Safest Place on the Field?
 

We are curious to find out what teams think the safest place on the field is in order to limit scoring by the opposing alliance..

This might be the place an empty trailer might be taken and left if a robot did not show up.

Our strategy team tends to think that the area in front of your own alliance's corner (s) would be the safest place because anyone coming in to dump would be subject to being scored on by the human player.

We know that any non-moving trailer with or without a robot is a target for the shooters...but at least two sides of this trailer would be protected from possible attack by putting it into the corner.

What do you think?

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

I think that is one of 2 safer places among the field.
Good call!
The other one is:in front of an opossing corner Payload Specialist who has no more balls left in their alliance area to throw.
You could block the opposing airlock & defend your trailer, & dealing with the Payload Specialist is a resultant non-issue.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

It's like tic-tac-toe or Triple Play.

Control the center and you control the game.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

For a stationary target, the two afore-mentioned areas are probably good. If you can keep something in motion, I'd have to go with a figure eight in the center of the arena.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

Wouldn't it make it easier to get the balls in the trailer, because if you use a shooter, the balls would bounce off the wall if it missed, giving the robot a higher chance of scoring due to rebounding.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

That is assuming the shooter's placement & angle is perfect to go over the robot that is playing defense.
I guess it's not that safe after all when playing defense to some robots. :ahh:

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

We were speaking of the outside corner... there is no wall there... only the bottom of the trailer would be in contact with the low portion of the corner piece. If the shooter missed and overshot, the balls would fall into your own alliance's human player collector area...

i also think that the middle of the field is the safest place for a moving robot...
the middle human players will have a more difficult job hitting their targets and once they are out they cannot be reloaded..

good thoughts..

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

We have a bit of a different idea if a no show comes up. Basically the same, but a little more complicated.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

Moving the no-show's trailer to a safe place should best be done in the autonouous period. It's not a trivial programming task.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

Do you anticipate needing to do this often? While we go to a veteran heavy event, we haven't played 2v3 or vice versa for a couple of years.

That said, I like the sound of in front of your HP standing with the drivers. The closest opposing standing HP needs to shoot right along the alliance station wall and come down on the correct side. The other opposing standing HP is simply WWAAAYYYYY to far away, and I'd be super impressed with a sitting HP who was accurate at 25 feet.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

Any HP who has run out of balls instantly becomes the safest place to be for the opposing team. If the outpost payload specialist runs out of balls, that is an extremely valuable asset strategically. You can then camp your robot in front of them, avoid being scored on by HPs (except the occaisional 27-footer), and restrict their ability to pass empty cells.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

I've been practicing throwing using a soccer style throw in, and in a classroom with 8 & 1/2 foot tall cielings, from around 20 feet. I haven't even gotten to practice in a gym, but we aren't too worried about the walls of the field, becuase I'm 6'2", and i release the ball above my head. :)

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

I think that the safest place is close to the driver stations next to your payload specialists. It would be hard to throw that close to the wall near your payload specialist, and I know it can be hard to throw across the field with any accuracy.

Re: Safest Place on the Field?
 

It will be rare, and unlikely in the eliminations, but it could make the difference between being a top seed or getting picked to a weaker alliance. Being prepared is always a plus.