Re: Next Year's Game?
 

Not if it was built lower than the max height to begin with. Out of our team's four robots, we have only built one that came close to max height.

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

It wouldn't be that different from 2008 in my mind.

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

With three alliances, a rectangular field can make it difficult to provide symmetry, which any game would need to make it fair.

Anything above three alliances would probably make matches too hard to keep track of. What would the scoreboard look like?

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

Probably been said before, but...

autonomous mode in the end of the game

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

Or better yet, "Bread Alliance!" as heard in the IRI quarterfinals, cheers mixing. :)

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

I hope next year game is very challenging and it is all based upon the Robot and no Human Player (like this year was). I have no idea of what the game might be i just hope it is fun like the past two years has been. Good Luck to all!!

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

Anyone think that tetras might make a comeback like the slippery floor did?

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

I liked the human player this year, if only because it added another element to scouting. I wouldn't be all that upset to see it go, but I would like to see them add something else that has a team being more multifaceted and not JUST about the robot and if the drivers can control it.

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

The 2010 KOP is going to include a small laptop computer as part of the driver's station. With that and the camera, everybody could have a video link between the robot and driver. This would open the possibility of a game with some or all of the operation being out-of-sight from the drivers. Maybe capture the flag with a curtain across the middle of the field or something like that.

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

I don't know about everyone else, but I believe that we ended up scratching our auto-targeting this year because our camera couldn't keep up with the moving targets. I assume that any capture the flag type game would have to have a moving target for variety (i.e. the target isn't in the same spot every time, for obvious reasons)

Also, I hate to rain on a lot of parades, but games that prevent the drivers from seeing the action also block the spectators/scouts from seeing the action, which I'm sure FIRST wouldn't want to do.

I'm still sticking with my sort-different-shaped-game-pieces-into-certain-areas theory. I've been trying to fit the PC into that, but I haven't figured out a good way of doing that.

Of course, the PC might be another optional thing, like the cameras from this year. There could be some really good advantage to using it, but it's not necessary to complete the tasks.

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

If there was a curtain across the center the spectators would still be able to see the entire game if they were sitting in the middle of the seats!

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

Our robot was computing the image so that it would be able to calculate distance and such. I think what Wayne was referring to is a camera where you have direct view of the field, like a video camera. Last year such a feature was pointless as the camera was there for the robot's benefit, while in the sort of game Wayne was talking about it would be there for the drivers benefit.

(evil grin) Not if they were to paint over the drive teams windows with black paint. The spectators could see just fine (for the most part) but the drive teams sure as heck couldn't. I love the idea, Wayne.

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

But if you weren't sitting in the middle of the seats? ;) It would depend on the venue a lot.

Though I do like the idea of blocking the driver station windows...that would work. It would be a really chaotic game, though, and the drivers would have a limited view. Entanglement could become a huge problem depending on where your camera was placed, and in the case of a malfunction, the drivers wouldn't be able to see what was happening to their robot and wouldn't know whether to E-stop or not :/

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

How about dropping a curtain over the driver station windows and let the drivers drive with a camera for the first 30 seconds (instead of Autonomous mode) and then raise the curtain? Or drop the curtain during the last 30 seconds?

Re: Next Year's Game?
 

I'm afraid that a curtain or any type of vision impairment will make the game really boring to watch and frustrating to play.

I could imagine the robots going around aimlessly bumping into each other, making end off game bonuses would be nearly impossible to accomplish.