Quote:
Originally Posted by LeelandS
On the point of removing coopertition points, coop points were just a method of ranking. I don't see them as an integral part of the game, ESPECIALLY at the level of play IRI will exhibit. Let's be honest. At least 90% of matches would have had a coop anyway. Having the coop points would have crucified the handful of unlucky teams who missed out. The coop bridge did add an element of strategy that I rather enjoyed, but I don't see it as a huge loss for the game.
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As FIRST constructed the game, the co-opertition points were part of the method for earning your ranking (and the associated privileges of picking, etc.). I think it's fair to say that most teams optimized their robots to seed high under the original rules—and for many of those, that involved taking advantage of the middle bridge to succeed in qualifications.
Where once there was a qualification game and a distinct elimination game, the IRI rule changes basically amount to playing the elimination game all the time. I'd say that for some teams, that will be a big deal, and that for a select few, it won't matter. That changes the implicit balance of power and gives the strategists something different to think about and the builders something new to build. Was it the intention of the IRI committee to give the teams a new challenge with a short implementation window? If so, they succeeded. (Of course, with FRC, you're told in advance that this is going to happen...with IRI, it seems to have taken us by surprise.)
I don't think I'd have made such a big a change to the way the competition works, but since I don't have a robot there, I'm merely interested to see what happens.