[protoserge]

First, I'd like to comment on the veteran vs. rookie team. I consider a veteran team one that is successfully executing a business plan, has strong sponsor support, has a well-versed mentor base, is known in the community, and continually improves where it needs to. I don't count the robot as part of the equation, rather a output/function of the quality of the team.

A veteran team should know that the well-performing teams operate year-round and are not "build season teams". Again instilling this point: FIRST is more than just the robot.

That being said, a veteran team should have a good strategy and a good robot. The question in the OP is very complex and has many variables, so I'll focus on the robot aspect.

I think what separates a rookie robot from a veteran robot at first glance is the level of complexity. A rookie robot could be a simple as a box that drives. In fact, this is what a rookie team should be setting as a threshold. Once you get driving down, then you can focus on manipulating the game piece and scoring.

After the mentors and students have become familiar with the FIRST Kit of Parts; the software; and FIRST as an organization, the team is more adept and on the learning curve. Now the risks can become acceptable to tackle larger objectives, such as more adaptive manipulators, better game piece collectors, advancing autonomous mode, and improving scouting and gameplay strategy.

I find that veteran teams know where not to advance technology year-after-year. One of these areas, I believe, is drivetrain. There's only so much you can do with drivetrain. Keep it simple and functional - being able to reliably drive and traverse the field is the number one priority. Iterate designs for weight and durability.

Then you can use more build season schedule to game piece and scoring manipulation development. The build season is only 6 weeks. You want to be done fabrication of the robot no later than week 4. Test and train the last two weeks. This rarely ever happens, as the up-front planning and schedule management planning takes more time than actually building the robot. You also have to do it a few times to understand how to plan a robot build.

Another key point is to iterate designs and avoid redesign if at all possible.

If it is feasible for the team, build two robots. One being your bagged and tagging competition robot and an identical one to train your drivers. Most all the power players have two robots and train right up to their competitions.