2008 FIRST game
 

Hey guys, I was just waiting for kickoff.... and thinking about what was at the end of last years film. woodie flowers and some other people were floating on the some game peices and woodie said " what are we going to do with all these inner tubes" or something along the lines of that.

What do you think the chance of using the same game peices this year would be?

thanks, vivek

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Chances? Slim to none.

The only game piece they've used back to back has been balls and even they are of various sizes, textures, and consistancies.

Whatever game piece they have for next year, I hope it is durable. Practicing with tubes is a pain because they puncture so easily.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

i doubt they'll be using the tubes again because theres a blowout sale on the FIRST store where the tubes are 2.00 dollars each (trying to get rid of them obviously)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I'm hoping for boxes. We were good at Stack Attack.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

when it comes to picking up the tubes im surprised alot of teams went with the traiditional gripper, theres way better ways of doing this, some one did it with vex, search 'vex tube manipulator' on the vex forum
because of this i think they should give the tubes another chance but i doubt they will:ahh:

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Yeah. We were good at Stack Attack as well, but 5 years later, it would be a whole new game.

We were one of the few teams with a shifting transmission, so pushing tons of boxes up and over the ramp was a breeze as well as holding the ramp for those 25 points.

Now, everyone has access to a shifting transmission and crazy traction. The King of the Hill would be even more dangerous. Can that even happen?:ahh:

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

hmm... ok. I guess that makes sense.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

And the rest went to Building 19 ... well, yesterday they had only one left :( and that was the display piece. Not that I was looking for them, mind you. I do go there for other things.

And we're due for squares. I started with the triangles, then two years of circles. So it's squares. Lots of squares.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Are we alowed to use bluteooth control this year?

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I thing not, but offical rules are published at kickoff.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Nil. And don't belive anything put in the kickoff video is a hint for the next year; the GDC still has to deal with the rules changes for the year they just released.

Not again.

Someone brings this up every year...at least once per year...maybe more. The debunking:
1998: circle (exercise balls)
1999: circle (floppies)
2000: circle (playground balls)
2001: circle (excercise + playground balls)
2002: circle (soccer balls)
2003: square (bins for Stack Attack)
2004: circle (excercise + playground balls)
2005: triangle (tetras)
2006: circle (Poof balls)
2007: circle (pool tubes)

Personally, I think we're due for balls again. The real pattern seems to be: ball, odd shape/game play method, ball. (Odd years have the odd tricks.)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I stand corrected. I didn't know we were in for three more years of circles (sounds like the Farmer's Almanac or el nino or something). I'll batten down the hatches and put the squares away until 2013. I did make it sound I wanted squares; far from it. I just thought we were due for them.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Buckets











.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I think buckets would be an interesting concept, but I doubt FIRST would use them. They have built in handles. What fun is that?:p As for boxes.. I've had this thing for boxes lately, and last time I had a feeling like this, it involved FRC robots shooting things in '06. Of course, that's not reliable at all, but I'd like to see boxes this year. Not massive ones like stack attack, but maybe something like 10" cubes. Who knows? Only 74 days until we find out

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

traffic cones.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

traffic cones would be interesting to pick up because there slanted so i doubt you could use a traditional gripper, maybe using a hook and hooking on to the hole in the top

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Cubes, foam triangles, boxes... etc. I'm hoping for something non-circle-y... even though I think it's in vain.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

ROFL!!! Seriously, that would be challenging, but still cool.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Inflatable Clowns, bananas, Jell-o.

That's all I'm going to say.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

or maybe they will use tubes again, and are doing all this just so we'll never see it coming






:D

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

you can suggest all these ideas to the thread that was recently put up for the game designers to consider (srry, i dont have a link)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

In 2008, FIRST will court a more international audience by introducing the boomerang as the official game piece.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I doubt that the people in the front row at competetion will be humored by the boomerangs :D

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Personally I don't care what piece they use. Just as long as the game is not a copy of a previous year.

But I do prefer cubes over having balls (again).

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

what about cylinders?

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I would also prefer something other than balls. our team has never competed with a ball yet, (we were in the 2005 game and the 2007 game) but from watching it, it seems everyone comes up with the same basic shooter for it, plus some gizmos here and there, but I find arms and gripper to be much more impressive to look at and chat about with other teams!

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

55 gallon drums anyone? What about 300lbs worth of straws.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

i think these would be an awesome game piece.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/22847

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

What about life-size Darth Vader cardboard cut-outs?




.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Hamsters

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

hamsters...that is cruel a hamster could get caught in gears, trapped under a robot, get run over (hey we should start a thread on the stuff that could happen to a hamster in the middle of a competition)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I guess there's a reason gerbils have been banned as energy devices for years...:rolleyes:

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Seriously guys, check the flowchart. Jeez. :p (only kidding.)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I still think pool noodles would be awesome as game pieces. I like the idea of using traffic cones.

Robot Limbo as a game challenge would be cool too.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I say footballs

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

i agree with pool noddles, but you'd have to be allowed to stab them as long as they dont break becasue its a good way of picking them up and if you do it by accident you shouldnt get penalized

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

First alliance to build a 3-foot tall replica of the venue out of glue and macaroni wins.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I am, too....
But only because we've been using circles/spheres so much!!!! Oh, and tetras.
XD

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

They would!

The object appears to be made from 3" schedule 40 PVC pipe, cut to about 8" length and capped at both ends. Cheap stock, easy to get.

To make handling the gamepiece more challenging, you could place an inexpensive 3" diameter toy ball inside before attaching the end caps. The pipe measures about 3.04" inside diameter so the ball would roll from end to end, causing the gamepiece center of gravity to shift when it is tilted.

[Now to search for a cheap 3" ball ... Hmmm ... rubber baseballs might work, can I find 'em for under a buck? ...]

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

And just for grins, how about there's around 40-50 of those suckers out on the field, and 2 of them have a shot put instead of a baseball inside ...

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

First alliance to build a life size Woodie replica out of glazed and sprinkle donuts...yum

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Has anyone thought about a boat challenge. The play field being a gaint pool!!!

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

This topic belongs to another thread. Look here. :)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Hmm, that would make for one interesting autonomous mode. If your calculations are incorrect by just a hair, the worst you could do is knock out a judge or the announcer.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I want to see y'all try to get something like that through security at an airport. ;)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Been there, done that... ;)


(and you DON'T want to know what I have in my carry-on suitcase right now, while I am sitting in the Cleveland Airport) (trust me)

-dave

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

...and we're off.

(Maybe I'm a bit jumpy after my laptop set off the bomb-sniffing machine at JFK four times last night. I know it's dirty, but sheesh.)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Could it be the complete manual for the 2008 game? Oh boy! Oh boy!
Or maybe it's a Popular Mechanics magazine, a Robots magazine, or a Servo magazine.
Or the remote control for your "Other car"
Or it may just be an empty carry-on suitcase to put stuff in later.

Just kidding... I can wait another month for the new game (I hope). I'm pumped and ready to start. I'm getting more sleep and doing my homework whenever I can in preparation for the new season.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

doesnt say hamster hmmm...

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

pre-build season giddyness... I love it!

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

So, just for fun I built one, using 3" schedule 40 PVC (non-pressure rated) and standard caps. Overall assembled length is 10" and it weighs ~1.5 lb. Inside I placed a 2.188" diameter steel ball, taken from one of the largest ball bearings that Emerson uses. The ball also weighs ~1.5 lb. (Don't expect to get them cheap -- motors that use that size ball are rated for 4000 horsepower and stand about fifteen feet tall. Production quantities are small relative to most FRC components.) So the total weight is about 3 lb. and the center of gravity shifts about six inches when the ball rolls from one end to the other.

As you can easily imagine, the weighted capsule is unwieldy! Grab it in the middle, tilt it slightly, and it will torque your wrist. Holding it level is a challenge.

A diabolical gamepiece if ever there was one. :cool:

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

@ Richard

can you say scooper bots?

-vivek

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Yeah, but wait until the robot stops short and inertia keeps all the balls moving...

There go the game pieces! :)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Of course, if the ball were made of tungsten, it would weigh about 3.809 pounds - about 2.5 times as much as the container itself. The dynamic properties of such an object would be .... interesting.

-dave

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

First team to put all the mini Dean Kamen statues on the mini Segways wins!

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Interesting indeed. Such an object would stand nearly upright with the ball in the rounded PVC endcap. It might even walk a little ways, end-over-end, when pushed. Like a large "Mexican Jumping Bean," to recall a popular toy from decades ago.

However, FIRST is unlikely to build such objects in quantity. Ingots of tungsten are going for about $13/lb these days. Worked into balls, the cost per pound would go a bit higher.

Hmm. Highly unstable, heavy objects being manipulated by FRC robots? Autonomously? :eek:

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

We've been doing that with Freshmen for years.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

... and so it begins.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

That would be a lot fun!!!!
But how would FIRST make them is the question....

a robot has to build a cube shape with 'breakable' poles (like what you use to put up a tent) but the claws are limited to only 3 'fingers'. The alliances can work together.... but only in autonomous. and of course, the human player can hand the robot the poles but that's it....

i like my idea.....
yeah.....
lol

sorry but, magnet showcase last night until 9 o'clock and pre-season jitters are NOT good when combined together:eek:

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I like the football idea but 6 aside robot and human player(with alot of padding) football

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Don't bother. 1923 has hamster-drive perfected.

:p

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Do you have proof?

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I'm sure if we checked their reciepts/invoices there'd be a nice little bill from Petland for fifty hamsters...

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

What if the game is like a pick up sticks game. Maybe poles of PVC would be used or something. That would be neat, and it would cool because poles are much more difficult to handle.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

2.5 times, hmm??

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

It's not like they've ever borrowed ideas from a previous year.

2004 had elements from many previous years.

I do think we're do for the return of a low bar that you could choose to go under like in 01 and 03. Didn't someone mention limbo?

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

they keep the "objects" simple, nuthing complex, something over the shelf. I like the idea of the five gallon buckets, handles removed ofcourse....We're about due for a change of motors also, those CIM motors have about had their life span.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

A three inch diameter steel ball (if I could find one) would weigh just about 4 lb., and would fit nicely inside the PVC. So the interesting dynamic properties that Dave mentions could be realized without using tungsten. Just a cost-saving suggestion. ;)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Quick someone start looking at the records for a purchase of 10000 3" steel balls!

Or just look for the FedEx truck with the rear bumper dragging on the ground...

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

A slight problem just occurred to me -- if FIRST distributes 3" diameter steel balls, then the TechnoKats will be tempted to modify their air-cannon to fire the danged things! No one will be safe at the IRI! :eek:

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

they wouldn't do that.......it wouldnt be safe ....................but i do like the sound of "i graciously destroyed your robot in a professional manner":] :]

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times! Those tubes at the end of last year's video were not a hint! They were a joke explaining where the "Rack 'n' Roll" idea came from!

I apologize if that was rude, but PLEASE!

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Air cannon, What air cannon? O you mean that thing that destroyed a ceiling tile at IRI last year?

Well the cannon does speak for itself, but it is more like BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! I GRACIOUSLY DESTROYED YOUR BOT! DON'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS! THAT'S WHY THEY PAY ME THE BIG BUCKS! [/sarcasim]

Besides our next task is punkin' chuckin'! [/sarcasim for real]

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Oh? Really? And upon what information is this conclusion being based?

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

This is wierd, but maybe they will try something entirely new. They might be beginning to tire of balls, balls, pvc shape, balls.....

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

HAHA, nice try Dave. Try this information. ;)

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

All I know is that Bill Miller has a warehouse full of about 12,000 left-over tubes from last year, and is desperate to get rid of them SOMEHOW!!! ;)

-dave

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Dave, if you try something akin to the "Triple Replay" joke, I for one am not buying it. Now, I'm not saying you don't have a use for those tubes in a future game, but I'm guessing not this year.

Better yet--bring 'em to the regionals with snow and hills nearby. Tubing races during breaks sounds fun.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

That sounds. SO. awesome. I really want to do that at NJ now.

Bonus- if you're somewhere down south, like Florida, you can have a pool party.

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

I don't know about in the middle of March....
LOL
Even Atlanta is cold in April.... although coming from a Floridian (of over 13 years, I forgot what cold even was.... lol), everyone may have a different opinion.....:o

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

lots of folks from up north go swimming in Arizona in winter. Those of us who have lived here a while can't get into a pool until after the ice breaks on the Santa Cruz river....which is Tucsonspeak for when it gets over 100 F outside!

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

That would be cool i would have a magnate on the device picking it up so the steep ball wont move around =.:D

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

hmm... I do agree with the cuboid theory. I dont know what else it would be besides stack though. I doubt that magnets would be allowed due to the fact that so many teams use steel on their robot. also this might pose some other issues. lol

-vivek

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

So we have heard that we have at least one "super regional" - basically two separate regionals colocated in time and space.

I've heard that in order to put two fields up, the game will be played on a vertical field, such that two fields are placed back to back.

Get out the grappling hooks and the dirigibles!

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

so... looks like we have to make the freshmen start working out to haul the robots up the ropes :D

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

And NASA will have to break out a few dozen pairs of anti-gravity boots, for the referees and field reset volunteers.

(If that happens I am SO volunteering at CT. :cool: )

Re: 2008 FIRST game
 

Watergame anyone lol.