Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

And then an extra 50 points if the robot can make the coffee. and maybe another 10 for putting the judge's choice of syrup on the pancake

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

I like how you think.

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

I recently met one of the parents on our team who has a son in junior high. She told me about a robot that he is working on that will fetch and deliver coffee. She says right now the robot wants to move diagonally but I'm sure he will have all of that worked out by the time he is a freshman. Can one develop a code that says: 'drive straight to Jane'?

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

Oh, the poor judges! Unless they could all eat pancakes the way Dave Lavery can eat donuts!

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

I've noticed a real pattern with the games, as each relates closely to either a common sport or game:

2008 - NASCAR -- racing around track
2007 - Connect Four -- placing circular objects in rows and columns
2006 - (U.S.) Football -- scoring high in the middle (like the uprights) or low (like endzones)
2005 - Tic-Tac-Toe -- rows of three
...

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

Lets just hope we never see an iteration of robot scrabble...

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

So what were 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, etc? The only pattern I've seen that continues for a long time is that there's a ball, oddball, ball, oddball pattern between 1997 or earlier and 2008 (exception being 2001--but that was an odd year and the "oddball" would have been balancing the bridge).

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

Just for fun - I'm thinking of a little bit of mental exercise.

Here's a few of questions:
a. why is the game piece important?
b. what does changing it up from year to year do?
c. how does the game piece affect the overall game?
d. how does the game piece affect the strategy or strategies of the game?
e. what are the limitations to a game piece when making a decision as to what to use?

I see lots of discussions trying to predict game pieces and suggest game pieces but I never fully understand why that is important. Help me out. :)

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

Jane,

If gamepieces are too similar from year to year, existing teams have another edge over rookies in that they already know how to build a manipulator that would work with the gamepiece. Or, conversely, know what wouldn't work. :(

Having an oddball piece (like tetras and ringers) puts teams back on similar levels; no one has had experience with that piece.

Since we had a ball year this season (even though it was a huge ball!) we're "due", by some people's figgerin, to have another oddball piece next year. Having fun trying to guess what that piece will be is like trying to guess what a certain curmudgeon's hints mean. Maybe it's time for bananas or fish!

Re: A Trend in the FRC Games?
 

To be fair inner tubes were also used in Toroid Terror as a game piece. I don't recall which year that was.

I hope we see a game which has one or two crazy ways to play that very few teams will want to attempt. They may or may not turn out to be legal. Things that jump to mind are teams 190 and 1519 from this year.