Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Here, here is a thought...I don't know if anyone has already said this but here is something to help the thought process...for the last few years the pattern has been 2 years of an original game and then a game that includes things from previous years and then it starts all over again. So I can see what everyone has been saying with the 1999 game that included floppy disks and a movable platfom puck that you had to get up onto.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

hmm, I've done my fair share of speculation, but most of what I've thought of has already been said. There is one thing, however, that I haven't seen mentioned: there is no red in the picture. So...(it sounds farfetched, but notsomuch as some of these ideas :D ) perhaps it *is* a 5-team game....but there is only one team. Maybe it's 5 bots doing something to score points in a certain time period, but it isn't team vs. team, but everyone work together on the same team (which does sound more FIRSTy to me). If they did this, the tourney-style finals would have to be different, and I think it would have to be a higher scoring game in order to prevent 4 different finals matches having the same score of 62 or something.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

5 pads for robots.

Your robot doesn't leave the pad. As in, no wheels.

Maybe you get to use a teather bot, but otherwise it's big arm robots with stationary platforms.

BEST has done it before... and it would be different.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

This would force us to think about arms and manipulators, instead of drivetrains. If I was on the GDC and wanted to move FRC further in the direction of robotics (and away from RC cart design), this is one idea I might try.;)

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Hmm...the robots not moving around. Sounds interesting, but would it be interesting to watch? The robotic arms would have to have a long reach to reach across the playing field. We will all know soo enough.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Suppose each robot could only reach halfway across, to hand a gamepiece to an alliance partner? Hand-off required for scoring ...

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Connecticut was the fifth state to ratify the Constitution.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

well, here we go.....

you get FIVE cards in a hand of standard poker

FIVE cards are placed on the table when you play Texas Holdem

the Dimand plate loks like a poker chip

FIVE of dimands

thats just one idea

my next idea

the clue was released on the 21st. FIVE days till the end of christmas (FIVE golden rings)

there are FIVE rings for the olympic rings

Has anyone seen the ebay ad on tv with the dimand ring going through the pipes and stuff. thats what i just got to thinking.

next idea.....

football+Hockey

(the dimand plate, with a PUCK)

Feild goal posts with difffrent rings and balls. thats my idea

i'll post a link to a video of what i think the game peice could be.
back tommorrrow

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Three Words: Giant Metal Stuctures

I belive that the diamond plate may refer to a large metal stucture only large enough for 5 robots or gamepieces.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

This is Team 1444s Christmas gift to everyone out there.
OK, so I've done some intense thinking and I believe this theory fits most of the aspects of the clue.

So the background is blue - like the Oceans of Earth - the oceans drive weather all around the world by affecting temperatures and pressures of landmasses near them. Now, diamonds - as in the diamond plate - are also created under the influence of temperature and pressure. Now say you took 5 bananas, like the one seen in the background of the image. Bananas contain carbon, so if you placed them under intense pressure and heat, you would have five artificial diamonds. This takes an impressive pressure of about 8.3 GigaPascals, (reference ) which is about 0.05 giga-torr. Artificial diamonds vary in clarity based on impurities in the substance that was used to make them. 5 bananas would probably produce a very cloudy and foggy diamond. This would look remarkably like the ice on a hockey rink. A hockey rink is also rounded with flat sides, much like the rounded diamond plate would be if a pressure of about 5000 PSI was exerted on either side. I've also seen that the "5" appears to be in Arial font. System of a Down (reference) has written a song called Aerials. The first portion of this song is 3 mins and 50 seconds long - perhaps representing the round time. There is then a Hidden track at 3:57 entitled Arto, named after a musician. Perhaps, the robot will have to use tone recognition this year instead of vision from last year. The 5 is also bold. BOLD appears to be an acronym for Barcode of Life Data-Systems (reference). This group appears to deal with the organization and cataloging of the different species on earth based on DNA. Perhaps this means there will be 5 pucks that need to be shot into goals in some specific order.


Now that the game is out good luck with your designs! Happy New Year and you can thank us by bringing some good competition. :cool:

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

What if the game pieces were polished aluminum that would reflect colored lighting to throw off everyone's light sensors, hmm?

Edit: It's 5:02 a.m. there is nobody on CD. Happy New Year!

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Don't forget...the cylindrical diamond plate could represent a 0 as in 50

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

It looks like a clear blue ball with a diamond plate with number 5. It really looks like a ball if you look close enough

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Do you all remember the hint at Nationals last year Green, yellow, blue, red LEDs.. the guy said be prepared for the future.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Basketball is played with 5 players on each side, isn't it?

(Not that it's gonna be 5vs5 this year. That's just not gonna happen)

5's gotta either stand for: something to with goals, some sort of time interval, or simply a reference to a backbot.

What if instead of a true water game, they make a "water game"? There's sections of "water" that give you a penalty when you drive into it? No, that sounds too much like FLL. FRC games seem to be very abstract, instead of real-world based.

I like the idea of a central diamond plate platform. Triple Play was kinda boring with the lack of elevation and Aim High only had ramps on the ends. But we could get 14 ft/s across the field though both years. Perhaps we can catch some big air with a ramp in the center.:ahh:

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

The 5 means autonomous mode will be at the end of the game.
We will be tracking multiple *somethings*
AndyMark will be a bigger supplier for the KOP.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I am not sure how you turned % into Auto mode at the end of the match but I really hope that this is the case. It would make it alot harder for teams using only dead reckoning with counters and force them to start to use what FIRST is giving us.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

i really like the idea mentioned on the previous page about robots with no wheels. most robots arent on wheels, they are stationary and perform a task like that. i think the cooperation needed by alliances if they cannot move, as well as the inginuity required to build a good stationary manipulator is just what FIRST is trying to teach us. I dont think the clue is suggesting this though, unless its a 5 vs. 0 challenge. If not this year, i think it would be nice to see a stationary robot challenge in the future. One thing to keep in mind though is, robots on wheels are more entertaining, and FIRST draws in support by looking cool with science and stationary bots just dont look as cool.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I'm surprised that no one has started making a Twas the nite before Kickoff Stort. I'll post a link of the previous ones when I get a chance

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Diamond plate will not be on a high raised platform. Remember volunteers must be able to assemble and diamond plate is heavy. Therefore the structure would have to be real heavy to support it. Diamond plate has been used as wall and ramp material.

Another guess of mine is a combo of a few points.

5 of diamonds - 5 goals in a diamond pattern on the field
Circled diamond plate - objects to be placed on round goals - may be flat objects like the floppies or tubes

Issues come on were are the human players, is there a "home Plate" that you must end up at? Must you "circle" the 5 bases in order to score? Curious minds would like to know.

Fish? I don't think so as we all know what a Red Herring is.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I think I've got it.

There will be a 5 foot high circular diamond plate platform in the middle of the field surrounded by a square pool of water. Water game!

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Perhaps we are to use 5 covers to cover 5 lights...

The Mysterious Five
 

First Post...here goes:

We've now all read about the possibility of water, ice, and fire on the field in various different rumors.

So. Remember that 5?

The elements? Think back to pokemon-- earth, air, water, fire, electricity/ice/..magic...?

maybe it has something to do with the Five elements?
or maybe the Five senses?

Orrrr I could be over thinking it...but hey...FIRST does that to you...

Re: The Mysterious Five
 

I don't think we're on the right track. Think about it. I don't know if you've ever been to a FIRST competition before, but it takes a nice while to set up and tear down. We are responsible for leaving the venue relatively clean after our regional/championship. Now think of what ice/water/earth/fire(:yikes: ) would do to that...as interesting as that would be, I don't think it will ever happen.

I personally think it's a conspiracy. Last year, one of the game hints had "tangling with pasta" in the middle of it. *PASTA*! This 5 is probably just there to make us wonder what the 5 in the middle of the game hint is for. Dave is probably sitting back cracking up about all the "whacked-out" theories we've got.

Not to mention programming auton to deal with dirt or ice on the field would be...interesting.

But keep thinking. Maybe I'm wrong.

JBot

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

well someone mentioned that the 5 looked like thew 5 on the five ball from billiards. MAYBE its ganna be a game of billiards (more like 9 ball). why do i think this?
-there has been many references to a pool/water based theme. Pool is another name for billiards!!
-dimonds for 9 ball pool set up
-there must be balls scince reference to pool
-there can also be a chance for a multi field scenarios makeing it harder or esier to make shots (does that last one make anysense?)
im just out on a limb here but thats my new theory

Re: The Mysterious Five
 

Yeah, I'm not sure about the water. Water and robots don't really mix.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Or maybe instead of balls, there are inter tubes, (or any other object for that matter) that is numbered/colored, then you have to manipulate these objects in order to place them in their appropriate location (maybe 6 because of the billiards idea) for scoring.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

maybe its like this but with stationary robots, like some have mentioned...
it would be pretty interesting...

~Alex~

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I really don't think there is going to be any water. The arenas where these events are held would worry about a leak.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

uhhh....this thing working? oh well...never been here before, ok but yeah, i noticed someone said something about a history between the game clues and baseball, well i dotn nkow if anybody mentioned this yet or not(to many pages to read through) but isnt the home plate a five sided diamond?(the five and the diamond plate it rests on), just thought id put thta out there

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

While looking at the picture at avery magnified view, with a little refining and sharpening I see 4 things distinctly: 1) in the right side I see two wires feeding into the DP 2) I see a blue outer cricle around the DP circle, possibly 5 raised, ble platfroms? 3) a bust of a person in the upper righ corner, to me Sir Isaac Newton, Possibly gravity will play into this competition as a big thing 4) below that I see something that either looks like the face of baby, or a bald white male smiling intensley, Youth is key?. My two cents. I will dig in further tommorow with a High Def monitor.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I don't want to sound harsh, and I don't want to seem like I'm freaking out at just you, Eric Scheuing, but all of the posts about people suggesting a water game are getting really old.

Sure, it was funny the first couple of times, but when the thousandth person has said it for the thousandth time. It loses it's humor. It's not funny anymore. It's just annoying.

I know everyone is saying it as a joke, but it's a joke that, I feel, has gone too far.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I think that this is the best unrelated guess. I think that this makes some sense, but I quit believing in the clues when kickoff hit last year and "5 bots tangling with pasta" was completely trashed--5 bots? wrong. tangling? not a bit. Pasta? ummm....

so why must I keep looking at this thread if I don't believe in clues...?:p

A water game will never happen. Ever. GDC, feel free to surprise me senior year. That would be...memorable:yikes:

JBot

Re: The Mysterious Five
 

Wow thats the first time i have seen a connection of a game hint to Pokemon... Impressive :cool:

I think when we get to pokemon we know that this game hint isn't going anywhere.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Well I forgot all about the clue coming out until a little while ago, and while at first I also was a little dissapointed by the simplicity if it, there certainly has been pleanty of discussion. I read through 8 pages before I realized there were 43! I just don't have that kind of time, so here are my first thoughts without reading all that's been said. Forgive me if its already been mentioned.

5 robots working together in a timed event like the year robots and goals had to be balanced on a see-saw. This time however they must balance on a disk supported off the ground at the center.

I don't think there's any way first would do a water game because of the issues it would cause with venues. No one wants their nice wood gym floor destroyed by splash or spill causing a water soaked carpet that takes days to dry,and who will pay for the damage. Not to mention the fact that water and electricity really don't mix very well from a safety standpoint.

There could however be some field element refered to as something to do with water like "crossing the moat" as you would have to do in the clue photo to get to the disk. The FLL games had a water "theme" a few years ago.

Maybe the disk has one flat edge so you can tip that side down and make it stable to get on.

Seems too obvious but who knows.

I guess we'll all know Saturday!!!
Luck to all

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

After taking parts of two seperate days to get through the whole thing, I have managed to get here. One thing I have noticed is that if you took out all of the repetive posts, this thread wouldn't be nearly half the length that it currently is... so please read through before posting, or at least search.

I've tried messing around with the photo, but I don't have access to the fancy photoshop stuff at school during break, so I can't get the best results. I agree that theres alot of stuff hidden in the background, but even when you know what it is, the connections aren't always that strong to the final game. Last year, although you could possibly come up with the name for the game from the clue, it still wouldn't explain the game very well. I think that we all love to see if we are smarter than the GDC, and the length of this thread proves otherwise... (sorry).

I personally want to lend my vote to a "king of the hill" type of game.

Oh, and one interesting idea... what if the diamond plate in the picture is the shape of the field for this year?

Now, time to finish that English paper so I have some free time once Kickoff arrives.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Okay, you can all stop guessing, I've figured the clue out. It took a lot of thought, but once I keyed in on the right idea, it all came together. See, I remembered that my most important lessons in life all came from one place, Sesame Street. So, I did some digging, and this is what I found.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the explanation of the 2007 FRC Game Hint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

Yes, I know it's complicated at first, but once you watch it a few times it all comes together. Notice the illuminated '5'. Doesn't it all make sense?

I predict we'll be seeing the GDC wearing powder blue tuxedos and singing this song at kickoff.

...Give me one, two, three, four, give me five...

;)

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Now it really makes sense!!

I know I'll be singing this song during kick-off :p

"Gimmie Five!"

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

This is quite an amazing find. I first dismissed it as a joke but after watching the video I'm convinced Dave intended for someone to find that video.

• The background of the stage is blue (like the clue image.)
• There's obviously a round circle with a 5 on it (like the clue image.)
• The circle is illuminated (think autonomous lights for the camera.) Perhaps an autonomous mode where the robots have to drive onto an illuminated platform in the field during autonomous.
• The singers are on a giant circular platform (think 1999 vintage puck.)

I'm loving it...

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Well, well... I wonder if it's powder-blue?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Of course! The connection between SS and FIRST is profound:

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Oh My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:eek: :ahh: :eek::ahh:
The name of the band is "The Floaters", and floating stuff has already been mentioned a lot in this thread, here is one more clue for that...
Someone must get what the Latin guy sais...
i bet my hat it's a clue!!!!

Gimme One Two Three Four
But if you love me more
Gimme Five....

Maybe "Gimme Five is the name of the game? :)

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

blue, blue, blue, blue, blue..

so.. blue, eh?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

looking really closely i see that the dimond plate has a small gray rim that cuts off the diamonds. i bet its not signifcant but id thought id point it out.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I did not have time to read all the post but I would like to make this observation. Diamond tread plate is used on platforms as a non-skid surface. Just a guess but five platforms at different elevations. Maybe a stair configuration to get to some kind of goal or retreive a game element.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

In the blue background there are two groups of five smiley faces, one on the right side and the other on the left side of the DP.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

yay somone else that sees it! humm i dont c anyon the left side though the one on the right is in your face this just means the background is really an animation

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

the group on the left are along the rim of the DP. they are very mall but they are there.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

i actually see 2 groups on the right, one is mid picture and the other is in the upper right. just thought i might point that out.

~Alex~

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

The group you've all been waiting for..... the lovers of five!

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I think the game will put a huge emphasis on robot manuverability because the number five has many arcs and I think the pattern that the robots will have to manuver around goals with with resembe a five due to the five goals on the field that resemble the five of diamonds in a card deck.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I don't know what is wierder, this or the Pokemon.

If this actually happens, I will be scared. :ahh:

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Well I just think that it has nothing to do with the game. Instead all they are going to do is count backwards before they show us the game.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

It's getting a bit too close to kick-off for that theory, isn't it? Less than four days to go, and the 5 is still there.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

this probably doesn't mean anything but did anybody notice how the top of the circular diamond plate is cut of in a straight line like the top of the 5 and the bottom of the diamond plate is still kinda round like the curve on the 5.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Whoah! There are people on both edges of the diamond plate! In the upper left edge of the diamond plate, and the center right edge of the diamond plate in the large image on FIRST's website.

http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedImage.../2007Clue1.jpg

Not only, are they faces, but they appear to be the faces of the crowd that have appeared in previous Havabanana productions, just stretched a little, as though they were looking at a rounded object. :ahh:

EDIT: The people are in the blue at the edge locations that I mentioned before. Sorry, I was thinking faster than I could type.

In response to Joel: IDK. Recently, as when I was messing with it in photoshop last week, it was smaller. Perhaps the the GDC realized that the people were not visible in the smaller image. I know I couldn't detect them.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

When you said that I thought of the HAL 9000.

BTW: when did the picture get larger?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

From our perspective, could we be looking out at the people through something, like a lens?

EDIT: are you seeing the color in the diamond plate? pinky red, speckly.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Ok..I've just done some Photoshop on the photo...
I have nitced that the "5" in the picture has the diamond pattern on it, meaning that the picture was made in a few steps:
First they made the background
Then they put a silver colored ring
Then they put the 5 on it
And onlt then, they made the daimonds...

So that actually means that the 5 and the platform have something to do with each other.... and i personnaly think that that means the 5 isnt the number of bots in the game or anything like it.
The "5" has something to do with the diamond platform. But what?

Maybe the "5" is some kind of a shadow falling from somewhere?

I really wanna figure it our before kick-off. DAve, help us please, help..mayday...

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

He has. He gave us the hint. More than that we will not get from him until Kickoff.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Guys...we have recieved an updated clue...
look at the update date..January 2nd...

The new one shows a few more things that i have noticed...
there are 2 crowds: top left and center right' as people have already mentioned

AND..i have got a pruff that robots WILL NOT be stationary...
loo at the top right cornet, there's a wheel there...that sais it all

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Lens maybe, and yes I see the specks of color.

I really hate thinking this much over something. lol

Anyways, this is probably my final guess.

The Diamond plate and the 5 seem recessed in a bowl shaped object. The diamond plate is obviously not see through so I can't tell if this object is a rolling goal but I do believe we have a goal on our hands.

Blue 5 pt goal, in the shape of a Volcano - on the real field made out of some poly resin material that is translucent blue and maybe more colors for more teams.

The Volcano shape would explain the skewing of the crowd and the funky optics based trick it is playing with us.

Horray for refraction and optics!!!

I mean c'mon people. How many times have we seen an object in a movie bounced off of a astronaut's mask, or a picture taken with a fish eye lense (ya know.. kinda like this picture in the CD gallery)

Optics had to come into mainstream FIRST eventually, why not in 2007?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

sorry if someone already said this, but...

Maybe theres really only 5 weeks of build season?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

There will be 6 weeks to build season, as said in the shipping information and date.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

yeah, thats the only drawback to my theory.:rolleyes:

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

i just have to say this because of all the people talking about water

when i logged on a few minutes ago, the quote at the very top of the page was this:
dlavery: If there is water in the 2006 game, I will blame it on Gary

i dunno if this was well know that this was said and i missed it or what, but i thought that being layed down as a solid fact would be a nice adition to this discussion.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

looks at the 5 key on your keyboard, it has a slight indernt coming out of it, its in the center, maybe their is a rising platform in the center...

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Translation:
"Hi, I am Louis. I have liked this number ever since i was little. You guys know that 2 and 3 is 5, and 4 and 1 is 5 too. Ah the number 5 is so smooth."

No clue here...

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

No plateau on my 5. But there is a percent symbol.

Maybe you are 5% right? :p ;)

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

We're already done with the 2006 game - that was Aim High. They're going to kick off the 2007 game on Saturday. ;)


P.S. Here's the original thread from which that spotlight was from. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...886#post399886 ;)

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I have a little plateau.
edit: (5 is also in the center surrounded by the other numbers, creating a square.)

With all the little people and the plateau, volcano - I can't help but think of an old movie, Close Encounters of The Third Kind, with Richard Dreyfuss. He made one out of mashed potatoes. When they begin try to communicate, they use a bar with lights and sounds (5 tones) - I don't have the correct terminology but it is way cool.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I haven't read the whole thread so this might have been said before, but there's definitely a fish in the lower right hand corner...

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

hmm...

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Why would there be water on the field? come on people think. they would not have water on the field for a few safety reasons.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

That was my first thought when Elgin said volcano.
And on the topic of Close Encounters, my friend Nikki just got those 5 tones for her text message ringtone.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I have a lot of thoughts that needed to be spewed out. Some of them are:

1) If there was a banana in the old hint the first thing I thought of was slipping. Maybe if there were circular platforms may they make it so it's hard to get on top?

2) With the new clue, I see the faces that looks like a crowd... I see a fish at the bottom right. But is it just me or is there a face in the bottom left hand corner? Looks like 2 eyes an open mouth a hat and a bearded sillohuette. Looks like something from a cartoon. Please tell me I'm not the only one that sees it.

These are just some thoughts right now, I will post if I have any other things on my mind. Hope this brings up good conversation!

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I agree that this may be an update, probably to sharpen certain things that hadn't popped out earlier. If so, there is the possibility that they would change other things as well, hiding a message in the picture. I would bet that they might use steganograpy (credit goes to Mazin). All of the links to the old picture are low, so if someone is sure that they have the original, please post it. That way we have both of them here to compare...

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Guys...we have recieved an updated clue...
look at the update date..January 2nd...

The new one shows a few more things that i have noticed...
there are 2 crowds: top left and center right' as people have already mentioned

AND..i have got a pruff that robots WILL NOT be stationary...
loo at the top right cornet, there's a wheel there...that sais it all


that object that looks like a wheel in the upper right corner also looks like an alien face, with a hood on it if you look at it. Sorry guys but im just talking out of my a$$!

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Hmmm... My friend and I just looked at the old picture and the new picture... And it seems to be the same, I can see all of the things before... Or are we looking at the wrong picture?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

At the very least FIRST put a larger image up. The size changed from 600 x 449 to 800 x 600 pixels. With this change more details are showing up in the image.

I have noticed that the diamond plate disc is reflecting red and blue light.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I think Joe DiMaggio, or "the Yankee Clipper", was number five for the Yankees. But what does that have to do with anything?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

All I have to say is "Speed Racer"???:D :D :D

So maby the game has to deal a lot with speedness in the game?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I think a more likely guess in that vane of thinking would be third base.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Have they came out with the list of what etquitment we need to build the feild.

they usually release that information the week of kickoff

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Hi,

Our team thinks we have an idea:

The five looks like it is from POOL ball.

The backround looks like water: Maybe a POOL as a clue for POOL balls?

Anyway, just an idea. :)

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

The past few years, the parts list came out the thursday before kickoff, so in effect: maybe tomorrow.

[EDIT]
Bill of Materials

This season, each team's decision regarding building field mockups may be a bit more complex than normal. The Game Design Committee feels
that an advance Bill of Materials (BOM) list might be misleading and cause some teams to buy more materials than they will likely use.

Please wait for a full set of field drawings and their lower cost equivalents to be released immediately following Kickoff. Knowing the nature of this year's challenge, you can more logically decide what to buy and build.

See you at Kickoff!
[/EDIT]

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Attached; also uploaded to imageshack at this link.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

If I had a better rendering software.. and a premade crowd for refraction purposes, I could duplicate the picture exactly.. but.. this will have to do with just Solidworks and default textures.

My final guess. :]

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Thanks for posting the original image. I used the Digital Invisible Ink Toolkit, located at http://diit.sourceforge.net/index.html. When comparing both smaller images, I found them to be identical. I have a little too much time on my hands... so I decided to keep experimenting...

I wanted to see what kind of difference encrypting "AIM HIGH" in the picture would make.

When I did this I had these results:
Results of benchmark tests
==========================

Average Absolute Difference: 4.6866898009652585E-4
Mean Squared Error: 6.082725060827251E-4
LpNorm: 3.0413625304136254E-4
Laplacian Mean Squared Error: 4.206612200901864E-6
Signal to Noise Ratio: 1.3982824224590164E8
Peak Signal to Noise Ratio: 5.85936396E8
Normalised Cross-Correlation: 0.9999989969072935
Correlation Quality: 126.60633961495463

This shows that the software is capable of finding very small changes in the image... and I decided to make one more attempt. I took the new high quality image, and resized it to match the one they released earlier, as the program requires the images to be the same size. Upon comparison, I had there results:

Results of benchmark tests
==========================

Average Absolute Difference: 15.601511706752822
Mean Squared Error: 756.6327031231303
LpNorm: 378.31635156156517
Laplacian Mean Squared Error: 2.111745474975075
Signal to Noise Ratio: 112.4107839655667
Peak Signal to Noise Ratio: 471.0462533919842
Normalised Cross-Correlation: 0.9982814866037124
Correlation Quality: 126.38889170404684

If you look at the Average Absolute Difference, this, along with most of the other values, is ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE greater than my "AIM HIGH" test. Now, I can't guarantee that my method of resizing the large image would match the method the GDC did, which would cause these differences. Also, if they chose to make 'minor adjustments' to the actual content of the image, that would create this kind of difference in the photo. I think that differences seen here are very high for a simple text message - it would have to be over 1000 characters long.

Regardless, I can tell you that small image and the large image are subtley different. Whether there was some touch-up going on, or if there is a message hidden in the background, I am unable to tell, but they are clearly different at some level.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Based on the way FIRST has treated the hint in the past, this image seems pretty different. My conscience still tells me that the 5 has something either to do with sports or entertainment.

There must be a variety of levels, or platforms, and like Johnny 5, there will be some mini-projectile involved. I was told by my teacher that something related to basketball may even be put in for this. Tubes may connect these platforms, and contain some substance which revolves around the field in those tubes, activating some switch in the current platforms it goes through.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Oh my oh my oh my....

What am i supposed to be thinking NOW?!

Ok...
So that sure goes along with the water\fire balls shooting\volcano eruption on middle of the arena\Whatever theories that have been posted here, but lets get real...

I think that it means that there will be something heavy in the field, like a big platform of metal in the middle or something...
Maybe, it could mean that the fiels is a sort of RANDOM, meaning that there is some sort of spread, like someone mentioned before about bottles of H2O, though its not complicated if its random, as last year's arena was rantom too in a sort of way, the balls HAVE laid in random places, so its quiet the same...

And therefore, i think that the arena is going to be very complicated, and we are gonna need the whole arena to exersice our bot well, unlike last year when all we needed was to hang a Hoolah-Hoop to the window and nail the green light above it...

Oh boy Oh boy Oh boy...
3 and a half days to KickOff and i have already finished our website, what am i gonna do now in order to not stare at the clue 24/7 ?

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

ok in the enlarged version of the game hint located on the decrypted file ther eis definitely a banana in the background. even the stem is shown.

current speculations believe we will be climbing a diamond plate aluminum tree and picking bananas.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

I can't help but see the ring around the diamond plate circle, and realize that it looks like the red/blue rings around the goal openings last year..

Here's what my sisters says (knows about FIRST, but only as that "thing her brother does", and hasn't ever been to a competition):

- it looks like a man hole cover
- shooting.. are you going to be shooting something?
- does it involve water?
- time: 50 seconds.
- tunnels/mazes
- a ramp? I always see ramps with that pattern on it (referring to the diamond plate)
- a course: ramps, corners, etc -- lots to do.

She pretty muched summed this whole thread up in about 5 seconds.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

OOOOOOOOOO 5!!!!
this is the fifth year of them following the usfirst logo! this means cubez! eureka! hmm... well there is a theory on the 5.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

Elgin's post earlier in this thread [on the previous page, but if I don't link it you can't see the picture attached]..I looked at the picture..

doesn't it kind of look like a jello mold? hmmmmm.....

just adding to some of the absurd ideas.....

hope that doesn't drive anyone insane, I just feel like throwing in a completely wacky $0.02.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

The 5 of diamonds seems to be a good little hint...Maybe playing cards with the robots or some sort of card game. Possibly Innertubes as one of our mentors said...maybe a strategy game of some sort...Ferdi also says there will be 5 platforms we will have to jump our robot from...Highly unlikely but that's Ferdi for ya! :P

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

1. balls: tennis, dodge, kick, playground, poof, soccer, etc..
2. Innertubes
3. floppies
4. tote boxes
5. tetras

There have only really been five unique game pieces. Are they all going to be present this year?

Nah.. no.. no way?

nO?

Nah..

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

He may be on to something with his idea of the five unique objects used in passed events reapearing in this years event. each object could be on a platform that total up to five in all.

Re: 2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

That is because diamond plate is easy to grip....;)