If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

just wondering.. if you could bring back one game.. what game would it be? and would your change your robot? O_o (if you had one then)

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I was going to click on 2000 but it wasn't there.:(

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

i sowwy :( but i only put up as many as most people know.. for some reason not many know about 2000 and earlier

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

While I loved 2004's game there was barely enough room for four robots nevermind six.
We've already seen 2006 game with six bots so 2003 would probably be the best candidate for 3 on 3 action.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2004's game for sure. What I would change about that year's robot, likely a few minor structural changes for strength, make the wheels slightly bigger, avoid the electrical issues we had till eliminations, and more driver practice.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Yeah, where are the games pre-2001? Torroid Terror, Ladder Logic, Hexagon Havoc, Co-opertition FIRST, Double Trouble, and their buddies?

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2004 All the way!

imho, that year was the culmination of all the best games in FIRST up to that point, and while in certain cases, a mash-up is bad, this resulted in a very dynamic game where scores were possible by teams in any state of robot construction, from the rookies who could only drive & herd balls, to the novices who wanted to tackle the challenge of climbing stairs, or manipulating balls of 2 different sizes!!!

Would I change our robot? Yes. If given the opportunity to have a "do-over" I would step up the challenge, and totally reinvent our bot. (Even though that was a lot of people's favorite 237 bot, and it was a strong contender for many reasons, including an undefeated record in NJ, I would strive to go for another challenge in the design process if given the chance to play that same game again.)

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Actually, there are a whole lot of us that know about 2000 and earlier. And for those that don't know and are curious, there are many on-line resources like the FIRSTwiki site that can educate you about some of the pre-millennium games. You might want to expand the poll.

-dave



.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

i guess im going to make a new post cause i cant expand the poll lol

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2000. Definitely 2000. Don't make all the old schoolers come out of the woodwork to tell you how much they love that game :p

So simple, yet the possibilities were endless. Back when strategy evolution was expected and encouraged, FIRST has not yet put out a game to beat it.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2004.

I would try to pull off the 71 cap and hang strategy.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I would also vote for 2000 (GREAT strategy year, very different game), but seeing how it is not a choice 2004 was a great year for 303 and even though the game was a culmination of several years put together it worked quite well. Many varied scoring oppotunities and a very useful human player who greatly affected the outcome of the match.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2004 for the win!! I never played that game (our team wasn't around...) but I would love to. The amount of things you could do in that game was amazing, and from what I saw, so many different approaches!! (thats the main reason I like / dislike games, the amount of diversity amoung the robots, hence the reason I'm not a big fan of Aim High...:eek: )

I have had a design for the 2004 game ever since we started back in 2005! BRING 2004 BACK so I can use my design :D:D

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2004, by far.

I would have put to use the knowledge we've gained in the area of tank treads since then to make sure they wouldn't break during the most inopportune of times. I would have also found the extra weight to install the big ball gripper mechanism we had designed but couldn't use.

I am also somewhat proud to claim we tried to bring back the 2004 game ourselves this year - according to some observers, after we hurdled once at Midwest our robot caught air and swung on the overpass, effectively hanging on the bar. ;) The lift design we used this season is also a variant of our 2004 design.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

My history seems to reflect that the better the game, the worse the robot's performance. Give me a do-over of Aim High or FIRST Frenzy, and I'd be happy--though I wouldn't mind a shot at some of the games of the early alliance era, either.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Yeah, far and away 2004.

I think I might modify my 2004 offseason robot (we changed our arm from worm gear to multiposition pneumatic in the offseason), and give it the drive units we used in 2007, possibly modified for climbing the 6" stair, if necessary.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Hey- I'm an old schooler- and yes. I like the 2000 game. Creativity reaped big rewards- but of course I'm biased....


these young whipper snappers just don't know what a FIRST game can be...
walking up hill both sides of the field with no shoes, robots of wood and stone ......


blaaah! and stay off my lawn...

WC :cool:

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I still love 1999. That game was bizarre. We would do a new version of TKO.

Oh... and some of today's general gameplay rules would need to go away.

AB

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

TKO and the current outside the bumper zone contact rules certainly wouldn't work. :p

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

If you want to make room for 2000 you could easily get rid of 2001. I don't know ANYBODY that liked that game. 2004 would be tempting, it was a lot like 2000.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I voted for "none". I've only had 4 seasons of experience, and I've liked most of them. But I wouldn't want to do any of them over again. I look forward to the next intriguing (devious, conniving, scheming?) submission from the GDC.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

The dynamics of the Puck, and raising the floppies up to eight feet made '99 a great game. It was my first exposure to FIRST, and will always be special because of that.

Beyond that, I'm with Jess. I'd love to see 2000 played out again. It was more or less the beginning of all modern FIRST games, at least in terms of field layout with the alliance stations as they are. If I recall, it was also one of the first years teams could keep the control systems, and only the second year of using Innovation First hardware (Victor 883 speed controllers, the pbasic STAMP based RC, spike relays, etc). Prior, to 2000, many teams would return the controls to FIRST at the end of competition season.

The game itself was exciting and very strategic in play. I'm still awestruck thinking back to team 25's robot that year, and it's 'unique' method of ensuring victory. I was also impressed by 173's robot, of which it's 2002 national championship winning robot very closely resembles.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

After seeing many videos of 177's robot in 1998 last year, I would vote for that.

But from my actual experience in FIRST, I would have to say 2004. My one reason would be to design a robot that could hang faster and more affectively. (Ours did in 2004 but it only did in a practice match.) I was a big fan of MOE 365'd robot that year. It was my first year in FIRST, and I don't think any game has been better. (With 2006 a close second)

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2006 was awesome; someone should just hold an Aim High offseason event every year! I'd love to redisign our robot from that year as well... it was our rookie year so we took the less challenging route of scoring in the low goal. Now that we have three years of experience, I know our bot would do something very different!

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

This is an interesting topic to bring up because every year I look at the robots and think the best way to play the game. It seems that when you watch an entire season's worth of games you can figure out the best way to play. This year it seems that the best way to knock off is to use a sheet of lexan. The best way to pick up appears to be something along the lines of a roller above to forks(it can also depend on the drivers). I would also give a slight advantage to team that shoot just because they take slightly less time and and can't get caught on the overpass.(most shooters can't place at the end though). I think swerve is the best drive train, but a lot of teams would have trouble making it function to its full capacity so a six wheel skid steer with a shifting transmission works well too.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

quite a few of this years arm bots would be able to play the 2004 game effectivly, herding the 5 point balls and really controling the 2x multiplyer ball. only issue would be hanging.

that game had SO MANY diffrent wasy to play it, i personally liked my teams (1402, our rookie year...the announcer at Palmetto called us the candy canes :-D good times) we played king of the hill, we would just go to the top and push anyone who came close until the last 15 second and we would hang

this was the BEST game i've seen from FIRST, i've been around seince 2003


btw: does anyone have video of the 2000 game?

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

This is an awesome thread just b/c I've always wanted to have an off season that uses one of the old games. Does anyone already do this? I would love to participate in it. Probably 06.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I've heard teams talk about doing it before...but the price to make the field and all is too steep for some.

We've had this discussion on 125 before and decided that it would be too costly for ourselves to produce and for other teams to alter/make robots for that game (not everyone keeps each year's robot).

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I know lots disagee with me but i do rack and roll again anyday. Mainly beucase it was the year i joined. But I'd only pick 07 if we replayed all the regionals becuase then wed get the chance of facing 1114 in finals at Waterloo, Toronto, and Curie again without the dissapointments of a disable alliance member, annoying ringers, and damaged ramps.

I know for sure that everyone else on my team would want 2005 becuase that was are dominant year. With Kazias we won both the Waterloo regional (First waterloo regional) Greater Toronto Regional, and we alos won engineering insipiration at both regionals like we did this year.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

The logistics of having an off-season that plays a previous year's game is difficult.

Perhaps in the future there could be a "summer project" offseason Where teams would be notified well in advance of an offseason playing a previous year's game so that way if they want to participate they can drag out their old bot from storage or perhaps make a new one in the mean time. It may be a great learning exercise to get new students geared up for the build season (no pun intended :-p)

But thats a whole 'nother thread for a different time.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

My vote was for none to see 1114,25,217, etc,get a chance at fixing a existing design for the same game is a scary thought and not one I would like to go up against during competition. At an off season for fun sure that would be awesome stuff.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2004 all the way. Some of the robots that year were just insane. :D

2004 was our rookie year and our robot wasn't very good. We could only grab the 2X multiplier and it took us a little long. I would like to design a robot that could hang and cap very fast. Also climbings those stairs would be fun. :yikes:

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

The 1305 robot in the 2005 season was certainly dominant. I'm sure your team would love to have a time machine to play that game again, and of course have the design brilliance of Todd Willick back on your team.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2000, for sure. It was the first game I ever saw, and I still think it's the best.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2000 was the bomb!

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Anyone have videos from 2000 from the NJ regional? My brother also said it was the coolest. Just wanna see what was so great. thanks:)

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

99 and the puck, I'd get rid of the human players though, that'd be a whole new game...

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

1992

Who wouldn't want to play a game where the defining attribute was that the field was covered in corn? :D

From video's I've seen 1998 was also really cool. There were some really crazy designs that year.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I would definitely bring back the 2004 game. There was so much going on and in my mind the best part was that the human player was really doing all the scoring. In my mind, this was the perfect showing of robot and man working together. It was also my team's rookie year so I'd like to do it again with the knowledge that we have now.

But it's also wouldn't be a bad idea to do this years again. I know it just ended but their were so many different ways for your robot to score. My team tried out dozens of ideas before we settled on the one that we used.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I would love to bring back 2003 with two changes. Firstly, make the boxes in a stack count. For example a stack of 7 with 1 on the floor would be worth 56 points (7*(7+1)=56 pts) instead of just 7. Secondly, make the eliminations win/loss rather than total points.

I would just love to see how different that game would have been. We had a great stacker that year. Unfortunately, "Stack Attack" had more to do with attacking than stacking.

Long live "The Paw"!

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

According to the numbers above there are at least 4 of us that found the 2001 game the best! I liked having all the robots on the field working towards a common goal. There was also a good variety of tasks to be accomplished.

It was my first year and that may have something to do with it.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

We never did FIRST in 2004. Based on the poll results so far, its too bad we didnt! We chose another program called Botball that year.
Aim High was definitely the best for us even though our robot got killed by Raider Robotixs Team 25 that year!
They were the best hands down for individual robots!!!

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I'd love a shot at the 1999 or 2000 games with the knowledge that I have now.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Timmy's coming out of the woodwork!

Seriously, 2000 was fantastic. Between parking on the ramp, hanging from the bar, stealing balls, and then the very often yet very deadly scoring for your opponent to maximize your QPs... :D
The only thing I'd change about that game would be to take away the 2-speed transmission from Rage so that they wouldn't beat me to the blackball every match! :P

However, given this poll, I'll say 2005. 3D tic-tac-toe that would give math majors a headache as you watched the score constantly change with each tetra-placement was insane. And nothing was cooler than seeing a match end with a 10-tetra high pile slowly creep over and everyone whips out their cameras (including refs and field crew) to see how far over it would tip prior to its possible fall to the carpet.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Well I've heard awesome things from our 2005 team members about how much they loved Triple Play so I wouldn't mind replaying it(or rather, playing it for the first time.) I wouldn't mind replaying pretty much any of the pre-2006 games simply because I didn't play them on the first go around, and they all sound rather interesting.

But out of the ones I've been a part of so far 2007 has been my favorite year. I wouldn't mind replaying it either, simply because of how much better we were at the end of the year then at the beginning.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I have three:

1999. Seeing all these robots going 8' in the air is a big cool factor. "Easily" adapted to current fields. Just find something better to stuff floppies with. The original alliance game. (My first to see)

2000. Variety of options, tons of fun, way cool robots climbing all over each other.

2005. Strategy was king. the original 3-on-3. The variety of robots was insane. (Doesn't hurt that my team won, but still.)

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2000 hands down, no contest. Not only was it a great game for us FIRSTers to watch, but it was the one game that would be PERFECT for TV. It was such a simple game to score and to follow, you could figure it out after about two matches, and it was very exciting. The variety of robots also made it extremely interesting to watch.

After that, my favorite game for excitement was definitely 1998.

After those two it gets pretty muddy. I liked 2004 for excitement, but my non-FIRST friends thought it would never fly on TV due to some issues with the scoring, and too much human involvement.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

To do the 2000 game, we would have to mod it for how good teams have gotten. Having the what 20 balls (in the 2000 game) would be a joke to teams like the grasshopper (95). I am not sure a 2000 game would work today. My vote is for the 06 (with footballs) game because you needed all 3 teams to win and the strategy was more like a chess match.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I've only got personal experience back through Triple Play, and my team's history only goes back through Stack Attack, so I would like to get to know a little more about the games from 1992-2002 where I have very limited knowledge. I like all four I've played, but I think my favorite lies in 2005, which was my first impression of FIRST.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

1999, 2000, or 2002.

1999 because it was way different than lots of other games

2000 because I never got to actually play it (well...saw it cal games my freshman year) and from what I've seen/heard of it, it was simply awesome.

2002 because of Beatty and 60. 'Nuff said.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

And when there was 9 planets, right?

Anyhow, I would have loved to be on my team for '04... runner up on Einstein, and my mentors still firmly believe we would have kept 71 off the bar had our window motor not burned out, and then we'd have won the championship. :)

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Oh, we had to bring up poor sad old Pluto and just when things were going so well with the stone and wood robots. Oh, and the hill. *sigh*

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Maize Craze!! Yeah! I want a dot matrix printer.

-Vivek

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2006, Aim High was an AWESOME game. :yikes:

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I'll say 2004... not because the game was any better... all the games have been good, but because of the second part of the question "what would you do differently with your robot".

Well, for starters... we'd make a robot that could turn. With 2004 being our rookie year, and no one on the team ever having attended a FIRST event (our total robot-building experience up to that point was mini-sumo robots that we designed and built in class), and the nearest Canadian FIRST team a couple thousand kilometers away (we didn't know about the Seattle teams then) we really, really had no clue what we were doing.

It would be fun to re-do 2004 with our current knowledge. We'd probably rip off some ideas for the design from 1241's ball catching machine, or 33's incredible ball collection system.

On the other hand, the 2006 game left the best "legacy" in terms of a demo robot that impresses people. With a full pan-tilt nerf cannon we don't have to explain why we are lifting tetrahedrons, or anything like that... we just blast away. The robot is cool by itself, independent of the game. This is not to complain about the '05 game... which had probably the coolest scoring system that I have seen yet. This year's game is pretty good, too, although it bogs down somewhat when teams focus on defense rather than offense.

In the end, though... you can never go back, and I really don't want to. Onward to '09.

Jason

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

We saw some robots hanging from the overpass in Boston(not just getting stuck, I mean actually hanging) 1100 was hanging for at least 15 seconds in one match http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv...p?matchid=8877 and they did it again in another. There was another team but I don't remember the number.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Naah, you want an impact printer. Then you can print on multiple copy forms.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2006 was one of my favorite games because it saw the most exiting, brutal, and extreme matches of FIRST it was also one of the most assessable games for the general public. i know many of my non FIRST friends picked up on the game immediately (get the ball in the goal) and were quickly involved in the game, rooting for teams and robots, cheering when that shooter fired off a massive round of balls under heavy defense. the misses, flying off into the crowd, were another awesome symptom of that year, but weren't as brutal as the meteor strikes from trackballs from shooters this year...

overall the simpler games have been the most assessable and energetic of FIRST that i have seen. rack and roll was really cool. raising the bar was a great game because the crowd would cheer and applaud the sweet hangers, as well as the cappers. overdrive was fun due to the high speed and simple scoring (laps and hurdles 148, 118, 1114, im looking at you) as well as the rush for places at the end (330's knock and place comes to mind) made for an assessable and fun game

my vote is still for 2006, although 2004 and 2008 come close second

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2000 hands down was by far the best game. (it was not a choice)

Balls, Stealing, scoring, ramp, tipped robots, limbo bar and hanging all in one game.

My opinion... not influenced by the fact we won three regionals:) mind you.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Well I guess I will chime in for the record and say something that might surprise many. I will go with 2005 "Triple Play" I think that was by far my favorite game post 2001. It had lots of elements that I think make a good game, it was easy to see how was winning, it was easily captured in a still photograph, it had exciting defense. Sadly though it marked somewhat of a beginning of the penalty happy mentality that the GDC seems to be in these last few years. I say less penalties and let teams play. In real life, which FIRST claims to mimic, sometimes people get pushed around, sometimes robots flip over.

-Justin

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2000, best game ever. [period] :D

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

It seems like a majority of responders like the 2000 game-

maybe they should summarize their reasons why and direct them to the GDC

Some things I noticed about the 2000 game-

If there were referees there you never saw them.
The score was evident at the end of the game without a huge formula or tally of penalties.
Robots played both offense and defense.
We had fun.



Unfortunately many of the kids here on CD never knew a game like that. I remember it fondly.

WC

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Dead on correct!

The true beauty of the 2000 game was that there were a multitude of designs and strategies that were successful. Teams would specialize in hanging on the bar, teams would specialize in trying to score as many balls as possible, and teams would specialize in removal of balls from the troughs. The balance in that game, as well as the various "swing elements" such as hanging, or the black ball moving from one goal to another, made for it to be the greatest game in the history of FIRST.

I vividly remember during eliminations, watching match after match of the most exciting FIRST I have ever seen. Not just spotty in one round here and there like we saw this year...but in EVERY round.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2000 was great. Maybe I am being sentimental because it was our rookie year, but this game was fun.
Other games have been fun too, but I also believe that 2000 is one of the few games that has everything on the list below.

Top Reasons why 2000 was awesome
1) Few Penalties Very little chance to change the game
2) Static scoring at the end of the match. Very little chance for error or controversy. (good for referees)
3) WoW factor for the audience. An ending struggle and the "I didn't know a robot could do THAT" reaction when robots hung off the bar.
4) A high and low engineering point challenge, which involved struggling teams "positively" in the outcome of the match.
5) Descoring and defense were a factor without ruining the game.
6)HUMAN PLAYER. It puts an unknown factor in the game and attracts sports minded people. Kids eyes light up when you tell them they can shoot balls.
7) Head to head high energy interaction between machines. (pushing and pinning, not smashing)


My favorite games (that we have played and not including 2008) in order are:
1) 2000
2) 2006
3) 2003
4) 2001
5) 2004
6) 2007
7) 2005
8) 2002

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

oh man..... 2006 was nothing compared to some past years in terms of brutal.



As for me, I'd be happy with 2002, 2003 with revamped rules, and then 1999 and 2000 for the strategy and fun gameplay.

Also, 1993 for detachable mechanisms :D

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

2007 was my first year with FIRST, so i had to pick my rookie year's game

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

It's interesting how people's perception's change. I seem to remember a poll around 2001 or 2001 that showed 1999 having a small lead over 2000.

People now like the lack of penalties, but it was a big topic of debate back then. For example, here is one thread complaining about the fact that the referees didn't call enough. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=10765

Other people complained about "wussy" bumpers and wished for the rough and tumble, knock the other guy off the puck type play http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=10765

More people complained about how much the game changed between the qualification rounds and the eliminations. Look at how the "gangly" 25 slipped into the second round and then won the championship using a strategy they wouldn't dare use in the qualifications rounds. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=10765

And don't forget a huge thread about how poor the seedings were http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=10671


The game that I liked most as a strategist was 2004, but certainly wasn't easy to explain to the grandmothers of the world.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Back in 2000, I just remember how exciting it was to watch robots fight to hang on the bar AND on each other sometimes. The Poofs and their winch was awesome!
Gotta love them Poofs!:yikes:

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Before I forget, here's a list with links to explanations of all the FIRST games back to 1992: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRST_R...n#Competitions

I loved 2006 personally... partially because it was my FIRST FIRST year. There was so much action and anyone who walked in to watch could pretty much instantly understand what was going on. Also, the large amount of open space on the field allowed robots to get up some pretty impressive speed... resulting in some pretty impressive crashes. :ahh:

Also... the like 40/60 chance that a robot would fall over going up the ramp made things more exciting too. :yikes:

Oh... and then there were the occasional rediculus robots that year that could hold pretty much all the balls on the field at once (135) or shoot multiple balls at the same time (don't remember specific team number).

One game I wouldn't bring back was the 2007 game. Not the best game ever.

-q

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

Autonomous:
Back in the year 2000 we didn't have autonomous. Maybe that was a good thing. With each new season comes a new autonomous challenge with a new gadget (IR, Camera) that works worse than the previous years gadget.

Let me diverge... as FIRST teams mature they are integrating more sensors into their robots. Let this process happen naturally. Don't begin 2009 with a new control system along with a new gadget. Give us the control system and allow us to pick our sensors. We will use a sensor that we feel comfortable using that best accomplishes the task at hand.

If I were to add an autonomous mode to 2000 I would allow each robot to start off with a ball. If they score in the first 15 seconds they get bonus points. K.I.S.S. we only have 6 weeks and the robots only have 15 seconds. Easy, simple, well understood by the audience...

Easy to Understand:
In 2000 you knew what the score was all the time. The balls were large enough to see from the stands and you could almost count the score. For an audience to know what the score is during the match adds increasing excitement to the end of the match. Penalties rarely influenced the outcome of a match...

Penalties:
True story: This year my girlfriend's parents came to see a FIRST regional for their first time. After watching the game for 1/2 an hour my girlfriends father gave me a hard time asking, "Do you guys fix these matches? I mean you see one guy score all these points and win the match and then those reffs get together and then there's a different winner."

Plain and simple: Penalties ruin games, this years penalty system sucked.

I don't remember any penalties in 2000. It was excellent. :D

Human Player:
In 2000 the human player did something useful and exciting. The human player could actually score points and change the outcome of the game. This was really exciting at the end of the game when robots were going for the hanging bar and the human player would start throwing balls over the glass. Maybe to try to knock off an opponents balls or to clinch victory at the last second.

End Game:
2000's end game- more excitement than robot nerds should be allowed to have... Everyone could get to it from the veterans to the rookies. In the final seconds of the match every robot on the field converged on the same 60 sq feet of field. Some robots wanted to get in the air others wanted to block the air from their opponents. At the same time human players would be dumping balls from the alliances station. Robots banging together, some robots going up in the air, some on the ground, human players bringin' it Celtics style. It was king of the hill, it was exciting, it was the absolute best in FIRST history.

Triple Play (2005) and FIRST Frenzy (2004)
 

I loved the 2005 edition, Triple Play. It had so much excitement being able to score on at least 9 different goals with your Tetra. My favorite moment was at the inaugural Boilermaker Regional when mighty Hammond #71 fell over in one of the finals matches but still went on to anchor the winning alliance in a 4 match finals. I have only been involved with the games since 2004 First Frenzy, which was a great game also and was our team's only regional FRC competition championship.
Dave

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

If anybody has pictures or videos of 2000. That would be extremely helpful. Most of us weren't here for 2000. And it's very hard to visualize the game just from descriptions.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

How about the game manual? And, for pictures: http://technokats.org/gallery2/v/2000/comp/ and http://technokats.org/gallery2/v/2000/iri/

Re: Triple Play (2005) and FIRST Frenzy (2004)
 

I was the driver on 93 that year, and was pretty much responsible for them tipping over. Those were some of the most exciting finals I've ever seen. The building was so small and it was packed and the whole crowd was cheering at the top of their lungs for both alliances.

But back on topic i have to say that the best year in my experience since 2002 would have to be 2004. It was the last year where robots didn't all look the same and there was tons of stuff you could do. Cap the 2x ball, collect the purple balls, hang on the bar, and the human player was a huge part(which i always like). Ever since 2004 there really hasn't been to much diversity when it comes to robot design. Yes all the robots are unique but the games are becoming more narrow minded on how you play the game.

2005- cap the tetras or put them underneath the goals
2006- collect and shoot balls or put them in the lower goal
2007- hang ringers or lift robots off the ground
2008- race around the track/play with the trackball

I want to see another game where there are more than 2 ways to play the game and more than 2 ways to score so we can see some diversity between the robots.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

I have most of Saturday from 2000 Nats on dvd. I'll try to put them up somewhere when I get free time one of these days.

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

That would be awesome, Tim. I look forward to seeing that!

Re: If You could bring back one game, for 1 season in 09 what would it be?
 

It was our best year