still score, just not as much. then the Vmax is the speed your robot would reach if it were "knocked" off the curved ramp. :D

Re: **IMPORTANT FIRST EMAIL BLAST**/Game Tip and 2004 Competition Manual Information!!
 

why would anyone seriously start building ANY type of drivetrain before this saturday?

I think I have found a video clip that gives some insite into what we are in for this year

look at the ramp in the video -its about 18" high!

http://humor.is/redirect.php?id=4480