[dtengineering]

We learn things as we go along in FRC. What we learn enables us to design better machines faster. It sounds like you learned a lot in the off-season. Never be afraid to embrace what you have learned, and use that knowledge on your machine.

I guess my suggestion, however, would be that the off-season and previous season knowledge should be stored in a human, or group of humans, rather than in a data file. After all, FIRST isn't really about the robot.

So in the event that the game that is announced on Saturday is perfectly suited for your off-season design, then just sit down at your computer, start with a blank CAD file, and re-create your design from scratch.

It might be identical to the off-season design, but you will have done the work during build season... you'll simply have done it faster, with more confidence and less troubleshooting because of experience you gained in the off season. By demonstrating your knowledge of a good design you'll not only be within the letter of the rule, but also the spirit of the rule.

Most likely, however, you'll find yourself making a few tweaks here and there to improve the off-season design or customize it for the game... I mean, what are the odds you'd build something so perfectly that it couldn't be improved upon a little bit?

Jason