[Nuttyman54]

I don't think FIRST will see a particular cost savings from the robot size, although theoretically it may give them a reason to reduce the pit space slightly to allow for more teams at an event.

I feel that the decision was made to force teams to choose between a good climber and a good shooter. The additional restrictive playing configuration size limitations make it difficult, if not impossible, to fit both mechanisms onto a single robot. I believe it was a conscious decision by the GDC to diversify the robot capabilities and force teams to focus on doing one aspect of the game well, or a few aspects mediocre.