[rees2001]

How much will the average scores increase over the course of the season?In early weeks (1-3) you will see some teams not scoring over 12 and others putting up 40+ on their own. As it gets to Championship most scores will average out around 60 to 30.

- How effective will defense be?during the first 1:30 of the match the best they can do is hope to knock a thrown tube down but they will just end up keeping their own alliance’s score down. In the final 30 seconds they can possibly keep teams with weak drivetrains from even getting to the pole to deploy. (any wonder why you are seeing teams that have had dominant swerve drive using 6 or 8 wheel drive with 2 speeds. They are getting to the pole, good luck stopping them.)

- Will alliances use feeder bots & hangers, or will it be every team for itself?A good alliance will coordinate efforts. Help push thrown tubes to scorers. If it is every team for itself it had better be an amazing bot.

- Will tubes be fed through the slot or thrown?Why drive 50 feet when you can have the weakest scorer on the alliance push thrown tube a couple of feet?

- What will dominate - Grippers or Roller Claws? Rotating arms or Elevators?Fast pickup & delivery to the peg. I don’t discriminate on type.

- Will floor loading be as important as many think?If you want to score quickly.

- Will the minibots define the winners, or will their influence decrease as more teams get them working?In the first 2 to 3 weeks minibot will make or break the game. If you have 2 good minibots on a qualification alliance there is no point in even playing with the tubes. There will be matches in the early weeks where NO minibot scores. 1 working minibot will make or break. You will also see teams with weak drive systems needing to leave the tubes with a minute left to make sure they can get to the pole.

- How will minibots develop? Will they all be similar by Championship?By Championship most useful minibots will be under 3 seconds. No team with a greater than 3.5 second minibot will make eliminations at Championship. Many teams will not stop working on the minibots others will not make any improvements. Improve or perish.

- How would you like to see the game played?I agree that the rules need to stay the same. I hope defense is limited to keeping teams from minibot deployment. Dexterity and speed with the tubes will make the game fun to watch. The minibot will make the end game exciting. I just hope penalties don’t become the deciding factor in this game.