Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Well, there's a negatives thread, so there might as well be a positives thread.

I LOVE this game. Triple Play was a fun game to play, but this one seems to have worked out all the things that held back Triple Play. Here, in particular is what I love:

-EIGHTY balls in play. The only game I can think of with more scoring objects on the field is Maize Craze.
-A vision system that has been improved on.
-Autonomous is no longer an option. If you want to be successful, you're moving and doing something.
-Real-time scoring. Spectators will no longer have to rely on that goofball from South Carolina with his PDA to track the field--it's on the screen. Done deal. (And it removes the need for RTS, which frees up two volunteers for other things.)
-So many ways to play the game. Fast, slow, anywhere in between.

What else do you love about this game?

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I like the game. It looks like they took 04's ball game, you know with the corrals and shooting and stuff, and combined it with 03's king of the hill thing, which I loved. However I wont be able to go go comp. . :o( I'll be in the NAVY so get me some good videos. I wanna see it played out. i.e. ill be checking random FIRST sites looking for good stuff.

oh and I cant wait to program that shooting device. Looks like fun.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

The sheer amount of real-time strategy is going to be amazing. It's going to be like watching a sport with plays. There will be blocks, fakes, double teaming; it will be amazing. :yikes:

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

My first impression is that this game looks great. :D

I like how you can score in different ways as opposed to Triple Play where you either caped Tetras or not. (though I don't remember seeing many robots not capping)

It looks like it will be a faster paced game as well which is great.

Its really easy to understand great for spectators, only thing is the switching of offence and defence might be tricky to follow at first. But not that tricky.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

This game is absolutely everything I hoped for. We have untethered projectiles, many robots on a much larger field, and the scoring has been made easier and better.

One of the coolest parts of the game though, is the wide variety of strategies available to teams. Last years the only real strategy was to cap, yet for this year... There's tons.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

HEY! I have been that goofball with his PDA counting the balls on the field... (though I'm not from South Carolina..)

Heh, really though, that will help out the volunteers A LOT!
More than that, we don't have to do "up down drills" checking to see if "they are on the loading zone" or not.. ugh. Glad that's over with.

I do love the fact that the height limit is enforced throughout the game, as to prevent teams from blocking the middle goal all together. That's going to make them think of more interesting ways of preventing other teams from making shots.


Did anyone else notice that these balls can travel a max velocity of 26Miles/Hour? WOW! I'm likely going to be doing Field Control this year... that table is CLOSE to the field... I'm going to have to watch hard for some stray balls this year, liable to knock my head off.

Matt

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

There may be some talk of netting or some manner of "containing" the balls and protecting everyone outside and near the field. I hope they can do something of the sort, or there will need to be volunteer nazis in the stands retrieving misfired balls from the spectators.

I think this game will be a lot of fun. The field looks extremely bare, but they have kept the "last second, edge of the seat" type of element with the ramp. There's essentially unlimited scoring, (big numbers people), and there are certain restrictions that will really bring in a lot of strategy. And who doesn't love colorful projectiles? And, I mentioned before, the rules are VERY WELL WRITTEN in my opinion. They have obviously taken into account confusions discussed in the past.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I think it will be exciting to see what others strategies will be. Because this game is more stratgie than function. It's all fun, the FIRST design team did a GREAT job. Kudos!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

this going to be INTENSE!! just coming up with a strategy today was fun! I can't even imagine all the possibilties that we'll see this year. We are going to see a very wide array of strategies on the field which makes teamwork all that more important within the alliances.
GREAT JOB FIRST!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I was a little worried about how spectators were going to react to the robots rushing back and fourth switching offense and defense. Upon further reflection, though, I think its going to work great. Spectators are going to see something familiar to them-- two teams rushing up and down the field-- just like basketball. I think this will break up the mid-match stagnation some of the past games have seen.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I think the game is going to be very photogenic, what, with all those colorful balls flying through the air and everything...

I love the height limit. If there wasn't a height limit, I think it would be too easy for someone to block the center goal, so I think the limit is going to bring about some very creative ways of preventing robots from scoring that goal. Maybe.

And I find the offense/defense switch completely intriguing!

Heidi

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I love how simple it is, not quite as confusing as Triple Play was. I still don't completely understand the scoring for Triple Play. I also like how open the field is, not only is this easir for the drivers, but as the team photographer this means it'll be easier to get shots during all the action.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I was throwing the kit ball around today and I can throw it well in excess of 12m/s. It made some really cool smacking sounds on the wall, but with the limit of the initial 12m/s, I don't see anyone getting hurt.

These things are dodge balls, and they are limiting them to much less than an average high school student can throw. If you remember dodge ball, it was only the ones that were really zinged that stung, and then only for a minute.

Even at slower speeds though, there will be lots of *thwacks*. :D I hope MOE brings the earplugs again because FIRST built MOE sticks into the game!

Wetzel

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

It's going to be extremely fast paced, I can guarantee you that the team that has one of the best on the fly strategists at their disposal will go far...


that and it's going to be something trying to call play by play this year....wish me luck

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Automated Chaos and solicited contact = Good

Enough said.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Definitely. This game is quite a masterpiece, there is going to be lot of math strategy and designs. I think it's very cool how extension of the arm was taken away and you can only be 5 ft. tall and autonomous is going to be well interesting. Programming as a whole is going to be interesting this year. The veterans are kinda on a level playing field with the rookies too which I like. Finally, FIRST threw a complete curve ball to everyone with the new motors which if I may add are very nice. :yikes:

06 the year of flying NERF balls and the CMU cam, bring it on,
-Drew

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

It looks really fun. What I really like is the open spaces in the middle, and the different time periods to work out more of a strategy. I loved how last year had a strategy aspect, and with the different periods, it only adds to that.

However, designing the robot has been pretty difficult so far. My team has only been working on strategy and figuring out the game, while I've been coming up with robot ideas on my own time. Maybe with 20-30 other heads we'll be able to figure SOMETHING out.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

After seeing this game it will be fun to watch and one of first best. I will tell you where i ranks when i see how the game is played out.

shaun

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Wow. I am so excited for this year's game. It is so interesting, and yes, a lot less complicated than Triple Play. I had thought FIRST was going to go back to squares, but circles work too. I am thinking Aim High is going to bring out more diversity in robots and that will be interesting to see. That Easy C program will be interesting to learn, and I'm really glad too because our team doesn't really have any expert programmers on it. Eighty balls in play? That is going to be amazing. And I agree it will be quite colorful. Plus I like the bigger field. Triple Play had a small field for six 'bots going at once. I can't wait, this year is going to be awesome. Good luck everyone! :cool:

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

All I have to say is flying projectiles and robots smacking into each other! COOL!! :yikes:

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Is 54' x 26' really bigger than 54' x 27'? :rolleyes: I think you meant to say the openness of the field, which I think is a great thing. I think this game is going to be fast paced and fun to watch.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

i love this years game. everything you could want is included. high speeds to get to each end of the field. low speeds to get your spot on the field. lots of bumping and pushing this year. it is actually encouraged? sweet. many puff balls that robots can get. a hard challenge of not being able to extend vertically this year. a game that is harder than it looks. seems like it will be a good game. i agree.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I actually did not realize that, and I'm very glad someone did, so thanks. Are you sure this is accurate?

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I'd like to send out a BIG THANK YOU to the GDC. they did an excellent job and clearly succeeded at making a game much more strategic than Triple Play. The inclusion of the offense/defense periods mean that robots must be capable of doing multiple things, and it really opens the possibilities, unlike last year, where you could either score, or not score.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

This game is a lot like football. I didn't realize it until I was watching the Army Bowl for high schoolers, which, by the way, is the most entertaining game to watch because pro is boring. Anyway, alliances take turns on offense and defense, the circular goal is the parallel of a field goal, and the corner goals resemble a touchdown. Teams will have to stratetgize through it just like coming up with plays, etc. We're playing robot-friendly football! :D

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Many of you seem to be excited about the prospect of having balls launched through the air doing all sorts of crazy things. What is really going to be interesting, however, are the methods invented to launch the balls to the center goals other than the obvious cannon or softball pitching style.

Otherwise, this game will be awesome. No question.

-Joe

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

While I'm looking really forward to the game (and currently drowning in the strategies developed at our first meeting) what I'm really really looking forward to is the video's after the regionals. With balls flying everywheres, amazing last second plays, saves, etc., we are in for tons of amazing videos.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I really like the game and lok forward to it. There are so many different possibilities. Rookie/less advanced teams will be able to have a good role by pushing balls into the corner goals, while advanced/good rookie teams will be able to score in the center high goal. There are many possibilities with this game and I see a lot of different teams getting a chance to use there different capabilities. This game incorporates a lot of different tasks, and I think it will be a lot of fun :)

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

The circular goal reminds me a lot of a Quittich goal. Too bad they don't have a Golden Snitch to go after!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

:o Wow I'm sorry, I completely did not know the dimensions of the field yet this year, it did just look more open to me. Thanks for saying what I meant, lol. :)

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Yeah, it would be pretty awesome if FIRST could do a Golden Snitch type thing to go after, but then we would have to make flying robots....oh the possibilities. :D

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I think one of the best changes this year is that there are very few penalties and they are reasonable. Last year we got hosed in our last divisional qualifying match by a partner that racked up 60 penalty points by accidentally bumping into opponents in the loading zone. Also, spectators and participants couldn't determine who had won a match until all the red flags were counted. This year, if you stay under 60 inches and don't purposely mug an opponent, there are no penalties - just scoring. Sounds great to me.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

The thing I like best about this years game (aside from the obvious things about projectiles) as compared to last years game is the penalties.

Last year, you could be penalized for doing little things wrong (like not touching the loading zone, or standing in the wrong spot when you were loading the robot).

But this year you only really can lose points for designing your robot to break the rules (like by extending above 5" or reaching into the corner goals).

It should make the game a lot more fun.

- Toby

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I didn't even think about penalties yet for this year's game. There were a lot of ways to lose points last year from penalties, and you didn't know the score until after the refs added it all up. You could lose a match or you could win a match by the amount of penalties one alliance got. This year it is a lot simpler and you don't have to think about a whole lot of specific things in order to keep from getting penalties. I agree that it should make the game more fun, although sometimes it was nice to win a match because the other alliance got a whole bunch of points lost from penalties. But you don't think that since most robots will need to be both offensive and defensive, that you'll get more 'bots hurting other robots in order to be defensive, therefore getting more penalties? I don't know, the competition manual for this year is still being downloaded on my computer so I don't know all the ways you can get penalties in this year's game yet. :)

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I love this years game. Pretty simple yet exciting. Throw balls around or push them into the 1 point goals. The spectators will love it too, but we've got to make sure we don't accidentally hit them.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

i think the NUMBER of penalites is essentially the same. the difference is the point value and reasonablility. Most penalites are 5 points each, except for a few severe ones (going out of bounds, etc.) Also, they've included exceptions (breaking 5' while in transient conditions, accidentally hitting another robot with an extention) to make sure that the pentalties are only incurred when the intent is reasonably clear (ie. getting knocked into another robot will not incur you a penalty, i hope)

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Ok, I think the game is cool, but I think it's kind of against the spirit of FIRST/CD to parody a thread like that... it's pretty obvious

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

OK, so that's what it is. I forgot about that, and now I feel like a ditz. I'm going to guess that that means the balls will actually go that fast even though they're not very dense as in a crumpled ball of paper, having such low density, isn't capable of moving too fast. This really doesn't matter too much, since we saw that the balls have no problem making it to goals. I wonder why they use a 30º angle as an example when 45º maximizes the distance a projectile travels.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

45º only gets maximum distance when you don't include air resistance. once you factor that in, the angle is closer to 30º

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

this year's game seems pretty awesome to me :D

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I think it will be awesome as long as it does not become another stack attack where there isn't much scoring on the center goal. This is by far the most strategy intensive game i have seen in my FIRST career.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I love it... we're playing basketball.

Schools understand it.
Newspapers understand it.
Television will like it.
This is a good media-friendly game.

I can see off-season demonstrations where the robotics team challenges the star basketball player to s shooting contest: 40 poof balls - the most scored in 2 minutes wins. How cool would that be?

This calls for some lyrics:

(sung to the tune of "Basketball Jones")

Basketball Robot, I got a Basketball Robot
Got a Basketball Robot, oh baby, oo-oo-ooo
(spoken)
Yes, I am the inventor of a Basketball Robot
Ever since I was a little baby, I always be designin'
In fac', I was de baddest designer in the whole neighborhood
Then one day, my mama bought me a basketball
And I loved that basketball
I took that basketball with me everywhere I went
That robot was like a basketball to me
I even put that basketball underneath my pillow
Maybe that's why I can't sleep at night

Andy B.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Yes,
HUGE congrats to this year's game designer team. This will be a very "public" intuitive game for media, parents, guests to easily understand, which is a BIG part of the overall picture.

There will be total mayhem on the field with all the missed shot balls flying around (hopefully not outside the field) and there will be a lot more safety than last year's "flying 10lb. tetras"

I really wish that FIRST could invest in a "fly-over" field camera like the football games use, as that would give a great viewing angle. At a minimum, the video crew should have a couple of fixed overhead cameras above the end-walls.

ps: The Canadians and Brazilians will love to should out "Goooooaaaaaaalllllll"

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Yeah, but as I had to remind Andy on Saturday afternoon, during Week 1 of the season he and I both really thought that Stack Attack was going to be really great. So our judgment must be suspect! :)

I will admit that I am more nervous about this game than any other year. The Game Design Committee knowingly is taking a big risk with this game. If we are right and the shooting projectiles/clean field/basketball metaphor really does work, then this will be an awesome game when we get to March/April. If it doesn't work then it will not work in a really big way. In that case I am changing my name, wearing a disguise, and moving to an undisclosed location in a cave in New Mexico. In the mean time, my ulcers are getting ulcers.

-dave

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Hey Im a first year and it looks pretty difficult but at the same time, the finished products regaurless of what they are are definatley going to be incredibly awesome. Not to mention how much fun its gonna be to actually play the game.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!!

-Matt

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Personally, as a programmer, I am happy that autonomous mode matters now. You can do all the normal things, AND you get a ten point bonus AND you get to play D first. However, there are other threads discussing the advantages of autonomous mode.

My own perception is that the game is at once simple to understand (two goals, and a platform to sit on at the end). It can be explained in about 15 minutes if you know what you're talking about.

However, that simplicity doesn't seem to come at a cost to the complex strategies available to us.

Hats off to the devs!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I like how the game designers took a really big hint from last year that a more strategically based game is better. Simple to understand yet strategically complex games are better for everyone. There are easy ways to approach the game for rookies and also complex ways for season veterans.

This game, in my opinion, requires the most from the software department of all the teams than any other game. To set up the camera to align a shooting mechanism sounds easy but can become hell for the programmers. Glad to see FIRST incorporate all aspects of engineering into the games. :)

The games are getting more and more intuitive to the general public. When people ask us what does your robot do, we can finally answer in a coherent sentence, "it shoots balls into a hoop," instead of "well it climbs on top of this platform and then attaches to a bar and hangs from it." A game that is easy to understand will attract more public awareness of the program and therefore, expand FIRST.

I'm really excited about this year's game. If it goes well and gains popularity, I think that it will set the tone for future FIRST games.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I totally agree with what you said Shu, this game is going to be very intense for the programmers :ahh:. I am glad that it is easy to explain and is something people can understand/relate to (just explaining what a "tetra" is was hard enough).

I like this game a lot more than last years game (so far) and I hope it will stay that way. We have some great new mentors and some great returning ones so it is looking to be a great year!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Mad props to Andy Baker!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

seriously this game is insane
it has all the same action of a sport and it has a lot of vareity
this game should be fun to watch and fun to play
the game should be very enjoyable this year

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Do I hear a new DS&TKB song? :p

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

One thing I noticed right at the beginning was there was no "what the heck?" factor after the game was released like there has been with previous games. Everyone (I think) understands what is going on. It will be fun to watch and better yet, fun to play! It's gonna be a great year!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

This is my last year as a high school student and i think this will be the best game yet.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Greg, i think this can be summed up in 2 words. :ahh: TRIPLE THREAT!!!! :ahh:

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I'm only disappointed in that in the past, explaining the basic premis of the game has always yielded a reaction from the non-FIRST person like this: "Oh, so it plays basketball?" And now, thanks to this year's game, I have to say "yes" :)

And really, that's a great thing. It's a simple game the way a sports game is simple - you have simple goals. And like sports, complex strategies evolve out of those simple goals.

I think it's bold of the GDC to have another game where everyone has to manipulate one scoring object (last time was the Tetra). You can't make a bot that just works with one part of the game and hope to be picked by a complimentry team. This isn't necessarily better, but it ads something to the design challenge: how do you make your robot better at picking up the ball/tetra and scoring it?

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

This years game is going to have its ups and downs but it is going to be very competitive and interesting but it is going to be a good game.(not as exciting as the last 2-3 years) well let me stop myself and i will tell you when i see the First FIRST match of this season played i can't judge it until i see it played.

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

Speaking of similarities to Stack Attack, one of the things that has been brought up to me was that, like Stack Attack, the gap between doing the easy thing and the hard/glorious thing is big, and of not enough reward, and I think that shooting successfully will not be done very much in the competitions. It's disappointing that (probably) the only thing that will stand out (shooting) is (in my opinion) going to be to hard to do consistantly. It all comes down to seeing the competitions!

I don't mean to be negative in any way!

Re: Does anyone else think this game will be awesome?
 

I think that shooting is going to be really really important.