Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

Yeahhhhhhh.....

I read it completetly wrong...

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

Ok, so lets look at ways to have a defensive robot.

You go with 60" tall 28 wide and 38 long or vice versa. Then get sideways up in front of the hoops...then just run back and forth ramming anyone who doesn't have a shooter as they come up to put balls in the hoops...Seams like a good way to keep dumpers from scoring 3-6 points per visit. If you can shut a team or two down long term it might determine the outcome of a match.

Would drop 6 tank drive be the way to go for this?

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

It's all good, we all make these mistakes day 1 :)

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

The defensive strategy of this game is interesting though. Because of the fender, you pretty much have to push a defensive bot to the side. Because most robots will score forwards, you would then be facing the wrong direction to shoot after you have pushed the defender out of the way. Do you think it is worth being able to shoot sideways instead, or am i overthinking strategy?

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

Maybe a wall bot is good for blocking targeting systems. You don't need to block the shot, you just need them to miss.

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

That is a good way of looking at playing defense

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

R08A and C both make allotments against this.
"A. Shields, curtains, or any other devices or materials designed or used to obstruct or limit the vision of any drivers and/or coaches and/or interfere with their ability to safely control their Robot

"C. Any devices or decorations specifically intended to jam or interfere with the remote sensing capabilities of another Robot."

Although to be fair, if the driver's particularly skilled, he'd be able to block flying balls with just 60" of height.

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

This rule needs to be clarified. Any kinect on your robot will block/jam an opponents.

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

I don't think blocking shots is an effective strategy at all. A 3' robot with a shooter on the back can lob shots over a 5' robot that is butted right up against it, and in doing so will be shooting the ball at an optimal angle to maximize the solid angle of the rim for the shot.

Getting in the way of vision systems is a viable strategy, assuming the vision system isn't more than 60" high... ...and if it's looking at the hoops!

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

Our team realized yesterday that climbing on the fender is not disallowed. That extra height and closeness to the wall would allow you to block the middle goals simply by putting plates over them. It would just be hard to balance. (you may have to put wheels on both sides of the bottom goal w/o contacting/grappling it.
Actually, come to think of it, if you are on the fender you do not have the 60" limit (no "carpet"). You could be taller, but still not enough to block 3 pointers.

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have found the chokehold. If you can lock down 3/4 of the opponents goals, you have a fantastic advantage. Prepare for a team update.

A robot that could take advantage of this would have tank treads, and during autonomous proceed to the middle or alliance bridge, based on kinect instructions, and put it down. As soon as hybrid ended, it would run to the opposing teams fender and use whatever device to get up on top of it. Then it would deploy whatever device to block those goals. It doesn't need to be a solid block, it could just be a wire over the top if it to stop balls from going in, so that it doesn't break the intentionally breaking sensors rule.

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

Agreed. If you have a competent driver 60" will be more then enough to block a majority of shots. If you think about the shooting mechanisms commonly used in FIRST games the idea of a shooter firing from above that 60" isn't a common one. If you have the 60" to block, anyone shooting from lower then 50" really wouldn't have a shot at scoring. Also anyone shooting from above that point now still has to deal with your robot being on the defensive. I considered a very similar strategy, looked through the rules thoroughly and can't find anything wrong with it. They'll probably amend some rules though.

Re: Power to the forward shields! (Titanic wall of defense)
 

Huh?

Suppose I'm shooting at a 60-degree arc from 3' off the ground, and the shooter is on the back of my long-oriented robot. Even if you're parked directly in front of my robot, your 60" height won't be enough to block the shot.