2007 Official FRC Game Hint / Email Blast
 

No this isnt a joke the hint was posted today. Here it is:
heres the link:
http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc...t.aspx?id=3720

Its disappointing though...

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

What kind of hint in 5?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Hrm A Number 5 on Diamond Plate Backing. Against a Blue Background maybe the number of teams in scoring position, number of scoring positions, number of socing items, number of teams that are allowed to play at once hence the back bot in '06

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

It could also refer to how many wheels the robot must have

The REAL Game Hint
 

Here you go.........just out.

Greetings Teams:

The Game Design Committee is pleased to provide you with the following game clue at http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc...t.aspx?id=3720

We wish you all a Happy Holiday Season and look forward to seeing you at Kickoff.

Go Teams!

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Maybe it is the 5 of diamonds. Part of a card game. Stack the cards and build up your score. I could be that as lights change color then there would be some kind of shuffle.

Also could mean 5 manhole covers. HMMMMMMMMM

Re: The REAL Game Hint
 

you are a little late, there is already a thread for this, sorry

Re: The REAL Game Hint
 

The word: 5
:confused:

It looks like a manhole cover! I beat there is a 4, 3, 2, and 1!

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I did think that the background looked like a light

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

What no Rock n Roll lyrics to decipher or wondering metafors in the clue, just a number on a simple background:confused:

I've got nothing:ahh:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

If you save the picture as a file the filename is 2007Clue1.jpg. Could we perchance get more??

Mannie

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Note to self: if 1293--D5 Robotics, mind you--doesn't pounce on this one...

Just for reference, I tried to get some technical details on the photo, perhaps some EXIF data. I found nothing in iPhoto and OS X's File Info panel, so it seems they've covered their tracks that way.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Crazy.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Maybe it is saying that there will be five lights of each color on the field and these are the game pieces. They are numbered and each has to do something different. Or, they could be worth different points and that is what the number represents.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Here's the pic to keep it in the thread....

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

That sure looks like water in the background :)

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Not Necessarily maybe the game design committee had to vote on which one gets sent out to drive teams nuts before the holiday season.

It could also be part of a Countdown like what they usually have during their Power Point Presnetation of Sponsors during Kickoff

Re: The REAL Game Hint
 

You guys are quick.

The time stamp on the email I got directly from FIRST was 9:50:03.

The other CD posting time stamp was 9:46.

How'd THAT happen??

Re: The REAL Game Hint
 

Maybe that is another part of the clue, time travel!!!!!

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I think I need a bigger cup of coffee....

5 sided something or other?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Maybe the word "five".

Maybe the playing pieces are diamond is shape.

Maybe there are 5 lights..........

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Maybe there are 4 teams to an alliance and a fifth WILD CARD team that could go back and forth! (what kind of strategy would THAT bring about???)

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

King of the Hill !!

The most literal translation of the hint could be....

A large circular raised platform in the center of the field whose surface is diamond plate. 5 bots can fit on it.

the background looks like the same that has been used in kickoff presentations before.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

It looks kinda like the diamond plate is surrounded by stairs, like the kind into a pool, not that it would be in a pool, after all water is probably not an option.
I think you all know the kind of stairs I mean, drain a pool and you can probably see them. There is one step between the Diamond plate, and the edge of the picture.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

To me the image looks oddly cropped. Notice the amount of disc visible on the top and bottom are different- asymmetrical.

1. The fact the disc is asymmetrical might be a clue about the game.

2. Combined with the file name this might indicate a bad crop job and more clue images to follow.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

the water could just be a reference to pool lining. maybe the flooring will be made of this instead of carpet this year or something else similar

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Does it mean anything that the top of the circle is cut off in the picture? So, it is really a complete circle or does it have a flat top?

Raul

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

yep, no EXIF, and I tried about 4 different programs to find some...

Man, circular diamond plate would be VERY awkward as a field element/scoring peice.

Is that background abstract design, or a colorized picture?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Remember the history with these hints and baseball.

Who is a famouse #5 and what did he do?

Re: The REAL Game Hint
 

Its not time travel Im just good like that:D

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Very true, #5 on heavy gauge diamond plate only means the robots will be standing on it.
There could be a #4, #3, #2 and #1 round plate at different heights.
:yikes:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

That's sort of where I was going Dana, but follow this (especially with water).

2 alliances. In the center of the field is a diamond-shaped tank/pool filled with water (puncture resistant, spill resistant, etc). Floating on top of the water are 5 scoring plates. The bots have to collect items and place them on the plates that are floating on the water. Different colored items placed on the floating plates score different points. Other bots can knock them off, etc. Get all 5 plates holding one of your colors for a bonus.

How's that for ridiculous?

Mannie

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Johnny Bench, played catcher (my idol from grade school)

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

My (really wrong) guess:
There is a step up to a platform. Then there is a circular hole countersunk into the platform (it would be too much work to make the entire field raised). In the hole are multiple colored pieces of cut pool noodles and the robot has to retrieve the green one (think unripe banana). The five means there are 5 different scoring objectives (including objects and location of robot at end of match). Also there are probably multiple platforms so that a single team can't immediately take control.

Or possibly it means capture the flag.

That's a lot of posts in this thread in a short period of time!

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

5 teams per alliance! 10 robots on the field! Whoo hoo! :p

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

expect a lot more. It's the official hint!

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

The kiddie pool I bought from Wal-Mart this summer has a diamondplate bottom (it was made of plastic) AND steps to an awesome slide...

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Joe DiMaggio was #5
He has a 56-consecutive-game hitting streak in 1941 . Was nicknamed "The Yankee Clipper"

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Going off of obscure baseball references here (just adding to insanity).

"In baseball, five represents the third baseman's position." -Wikipedia

Then read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_baseman

Think off all of the wonderful stuff you could pull out of that.:yikes:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

The hounds have been released and the madness begins!

More sleepless nights to follow.........................:yikes:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Diamond plate could stand for the 3rd baseman's 3rd plate.

If you look at the blue it looks like it is all going/sliding into the plate.

edit: instead of ending up on the ramp at the end like in Aim High, you may need to end on bases (6 robots, but only 5 bases).

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Could baseball bases have anything to do with the game, like with scoring items?

What if the game is loosely based off of baseball? (pun not intended) "Aim high" was kind of similar to basketball and soccer, in some respects.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____
On a different note, in the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," the fifth day's gift were "five golden rings." Maybe the game involves hoola hoops! :yikes:

Re: **FIRST EMAIL**/Special Communication from the Game Design Committee
 

Santa Came Early... Thanks GDC

Re: **FIRST EMAIL**/Special Communication from the Game Design Committee
 

Thank you very much, FIRST and GDC
*sigh, sigh, relief*

Jane

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

My mom and I looked at the hint and we both agree, it looks kinda like a manhole cover...

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

..and just where would that put the human player? (joking - I think)

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Maybe we're playing on 5 pound hockey pucks made of diamond plate, or maybe we're finally doing a water game!

Or... maybe we have to stack 5 round pieces of diamond plate. Or maybe theres 5 different colors of diamond plate that you have to be able to find with the camera, of maybe theres 5 different color goals.

-Q

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Now there's a man you'll hear about
Most anywhere you go
And his holdings are in Texas
And his name is Diamond Joe

And he carries all his money
In a diamond-studded jar
He never took much trouble
With the process of the law

I hired out to Diamond Joe, boys
Did offer him my hand
He gave a string of horses
So old they could not stand

And I nearly starved to death, boys
He did mistreat me so
And I never saved a dollar
In the pay of Diamond Joe

Now his bread it was corn dodger
And his meat you couldn't chaw
Nearly drove me crazy
With the waggin' of his jaw

And the tellin' of his story
Mean to let you know
That there never was a rounder
That could lie like Diamond Joe

Now, I tried three times to quit him
But he did argue so
I'm still punchin' cattle
In the pay of Diamond Joe

And when I'm called up yonder
And it's my time to go
Give my blankets to my buddies
Give the fleas to Diamond Joe

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Sam.... its a nice poem...

BUT I'M REALLY REALLY CONFUSED!!! :yikes:

-Q

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

The Five has is for the number of sides for the field element, the diamond plate mean a field element cause in the past they have been diamond plated. so type of goal that is a pentagon is my guess. plus the diamond plate is a circle so we have balls again this year. but this guess is as useless as trying to pull a goal away from 71 the Beast in 2002.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

It's quite obvious: this picture is a screenshot from a video. ;)

The aspect ratio of the picture is a perfect 4:3 ratio, in addition this would explain the absence of EXIF data. (I just tested this theory, by Print-Screening my desktop and saving it as a JPEG in Photoshop. When I then opened the file and looked at the EXIF data, it was empty, just like this clue.)

Also, if you look at the picture it looks like a captured frame from a rendered animation/Flash video that was shrunk down to minimize the graininess from the video compression. :p

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

hmm.. I remember last year had a five as well.. as a matter of course, I'm hoping we won't have the same game again.

Anyway, I like the Five of diamonds idea.. because then the joker in cards would tie into the whole clown idea presented a while back..

Also, a "circle of five?" I don't know what that would mean.

If you flip over a five you get a two: 2 vs 2? 2 vs. 2 vs. 2?

I have no idea.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

thank goodness ...
the build season has finally been cut down to five weeks...
and we only need to build a 5-pound robot...
and we only get to use five parts from the kit...
and...
:ahh:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

So what's the game next year, then?

Virtual Bash?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

So we're playing in a pentagon this year? If there are five robots on the field at one time, then that would make sense.

The diamond plate is in the center of the picture. Could that mean it's a "king of the hill" type of game? (I do know it's already been said, but that would make sense if there were no alliances this year)

Maybe the five stands for the number of rounds that will be played this year.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

What if it means....5 WEEKS!?!:ahh: :ahh: :ahh:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I think it has to do with either a 5-sided game piece or 5 platforms. If it were platforms.. the blue background could mean they are mobile (like floating in water - except they would just be on rollers or something)... I agree with Art though, this does look like it's a screen shot of either something bigger, or from a video.

Whatever it ends up being, we'll be playing the game to Bob Dylan music, apparently!

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

or... 500LB WEIGHT LIMIT???? :yikes:

-q

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

does anything know anything about the phrase "five by five"?

another guess is the five has to do with the name of the game.

like triple play, aim high, or first frenzy raising the bar, stack attack, zone zeal.

this might relate to the name of the game which relates to the actions in the game.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Well...the "5" in the Picture is the font Helvetica Extended....if that matters any.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

We'd need a forklift! :yikes:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

diamond plate = baseball diamond? baseball home plate = 5 sides

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

how about 5 robots per session. 2 on one alliance, 2 on another, and a "rogue" robot?:D

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

One thing I remember (that I don't know the relevance of) is that the purple balls from 2004 had a big 5 written on them, much like is written on this diamond plate circle.

A pyramid has five sides? A star can be made with five diamonds.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Whoa what if they went all UFC-like and made the field a pentagon... that would be cool!

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Does Diamond Plate Rust underwater?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

There are five infielders in a baseball diamond: catcher, 3 basemen, shortstop.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Except the UFC ring is an octagon. Professional wrestling doesn't help here, either--TNA uses a six-sided ring, while WWE (and most other promotions) use a four-sided ring.

Perhaps this is the dramatic return of the Puck? It's one of the more talked-about field elements in FIRST history, and very few people in FIRST today were around back then.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Various uses of the number "5":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_%28disambiguation%29

I want a game hint in pentameter this year!!!

My personal favorite: 2 + 2 = 5, which is a 1984 reference.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

This would be cool, but only if FIRST allowed elbows :)


Anyway... 5 robots on the field in a free for all. The scoring pieces are the diamond plate circles, and the playing field remains the same dimensions as in previous years.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

What was the puck?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

5 different scoring zones, each slightly different. The 5th zone will have a diamond plate floor/platform, will be circular, and will have a blue light for camera tracking.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Not if it is aluminum.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I give up Because a picture is worth a thousand words. probly a million now with the internet and all

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

They had it as a scoring object in I think 1999, it was a moving platform that you got points for being on at the end of the match.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

2 + 2 = 5, succinct and vivid representation of an illogical statement

^-- That's a good one.

5: The number of oceans in the world.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Maybe the playing pieces are pentagons this year???:confused:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Do they make steel Krispy Kremes?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

i got nothing. :(

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Also, it is a normal 366x274x3 jpg matrix...so no hidden layers there. Also, I don't see any embedded .zip files (which is something cool you can do...embedding files in a jpg.)

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Does anybody else see a lawn on the right side of the picture (in the blue)? Maybe it's just me, but it looks like a lawn in front of a building with a curb and a tree.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

*Takes of glasses*

My God...this is obviously a hint at a water game. Would FIRST really give us what we want?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

it sort of looks like the fantastic 4 logo but with a 5...

i got nothing else:confused:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

5 second autonomous.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Sanddrag earlier stated he saw this also on the FIRST site: The 5 picture was originally up and taken down yesterday, could this be a clue that FIRST plans on releasing later.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Does anyone else see that the five is just slightly transparent or is my computer screen just that dirty?:yikes:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

This one's for real--FIRST sent an email blast about it and everything.

I can see the texture of the diamond plate through the 5, if that's what you mean.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

yea the texture of the diamond plating coming through is what i ment so it could mean the five is painted on or done in a glazed or colored plexi perhaps?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

ive been thinking that it is water but for some reason i cant grasp FIRST actually doing it. :eek:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Looking for "5 in a circle" on google brings up 5 Thomas Mellon Circle in San Francisco, and 5 time Silver Circle Award winner Cal Kafka from UCI, part of the department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science.

Also, does the 5 in a circle somewhat remind anyone else of the Ishihara Test for Color Blindness?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Diamond Plate and 5 Hrmmm. Well I don't forsee water game, its still out of reach for most FIRST Venues, even in an instance of a kiddy pool I really think that FIRST will out step their realm with one.

My first instinct was inflatable clowns and 5 of them beating on the robots at all times, but then I thought, thats probably not right.

But what I did think was running off the Baseball Idea. Within the diamond, you have 6 players involved. ( this does not include the outfield and the pitcher. ) You have the batter, 4 infielders and the catcher. 1 of these 6 players at all times stands at the plate, if the batter is not at the plate the game doesn't continue. Maybe this year it is a 3v3 game ( or some combination of such ) and 1 team almost be on the plate for the game to continue. That would be interesting, and I could see lots of strategy. Or maybe the home plate is a multiplier, every 15 seconds on the plate doubles a teams score.

Very interesting stuff tho, its the first time I remember we got a picture, we'll see I'm sure there will be some more accurate and more clever guesses than mine in this thread.

Re: **FIRST EMAIL**/Special Communication from the Game Design Committee
 

HOAX!!!!

Oh, nevermind. :-)

Re: **FIRST EMAIL**/Special Communication from the Game Design Committee
 

Maybe they read Greg's post and decided to push up the timeline to avoid a mass lynching :rolleyes:

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

See this post for a description of the 1999 puck, one of the most unique game pieces we've had.

When I look at this picture it seems like the top is cropped to hide some mounting or hinge mechanism. This is how it looks tiled across my desktop anyway. Could this be a target (1 of 5 or five point) in a shooting gallery or even a dunk tank type game?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

LOL

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

1. It looks like the intro slides to the movies, I wonder if we will have 4 tomorrow & so on?

2. Check Dave's signature:
" "I know what you're thinking, punk," hissed Wordy Harry to his new editor, "you're thinking, 'Did he use six superfluous adjectives or only five?' - and to tell the truth, I forgot myself in all this excitement; but being as this is English, the most powerful language in the world, whose subtle nuances will blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' - well do you, punk?"
- Stuart Vasepuru, 2006 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest" (look v)

3. I swear I see rings (inverted images) in the picture below.

4. Why are we doing this to ourselves?

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I saw rings too. Maybe the game pieces are hula hoops or similar. Maybe they're lit...

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

I was also planning on sleeping well tonight...im dead tired...but that seems to be impossible now, as I am having troubles sitting here and not yelling around the classroom for ideas ;)

EDIT:
I see them too! :o The look kind of like the ripple effect when you throw a stone into still water.

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

1) Theory of one of our Mentors

The number 5 is ‘V’ in roman numerals. ‘V’ rhymes with ’C’. The letter ‘C’ is pronounced the same as ‘sea’. Of course the sea is a large body of water. So obviously our robot will need to be water proof and nautical. The diamond plate is the robotic task. To earn points our robot will have to collect diamonds off the sea floor and deposit them onto a plate.



I wonder why the committee chose to give away the competition before the kick-off?



--Gregg

Re: Serious the Real hint
 

Well I really doubt it's going to be a water game. LOL... I found this hint hilarious.....how simple but still hard to understand.
Here are couple of random predictions (for fun):

1. Remember how in Aim High, there were five bots on one side of the field? Does that ring a bell?
2. Five bots on a ramp...... at the end?
3. Star has 5 points......Five pointed star also represents the planet Mars, and the number points are 5-25-52-65-208-325. (Astronomy would help here)
4. Can anyone recall the Fifth US state to ratify constitution? (similar to Montana from last year) Or the fifth independent state?

thats it for now......i'm back to work