Quote:
Originally Posted by DonRotolo
I am sorry but I have to disagree on all points. Teams that can't pick up won't be in the top 1/3 of all teams.
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To be fair I feel like a similar battle cry was echoed in 2011 only to witness* one large exception.
What I would suggest to teams is to spend a little bit of time trying to figure out the scope and flow of the game.
The challenge is your enemy. Know your enemy. Week Zero (Saturday/Sunday/Monday) is not a time to determine your strategy, fixate on nonessential rules (someone asked me about bumpers today. Don't ask me about bumpers until a host of other decisions are made in conjunction).
If you can afford it, maybe go out and buy some discs, construct makeshift obstacles as stand ins for the pyramids. Get with a team of students on rolling office chairs or push around some old robots on some carpet with all of these elements to feel out the game. You think about a lot of things when you become an active participant when creating a scenario based off the game. You get a sense of the game.
For example, teams will easily fall victim to the misconception that the field area is roughly equivalent to the Louisiana Purchase. If you take time to create a tactile or even make good use of the virtual simulation, you will find the "laws" of the game. The laws of the game are played out in the nature of the challenge and are not written in the rule book (like the field littered with more discs than an unkept gym closet). Discovering the laws after your robot is locked up does not a successful season make.
This would all possibly be better addressed in the general strategy thread we have already, but you can't steal second base if you haven't even left the batter's box.
For now, get some sleep for me while I wish you all good luck!