Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

Hmmmm, I think we lost the FLR due to 2 opposing robots caping 2 separate goals at the last second(so much for no final bang) While 340 was holding the third bot to nothing. I think that if we never got that ridiculous 30 pt penalty in the first semifinal round we were set to win again. I agree that 3 awesome capers are good but a good defensive bot is good to have. Especially if a team has only 1 or 2 good cappers, the defensive bot can shut it down and the match is over. I think defense is important.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

Yeah it definitely wasn't just because we chose a defense bot as a third alliance. There were many factors preventing our success. Sorry if I made it sound like I was trying to blame you guys for our loss.


I still stand by the 3 cap attack strategy though ;)

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

really ive noticed that every robot that played defense lost. at the detroit regional in the semifinals we lost our first match, but then our opponents started playing Defense and they ended up losing.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

Team 1708 played defense at Pittsburgh, and they deservedly have a Champions Trophy to show for it. There is a time for both offensive and defensive strategies in this years game.

I appreciate the change in rules that disallows "high speed ramming". The past few years has produced a number of diamondplate covered "bricks on wheels". I'm tired of watching quality teams build 130 lb hammers just because they can. There's more elegant ways to play defense than beating on the other robot.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

Defense is a useful stragety, but only when used correctly. With all the penalties being give out for ramming and for hitting robots in the loading zones, I believe that a "passive defense" is the best way to go if you must play defense. However, I also believe that 3 cappers is better, as a box on wheels can play defense.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

this years game is awesome

also i think this years game is more like a game than the other years, if you know what i am trying to say, its not just push shove, there is so much strategy, it is definately a game, and a great one at that

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

You probably didn't see the VCU webcast, but we were in an alliance with 1123, and their robot didn't exactly have an arm, so they played defense, and without them, we probably wouldn't have won that match. They actually won a lot of their matches.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

That is very ture psquared. Take last year for example: the stragety was practically set out for you. Pick up balls, give them to your human player, then cap the big ball and hang. You could argue the same with this year:cap tetras. However, the fact that tic-tac-toe is involved opens up a whole new level of complexity.

In addition, I believe that this years game is much more like football than anything else, more spefically, the triple option (triple play, triple option anyone?). You have one robot work on the back, thats the full back. he sets up the foundations of the game, and gets the back row, and goes and block when needed. The other two robots are running backs. They go and score wherever they can. When playing defense, there is run defense (pushing the robot) and pass defense (attacking the tetra while the other robot is attempting to cap). Perhaps I see it this way because I play football, but the similarties are there, even if not at first glance.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

You meat-head :p

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

I LIKE IT BETTER CAUSE ON THE FIRST DAY OF UTC I HAD A NICKNAME ... unlike last year. lol. thats why i like it better.

-Crash

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

Its better then last years game For one main Reason : IT DOESN"T PUT YOU TO SLEEP WATCHING IT! Where as last years game was about as exciting as watching paint dry. I still say STACK ATTACK WAS THE BEST! :)

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

this years game is definitely a lot more enjoyable to watch and be a part of. I takes away more of the defensive aspect, which avoids problems with the robot. The only problem our team had to work through this year was that our arm got bent during autonomous mode and we had to make an adjustment. Last year, it seemed like we were always banging things back into place and whatnot. As for being a human player, it is not quite as vital a role as last years game. It's not really based on talent like the basketball skills needed last year.

One final reason I like this years game is that there are three robots on an alliance, therefore giving all 3 teams a chance to participate in all the matches of the finals.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

last year's game would have been sweet with three robots. talk about exciting.

i know 4 bots could hang at once, but 6??? that would have knocked our collective socks off.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

personally i think this is the best game from the last three years. I really like that they still have incorporated a last second 10 pt. strategy in the game. But they did not skew the point value as in other years so it is all that matters.
In many finals matches last year, if two robots we hanging they won. In 2k3 if they were both on the ramp they won. I like that the last 10 seconds does not negate the work that you have done for the first 125 seconds.
I also believe it is much more exciting to watch because there is alot more action with 6 robots and the score can change so fast at any moment.

Re: Why this game is better then last year's
 

Also '99 and '00 were the best games that i ever saw. and this years game comes close to those