[JesseK]

This is from an elim's perspective; quals are up in the air.


- How much will the average scores increase over the course of the season?
50%, From Week 1's top score to Einstein's top score. Not sure about averages.

- How effective will defense be?
Effective against the top bot; however this year there are more pictures and videos of good-working bots than ever; either we're getting good with video or more bots really do work prior to ship. Given penalties and such, it will be effective in assisting to close the scoring gap, but I do not believe it will shut down an entire alliance.

- Will tubes be fed through the slot or thrown?
Thrown. It's too crowded in the lane.

- What will dominate - Grippers or Roller Claws? Rotating arms or Elevators?
It didn't matter so much in 2007 (lift vs arm) or 2008 (lift/arm vs launch). So long as the tube gets to the high pegs, it doesn't matter tbh. Well-built roller claws have the advantage, but tenacity and driver practice will close the gap for quick grippers. Quick grippers are typically simpler to maintain as well.

- Will floor loading be as important as many think?
Heh. If the "many" were to answer this question then the obvious answer is 'yes'. I'm in that group of "many".

- Will the minibots define the winners, or will their influence decrease as more teams get them working?
A bonus is a bonus, during a different part of the game. I think that minibot influence will remain the from the perspective of those who do not have two: they will remain at a disadvantage throughout the season. Those alliances that do have two minbots to go up will always have the advantage. 0.5 seconds will matter in a match or two. Minibots will only define winners (per se) in matches where 3-4 of the 6 are defenders (typical of elims with the 7th/8th seed).

- How will minibots develop? Will they all be similar by Championship?
I'm sure they will be, just like we'll see teams scrap their skinny roller claws for wider roller claws. It's iterative and open. That's the fun about this competition -- it's so frustrating to design your own bot only to have it trumped by bots with many more resources/ingenuity -- yet it's just as inspirational to compete against those robots, learn, and come back for more later. Plus, those bots typically have more than just 1 great design on their overall bot -- so copycatting really isn't as huge an advantage as we'd think (imo).

- How would you like to see the game played?
4 minibots every match; "Epsilon" formations; "wingmen", etc. It would be interesting to watch organized strategy, not organized chaos.