the good and the bad
 

In the first community we always try to improve ourselves. I would like to see the good and the bad things first did this year. When posting i want to see a 1to1 ratio of good to bad or any ratio leaning more towards good. This is meant to improve first.


Good
1. bumpers- If any team was going to rip the bumpers to hell and beyond it was going to be us. I think the bumpers where the best thing first did this year. It lets the robots take much less abuse.
2. Permanent scoring- I liked the fact that once you scored that was it. Although in the 2000 game descoring was pretty cool.
3. 2 robots on defence- This was another huge thing first did. It gave any team the chance to to score because at least one robot could help defend the shooter. If all 3 robots were allowed to play defence this game would be boring

Bad
1. scoring system- The concept of a computer scoring it a great idea but I think the system was not up to par. I do not think first should give up on this but improve the scoring system computing power. If done right it will make first a much more fun game to watch.
2. Atlanta- I have talked to people in the know and i know what happened with us going to Atlanta next year but i really hope first goes back to Disney


shaun

Re: the good and the bad
 

must've been awesome having nationals at Epcot, wish I would have been there.

One huge positive this year for me was the camera as well as the lit target. I think this is a staple that should always be included in the FIRST games. The ability to know where the target is in autonomous makes it a whole lot more interesting.

I also like the level of math needed for this year's competition. I had... well, am having :yikes: , a great time writing code for the challenge this year. Mostly because of the camera in autonomous and the complicated bits of shooting a ball accurately.

One negative to this years competition is the drainage rate of the center goal. On several occasions alliances we have played with overloaded the goal, causing a good number of balls to simply fall (not bounce) out. :ahh:

All in all, I think this year's game is great.

-Q

Re: the good and the bad
 

The good:

Meaningful autonomous mode. REALLY meaningful autonomous mode. In fact, in some matches, more scoring goes on than in the rest of the match combined.

The ramp scoring system. It provides incentive for any team to make it to the ramp but to get a large bonus you need all three robots on the ramp.

Defense is back and with a vengeance! I know some people will disagree with me but I love to see defense in a game. Last years game was (comparably) boring since little or no defence occured.

3-point goal versus 1-point goals. FIRST really did a good job of balancing the potential scoring this year. Advanced teams with lots of resources can (and have) made excellent shooters. Yet the one point goals have made it possible for non-shooters to be very competitive.


The bad:

As said before, the automated scoring is awful. Rewatching matches shows that many teams scores are off. It is usually a couple of points here and there but it can make the difference between victory and defeat.

Re: the good and the bad
 

uhmmm... WHAT ?!?!?

did I miss something about atlanta next year?

being unwanted at Atlanta next year would be a way-bad thing for FIRST

Re: the good and the bad
 

I think he means with the decision to return to Atlanta in 2007.

Re: the good and the bad
 

The Good:

Bumpers, I agree 100 percent it allowed this year to be played very defensivly without having to waste alot of weight making the bottom stonger and better protected and without making it look like battle bots.

Boston Regional: This regional was an awesome addition and was easily the best regional I have been too.

Periods: I loved the fact that you had to develop a strategy for both offense and Defense, It played more like a sporting game.

Refs and Queing (I think that is the word, the people who tell you to line up): At both of our regionals the Refs and Queing staff were excellent, they were more than happy to answer any questions you might have and were very efficient at keeping things moving along smoothly.

The Bad (note: overall I was extremely happy with this year,These things just need to be tweaked a little):

Scoring system: In theory I loved it, unfortunatly it wasn't reliable, I believe this was far more confusing to spectators thanto the drive team. HoweverI did like that you could refer to it for an appoximate score rather than having to pay attention to who was scoring while you were trying to drive. In the future if it can be refined it would be great.

Lack of a definitive rule for side goal intrusion: while this didn't effect us because we had the same head ref (Benji) at both of our events I have heard from friends on other teams that they were penalized at some events for things that were common at other events, This seems like the hardest thing to fix because FIRST tries hard already to keep things fair and there are so many different refs.

Re: the good and the bad
 

I believe FIRST renewed a 4 year contract with the Georgia World Conference Center. So that means we'll be there until at least 2010.

Re: the good and the bad
 

One good thing:

I like the Georgia Dome/Convention Center combination for an event of this magnitude. (I disliked the sun on the Einstein Field and the distractions at Disney, too many of the kids were on the team to go to Disney, period)

One bad thing:

Although I really like this year's game, the corner goal incursion rule seemed clearer in print than in practice. (The refs were consistent at both events we attended, which helped us adjust before any penalties on our robot.)

Re: the good and the bad
 

The Good:

The light for the camera, this year makes is so much easier to see, even though I've never done any programming. The color consistency is great. I remember from last year they were announcing what color to look for on the Tetras that were on the field.

Bumpers are great, I'm surprised that there aren't more robots with them. The cushion they provide can save robots.

The game itself, This is the most exciting game I've seen so far, starting with Stack Attack. The different periods are just awesome.That "more like a sporting game" is the exact way to describe it.

Alliance Selection, It doesn't favor benign the number one seed as much as in the past. It also make scouting so much more critical. Because finding that "diamond in the rough" is so much harder when 15 teams have already been selected instead of 8.

The Bad:

Scoring System, I agree that in time it will improve. At the regionals that we attended, I think they were manually counting balls for the final score. But it sure was nice to see a score during the matches, even if its not "official".

I really don't see anything else thats bad. It is so hard trying to find something bad when is so much thats good.

Re: the good and the bad
 

The Good
Lighted Camera Target - Look at how many teams successfully and meaningfully used the camera this year.
Autonomous Offense/Defense - Starting all robots fully loaded and in the center of the field is a great idea. Now scouting/strategy is key and Autonomous is like a 10sec chess match. Before the match, you wonder how it is going to to play out once the 6 bots start moving. In the past, did you ever watch Auton and say "Wow, they changed their Auto Routine!". Auto D routines were easy, effective and inspired more teams to learn how to code.
Bumpers - First took away wedges and some penalties, but gave you another means to protect your bot.
Shooting Stuff - every year the question would come up, "Can we launch the game element?" The answer was always "no". Now the answer is "Of course, didn't you see Dave's animation?". Maybe. Frisbees next year :D

The Bad
Scoring System - It is now cliche to pick on the scoring system. I think sensor based scoring could work, the sensors just need to be positioned better. The cameras can't take the Alliance Wall hits, and the center goal beam needs to be lower in the tube.
Fix-it Window Timing - the 2 5-hour block thing was inconvenient/unfair. Just give teams 10 hours.
Shooter Speed Testing - All year teams were wondering how FIRST would test speed and how they could test their own speed. Teams could have built their own official speed tester from KIT parts if FIRST told them what it was and provided the LabVIEW code.

Re: the good and the bad
 

Good:
the rulebook - Every year the manual get stronger and stronger. Kepp up the good work FIRST.
The game - Defense, shooting balls, climbing ramps, can this game get an more exciting?

Re: the good and the bad
 

This is got to be the best game ever!

Re: the good and the bad
 

As scoring seems to be a major problem this year, I have decided to test out some solutions and possibly even send them to FIRST. Dont give up on instant scoring it makes things alot easier on the volunteers and keeps games running fast and smooth.

"Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give in. Never give in. Never give in. Never give in."
-Sir Winston Churchill
October 29, 1941

Re: the good and the bad
 

Good:

The game and its appeal - Very easy to explain to people who are new to the FIRST program ("think about basketball...")

Bad:

The algorithm that decides who plays who in which match for the qualifying rounds. Lots of repeat. Dont' get me wrong, I absolutely love 1501 and was honored to be with them like...5 or 6 matches of the 10 qualifying, but I also love trying new things and working with different partners.

Re: the good and the bad
 

Good

The Game finally some entartaining web television

Superregionals again something fun to watch and something that i now want to experance

Sprit for some reason this year, everyting is more filled of sprit

Atlanta (for this year) it's centreal and big enough to support FIRST championship, it takes alot in putting a event of this callibar together, so i think it's a good idea to thank the people who made it possible, FIRST thing on thursday morning and last thing saturday night.

Okay

Allince Selections makes if more fair, not if your #1 Seed

Bumpers I can see this going both ways, this could apply to the balls getting ripped up as well.

Bad

The "Wedge" Rule If there were still wedges, 2 robots wouldn't be busy difending 2 opposing robots form a powerful shooter like 25 or 254 or 1114, they could play the game themselves, plus it would make the game more exciting DOURING the game than at the END when everyone is racing for the ramp. (and anyways, most teams already know if they can get on the ramp or not by atlanta, so i don't think there will be alot of tipping.)

NASA Webcasting I think independent agensey's should take care of the webcasting, therefore, we have more selection (sort of like 111 and the Midwest regional)

Championship Division Size Maybe have two feilds per division