Calling All Drivers
 

So week 1 regionals of lunacy are done and over with officially. Now am i calling on all the drivers to come here and so i can ask, If you could give one great piece of advice this year, what would it be?

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

Keep moving, no matter what.

After more though I realized that perhaps I should elaborate on this one. It's not as simple as always moving. It's learning how to do everything on the fly. A lot of robots would need to pin an opponent to score. The problem is, when you're pinning an opponent you're not moving either. Try not to stop, and never ever base your strategy around stopping. When you do this teams will know that you're going to stop at some point in the match to do something, and they'll be waiting.

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

that looks like the basic, most essential thing. I also plan on having my commandor watch out for bots gunning towards us and warn us and tell us to bolt out of there

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

As said in Monty Python, in the last 20 seconds of the match, RUN AWAY!

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

ya... you 'do not want to be the team that gets super cells scored on

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

By saying "keep moving" that might end up hurting you. I've noticed that driving full speed 100% puts you in poor places to defend yourself. By having different speeds, it makes you harder to hit from hp's and robots.

It's also a control question. With no traction, that means no brakes. Just like driving on ice, you need to increase the time it takes to do everything.

I think the better word would be always move WITH A PURPOSE. If that means that you back yourself into a corner with a hp with no moon rocks, that's fine. Just always have the best stratagy before each match that you can.

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

Think a few seconds ahead of your opponent. Anticipate their turns.

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

the key to effective driving-communication with your co-driver:P

but seriously, Ive seen alot of teams where their down fall was lack of communication(ie..both drivers go into a "zone")

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

I would say don't gun it right away... measure your turns, think twice, and most importantly have fun :)

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

Know your opponents and know your partners.
This goes right along with having a good strategy.
If you know you have the better robot in your alliance, anticipate getting ganged up on. If you have the weaker robot in your alliance... anticipate getting ganged up on.
Same goes for your opponents.
If your robot is a push monster like ours was, know which of our opponents will be easiest to pin. If you know that a teams human player has some Major NBA skills, stay away at all costs!
Buts in cases like that, make sure your partners know too.
As was said before, good communication can be a winning attribute within an alliance.

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

There are times when you may need to stop moving, pinning a robot so your teammate can unload on them for example. Just make sure that your coach is constantly watching the field and telling you when to move.
Also, if you are up against a dumper just try to keep the front of your robot facing the front of theirs. If they can't get to your sides, they can't score.

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

I agree... this is going to be very useful when you go against the dumper and shooting powerhouses, keep moving; pin people; rely on your coach and co-driver and again have fun...

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

I'm not a driver, but as a scout, here's what I noticed:

With the exception of strategic pins and that such DO NOT STOP MOVING. This does not mean that you should always go full tilt though, since modulating your speed can easily make you harder to hit.

Although not exactly related to driving, make sure that your Human Player knows the rules and follows them. All of the penalties I saw were on the human player, and there was even a disqualification for touching a robot, which would quite obviously affect the outcome of the match (had that not happened the opposing alliance would have lost by around 20). Don't throw empty cells over the outpost wall, don't stick your fingers through the hole in the outpost or hook over the alliance station wall, don't pick up moon rocks early and for god's sake don't pick up the super cells too early because it's a double penalty. In practice matches, go ahead and throw what you're not supposed to if you think the extra 2-4 throws will make a difference, but definitely not in the qualifications.

Be very careful about where super cells are. Stay away from those corners for at least the last 30 seconds (mileage may vary). We pinned somebody for around 10 seconds until a super cell got scored, so it's not just waiting for 20, since you can be pinned in the corner.

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

my best advice is to learn how to use the trailer to your advantage. make it help you turn and make it help you move other people into a bad position. also make sure you have some sort of autonomous.

Re: Calling All Drivers
 

throughout the week, our robot had some problems with our dump mechanism, and throughout the competition, and espeicially the elimination rounds, we learned that pinning can be absolutely devasting. just find the best robot on the opposing alliance, and run it into the corner with ur alliances human player. with a pinned robot in front of them, it gets really hard to miss. this turned out to work very well for us.
so my advice, dont rely solely on ur robot, even if it the best out there. the human players are there for a reason. and if u can find a way to use them to ur advantage, the effects can be deadly