what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

I was thinking what would be a neat game object. Wayne has said he thinks this years game may have barrels. I think that would be pretty cool.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Barrels would be interesting, especially if the human player would have to throw them on the field Donkey Kong style :P

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Not necessarily an object, but hands down, water would be the coolest. I don't mean like the whole field underwater, but to score, you had to fill something with water. It would require the minimum of additional preparation to things like electronics to be competitive, and like this last year's game of throwing things, it would catch the most experienced teams off guard. No one has had to deal with a fluid before.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Those Koosh balls that were really popular back in the 90s.. I like them and they would be interesting to manipulate with robots.

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I think we're seeing a shift to the lots-of-opportunities-to-score type of game, judging from the past few years, with fewer opportunities to truly lock down scoring from the other side. (Sure, you could've tried a tetra-starvation strategy in Triple Play, but the risks would've been ridiculously high for penalties.) With each year going back to FIRST Frenzy, we've seen more and more game pieces on the field, with a decent team able to score in at least one of them at a given time. Water transportation would be a bit of a leap, but I could definitely see some form of transport-a-lot-of-really-tiny-non-grippy-objects game in the future. Ping-pong balls would do wonderfully in this--reasonably durable, cheap, and field reset can sweep or pick them up. On the flip side, imagine if the GDC decided "Hey, we won't specify a set number of balls on the field!" Suddenly, later matches would have to contend with more stray balls on the field.

That sound you hear is of every programmer in the country cringing at the thought.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

I hope FIRST stays with Projectiles for another year or so.:D
Just like, another object that isn't hard, such as a Poof football. That would be really interesting to have to pick up the item and then somehow have to shoot it into a goal.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Actually, shooting Poof footballs would be an interesting challenge. You can shoot Poof basketballs any which way you want (assuming there's not a chunk ripped out of them), but footballs require a certain orientation to throw well.

Or, for the ultimate challenge, footballs and basketballs! :D

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

As I suggested earlier in another thread, Aerobies would make excellent gamepieces.

They fly, they are torroidal (like Krispy Kreme donuts!), and they offer multiple possibilities for scoring; e.g., put 'em in a bin, or hang 'em on a pin.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Most Ultimate Game Piece... my vote goes for frisbees.

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I concur. They're cheap, easy to get, simple, durable, visible, non-dangerous- just about everything you could want in a game piece. Except being hard to handle mechanically! Oh well, what good is a game if it's easy, right?

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How about 5 gallon water jugs filled halfway with some type of moving material that keeps the jug changing it's balance point all the time. Can't be water in case the jug is broken but something like nylon beads.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

I have thought of large objects with a severely off set balance point. Yet a game piece with one that is moving might be good too.

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Dry sand would do it. Not too noisy, always shifting, and heavy so the shifting balance actually makes a difference.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

And, just to make it uber-devilish, you can vary the amount of sand in each jug, then make them opaque so the drivers can't tell. (Any jugs introduced by a human player could be known, but we can work with that.) Suddenly, each jug you handle is going to handle differently. And 97.1618% of all of the Innovation in Control Awards will go to teams whose drivers don't even need to know the difference.

(I recall that BEST explored similar themes one year, but I'm fuzzy on the details.)

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Why have a water game, when you could have a game in SAND!?!

mwahahahahahahaha



edit: better yet, BOTH! BEACH GAME ;)

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Ahh! I hope not. For the first time in our history, Corry Robotics would have to learn to use a Shop-Vac!

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Is that a hint? It came from Sean... I can't handle these Lavery people. Butter fried KK's , Beach game, every other hint there is.

Wait, I got it there will be inflatable pool rings. Thats it, Beach+KK=Pool Ring. Is that it Dave, just for the love of all that is FIRST tell me if I'm Right.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

dude...if there were barrels..it would have to be fun

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wet sand in barrels!!!

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But then again, there's also always the possibility of batons. :p
They would be difficult to manipulate/pick up, and could pose quite a challenge.

However, another fast paced game featuring projectiles would make for a great season.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Yeah poof footballs would be very fun to figure out how to manipulate.

Would be cool to put spin on them too, as well as force to propel it like the poof balls.

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Inflatable Punching Clowns-

robots shove them in a Volkswagen or barrels....

Human players blow them up with bicycle pumps and throw them on the field....


This could only be the beginning!!!!!

WC

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

WEEBLES!

Tall hollow objects with a round bottom that weighs a considerable amount more than the rest so they can't tip over.

How awesome would that be? There's a field of them and you drive over them and they just spring back up.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Man, would I love to see a VW beetle on the field. That would be so cool.
I think - nerf footballs.

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I was in PetSmart today and saw a dog toy that I thought would make a really cool game piece. It is called a Hol-ee Roller and they look like this. They come in several sizes both round and football shaped. The one I was looking at was about the same size as this year's poof ball. They seem really tough (made for dogs to chew on) and should survive anything we can throw at them in competition. They are fairly soft and deform easily. They do not bounce much and would seem really safe to use in a competition even if they started flying around. The holes and squishiness would make handling them with robots really fun. If (when) we have a ball game again, these would be interesting.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

I'm glad someone reminded everyone of what this year's game piece will be.

Those dog chew toys would be really odd to handle. In fact, if the GDC were to take a walk through Petsmart I shudder to think of what they'd be giving to us this year (robots must retrieve water from a gerbal feeder?).

I'm still holding out for folding chairs as a game element! Bonus points for opening them and making a stack.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

What about having every type of game piece FIRST has ever had and put it all into one huge octagonal field with 4 robots red alliance and 4 robots blue alliance. Tetras around the 8 corners of the field, a central platform with a hanging bar, 2 Aim High goals on opposite sides of the field, Poof balls, big yellow beach balls, rolling PVC cage columns for loading the Poof balls, and two loading zone on opposite ends for stacking boxes (extra points if carrying Poof balls). Of course, the platform would be 12 inches high and skirted all around by ramps set at a 30 degree incline up. Then make autonomous 20 seconds long and the actual match 3 minutes long. :D

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Let's try a little gedanken (thought experiment)....

Anyone who thinks sand would make a good thing to have within 100 yards of a FIRST competition, should imagine sprinkling just a little over their robot (on the Victors, transmissions/gears, bearings, conveyor belts, treads, etc.) (maybe get a little into the driver's controls too) and then imagine trying to use the robot.

Now, tell me if you have changed your mind. :-)

Nothing smaller than a ping-pong ball inside or outside of containers please.... This includes water, even if it distilled and consequently is non-conducting.

Even something as big as ping-pong balls is asking for lots of trouble if they escape containment while above a robot(s).

Blake
PS: If you remain unconvinced, get permission to destroy a robot, and then try the sand experiment. :-) :-)

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

I guess my #1 object would be a football. The one game piece everyone has consistently asked about for years is the football- and it hasn't happened. My second choice would be the large inner tubes like from the game torroid terror. Bring us back to the days with big claws and long arms.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

This is true, I wouldn't want to carry sand in an open bucket without a -lot- of preparation of the robot. But a device like the tetras should be fine. Sure, the clovers broke, but did anybody break a tube in competition? (I didn't see one between UCF, Palmetto, Curie, Einstein, the Capital Clash, and a few snippets of webcast. Surely at least one of those would've had one.)

On the other hand, it might just be easier to fill up one of those tubes with cement and call it a day.

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I guess you havn't heard about 116's robot surviving the torrential downpour at IRI 2005....
;)

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What if instead of manipulating the game pieces the human players WERE the game pieces! ;) :eek: :D

Now that would be interesting... Not to mention extremely dangerous...

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wow. thats an interesting mental picture. I think whatever first decides to use it shouldnt be a seasonal item such as the pool noodles. good idea but hard to get for us folks up north who are looking at several feet of snow in january.

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What if the robots had to manuver such that the field elements moved and/or manipulated the robots?

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Yeah! "FIRST: Indiana Jones style!" Only the penitent shall pass... :D

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

no no no... if you really want to have fun... transporting the HUMAN PLAYER has to be part of the game... :ahh:

-Q

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

How about using Genia as a game object?
Kind of like caputue the flag.
First team to capture Genia and bring her back to their zone wins the match.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

We so need to go to bumble balls. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Those were sweet.



Now who can't say that wouldn't be awesome.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

I already had and they already did .
I still think they would be great.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

The barrel comments remind me of the good old "barrel o' monkeys" I had when I was little. I think it would be interteresting to have a game obeject along that lines when you hang the object to score but longer chains were a multiplier.

I have thought that a water or sand score by weight type of game would be interesting, the concept never seemed practical though. Using the robots themselves as scoring objects would be interesting. Laps around the field, entering a certain area, triggering touch sensors to "own" areas of the field.

That said however I think this year is a football or a cylinder. I was thinking frisbee but they aren't easily manipulated for a fast paced game, which has seemed to be an important trend the last few years.

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I wonder if bumble balls might make repair/reset crews just a little crabby..they are a whole lot of fun.

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How many did they use in Best per game?

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Let me research it a little, Ed....
One thing I'm thinking about is the difference in size and power of the robots.
I'll be back.

Back but not very helpful - 24 per round for Bumble Rumble, high maintenance little fellas with their battery - dead battery stuff. So backup, replacements were probably costly and time consuming with people needed to replace the batteries. Also, to my knowledge, the body is hard plastic though the 'nubs' are not - if they crushed, cracked, it would be plastic shards. High maintenance game pieces. When they played Bumble Rumble in 1994, there were 23 teams total in BEST. When they played Warp X in 2002 which also had bumble balls as one of the game pieces, there were 475 teams, I believe.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

only thing with bumble balls is that they suck up batteries. every two matches would need new batteries. now dead bumble balls would still be fun to play with.

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I'm sure somebody in FIRST could come up with an inexpensive, relaible power source.

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i smell the smelly smell of 200 freshman on power-bikes...

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I just got an update from some folks who participated in 1994. They said the Bumble Rumble is still one of the most talked about and is one of the most fun games to date. Also, there are a 'lot' of 'new' mini bumble balls that were to be used for a demo that did not happen. They are stored and a good price could be negotiated. I have no idea what a 'lot' is but...if anyone is interested, lmk.

Re: what objects do you think would be fun to play
 

Are you listening, Dave?