2012 Game Hint
 

If you all have read Bill's Blog today, he posted a small hint at the end.
If you have not read it, here is the link: http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/

The hint was:

The GDC is mulling it over right now.

Here is my first guess:

1- The field may have many obstacles the robot have to drive over.

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

after reading his entire blog telling us about what different people are doing right now I would say mulling is NOT the game hint!

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

More likely, we will have to make robots that crush apples, render them into cider, heat it, and add spices.

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Mulling spices in wine...

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The fun is in speculating. You may be right is isn't a game hint at all, but if that's true, this thread wouldn't exist.:D

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Mull - a mountainous island off the west coast of Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides, separated from the mainland by the Sound of Mull.

This what give me the idea of our robots rolling or climbing over obstacles.

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Also adding onto that, AndyMark's new product releases today were pneumatic wheels, as well as accessories for those wheels:

http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0970.htm

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Mulling is like Mull.
Mull is part of Scotland.
Golf originated in Scotland.
The 2012 game will utilize 1 hundred of golf ball like balls (as golf balls are too expensive).

(Rinse and repeat for other Scottish sports)

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Maybe there will be steps to climb like in 2004 or a bump like in 2010.

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Ooooh this falls into my line of work! :)

I hope the game has an obstacle this year to add a little something!

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Maybe some thing to do with PETER LIGUORI MULLING
check this site: http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/pete...rom-discovery/

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The game piece is clearly Martin Mull. Gear your manipulators lowwwwww.

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It's actually a veiled reference to a mullet, which besides being a bad eighties' haircut is a kind of fish.

Water Game!

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The hint is "over right". We have to hurdle while making right-hand turns...

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or maybe the bumps are right triangles that we have to go over

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Water game.







.

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I would have to agree with you there, fine sir

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...and every single drive team member from 2008 goes "WHATTTT?"

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Earlier in the post he mentioned this:
maybe an extra reference with "Rain" ==> water??
==> speedy drive train
==> a futuristic idea

also from some searches "Mull" can mean to crush or the verticle parts of a door frame, any ideas?

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

I'm thinking mull as in mulligan. Either a do-over of a previous game or golf balls as the main playing piece.

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Yummy!!! Apple Pi! 3.14 full of happiness!

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wouldn't it be to dangerous to have water

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There is no plausible way for FIRST to let a cRIO near water. (Thus why no liquid of any sort is allowed in the pits) so if a water is to be used, it would have to be in an enclosed environment. Even then I don't think it will happen due to the consequences of an accident.

A person can drown in just 3 inches of water too..

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Water in the pits is usually restricted by the venue, not because FIRST doesn't want water near the cRIO ::safety::

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The "water game" is a long-standing joke. Forget the CRio, anyone who thinks that 12V, 90+ amp batteries and water will ever mix in any venue wherein lawyers and sane people have input is kidding themselves!

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Mull is a word for certain types of fertile soil. This year's field, therefore, will feature a dirt (or mud) playing field.

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Personally, I don't think there are hints there. The GDC just loves making us worm around. Plus, I'm not in the mood for a game hint. Give it a week or so, and then I'll be ready. I'm waiting for an official game hint from FIRST, especially with all of the weird ideas I've seen before. I remember someone on the 2011 thread was talking about robots eating other robots, even AFTER a hint was released!

Call me up when a real hint is released, or when Dave Lavery starts commenting on this thread. THEN things will get interesting! :rolleyes:

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

It may or may not be a hint but you never know. Even if it is not, it's still good practice for when the "official hints" come out.:D

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We all need to "practice" our skills at making totally wild guesses about a game that we will all find out about at the same time regardless of whether or not we were able to guess what it is! :p

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Last year's hint should have been, "Yo, dawg, I heard you like robots, so I put a robot in your robot so you can robot while you robot!"

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You're right that's its a long-standing joke. But you are wrong that it can't happen.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=11

I'm sure FIRST will figure a way to do it someday.

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Bill does seem to love mentioning the word pool and he said in 1 blog that there will be Monumental elements in the 2013 game.

Idk bout ya, but i predict the involvement of water in some way for 2013

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I didn't say it can't, I said it won't.

I've been wrong before on predicting what FIRST will do, but I'll be downright shocked if I see FIRST doing a water game at any point in my lifetime.

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There are sane people at the venues? I had no idea.

:)

Jane

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There is that, Jane. :D

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I agree with pfreivald on this one, there is no way a lawyer would okay a game with water and i doubt many venues would allow FIRST to use pools in case of leaks.

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Is it me or do they keep throwing out "WATER"

-pool
-Enjoy the quiet before the storm. There will be rain"

IDK its just something i picked up

I just think that FIRST has something really big for us this year...

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

This is to all of the people who legitimately believe a water game is possible, even though I don't think there are any people who do, this is just for fun. :)

Bill has given many possible "clues" for a water game. It is possible for a water game to occur. Remember I said it's possible. BUT, if you've read the posts since the start of Chief Delphi, or anytime after the "water game" was proposed, you will clearly see that a water game is improbable and unlikely to occur.

1. Electronics - Electronics don't go good with water, and there will be a lot of accidental robot breakdowns in any game involving our beloved H20, which could essentially render most team's robots destroyed.

2. Setup/movement - How tough will it be to set up a robot for autonomous in a pool of water? You can't exactly throw the robot in, and since water moves, your robots are bound to move from their position when set up. Plus, there is essentially no traction in water. I'm not talking Lunacy no traction, I'm saying uncontrollable no traction. Water moves, and with 6 robots moving around in it, it'll be tough to accurately control a robot with waves pushing against it.

3. Splashes - With 6 or so robots moving on a field in a "pool", water WILL spill out, and it'll be tough to A) clean up the spilled water, and B) refill the pools with water. People WILL get wet, and when you're at a robotics competition, nobody wants to get wet.

Ok, that is my side of the water game debate. I just wrote this for fun, and I can't wait to debate my team against this. (We do interteam debates all the time)

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

It is still a possibility. Another way that this "water" could be used in the game can be during autonomous. But not the robot in the water, but the human players.! I know it seems stupid but this is what i think. Since they have introduced Kinect as part of the kit of parts, it is a possibility that the traditional autonomous be changed so the humans are controlling the robot with kinect during the autonomous. The kinect doesnt need a controller, so you wont be ruining any electronic if the human is in the water, then the kinect can just stay outside. :) Human in the water tank and kinect outside. (H)Just some thoughts. Probably not going to happen, but still fun to think about.

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I still believe in 2013 water inclusion, and it would be such a great time to add it cause they tried to work so hard to be ahead a year that since they got some initial ideas they can spend next prep yr soaking up the other difficulties.

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If its a water game that would explain this:
http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/2011...isruption.html
They didn't want water in their facilities!

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Coming as a field supervisor as well as safety adviser and a NEM...

Where will the fields get said water to fill up anything? Bathrooms don't run high enough pressure to quickly (re)fill any pools and not every regional has ease of access to a bathroom near the field. Some regional events are held on ice hockey rinks, which would cool/freeze the water on the field. Other events, like Champs, are in the middle of a football field with no water access anywhere near the field. Any hoses stretching far enough would have leaks creating slippery spots for anyone/anything going over it.

While water might be an interesting inclusion, it is a planning nightmare for the individual events and I don't think FIRST would put that kind of strain on the regional events and their volunteers.

~Stash~

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Screw the water game! I want a flying game! :p

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It exists. CARD.

Just keep telling Kamen you want collegiate FIRST EVERYWHERE, and you'll get your chance ;)

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Run a water game with only 1-2 inches of water on the field, using playpen balls (or similar lightweight, floating objects) as the game objects. That's less water needed, and a theoretically easier field to waterproof. (3-6" instead of multiple feet)

The game the year before? Fill a goal (fairly flat and shallow) with a water simulant that isn't anywhere near the goal. National Champions have their designs used to help with the water game.

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hmmmm....

http://www.neverwet.com/videos-news.php

so maybe a water game is plausible :rolleyes:

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Water Game thread?

If we use Water, make it the game element rather than a mere obsticle. Have us scoop water and carry it to a different location and dump it. Or have differently filled water jugs - some full, others half, some 1/4th. Obviously your robot will need more strength to lift the heavy water-filled jugs. Outside the box thinking will be the key to an eventual game where water is a possibility.

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

This has nothing to do with water, but I've once thought of a game that uses a giant trampoline as a floor. I also dreamt of a game in which the floor is made out of a giant piece of Jello, about 5 feet high. Robots that sunk in would either have to free themselves, or never be seen again, which is an overstatement, because you could see them through the jello.

Other field floor ideas I've had are a field that shakes like an earthquake, a field with moving plates, and fields with rising panels like in Portal.

I need to stop thinking... :|

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Game on AstroTurf


Object is footballs.

Similar to 06, you can either pick up a football and throw it, or run it underneath a goal.

Only one ball can be possessed at a time(2010) but can be inside the robot.

ROBOT FOO'BALL

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Dave's tried for a Jello-based game. It seems he's had little luck in the past. But hey, you never know

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Guys, really?
Mulling could very well mean what it seems, they're thinking about it. And a water game? We can't use hydrauic fluid becuase of the potential mess, and we're going to have a water game? Where would they find a venue? 174 heads to the Finger Lakes regional every year, at RIT. The field we usually use does have a pool nearby. However, I don't think they'd loan it to us, if only to avoid worrying about wires in the pool once we leave. Save the wonderings for an actual hint, not just oddities of diction.

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it would be interesting if the water game involved just the human player. how much more entertaining would the game be if the human player was submerged in a tank and the robot had to save him/her. make sure to have an ample supply of human players :P

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lol what if we made robot boats with claws to go acrossed a body of water and score on the other side.

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I think theres something to be said for AndyMark only making an 8 " pneumatic wheel available for purchase. Especially when all their other wheels come in 4", 6", and 8" versions. I really think there will be some sort of obstacle (bump/hill) or rough terrain that we will have to cross on the field.

Any thoughts?

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Listen to the EWCP supplier podcast. Andy very directly answers that they choose 8" vecause of availability of off the shelf 200mm tires.

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Thanks for informing me about the podcast, it was very informative.

Although, I still believe hubs could have been designed for a 6" model or even a larger 10" model. 6" pneumatic tires are readily available as well.

A good example would be in 2009 when all teams were required to use the same wheel. He mentions in the podcast about FIRST contacting him about not stocking up on his other wheels for that 2009 season because every team would be using the same wheel.

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This may be helpful, however...
it may be disleading
I agree with the idea that if this is a hint, there would be many obstacles.

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What if they did something a little different, like you need to collect some sort of game piece and place it in like a basket or a holder thats inside your robot, and then go on from there? I feel like that would really be unexpected, especially for us because we use the same exact frame design every single year. It works though :D

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

1999 and 2009 (OK, granted, the trailers weren't inside the robots... but they were very distinctly part of the robots.)

1999's game was highly interesting. 2v2 (for the very first time), no autonomous. The objectives were simple: gather up as many of your alliance's floppies (nylon donuts full of foam peanuts with velcro around the outer rim and in the "hole", IIRC) as possible, move the large octagonal puck (a platform on casters, covered with carpet, with 2 vertical pipes on opposite sides) into a particular zone for double points, get your robot onto the puck for points, and raise the floppies as high in the air as possible (8' I think was the maximum points; there was another height for less points).

That's a game I wouldn't mind seeing return, though there might need to be a few "minor" tweaks for safety and two extra robots.

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

To bad metal treads are outlawed. From what I have seen that was a game changer for us :D

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

I would like to see an original game for 2012. Also, I would like it to follow the sports pattern, so that this year's game revolves around a sport. Most of the sport games (Breakaway, Overdrive, Aim High, etc.) involve the use of a round ball, but maybe something different this year. Footballs, anyone? I've already had ideas for designs of a robot that would catch footballs and launch them, including a mechanism on the launch that rotates the ball to give it a spin. Whilst I doubt this game would happen, I really do want a sport?

What kind of sports themed games do you want to see? What rules/scoring elements/end game would you like to see?

Re: 2012 Game Hint
 

Sooo... Basically 1995 but with a 2010 twist.

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Read about 6 posts up ;)

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I thought it was closer to 06...but sure whynot.

Endgame could be some sort of 2 point conversion spin off (shoot a ball to a partner who grabs it without touching the ground and runs it in)

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How about a game similar to archery where you must shoot (racquetballs?) at touch sensitive pads on each alliance station wall where each pad is worth a different amount of points. The closer to the center of the pad the more points your alliance gets. So the trick would be to build a robot that is incredibly accurate, fast and can accumulate balls quickly. I know this is similar to 2006 btw. The end game could be climbing a hill or uneven surface.

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I think that something larger/softer than raquetballs would have to be used, for safety reasons. 2010's soccer balls couldn't leave the ground, so shooting was a bit different, but I could see a lot going wrong if we could pick up raquetballs and shoot them. I definitely like the idea, though.


I'd like to see a game that involves ping pong balls...

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I like the football idea.... lots of challenges re: how to pick up, feed, launch, shoot w/ or w/o spin.......fun, fun, fun. Have to be Nerf for safety, I suppose, so the "give" would be a challenge as well.

I really believe the sports themed games are more relatable and marketable to the general public.

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There is a lot of poly carbonate at the first warehouse and the field is said to be pretty heavy. Maybe it will be enclosed!:ahh: