Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

Good point. But if the ramp has FOUR sides and ONE flat top (like a plateau), doesn't that mean that there is room for FIVE robots? This would work better with the symmetry of the field. The top spot would of course be worth the most points. The ramp would take up a lot of room on the field, no matter what it's shape is. Think like these trucated pyramids, except less steep:

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

that makes a lot of sense...i'm assuming that it wouldn't be mobile, b/c that'd be REALLY hard to climb on if it was... and dangerous too.

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

Actually, that brings up a really good point. Assume that while "five 'bots are tangling with pasta" there is a truncated pyramid or similarly shaped object on wheels like the mobile goals of '04, or the puck of '98? (in that year robots physically got on top of the puck and were awarded points for it). There would be points for the robot atop of the rolling truncated pyramid (isn't that just a fun word to say?) at the end of the match. Probably in order for most bots to climb it they would need help of an alliance partner, but good robots could mount it themselves leaving 2 of their robots to tangle with pasta while they fended for themselves.

And could you imagine getting on said object in Autonomous Mode?!?!?!?

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

[I only had time to read about half of the thread... so don't kill me if I'm repeating here...] :eek:


A few things discovered in 15 minutes worth of research, none of which I've seen here yet:

1) Couldn't help but Google the exact phrase "five 'bots"... and lookey here what it discovered: http://www.fileaholic.com/idgames/pa...d/coderd12.txt

Knowing the geekiness of the GDC (thats "geek" in the good sense)... I'm guessing there might have been a Quake player or two out there... Notice that "You begin in a level with entrances to three(for now) arenas". *3* !!!

2) Now to dictionary.com... "Tangle: To catch and hold in or as if in a net; entrap".... speaks for itself.

3) PASTA is an acronym in queuing theory; it stands for "Poisson Arrivals See Time Averages". A wildshot... but then again, could have something to do with the scoring system.

4) There is a meaning of "show" that I haven't seen mentioned... again thanks to dictionary.com... "Show: Third place at the finish, as in a horserace." I dunno.... there's that "3" again. Also, "obsessed" can mean "influenced or controlled" SO: Translate: "A game piece influenced or controlled with a shovel's third place finish." Yike's -- the value of a gamepiece might be different for the third place finisher?

I won't touch Montana's green heights for now.

Happy New Year!

Aidan

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

I just thought of this, instead of having the ramps/platform in the middle, they may be at the ends of the field like a end zone in football. This just came to me when I was reading about Montana's heights/Joe Montana. I think it would be cool if they placed the ramps and goals at the ends like end zones, and have the robots start in the middle... Just a crazy idea.

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

that might've been mentioned before, but never connected like that....if we had a third place, that would imply three alliances...maybe that's how FIRST is combatting the "ganging up" problem that occurred last time there were three teams playing at ta time...

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

Similar to 1995's game:
http://www.firstwiki.org/Ramp_n%27_Roll

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

the field will be cheap.. prob as cheap as last year..and as easy to create.. so I wouldn't count on a 10ft hill

also if it's 5 bots... it won't be 2v3 -- that would take way TOO much planning and could be a catastrophe
5v0 is very possible -- alliances could have the opportunity to end a match early again - and if the avg time of a match is 1:40 or so.. it would make up for not having a 6th team on the field

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

What if it was a standard ramp like in 2003 with rope netting instead of wire grate? and then the top of the ramp could only hold five? remember how the ramp only fit so many in '03? its a little flooky, but maybe...

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

Another really crazy idea, but what if the truncated pyramids are at the end zones like Norris said. You begin on top of the pyramids and at the end autonomous period, you have to use the CMUcam to find your way back on top of the pyramid

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

The ramp/platform in 2003 could hold 4 robots, the number that played the game that year. It happened many times during Regionals and Championships.

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

Oh my god, this is a good find. This makes me think that it will be a 2x2 game with a FIRST-controlled defensive bot defending the top (where there will be a goal for the footballs).

Ramps will have to be scaled by robots during the end of the match--which will be autonomous--for extra points...and they must have started *off* the ramp before autonomous began.


--Petey

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

i don't know about an autonomous task at the end of the match, it would make the ref's job hard to make sure the task was not completed (or started) during operator controlled mode
though, it would be an interesting twist

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

How would you introduce a house robot?

This would tick people off more than anything FIRST has ever done in the past. Unless it just sits there, or drives around with flashing lights all over it, far away from the action, there's no way to keep the robot from adversely or positively effecting the rest of the teams. Everyone would complain that xx alliance got more help from the house bot than yy alliance, and zz alliance got completely screwed, etc.

Plus, how on earth are teams supposed to build their own robot, PLUS a second robot, just to have a working field?

This isn't battlebots, where the entire goal is to destroy everything else on the field. There's no way there's a house bot.

Re: 2006 Official Game Hint Discussion
 

That's true. There's no way there would be any housebots that do specific tasks, like defend, otherwise teams would need to build their own housebot in order to practice before competitions. Most teams only build pieces of the field, so it's doubtful FIRST would make us build another robot too.